A 4Runner with 2 doors is 1 rare SUV. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 1990 Toyota is also 302-powered, but is its price 2 much 4 U?
Eye-talian yesterday's 1976 Alfa Romeo may have been, but as far as 79% of you were concerned it was far more an eyesore. Festooned as it was with cracker-grade accouterments it fittingly added the indelible mark of a Crack Pipe loss to its plethora of sphincteriffic add-ons and stick-ons.
Before he changed his name to a symbol and then back again, Prince knocked out some pretty great albums, and if you've ever seen him live on stage, you'll know that he rocks it more than a crack ho. He also liked to use numbers in lieu of words in some of his song titles - things like I Would Die 4 U and Nothing Compares 2 U perhaps trying to curry favor with Sesame Street's the Count. Being also an aficionado of sports cars - having also written the ode to speed and sex, Little Red Corvette - it's possible that the diminutive rocker with an affinity for purple precipitation might think today's Ford 302 powered 1990 Toyota 4Runner could be the truck 4 which nothing could compare. . . 2.
Toyota first introduced the 4Runner as a Bronco/Blazer-like version of the Hilux pick up back in the heady days of the early ‘80s. This meant welding cab and bed together and replacing the mount for the gun rack/samurai sword with a gaping hole. That also allowed for a seat where there would nominally be empty beer cans rolling around, but unlike the contemporary Subaru Brat, the lucky dogs perched there could stay out of the weather due to the semi-integrated, but removable fiberglass cap. That original 4skinner 4Runner caught the attention of safety advocates for its tendency to turn turtle and kill its occupants - in spite of its featuring a robust roll bar. Because of the meddling nanny state the next generation eschewed the removable cap for a full metal jacket and less of an appetite for destruction. That refresh also introduced what would become the most ubiquitous of 4Runners - the 4-door - a version that continues solo in production to this very day, oh so many generations later.
This solid gold 4Runner is the much more rare two-door wagon, aka shooting-up brake. As such it features a 3-light profile reminiscent of a very butch Merkur XR4Ti. These were originally available with Toyota's stout 22RE f4-cylinder, or beefy 3VZ 6, either of which would provide adequate power for the street or rock hopping. However, if it's getting into and out of trouble off-road and on that you're looking for, then this 4Runner's Ford 302 crate motor may be just your ticket to ride.
Claimed by the owner to have been purchased out of the Ford Racing catalog, this small block should make a big difference in spinning the 4Runner's big ol' BFGs. Those tires are said to be 33x12.5s and wrap around phone dial Alcoa rims. The seller says in his ad that the transmission is also a FoMoCo cast-off, and that it's an AOD strengthened like a burgeoning cage fighter ready to do battle with the 302's unwieldy power. If his description is to be believed then the ridiculously tall manual shift lever bumping uglies with a knee-level double din stereo is probably for show only- something to impress the ladies. Actually, in the topline he does say it's a stick, so maybe he just doesn't know what AOD means, or maybe he has ADD?
This 4Runner has 160,000 miles under its tires, although neither the paint nor the 302 have gone the distance. Inside, what you can see of it, doesn't look too beat up, although it wouldn't have killed the seller to clean the crap out of the footwell before taking the snap. That lackadaisical attitude may also be the reason why he has let it sit fallow for the past three years, resulting in what he says is a case of bad gas inhibiting its ability to start. Having had bad gas in the past, I can attest to the fact that it can make going out in public difficult.
Regardless, you'd want to invest some time draining and refilling the tank, as well as tossing in a new 12-volt, before making the $12,000 investment this seller is requiring to take this 4Runner off his 2 hands. Let's say that it does fire up and is able to move under its own power, what do you think of that price? Is $12,000 too many numbers for this 4Runner? Or, does that make this 302-powered Toyota the 1?
You decide!
eBay or go here if the ad disappears. H/T to TheDamnedCarWillNotDie for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOCP. Click here to send a me a tip, and remember to include your commenter handle.
BTW- Yes, I know you can't see the poll. Vote in the comments, email help@gawker.com and let ‘em know, or put your vote on the back of a 100 dollar bill and mail it to 1 Jalopnik Tower NY, NY.