I saw a clean 2wd mid-'80s xtra cab pickup for sale today and it got me to thinking that a truck like that might make a good donor for a 4x4 project. If I remember correctly the cab is identical to a 4x4, but I think the bed has smaller wheel openings/flares. I'm sure the front fenders are specific to the 2wd as well. Basically I'd be getting a nice clean xtra cab cab out of it. -- Matt

Front fenders have less of a flare to them.

The 2wd frames are great candidates for SAS's.
You'd have to fab a tranny crossmember tho, the 2wd's were weld-on.
also, rear axle is 5-lug.

Except for the amount of flare at the wheel wells, sheet metal is the same and interchangeable, as are lights, cab, glass, interior, etc. 2WD or 4WD, truck or 4Runner.

Heck, I have a 2nd gen 2WD cab and bed on a 1st gen 4WD frame. I strip out freebie 2WD's for spare parts frequently <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

The rear wheel wells are often usually smaller as well, though depending on the life it has had the bed could have been replaced. Back in late '80's when the mini sport truck was cool, a common swap was to use the 4x4 bed and fenders when running wide tires.

I've noticed some clean stock-like second gen 4x4 trucks selling for $4500 these days, which has me thinking , if you have a clean 4x4 frame here and a nice cab there, it's gonna be worth it to find some drivetrain parts and a suspension to put together, but all the stuff has to be clean/rust-free. Maybe there's a business in this <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Now we just have to get Cory to start making American style beds. -- Matt

If you can keep your cost(not sweat equity) to less than 1/2 he price you sell it for, it makes for a nice way of creating an extra cash flow. When I was restoring/selling them, I never spent more than $1500(purchase/fix/restore), and usually made between $1500-3k in profit. Unfortunately about 18 months ago the market for clean 2nd gen 4x4's here in CA kind of went tits-up. The last one I restored I sold for $2500(blue book price). I could have held out for more, but I hadn't had that much interest for the month it was listed. When A guy from Idaho came by and looked at and asked if I would take $2500 cash I didn't hesitate.