My father and I inherited an 85' 4Runner from his father figure and we've spent the last year and a half rebuilding it. I didn't realize how rare and sought after it was until stumbling across all the forums and media hype around it.
*stares in third gen* Dear god. This has to be one of the rarest 4runners in the US. And the shape it's in for the age is insane. There was obviously a lot of love (and money) invested into this truck. Good on the owner.
I owned an 88 xtra cab for 7 years. Basically the same from the cab forward. While the interior was snug, it was very ergonomical. Everything was very close within reach. It like an aircraft cockpit to me. Also, this was an excellent video!
This is just sick! Toyota intentionally only made 2000 turbos. They probably could have sold more but they decided only to make 2000. The SR5 Pickup was also available with the turbo option from 1985 to 1987 in 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive form. I wonder if it's worth more with the manual swap since it is a Toyota setup. This was the precursor to the 3.slow V6 (which replaced the turbo in 1988)and they go for good money on BAT. I notice this one doesn't have the top stereo for the '86 4Runner though. Regardless, this is an awesome truck and this the best review I have seen on this truck on RU-vid.
I have a base model 87 Toyota pickup and I can attest to the 22R being that slow. It's not too bad around town but whenever I take it to the mountains and am up around 8,000 feet I'm limited to 2nd gear and about 25 mph. Amazing trucks though, extremely reliable and will get you where ever you want to go!
i know i almost bought an 1992 4runner with the 4cy and that thing could barley get out of its own way especially on the freeway! im glad i bought my 1994 f150 5.0 5 speed 4x4 instead i still get 18mpg but it will actually move when it has to even at 1 mile up.
I love it! I have a white 1986 Turbo 4runner in beautiful original condition. 248k miles and the interior is near mint. The original owner kept it for 30 years. Great review of a very rare Toyota.
Nice 4runner, I have a rust free 1985 Toyota 4runner SR5 with the 22re and standard transmission, have 35's on it with 5:29 gears and lifted 4 inches... great trucks.
A great alternative to this was the Nissan Pathfinder, especially with the 3.0 L V6 offered. I know they made Turbo Diesel versions too but i never saw one
Talk about a trip down memory lane. I remember visiting a Toyota dealer in late 1986 and my dad was looking at purchasing a 87 Land Cruiser. A truck pulled up with a few of these 4Runners and the dealer reps were stoked to see this awesome truck. Too bad they only made this style for a couple of years, which I didn’t realize until I watched this video. My dad did purchase a tan 87 manual Land Cruiser and had it until 2004. He got out it out the door for $17k. This was one of only three they had on the lot. Traveled as a kid three times cross country in it. I’d still take one of these 4Runners today if mileage wasn’t too high. I currently own a grey ( just like this color) 2011 RAV4 V6 with 71k miles. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for the great video!
Fun fact: to this day, this is the ONLY 4Runner ever offered with a turbocharged gas engine, and is still the smallest engine fitted to a USDM 4Runner. The 22R-TE was created as a stopgap for the 3VZ-E V6. These little turbo engines could've made wonders in the Celicas of the time, reworked with an intercooler and a better injection system, but then again, they would've been knocking on the Supra's door.
“You may not remember that Toyota produced a turbo 4 runner” Yes. That’s because I was 2. Edit: I have to watch this with my blinds shut because if my 86 non turbo 4Runner sees me watching it I’m sure I’ll be in all kinds of trouble
Man... that thing is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! 100% my favorite vehicle ever. I have an 87 Turbo in the garage.... It needs some love but it has pretty much no rust!!!! Needs a turbo replacement / upgrade as the stock one is worn out. I like what you did to yours. My head gasket popped (somewhat typical 22re) and the water passages at the head had surface issues so I got an OEM along with a good quality head gasket. I loaned it to a friend someone pulled out in front of them. Not bad but the left front corner got the damage. Nothing structural but it was totaled so I bought it back from the Ins comp. I need to get off my butt and get it going. I have replaced the fender but still need a bumper, grill, headlight bucket, turn signal. Easy to find really. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B1MAE9og9sg.html I wish it had a 5 speed and in the long run I would love to convert it. Hopefully soon it will at least run again.
I graduated HS in 1990 in Tallahassee. My best friend's mom bought a 1988 V6 4Runner brand new, as soon as they were available, for her business. When she wasn't using it for work, she let us have it. We took that thing all over the Apalachicola national forest, both in muddy off-road areas and hauling butt and occasionally drifting down very wide, red clay logging roads. Usually, that stuff was at night. She also let us take it to Panama City Beach through weeks and weeks of high school and college spring breaks, where taking the top off made it the ultimate cruiser up and down the main drag. Every once in a while, I'm tempted to try to find a first gen with a good body and restomod it.
The digital dash is very cool, and styling on the 1st gen makes this one a real beauty. Manual swap is a nice upgrade.. The turbo is a great feature but only adds about 30 HP, so still less than the 3.0 V6.
I've had Toyota trucks with the 22R carbureted, EFI and EFI turbo, and also with the V6 3.0; I can say that the power curve (hp and torque) is better in the turbo than the V6, and with a few upgrades the turbo will be beside the 3.4 V6 engine power.
Love your videos, Keep em coming! My 99 4Runner has 260k and counting, I also have a hat from 1986 to 1989 with Toyota’s ad slogan at the time, “Who could ask for anything more”
I drove a 4Runner automatic turbo. Yes it was faster than the n/a. I see why Toyota put a turbo light on the dash. You could barely feel the turbo. I also drove an extra cab turbo automatic and a turbo 4x4 pickup turbo 5 speed.
I have 2 Yotas, 85 4x4 SR5 X- Cab fully loaded with all options. Solid axle EFI 22RE. 89 4x4 first gen same color like the one in the video. V6 all rebuilt SR5 loaded 5 spd. Really love driving the runner the manual trans actually make the truck move out pretty good.
Ethan, Nothing says purpose-built, serious 4x4 like a two door. Toyota still makes several of them but refuses to sell them in this market. BTW how long do we have to wait for a Cressida wagon to appear on your channel?
Not realistic to buy one today unless you have a lot of $$$ and very resourceful. Parts hard to find. Old plastic becomes brittle even where it counts like on injector connectors. Turbos engines run higher temps so life of engine is minimal compared to 22re non turbo. Great truck before everything became electric like transfer case shifters-mechanical shifting feels strong n reliable. Expensive project for the enthusiasts not the avg joe. Way better on hwy than stock 22re and bigger rear axles on turbo 22re. Got to be good at after-market and custom solutions with this one.
Nothing “crazy” about it. CAFE standards (forced change by government), coupled with economic downturn (2008 recession), meant smaller displacement engines, hence the resurgence of the turbo. In the 90s with the dot com boom, everyone had money and gas was $1, hence larger displacement and therefore who needs a turbo?
I own two 1986 4x4 Toyota Turbo Extra Cab SR5 pickups. Both are automatics. Everybody bags on the auto's, but I'm here to say that they work better that the 5 speeds (which I have owned). The auto's keep that turbo in boost, especially in the sand. The 5 speeds fall flat. Beautiful 4Runner by the way!
Very nice. I prefer the 85 straight axle efi. The turbo is cool but the straight axle is cooler. Very nice runner tho. I have a second gen 4runner 2door 3.4 swap and straight axle.
These are a beast! i own a 87 1st gen. its a working restoration project and it still turns head, finger pointing and notes on the windshield asking to buy it. They fun as hell to drive. i bought mine fairly cheap in 2017 but ive seen the price in the go up alot lately and its not slowing down.
I have a white with brown interior 1986 4runner turbo, I don’t think they only made 2,000 of them, way more for sure, but very rare undeed, ive had mine for 11 years and only want more of them 😎💪🏻 turbo pick ups came in 2wd/4wd manual/automatic configurations, the ultimate toyota 4wd transmission ever built was the R151f, and it only came in turbo 4wd pick ups, for every 10 turbo 4runners Ive seen over the years, Ive seen only 2-4 factory turbo pick ups
You can do my 2005 Scion XB in Rhode Island or my 2010 Scion XB or my 2019 Honda Passport, all located in Little Rhody....I know you go to Mass allot. Please let me know
I had a 1985 Toyota Pickup SR5 Turbo, bright red. Xtra cab, power windows, sunroof the works. I redid the entire truck throughout high school. Put a big turbo, injectors, rebuilt the bottom and top end of the motor, head studs forged internals the whole thing was amazing. I sold the truck and it has been the biggest regret of my life. I miss that truck and loved driving it more than any vehicle I own now
imagine going back in time and buying as many as you could. putting them in vacuum sealed storage containers then going back to the future so you could have and sell them in new condition for 10x what you paid haha
Great video- thanks so much! I I nherited a Turbo from my son, who passed away last year. Rebuilt the turbo, and it is a joy! I think maybe one reason these all came with automatic instead of stick is that the boost doesn’t fall off between shifts as it accelerates. It is a wonderful vehicle.
I have a 1989 SR5. Unfortunately I decided to do the solid-axle swap which then made it too tall for me to get in and out of easily due to physical conditions /limitations. I was told it would raise the truck about 3 in instead it made it about 7 in taller then it was stock. I really enjoyed driving it but like I said it's just too tall.. Long story short, it will shortly be going up for sale. Just not a big fan of the newer cars because they have no character or soul.
I sold it. Went out and bought a 2005 Tacoma. Well it's nice to drive an automatic and something that's lower to the ground that I can get in and out of much easier, the retarded drive-by-wire throttle just sucks! You smashed the pedal wait three and a half seconds before the vehicle decides to move forward so you'd better plan to pull out into heavy traffic moving at a high speed long before you actually want to pull out. It's due for a transmission oil change. But of course to even do such a thing requires f****** a degree in rocket science. Yeah it's straightforward you dump the oil out replace the pan gasket and all of that like normal. Go ahead and refill it kind of like normal. But after that is where all the goofy s*** starts. The vehicle has to be on level ground and the transmission has to be at a specific temperature not too hot and not too cold. A very narrow window to be specific. Then and only then can you actually check to see if you have enough fluid in there. If it gets too hot you have to wait till it cools down if it's not hot enough you got to go drive it a little bit longer. I'm sure there's about a thousand other issues that I haven't figured out quite yet.
One of most badass truck After.... fantastic 😍😍😍 I'm in love I'm proud Owner of Tacoma and a FJ cruiser always wanted a 4runner.... But one day I'm going to have something like This....🤩🤩🤩
Family friend of ours at church had one of these growing up. Remember their son taking me home in the snow in it. That was a lot of fun, or he made it fun. Plus I was mesmerized by that dash.
Wow it's cool to see a turbo 4Runner still on the road. I'm old enough to remember when the gen 4Runner was new. I've only ever seen 1 turbo model in person. That was back in the mid 1990s. It makes me wonder why Toyota never offered the RA64 Celica GT-S with the 22R-TE
This makes me sad. Ten years ago I sold my 1987 4Runner. It was white with silver graphics, auto with 22RE. I bought it in 2011 for $800 and it was in excellent shape except for minor fender damage. I installed a small lift and 33s, and would take it offroading in the Utah mountains. The only thing I didn't like was the auto trans. I had previously owned an '86 single cab with the five speed and it was much more capable, and fun. I sold the 4runner for $1300... Damn I wish I could find another for that! The last ten years have changed the auto market so much.
I am original owner of a 1989 first gen 4Runner SR5 3.0 and my title reads STATION WAGON!!! back in the 90's my insurance tried to raise my rate and were calling it an SUV. After debate they challenged me to prove it and it I was wright they would drop my rates back down. I went to their office and BOOM! they dropped my rates.
A little late to the party. Love the old 4Runners. I own an '87 which has a Custom lift so it can sit on 42" tires :D ..... Also has a Chevy 350/350 swap.
Got to love and respect the '80s. Toyota basically upgraded the Hi-lux to what you refer to as a SR5 and the 4Runner. Today, the Hilux now shares a platform with the Fortuner. Greetings from 🇿🇦🙏🏾
If a person had the space, I think it would be fun to collect eighties model dashboards. After (mostly) bland and uninspired seventies instrument panels (I mean, how many ways can you re-package a horizontal sweep speedometer, gas gauge and smattering of warning lights?) the designers really started getting creative in the eighties. The Japanese manufacturers were typically at the fore, but the domestics weren't far behind. I daily drive an '85 Cougar, and that generation had three completely different instrument panels available. A full analog dash for the turbo XR-7, a standard dash that was a weird mix of digital, analog and warning lights, and a fully digital dash for higher trim models. Something for everyone!
I daily drive an 87 NA 22RE 4runner on 33X12.50s. it will go nearly 80 miles an hour XD Im gonna do a 1UZ And the V6 in the first and second gens is a hot pile of garbage
Should reach out to @blackflag_t4r on Instagram. He has a bad ass 3rd gen 4Runner turbo’d. Custom built by the owner. Would be a cool follow up video to this one! Think he’s in Bozeman
I can't tell you how much nicer it is to explore around off-road in one of these tiny, narrow trucks instead of ANYTHING NEW. All the new trucks are about 50% wider than the old Japanese trucks, and so most 4x4 trails you literally just don't fit on the trail. You will be scraping all the paint off the sides of your fancy, $50k new truck on every shrub and low tree branch, you can't see out and down, you can't see behind you, you can't see around the 8-inch wide A-pillars in your face, and when you're on those really technical trails, you can't see the corners of your own vehicle so you can't really place your tires accurately over obstacles like rocks, ruts, tree roots, etc. When you're in one of these old small trucks, offroading just works.
My brother owned an old 4Runner like that about 18 years ago and I’ve got a lot of memories including that truck. We lived in it for a while and that thing was very well loved for a very long time until eventually my brother regrettably had to sell it which he’s told me looking back on it he greatly regrets doing that.
I have had some Toyota trucks, rigth now I'm in the rebuilding/restoration process of my 86' XtraCab SR5 turbo 4x4 one; from more than 30 years ago I was dreaming about to get one of this, it's not easy to find a good one with a reasonable price.
In Iceland we soon realised the number one, off road vehicle wasn’t Willy’s or Bronco nor Land Rover but Toyota Hilux and of course Landcruiser ‘ 4Runner wasn’t on the list.Hilux because it’s light and relatively easy too put on big wheels for glaciers and glaciers rivers
I owned an early (#138) 1984 4runner, solid front axle , 22r, it was loaded with every option. It was so under powered that I sold it. But it was obviously tough. I would never want it back again.
in New Zealand we got JDM used 4 Runners. they were mostly 2.4 turbo diesel. Quite possibly the slowest most unreliable engine ever to come out of Toyota. the petrol 22r was a rocket in comparison. The turbo diesel would blow up without notice and were very expensive to fix.
The Turbo was a Crappy Engine. Anything Turbo form the 80's was a crappy thing to own. Esp if you had put some miles on it. Headgaskets where always an issue and weak point. That is why no one wanted one or ordered one. Now We're in todays day with Turbo everything returning and Crappy Turbo issues are abundant once again.
Hello Road, love the 4Runner. I have an 86 model, recent paint job (original) and I'm looking for odds and end parts like interior trim that goes on the sliding glass windows and other parts. I have searched high and low on the internet, over the phone to no avail. If you could offer any help I sure would be grateful. Yours is almost a spitting image of mine 🙂
Man this 4runner is dope! Last year I got my first toyota product ('16 scion iM 6 speed) and it's the best and funnest car I've ever owned, not the fastest thing but the handling is great! Awesome video as always.
