Rare SR5 22RE 4x4 Straight Live Axle Arizona No Rust 1 Year Only Covertible SUV

1985 Toyota 4Runner

RULES OF THE ROAD:This November will mark my 17th year selling on eBay. By and large eBay members are outstanding responsible people. But for some reason the longing for beautiful classic vehicles, especially clean old trucks like this, brings impulsivos with no self control out of the woodwork. They appear not to understand or appreciate all the months of time, money and energy it costs to prepare a vintage truck for an auction like this so they start mindlessly clicking and thereby wreak havoc on a complete stranger's life without the ability to actually honor the terms they've initiated. If that kind of behavior reminds you of yourself then please feel free to read the description and study the pictures to your heart's content but for the love of common decency please do not click anything other than the ASK QUESTION tab unless you have the means to pay per the terms below.
1 YEAR ONLY 4RUNNERSuper clean rare rust free classic 1985 Toyota 4Runner SR5 is a straight honest barn find that runs & drives as good as it looks. No rust. No leaks. No mechanical issues.
Convertible top is fiberglass and removable exposing factory roll bar underneath making it the ultimate SUV when combined with the bullet proof straight axle Toyota 4x4 drive line and legendarily reliable 22RE multi-port fuel injected engine.
This 1 year only truck is considered the HOLY GRAIL of 4Runners because it was the very last year that Toyota offered a live front straight axle mini truck in North America and was THE ONLY YEAR the straight axle trucks were offered with the 22RE.
HISTORY:This truck is a genuine Arizona rust free survivor. It features factory power steering, power brakes, ice cold AC and the rare SR5 interior package.It has been professionally gone through stem to stern. Anything mechanical that needed attention got it.
Tucson is famous for a desert climate so dry that the US Air Force retires all their old aircraft to a bone yard here. Just Google "Tucson Air Force Bone Yard" and you will see pics of miles & miles of neatly parked old military aircraft that are moth balled and "technically ready" to be pressed back into service in the highly unlikely event the need arises.
MECHANICALS:Within the last 200 miles this truck had professionally installed:New timing chain and guides.New head gasket (as part of the timing chain install).New valve cover gasket.New valve lash adjustment to factory spec.New exhaust manifold gasket.New (not reman) fuel injectors (all 4).New plenum gasket.New front crank seal.New fuel filter.New Denso spark plugs.New plug wires.New distributor cap.New distributor cap oil seal o-ring.New rotor.New air filter.New motor oil & filter.New gear oil in all 4 cases.New coolant and flush.New clutch disc, pressure plate, pilot bearing and throw out bearing.Newly machined flywheel.New rear main seal.New fuel pump.New front brake pads and freshly turned rotors.New rear brake inspection and adjustment.New KYB rear shocks. (Front Rancho shocks and Pro Comp steering stabilizer are like new).New manual window regulators and cranks.New Neapco greasable u-joints on both the front & back of rear drive shaft.New sway bar end links and bushings on the front end.New windshield.New battery.
Comes with receipts documenting most everything which is still under warranty.
22RE (2.4L) MULTI-PORT FUEL INJECTION:This legendarily reliable numbers matching 22RE runs like an industrial sewing machine.Starts every time with a click of key. No smoke, no knocks, no issues and absolutely no fluid leaks.Excellent oil pressure. Runs cool. Temp gauge never climbs past 1/3rd even on hot Arizona summer days with AC blowing cold. Engine builders have long admired howthese 22RE blocks are famous for being hardened with more nickle content than old American muscle cars.
Per the emissions slip in the last picture you cannot have an internal combustion engine blow almost zero CO2 unless it is running excellent.
5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION & GEAR DRIVEN TRANSFER CASE:Transmission shifts tight and smooth. Starting in 1984 Toyota improved their 5 speeds making them more robust with bigger bearings. Clutch action feels new because it is new. (There's a picture showing the bottom of the truck with the transmission removed. You can tell from the oval hole where the shifter boot used to reside).
2 speed gear driven transfer case, one of the strongest humans have ever invented, operates precisely as designed.
Warn Premium manual lockout hubs and all the 4x4 components work smoothly as designed.
INTERIOR:Clean interior. SR5 gauge cluster means there's a tachometer and real oil pressure gauge, temperature gauge and volt gauge instead of just idiot lights. Everything works.215,000 miles on odometer.Original 32 year old SR5 seats with adjustable lumbar are not tore up and stained like most. AC blows cold. Heat blows hot. Truck does have cruise control but switch at end of multifunction knob has black electrical tape on it so cruise control has not been tested.
Back seats are in remarkably good shape. Not torn or stained. These seats fold down to make like a flat pickup truck bed for sleeping or camping.The rear tailgate glass goes up and down electronically with a toggle switch that's been relocated from the center console to the dash, just left of the steering column, next to the round black dash light dimmer knob.
An aftermarket Grant-style steering wheel was installed along the way. It has a great feel but there is no horn button.
There is typical sun/heat cracking of the vinyl underneath the dash mat. Behind the passenger seat there's a 6 inch tear and the carpet in the rear hatch shows signs of wear. Both the small square cargo hatch plastic doors near the tail gate are missing.
The truck originally came with power windows but anybody familiar with 1st generation 4Runners knows they haven't made any of the switches or hardware for the power doors for over 20 years so they were converted to manual windows with new regulators and cranks which now work perfect. The interior door panels are from a donor California 4Runner and are gray instead of brown.
SUSPENSION & BRAKES:
Stock suspension and steering is exceptionally tight. No wander. Absolutely no rattles.Rear shocks are brand new KYB.Front shocks are newer Rancho.Pro Comp steering stabilizer is newer.Brakes were gone through on all 4 corners and thoroughly bled with turned rotors and new pads. Rears were adjusted. Pedal is tall and tight.
WHEELS & TIRES:Four 31 x 10.5 x 15 Michelin Radials with 90% tread mounted on nice clean 15 x 7 alloy rims off a 2nd generation (90-95) 4Runner. Since those rims came with minimal back spacing a set of four 2 inch billet aircraft-grade aluminum wheel spacers with Grade 10 studs were mounted with LockTite to achieve the proper stance. The full size 31 inch BFG All Terrain spare tire under the rear bed of truck not only holds air but is mounted on a matching identical aluminum rim.DIFFERENTIALS:Both 8 inch factory differentials are stock with 4.10 gears, open carriers and no leaks. The 8 inch differentials are exceptionally strong. They routinely hold up to V8 power when owners complete engine swaps. These Toyotas are one of the only 4x4's ever made with interchangeable front and rear differentials. It was a design copied from the Dodge 4x4 trucks of WWII.
FRAME & BODY:
Original rust free AZ truck has no rot or bondo anywhere. It was originally red but was repainted once some years ago. That one stage paint has lost its luster and has a few flaking chips. There's a small ding just after the passenger door shown in passenger side pics anda tiny blemish on the lower rear of the back left fender.Underside and frame is as straight and rust free as the exterior.
INSURANCE:This truck is eligible for historic plates in any State. That also mean it's eligible for Collector Car insurance from outfits like Grundy Worldwide or Haggerty which costs only $12 per month for a $10,000 full coverage policy. That's right, a full coverage policy is only $12 per month and emissions are forever waived. I repeat. Collector Car Insurance means no more emissions and a cheap monthly nut on full coverage insurance.
OH WHAT A FEELING:
There's several reasons that these Toyota trucks are so legendary worldwide. It's no accident that no matter what part of the world you look at whenever you see news footage of a guerrilla fighter soldier with an AK47 in the back of a pickup it's always a Toyota. That's because Toyota truck reliability is 2nd to none. It's what soldiers count on. That's why Toyota is the only import vehicle ever allowed to compete in NASCAR racing.
Unlike American, French, British or Korean vehicles, every Toyota truck from this era comes with a fully boxed steel frame. Not only is the frame boxed, meaning super strong, but also every nut, bolt and fastener is fine machine threaded. So while virtually every American vehicle has coarse threads throughout and a C-channel frame with only the engine and transmissions having fine machine threads - bottom line is except for some exceptional rare American vehicles, like Early Ford Broncos and some Jeeps with fully boxed frames, nobody in the USA constructed 4x4's with as much engineering integrity as the Japanese back in the day, and no wonder since after being bombed into surrender by Uncle Sam after WW2 they had things to prove as a National mission so they built Toyota trucks with an integrity 2nd to none.
I wouldn't hesitate to jump in this truck and drive it coast to coast confident it would need nothing but fuel.
PAPERWORK:
Clean and clear notarized AZ title with fresh passed emissions slip is ready to go.
INVESTMENT:These 1 year only Toyota 4Runners only go up in value even while you drive them, providing one of the best investments in the automotive world today. Fact is there will never be another made like them. They are 1 off legends. I suspect this truck won't last long at this price because as of yesterday there are no other 85 4Runners for sale on ebay and in fact the last one that sold was back in August. It went for $9100 and the seller only had a 1 paragraph description which made clear not a dime was ever spent on the truck mechanically except for oil changes. Incredibly it didn't show a single picture under the hood!Note that just 2 of those new parts on the long list above, the timing chain and the clutch disc, call for just under 18 hours of labor per AllData. Call your local repair shop and ask them how much 18 hours of labor costs. Then consider all the other parts and labor. For example the 4 new fuel injectors were $400 alone. The rims and tires cost $1000. To add up the list is staggering. Investing in this kind of 1 off truck that will never be made again is a no brainer and soon will be a bargain at twice the price.
CONTACT:Email through eBay or Call 52O-Nine 77-O112 for any questions prior to clicking.
FEEDBACK:If you're serious about this truck and have ZERO feedback please call the phone number above so it can be established that you're not a squirrel. That won't take more than a minute so just do it. For those new to eBay and nervous about buying a vehicle over the internet just remember that, as I mentioned from the outset, I've been selling classic early Broncos and antique Toyota trucks and vintage parts on eBay for 17 years. Some 15 years ago I happen to sell a truck to an eBay seller who runs a large scale pawn shop in Philadelphia with over 100,000 feedbacks and he taught me this eBay rule of thumb. Every positive feedback is worth about a dollar of trust. That means if you're buying something for $500 then ideally the seller will have at least 500 positive feedbacks. This is just an ideal rule of thumb mind you. So if somebody's selling a $10,000 vehicle with only 32 positive feedbacks I'd be leery. Doesn't mean it's not legit, it's just that there's not much track record. By contrast if a seller's asking $7k for a vehicle and has more than 12k positive feedbacks like myself, well then you can rest easier for you can ask yourself why would they risk throwing away their decades old hard earned feedback reputation for only $7k? The answer is they wouldn't.
IMPORTANT AUCTION TERMS. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.Note that per eBay Terms of Service (TOS) that you agreed to when registering "your winning bid constitutes a legally binding contract for sale" so please don't start clicking if you're not completely serious and committed to buy, meaning, be sure you have wife's permission and funds in position to honor terms below.
Inspection prior to bidding is welcome.
A non-refundable PayPal deposit of $1000 is due within 24 hours of auction close.
Full balance of Payment is due within 72 hours of auction close by either direct bank to bank wire transfer, or you can overnight envelope a Cashiers Check, or pay cash in person, or pay with PayPal or a card over the phone so long as buyer is willing to pay the 2.5% transaction fees.
All shipping arrangements and fees are the responsibility of the buyer. We will store the truck free for 21 days. There is a $15 per day storage fee after that.

• Make: Toyota
• Model: 4Runner
• Year: 1985
• Mileage: 215,000
• VIN: JT3RN65W2F5038323
• Color: Red
• Engine size: 22RE
• Number of cylinders: 4
• Power options: Air Conditioning, Cruise Control
• Fuel: Gasoline
• Transmission: Manual
• Interior color: Tan
• Drive side: Left-hand drive
• Options: 4-Wheel Drive, Convertible
• Vehicle Title: Clear
Want to buy? Contact seller!