Alabama Off-road/ Mods/ Meets Thread

dont forget core support, complete ac system plus charge, probably water pump if the fan blades ate up the radiator, then all the trim work and no telling what the interior looks like with him saying he swapped it out for his other. and then there is no guarantee it will ever drive and track straight. also on the other one id be picking it over with a fine tooth comb, you dont want another happening like your last truck. still think you would be better off saving for a bit longer so that you could bring the models you are looking at to at least a single decade old.

 

Lol. I might be waiting regardless. I'm starting to like the 4th gens a little better now!!

 

i would think those would be much more family road trip friendly. arent they a bit bigger than the previous gens? kind of like the second gen taco compared to first gen??

 

They are bigger than the 3rd gens. Yes like the 2nd gen to the 1st gen taco

 

DD + weekend warrior, 4th gen. Wheeling rig, 3rd gen.

My buddy has a really nicely buit 4th gen 4R, demello bumper, icon, not quite 33's AT tires. It's a great double duty vehicle.

However, he's looking to do the rear bumper and holy FFFFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKK they're expensive. If you look at the bumper lines on the 4th gen, they're way weird. On the 3rd gen it's just like a truck bumper. Easy peasy.

 

well to me, you just answered your own question.... why buy now what wont fit in a couple years when you could save for a few more months and buy what will fit for years....

or you could be like mr money bags here ^^^^^ that posted before me and just get a cruiser and call it done.

 

Hah! Sold the Tacoma for $27k, bought Cruiser for $20k. Put difference towards Cruiser loan, lowered monthly payment, and pushed the payoff up by a couple of years.

Saved money bro!

Now... if you want a Cruiser... I have friends... with a very particular set of skills. They will hunt one, they will find one, and they will talk you into paying for one.

 

exactly..... they worked wonders on you in there brainwashing meets. ha! believe me i know how sweet the tacoma was that you parted with to get that cruiser.... just fig i would give ya hell cuz you were finally back around.. for this minute at least.

so when we grabbin a beer again?

 

Yeah, nah, sometimes I regret getting rid of the Tacoma. Mostly because it was locked and had the newer version of ATRAC. The LC has the first gen ATRAC, and no lockers. However... I can still fit 6 adults WITHOUT taking the car seat out. That happens way more often than the occasion I'd ever need a locker. Not 6, but 3-4 commonly. Being in sales, I tote customers around fairly often. Plus, it fit big 33 MT's with no lift, I dig the sun/moon, kinda like the leather, particularly with a kid. I know, I know, I been brainwashed...

As for the beer, there's a club meeting tonight, 7:30ish, Cahaba Brewing, 3rd Ave. S right by 31. Be there! Open invite to all y'all. Good beer, small batch of wheat ale on tap tonight.

Brainwashing and all... I still think the 90's LC's with the SFA are one of the best bang / buck platforms around. The engines are bulletproof. As a buddy of mine said, "You can spend lots of money making a 1FZ or 3FE perfect, but they'll run like shit forever." Long as you do the head gasket before it gets to be a problem, at like 250k miles.

 

A cruiser is too expensive and fancy for what I want! Lol

 

Hah, yeah man. I like LCs, but holy crap, who buys those things new? 80 g's for a toyota??

 

Who said anything about new? LOL. I can't afford that shit!

http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj80-fzj80-lx450-hdj81/725492-1997-lx450-minneapolis-st-paul-mn-7500-a.html

http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj80-fzj80-lx450-hdj81/732082-1997-fjz80-97-xxx-miles.html

http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj80-fzj80-lx450-hdj81/729983-1995-locked-fzj80-mt-7400obo.html

http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj80-fzj80-lx450-hdj81/657987-1995-fzj80-sale.html

All of those are <$10k. I don't know anyone who has bought one new that's actually ever seen even a dirt road. Around B'ham all the Mt. Brook, Vestavia, and Hoover mom's had them, and they're getting long in the tooth, so you can find them in great shape, grocery getters totally dealer maintained. Mine was a soccer mom mobile in Atlanta, and then a guy in Mobile bought it, then was driving lots for work and needed something that got better MPG.

In all honesty, they didn't get fancy and shit until the 90's, and even still, those were VERY solid off road trucks. The 100 series started the decline toward mall crawlerdom, but I'm cool with that. I'm doing more wheel'n'camp stuff recently rather than really hardcore anything. I still want a 2nd gen 4R, or toyota pickup that's flat bedded like what Dave has, just with SFA.

It cracks me up that folks talk about how pricey they are, but then have like $40k in a Tacoma (myself included in that statement, I had like $42k in mine, $45k if you count the radio gear). They're really not nearly as bad as people think on the used market. Trust me, I thought, "hah, look at that idiot wheeling an $80k rig." but it's simply not the case for most folks who really do wheel them.

 

I don't want a 90's model!

 

You're looking at a THIRD GEN 4RUNNER. Whaaaaaaaaaa?

 

changed my mind to a 4th gen

 

Well first I have nowhere near 40 even with all of my mods, but you read too much into what I said. A used cruiser is something else entirely, I get that.

I meant cruisers are nice but I don't get why anyone buys a new one. If I'm blowing 80 grand, I better not be getting a damn Toyota, lol. I'll get a range rover or something, or a 4 runner and a nice BMW sedan both, or anything but a cruiser.

Picking one up used for what you're doing? Fine, makes sense, they're nice SUVs and capable. How they sell them new, however, completely baffles me.

 

100000% agree. I'm glad Toyota still sells them here, because I'll probably upgrade to a 200 series in like 5-7 years when I can afford one. The sales numbers suck though, because everyone thinks like you and I do, "How much, for a Toyota, HAH!" I kinda think they'll can it in a few years. The sequoia cannibalized almost all of the LC sales, because people give no shits about offroad capability.

Exactly what you said is why I like it, nice, and capable. It's the family truckster that you can wheel in, and tote 7 adults around in. Far more capable than a Tahoe, Expedition, or Sequoia, which are similarly sized.

I realize 40's is high for a modded taco, but I was more illustrating the point that fun can be had in a LC for far, far, far less than what lots of folks on TW have in their trucks. Is the "image" of a LC more hoity toity cork sniffery? I guess, but who gives a fuck about that anyway. I'm not driving it because I want to "look" a certain way, I'm driving it because I gotta have a vehicle that's practical for kids, toting customers around, and I want to wheel it.

 

I like the LC. The one I was looking at a ways back was a 91. Had a factory solid axle, and factory front and rear lockers. I love the idea that all you have to do is a small lift, tires, and armor to be very off road capable.

 

i like them as well.... just like a truck more than an suv of any type. but i guess that is just truly personal preference. i was raised around nothing but pick ups and have only owned one vehicle that wasn't a truck and it was a hatchback honda. (other than my wifes stuff) so even though i have been tempted a couple times by LC's and even more by FJ's i still couldn't pull the trigger bc it wasn't a truck. nothing more than that. price was right on all of them they were prob more capable than my tacoma, and prob made more sense to haul the family around than my tacoma.... but it wasnt a truck. who knows maybe one day ill change my mind, but til then im gonna keep sporting the tacomas.

 

Does yours have the ride height adjust thing?