Used Car of the Day: 1988 Toyota 4Runner V6

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Today's UCOTD is a project vehicle, no doubt. That said, someone who snags this non-running 1988 Toyota 4Runner V6 could end up with a delightful off-road rig if he or she has the time and money to get it all fixed up.


As noted above, this 4Runner currently doesn't run. The odometer says it has almost 268K miles on the clock, and the seller says the engine has about 70k miles on it -- and was rebuilt less than 5K miles ago.

Here's a partial list, directly from the ad, of what this vehicle has:

TG 5" lift kit
cross-over steering
ARB lockers front and rear
5.28 Yukon gears front and rear
chromoly axles
Square Driveline
35" tires Goodyear MTR w/Kevlar. Less than a couple thousand miles on tires but Runner has been sitting.
Cobra 25LTD CB radio
JVC CD player
Rear curved window is broken out of the removable top

The asking price for this California-based rig is $5,000. Click here if this sort of thing interests you.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

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2 of 17 comments
  • TheEndlessEnigma TheEndlessEnigma on Jul 06, 2023

    I enjoy the "engine rebuilt 5k miles ago" and "it doesn't run. probably needs engine work". The only this missing from this listing is "I know what I got".

  • Alan Alan on Jul 06, 2023

    Not worth buying a flogged out 4x4. I notice no rear mud flaps. I see this in the US often. Here in Australia instant defect notice.

  • Dartdude The global climate scam is a money and power grab. If you follow the money it will lead you to Demo contributors or global elitists. The government needs to go back to their original purpose and get out of the public sector.
  • FreedMike Miami is a trip - it's probably the closest thing we have to Dubai in this country. If you are into Lambos and the like, definitely go - you'll see a show every night. These condos fit right in with the luxury-brand culture - I'm surprised there isn't a Louis Vuitton or Gucci building. I was in Miami Beach in January with my fiancee, and we shared a lovely lunch that consisted of three street tacos each, chips and salsa, and two sodas. Tab: $70.00, with tip. Great town, assuming you can afford to live there.
  • Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh Pay money to be inundated in Adverts for a car that breaks when you sneeze? no
  • Laflamcs My wife got a new 500 Turbo in 2015. Black exterior with an incredible red leather interior and a stick! The glass sunroof was epic and it was just about the whole roof that seemed to roll back. Anyway, that little bugger was an absolute blast to drive. Loved being run hard and shifted fast. Despite its small exterior dimensions, one could pile a lot into it. She remember stocking up at COSTCO one time when a passerby in the parking lot looked at her full cart and asked "Will it all fit?" It did. We had wonderful times with that car and many travels. It was reliable in the years we owned it and had TONS of character lacking in most "sporty" car. Loved the Italian handling, steering, and shift action. We had to trade it in after our daughter came along in 2018 (too small for 3 vacationers). She traded it in for a Jeep Renegade Latitude 6 speed, in which we can still feel a bit of that Italian heritage in the aforementioned driving qualities. IIRC, the engine in this Abarth is the same as in our Renegade. We still talk about that little 500..........
  • Rochester If I could actually afford an Aston Martin, I would absolutely consider living in an Aston themed condo.
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