Rare SR5 22RE Straight Live Axle Arizona No Rust Mechanically Sound 1 Year Only

1985 Toyota 4Runner Description

1 YEAR ONLY 4RUNNER:Super clean rare rust free classic 1985 Toyota 4Runner SR5 is a straight honest barn find that runs & drives as good as it looks with only 215k original miles. 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 lines 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 it was THE ONLY YEAR the straight axle trucks were offered with multi-port fuel injection, aka, the 22RE.
HISTORY:This is a Tucson 4Runner. Tucson is famous for a desert climate so dry that the US Air Force retires all its old air craft to a bone yard here. Just Google "Tucson Air Force Bone Yard" and you will see pics of miles of neatly parked old air craft that are moth balled.
The last '85 4Runner sold on eBay was in August for $9100 and it lived in Colorado where it snows. It was not an SR5 truck although it did have lower miles. Not a dime was spent by the seller on it mechanically. Inexplicably there wasn't even a single picture of the engine bay? You can view it by doing a search for 1985 4Runner then scroll down and look on the left side of your screen and click "sold items".
This truck was discovered in a rural Arizona pole barn but by no means was it a bargain. The owner knew exactly what he had and exacted a premium price. I brought a jump box battery and it fired right up but smelled a bit of bad gas and therefore didn't idle as smooth as normal but when revving it up there was no smoke nor knocks nor tell tale timing chain slap. He claimed he had just had the timing chain and guides professionally redone and shortly thereafter the AC quit blowing cold and the clutch started making noise so he parked it.
Being an experienced Toyota technician I realized this was a pretty rare bird and agreed to buy it for his premium price. I towed it to my shop and went to work fixing everything in my power so this truck has been professionally gone through stem to stern by dedicated and passionate Toyota professionals. Anything mechanical that needed attention got it.
MECHANICALS:1st off the electric interior door hardware and switches were all wasted. They are hard to find parts so new manual window regulators and new OEM cranks were installed in both doors plus new used grey door panels were found.
Next the valve cover was removed to adjust valves to factory specs and then gasket plus all grommets were replaced. With valve cover off and flash light in hand it was duly noted that the timing chain and guides were indeed fresh which is a very big deal because that calls for 13 hours labor.
While it ran fine I could smell the gas was spoiled so the tank was drained and flushed. The fuel pump, which is easy to access since it's under the rear seat, was replaced with new. It still didn't run perfect so all 4 fuel injectors were replaced at a parts cost of just under $400. I didn't buy the remanufactured injectors which I've had bad luck with but rather the new ones. Then a tune up with new fuel filter, Denso plugs, cap & rotor, plug wires, air filter, oil filter, oil and coolant flush was performed. Now it runs perfect and the fresh passed emissions slip with the CO2 readings almost at zero prove it.
This ultra reliable numbers matching 22RE (2.4L) 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.
Like aircraft engines these 22RE blocks are famous for being hardened with more nickle content than old American muscle cars.
Next the clutch disc, pressure plate, throwout bearing & pilot bearing were replaced with OEM parts. The flywheel was machined to a new surface. 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. The clutch actually shifted fine but there was a throwout bearing noise that drove me nuts. It went away when depressing the clutch pedal so i knew it was the throwout bearing. Once I removed the transmission I could see that the rear main seal was starting to leak so that was also replaced. Nothing nicer than buying a truck with a new clutch kit and rear main seal professionally installed still under warranty because those are some of your biggest potential expenses on a used vehicle.
Next new Dayco belts were installed and all the fluids and gear oil in every case were replaced.
New Neapco u-joints were installed in the rear drive shaft.
New sway bar end links and bushings were installed on the front.
A new windshield was installed as the original one was cracked.
Finally a new battery was installed.
Of course the truck comes with receipts documenting all the new parts and labor which are still under warranty.
5 Speed manual transmission shifts tight and smooth. Clutch action feels new because it is new.
2 speed gear driven transfer case, one of the strongest humans have ever invented, operates precisely as designed.
Stock suspension is exceptionally tight. No wander. No rattles.
Front shocks are newer Rancho.Rear shocks are new KYB. Pro Comp steering stabilizer is newer.
Brakes were gone through on all 4 corners and thoroughly bled with turned rotors and new pads and shoes.
Warn Premium manual lockout hubs and all the 4x4 components work smoothly as designed.
Four 31 x 10.5 x 15 Michelin Radials with 90% tread mounted on 15 x 7 alloy rims off a 2nd generation (90-95) 4Runner. 2 inch billet wheel spacers mounted with LockTite were also added 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.
Both 8 inch differentials are stock with 4.10 gears, open carriers and no leaks. These Toyotas are one of the only 4x4's ever made with interchangeable front and rear differentials. It was a designed copied from the Dodge trucks of WWII.
INTERIOR:Clean interior. Original 32 year old SR5 seats 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 has not been tested.
Only the 1st generation SR5 4Runner came with the factory altimeter and inclinometer in the center of the dash. SR5 gauges feature tachometer, oil pressure gauge, temp gauge and volts. Aftermarket Pioneer radio deck sounds great.
Factory power steering and power brakes. An aftermarket Grant-style steering wheel was installed along the way. It has a great feel but there is no horn button.
FRAME & BODY:
Original rust free AZ truck has no rot anywhere. It was originally red but was repainted once some years ago. That one stage paint has lost its luster and has flaking chips in a few spots but there is no bondo and zero rust with only a small ding just after the passenger door shown in passenger side pics. Underside and frame is as straight and rust free as the exterior.
In addition to the ding on the passenger side there is a tiny blemish on the lower rear of the back left fender shown in a picture. There is some typical sun cracking of the vinyl underneath the dash mat. It's hard to see but the back of the passenger seat has a 6 inch tear in the upholstery. Both the small square cargo hatch plastic doors are missing. One covers the bottle jack shown in picture.
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 only costs $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.
Clean and clear AZ title with fresh passed emissions slip is ready to go.
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.
Email or Call 52O-Nine 77-O112 for any questions prior to bidding.
For those new to eBay and nervous about buying a vehicle over the internet consider this. I've been selling classic early Broncos and antique Toyotas 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 $10k for a vehicle and has more than 10k positive feedbacks 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 $10k? The answer is they wouldn't.
AUCTION TERMS: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 tabs and buttons if you're not completely serious and committed, meaning, be sure you have wife's permission and funds in position to send PayPal a deposit per 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.