This is a video tour of the most FUN SUV ever built! 1998 Toyota Rav4 2 Door Convertible!!
We purchased it 2 years ago and restored it fairly extensively (parts cost exceeded $9k) and have enjoyed it immensely. These 2DR Rav4 SUVs are getting rare these days. They were only built from 1996-2000. Although the majority of them were built in 1996-1997 and featured a hard top. In 1998 the Convertible became available and had much higher sales than the hard top. The most rare Rav4 2dr is the 1998-2000 hard top with dual sunroofs with manual transmission and AWD / 4WD. I purchased that exact rare RAV4 but decided to sell it as we didn't have time to complete another restoration. It would have been an ideal candidate for the 2.0L MR2 Turbo motor swap which is a direct bolt in. 300HP AWD manual SUV weighing around 2,600lbs! Crazy!
Our RAV4 is a 2WD 5 speed manual transmission. The 2WD has slightly better gearing for hwy travel as the motor revs about 200 RPM lower in 5th gear. Also, the 2WD is lighter and has less drive train power loss. It is definitely more fun to drive than the AWD at least with the stock motor.
The soft top was getting worn so we removed it and purchased a Rally Top fiberglass hard top. Although most of the time it is topless. Plus the sunroof is fully removable which gives the ultimate open air driving experience.
Love to hear about your RAV4. Share in the comments.
#Rav4 #convertible #SUV
1 апр 2020
