By Christopher Tracy
Being a kid who really came to understand cars in the 90s, I’ve never really liked the graphics packages from the decade. I’m not against graphics, but the Nickelodeon-styled “Splash” graphics on Ford Rangers didn’t do anything for me.
Now, 80s Japanese SUV graphics are another matter altogether. They were never really over-the-top and generally tasteful. They also didn’t make me think of an episode of Double Dare.
This 1988 Toyota 4Runner is currently available on Bring A Trailer.
Works as it should
It is powered by the 3.0L V6 engine that made 145 horsepower when new. The transmission is a four-speed automatic. The engine had a refresh about 20,000 miles ago where a shop replaced the cylinder head gasket, injectors, water pump, hoses, and more. The valve cover gaskets were more recently replaced in the last 4,000 miles.
The pictures of this particular truck near the beach are fantastic. This 4Runner has the removable rear hardtop and also comes with a soft top for the warmer months. The truck is also wearing a two-inch lift kit and some BFGoodrich Mud Terrains on the stock alloy wheels. There are also Aisin manual locking hubs. Aisin is an OEM parts supplier for Toyota. It’s one of the names I’m always looking for while sourcing parts for the Land Cruiser.
In the gallery of pictures, someone is auditioning to be a hand model. There are eight pictures with fingers pointing to rock chips and a scrap. There is some surface rust on the underside of the truck, but nothing that looks to be too big a deal currently.
The interior of the 4Runner looks pretty well stock except for the aftermarket head unit. This truck has the auxiliary gauge cluster in the middle of the dash with the altimeter and level gauges that remains functional.
Overall it is a well put together example. The graphics package and sky blue color just take it to another level. The auction probably finishes in the mid-20s. Too pricey for me.
Jeff Glucker
I was watching that auction, but (as is typical for an old Toyota on BaT) the price got steep pretty quickly. This ’93 Nissan isn’t as cool, but is a much better deal:
https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1993_nissan_pathfinder_15731670498a78db7e804b64dbb61-940×627.jpeg
Oof, I shouldn’t be surprised, and I can’t actually say it’s unreasonable, but it’s hard to accept this as A) a classic car, and b) if it were my own money, not buying the nicest late model 4Runner or Wrangler Unlimted I could find.
Its 31 years old. Was a 69 Camaro a classic car in 2000? Even the most mundane of cars made in 69 was a “classic car” by then. Certainly strange seeing cars like these reach classic status, but they have.
I first got my 1980 Spirit in 2002, and it seemed like such an old car. I put a lot of work into it to make it nice again. I have a hard time picturing myself putting that work into anything made in 1997, but they’re just as old now as it was then.
You’re not wrong, it’s just a function of accepting that something built in my lifetime is a classic now.
Although, I also think another part of it is the vast evolution cars went under in the ’80s, with the switch to fuel injection, the decline of sealed beam headlights (and general rise of aerodynamics), and the gentle introduction of safety equipment like airbags and ABS. I’d have to drive all three to say for sure, but I’d bet on the experiential gulf between this 4Runner and an FJ40 being far larger than between this 4Runner and a modern 4Runner, despite there being a similar ~25 year difference between their respective release dates.
You’re not wrong, but the current generation of 4Runner is largely unchanged over 11 model years.
I was watching that auction, but (as is typical for an old Toyota on BaT) the price got steep pretty quickly. This ’93 Nissan isn’t as cool, but is a much better deal:
https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1993_nissan_pathfinder_15731670498a78db7e804b64dbb61-940×627.jpeg
https://cdn.bringatrailer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/1992_jeep_cherokee_15731711368db7e804b64dbb65-940×627.jpeg
Not as good of a deal, but the same seller has this 5-speed XJ, which is also tempting.
Ha! I was looking at that, too. I was going to post it instead, but figured being a 5-door, it wasn’t as direct a comparison.
That Nissan is a 5 door too.
Edit: and ended at just over 1/4 of the price of the Toyota!
Damn, you’re right… Nissan and those hidden rear door handles!
I don’t understand the current Toyota bubble that the 80s trucks are floating around in. I mean, I like them, but they’re nothing spectacular. Think it’s just a nostalgia thing?
Don’t feel bad, it fooled the person in charge of the BAT Instagram account. It was on their story as a 2 door for a bit, even though the listing said 4 door.
It’s not just 80s Toyotas, check out prices on FJ Cruisers. Frame rust issues have kept prices of 2000s Tacomas and Tundras down, at least in rust prone regions, but then you have to deal with frame rust.
Hey guys, since you liked them so much the photos are by Syd Cummings!
https://www.instagram.com/yourfriendsyd/
Followed, thanks. And she’s local to me and sometimes I need a photographer.
I’ve been down the road before. I honestly didn’t like the truck all that much. It looked cool, but it was quite slow and by far the most uncomfortable vehicle I’ve owned. But, If I had known they’d be going for these prices 7 years ago, I may have held on to it (I sold it for $1000).
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f8d164036e6a7c2673988a80c288d8604add87299b32567f39a1c0a6a4b5be98.jpg
I’ve only driven a like-year pickup that my high-school girlfriend’s family owned. I agree with your “cool, but slow and uncomfortable” point. Their truck was a 4-cylinder, so I guess I shouldn’t have expected much. I couldn’t ever get comfortable in it, and while I’m over average size (6’1″, 180), the tight cab made me feel like a giant. I always assumed that the 4Runner might have more travel on seat adjustment.
For me, it wasn’t the lack of seat travel, it was more it’s lumber wagon like ride quality out on the highway and the lumbar support that gave the seats a constant knee in your back feel. Trips over an half hour long were unpleasant.
Didn’t jalopnik just do a feature on the same truck, same photos, same basic story with just a different name?