Ok here's a little more light on the subject...
(Taken off of my clubs list from Jeff Jones)
Well I don't know much, but... he just bought a '04 4Runner w/V8 and
supercharger for a daily driver (pretty amazing little truck). He is trying
to take his construction company up a notch in terms of equipment and such
and decided that he could easily build another 80 any time he wants. I
think he's just looking to liquidate an asset or two that he doesn't need.
Don't know what his 80 plans are for the immediate future (other than his
wife's), but he bought a couple of wrecked commercial trucks (one for the
motor and the other for the chassis) and he is combining the pieces for one
good over-the-road diesel truck capable of towing all the crap he has to
move... Like backhoes, tons of lumber, etc... I think those may be his
"truck projects".
As for the truck, I've ridden in it numerous times and the sucker is FAST;
I'll give it that. I've never watched this truck work off-road but I would
imagine it would perform quite well. He built the turbo himself, installed
an electronic control system and, with the help of someone in Denver (Ben
Swain perhaps?) has tuned the controller and fuel system up to suit it. The
tranny is truly an Aussie imported 5 speed and installed complete with
Toyota factory console that came with manual trannies. The lockers in the
axles are ARBs.
The only question I would be sure to ask is the status of the check engine
light. Early on, various driving conditions with the turbo would cause the
ECU to throw a code even though nothing was wrong. You can adjust the turbo
on the fly and tinkering with it can cause some sensor readings to fall out
of normal ECU range. It seems like he got the whole system set up inside of
the factory sensor parameters now and that's not an issue any more... I just
don't remember. Being in Dallas (or any emissions county), it's worth
asking about. I was in it the most when he was "playing" with the turbo so
I'm not certain what "normal" is...
)
All in all I think it will make someone a great truck but probably needs to
be someone who likes to tinker and fuss with stuff. These kind of
owner-mods can be a nightmare for someone who expects to put a key in it and
just drive it mindlessly day in and day out. Not a thing wrong with the
mods, just the nature of the beast. If you didn't build it, then you have
to learn it and absorb it in order to maintain it. Toyota dealership isn't
going to be of much help...
)
JJJ
