Although I have had this truck nearly a year now I have not posted any pics of it on the forum. After I sold my 80, I made the mistake of perusing Craigslist for Toyota 4x4s to see what was out there. Well, I found this rig and made another mistake of going to look at the rig. I expected to find an old cobbled together rat trap of a rig that was probably going to strand me with a complete stranger during the test drive (that has actually happened before). Instead I found the truck to be owned for 27 years of its life by one meticulous owner who took the truck to Marlin Crawler to have it built. Marlin installed 4.88s front and rear, a dual T-Case setup (4.7s), front and rear lockers, lift, etc. I even found the original receipt, hand written, from Marlin. The undercarriage was devoid of any leaks and the engine bay was completely stock and unmolested. On top of this, the rig appeared to have never seen rocks as there was no evidence of it under the rig. I paid the guy the $2800 he was asking, put it on the trailer and drove it home. When I got it home I realized it needed a tune so I took it over to Jay at Yotamasters. Jay had it running great in less than a day. With the addition of catalytic converter, it passed smog which was a big concern for me. The sun has not been kind to the paint over the years, but besides that the age of the truck has not diminished its functionality. I have taken it to Truckhaven a few times and as of a few weeks ago, Big Bear. I realized after the first couple trips that it will need some tweaks to maximize its off road potential. For example, the front DS contacts the cross member due to the dual case setup which stunts the articulation and is ruining the DS. The shocks have almost comically short travel which also limits the trail performance. The truck has 33s on it in the pics but I recently put 35s on it in anticipation of upcoming trips. Anyway, on to Big Bear. We ran Gold Mountain and John Bull. Gold Mountain was close to what I remembered from a year ago with the exception of a few ledges that have become larger due to people spinning the tires at the base of the incline. John Bull, on the other hand, was more difficult than I remembered. The “Gatekeeper” on John Bull was much more deserving of its name than in previous years in my opinion. There is a well traveled line through it but it threatens your diffs constantly. Of course, I made the choice of taking the harder line. I was smacked down numerous times by the round boulders covered in dirt that had the consistency of talcum powder before finally making it through. Only the ego was bruised but I will return!!
. Thats why I was surprised to find this truck in the condition it was. Every now and then good stuff pops up. I'm not sure if you have comp access during the day but the "early bird gets the worm" mantra is definitely true on CL. The good stuff goes fast.
