1999 tacoma. Please read me

So I previously owned a 2003 double cab TRD offroad prerunner V6 auto. I did the 4x4 conversion on it and put a lot of money into that truck. I sold the truck a little over 2 years ago. Here it is



Now my girlfriends father has a 1999 extended cab 3rz automatic 6 lug. The motor was replaced a few years back. The truck is stock. Everything works well. Mileage from the replacement engine is unknown as he does not remember. Miles on the truck will be hitting the 200k mark soon. I drive this truck here and there. At one point when I was doing the 4x4 conversion on my other truck i used it as my daily and it had no issues. Truck drives really good.




So my girlfriends father asked her yesterday if she wanted to buy it...? He will not sell it to anyone else. He wont ask for much as this is his daughter he is selling it to( i think he wants like 3k). So being the great girlfriend that she is she asked me what I thought and if we should get it to fix it up...? She will fund most of this project including buying the truck. I would do all the work on it.

We like to do a lot of camping and taking road trips. Also hit trails regularly (nothing extreme). I really wish this truck would be a V6 at least. It will need work as the suspension is shot a long with other maintenance stuff. The engine seems to run strong. Frame is in great condition.

My question to you guys is should I take on this project?
- I would have to stick with the 4 cylinder.
- Would the 4x4 conversion be worth on a 4 cylinder auto? keep in mind I dont do any crazy off road/rock crawling type of off road.

Plans for this truck would be the following:

-4x4 conversion (auto)
- AT tires and upgrade the wheels
- conservative lift and upgrade leaf springs
- Diff lockers ( this will be later down the line)
- All the necessary maintenance (fluids, oil, brakes etc)

So obviously this truck has sentimental value. I know most will say just sell it and get yourself a V6 4x4 tacoma blah blah blah. I know trust me but this will be almost a gift and the girlfriend has no plans to sell this now or in the future. Plus ill be the one really driving it. The truck sits in our driveway almost 24/7 all year long unless i take it out.

Should i give it a go? Shes really just waiting for me to give her the thumbs up on this. What do you guys think? Should we get it and fix it up as i mentioned above? or Just leave as is? We also own a 21 Rav4 that we also use for camping and stuff but kinda limited at times with space and certain trails we can hit. I was planning to get into a 3rd gen tacoma in the near future but maybe we can get away with fixing this tacoma up instead and avoid another car note.
Please share your opinion on this. Thanks guys

 

i can’t see any situation where in the future you say “wow, i really wish we didn’t buy this truck” especially for 3k, it was her Dads, and it’s seemingly in decent enough condition. Buy it, and worse case scenario give it to your kid one day.. it’ll probably still be running.

 

Hellz yes. Slap a shift kit into that tranny and beat the living tarnation out of that thing

 

Buy, fix it, lift it, regear it, and drive it.

 

Buy it!
Do the needed maintenance stuff but skip the 4x4 conversion. Just add a differential lock and call it "good".