Here's the situation, guys. I've been talking about trading my red trooper to a buddy for his 97 camry for a while. Straight up trade, he wanted a 4x4, I wanted a DD. Well, now he's just gonna give me the camry and he doesn't want the trooper. Pretty good deal, but funds are very tight right now, and I can't afford to insure and maintain 3 vehicles. Here's what I got:

88 2.6 Trooper ~178k, rebuilt bottom end at 90k, A/C, no other options. hacked up on 35's right now, needs some work to run really good (injector o-rings, probably a head in the next 6mo's-the stocker has been through 2 head gaskets with previous owner) and to look good, I would need to at least put some decent fenders on it and give it a paint job (can do myself). Paid for.

90 3.4 Trooper LS prob 150k+ on everything but the engine, power windows, doors, good stereo, armrests, cruise, A/C, etc. Getting a d44 front right now. needs different injectors in the tb, runs rich, trans needs some work (have donor, no prob) but other than that, not much. Still paying for it, owe PO about $900 (luckily we are friends, and he knows my situation!)

97 camry 4cyl, auto, <130k, a/c, cd, 4dr, rides good, 32 mpg hwy, etc. there's a big dent in the rear 1/4 panel from buddy losing it in the snow and clipping a hydrant. interior has cig burns everywhere <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> but it's still comfy and drives great.

One option is to sell the 88 troop. I would have to spend some time and money to get anything for it, and I don't know that I could get much for it even after getting it straight and running good. keep building the 90, dd the camry.

Another option, I could sell my 90 to my older bro, pay off the PO, then put the d44 under the 88, DD the camry.

Another option, Sell the camry. I could still get a pretty good chunk of change for it, pay off the PO of the 90 troop. What I would do in this situation is switch the 90's fenders, seats, doors (with the power windows and locks), and cruise (if possible) with the 88's, fix the 88's idling issues, throw on some smaller tires, and dd it. I could get about 20mpg around here, have 4wd if I need it, plenty of space, and a comfortable truck. I would build the 90 to beat on, give em both a paint job, and voila, a nice trooper dd, and a powerful trail troop beater.

What do you guys think?

Just thought of another scenario, take both troopers off ins, swap all the options to the 88 from the 90, and just drive the camry until that is done. then sell the 88 with all the good stuff, get a decent amt. Only problem with that is the lack of $ I have coming in right now, it will take longer to pay off the 90. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

sell me one of the troopers <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

With the way gas is right now, i would think that selling the 88 would be a no brainer. I would daily drive the camry (97? That really seems fairly new. They go forever....) Use the little bit of money from the sale of the 88 to pay for the 90.
Thats just what i would do...
-J <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

MacD, I would love to sell ya the 88, but you'd have to be ready for some work to get it reliable! In a few weekends time, I could fix what needs fixing to get it idling and running decent again, but even then it is not that pretty! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

J, I'm definately taking that into consideration.

Mac, notice Paul's avatar...Sawzall Solves All! How much lift are you running now, paul? at one point, i thought it was 1.5" with the 35's...that still about right?
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />
-J <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

more like .5" now -- but it really needs to come up about an inch or so. I did a ball joint flip with this minimal amt of lift and my camber is crappy now wearing the outside edges of my tires, and my shackle angle out back is too flat (moved the mount forward more than necessary when i did the flex-joint hangers), so I'm gonna throw on some longer shackles and crank the front to fix that. one tire is getting pretty bad, but the others are ok, 1/3 tread or so.

but I will let it go cheap!!!! macD if you are still interested, pm me so this thread doesn't get closed.

I would just get rid of the 88 as is...whether that means taking a couple hundred bucks for it or even donating it to charity, then roll in the Camry and fix up the 90.
How much is your time worth?

Sell the 88 for whatever you can get, use that money to help pay off the 90, and cruise around in the high mpg Camry.



Actually, I changed my mind. Use that money to buy lottery tickets, then win, and put the 90 on 49" iroks <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

I would sell the camry because it is the one that is going to be easiest to sell, and will have the most resale.

You might see the camry as the most reliable, but sometimes the vehicle "most reliable" is the one you can troubleshoot, fix (with tools you own) and put back on the road with cheap parts quickly and easily. Ever work on a car before? snug under that hood.

I would then DD the 88 and build up the 90. Then get a parts trooper for the backyard. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

also where are those progress SAS pics!!