Rustys14
01-19-2020, 01:17 PM
Considering selling my Desert Runner restoration project and figured I would post here to see if anyone is interested. The truck is a pretty cool piece of Nissan history and I would love to see it go to a fellow Nissan enthusiast to finish up. The truck is a project but runs and drives well, it actually just passed VA safety inspection which is pretty strict last month, so it is legal for road use.
Backstory:
For those who don't know what this is, the D21 Desert Runner Edition is a factory Nissan 4x4 Prerunner that was sold by certain Nissan dealerships in 1988 to commemorate Nissan's success in off road racing. There were around 1000 of these trucks made (500 manuals and 500 automatics) and they are considered the holy grail of D21 4x4's. The trucks featured a reinforced frame, slightly modified suspension geometry for off road driving, and factory LSD as well as a a full complement of prerunner accessories and off road lights. Topping off the package was a very 80's red white and blue paint job. There are very few surviving examples and most have been stripped of all of their prerunner parts since they make the truck a bit impractical for daily use. This particular truck is one of the most complete examples I have seen and is only missing the sidesteps which are still available through 4x4parts.com.
I pulled this truck out of a field in Southwest VA where it had sat for years due to a wiring issue to the starter. As a result of being off the road for all of those years the truck has avoided the typical frame rot that east coast D21's develop and is one of the more solid examples out there. When I got the truck home I replaced the previous owners hacked wiring with an new OEM harness and it fired right up. I then went through and replaced everything needed to get the truck back on the road and through VA safety inspection. The replaced parts list is as follows:
Rebuilt front suspension with new Moog upper and lower ball joints
New 4x4 CV axles
Repacked front wheel bearings and rebuilt manual 4x4 hubs
Drained and cleaned fuel tank
Brand new Fuel hardlines
Maliciously replaced Brake hardlines in the truck, routed the same as factory
I also managed to source the factory cooler that came with the truck and fits the cooler rack in the bed
Parts included but not installed:
Gates timing kit and water pump
New air filter
Factory body pucks and bolts to remove body lift
LKQ replacement bed sides
Running and driving 1993 parts truck
The good:
Rare complete Desert Runner
Factory Prerunner front bumper
Factory Prerunner Rear bumper
Factory Bed Bars/Roll bar
Factory Cooler Mount
Factory Bed Mount Spare Tire Carrier
Rust Free Frame/Cab
Runs and drives pretty well
The Bad:
Needs paint, the truck had been spray painted white digital camo when I got it. I removed the majority of the spraypaint to reveal the factory paint job but the truck needs to be resprayed.
The truck is an east coast truck so the bed has the typical rust above the wheel wells. The majority of it is on the passenger side. I have replacement LKQ weld in bedsides to remedy this.
Has original shocks that desperately need replacement, they don't do much anymore...
Needs alignment after front bushing replacement. Pulls a bit to the right and steering wheel is off center now
Pics:
https://i.imgur.com/BHKAG4cl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uGICvPEl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bFnkNDNl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/exDz2gtl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tzU2RDBl.jpg
Also included with the sale is a 1993 parts truck. The truck runs and drives good but has frame rot and is no longer able to pass VA safety inspection. It was my winter beater until I took it off the road last year and bought the Runner. The parts truck has brand new tires and the wheels are the OE Lego wheels that came on the factory runners. It also has the factory LSD so there is some part out value for what you don't use. The truck was 5 speed swapped at some point in its life but still retains the lower automatic gears which I had planned to swap into the Runner to give it a little more pep.
Pics of parts truck:
https://i.imgur.com/MXqwxbMl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tt6pJFPl.jpg
Pricing on the Desert Runners is a bit tough, restored versions go for (relatively) big money but this one is only about halfway there so I'd like to get 6k for everything. Cash is king but I'm open to trades as well. Would really like to get back into an s14 but I'm open to pretty much anything. Feel free to shoot me a PM with any questions!
Backstory:
For those who don't know what this is, the D21 Desert Runner Edition is a factory Nissan 4x4 Prerunner that was sold by certain Nissan dealerships in 1988 to commemorate Nissan's success in off road racing. There were around 1000 of these trucks made (500 manuals and 500 automatics) and they are considered the holy grail of D21 4x4's. The trucks featured a reinforced frame, slightly modified suspension geometry for off road driving, and factory LSD as well as a a full complement of prerunner accessories and off road lights. Topping off the package was a very 80's red white and blue paint job. There are very few surviving examples and most have been stripped of all of their prerunner parts since they make the truck a bit impractical for daily use. This particular truck is one of the most complete examples I have seen and is only missing the sidesteps which are still available through 4x4parts.com.
I pulled this truck out of a field in Southwest VA where it had sat for years due to a wiring issue to the starter. As a result of being off the road for all of those years the truck has avoided the typical frame rot that east coast D21's develop and is one of the more solid examples out there. When I got the truck home I replaced the previous owners hacked wiring with an new OEM harness and it fired right up. I then went through and replaced everything needed to get the truck back on the road and through VA safety inspection. The replaced parts list is as follows:
Rebuilt front suspension with new Moog upper and lower ball joints
New 4x4 CV axles
Repacked front wheel bearings and rebuilt manual 4x4 hubs
Drained and cleaned fuel tank
Brand new Fuel hardlines
Maliciously replaced Brake hardlines in the truck, routed the same as factory
I also managed to source the factory cooler that came with the truck and fits the cooler rack in the bed
Parts included but not installed:
Gates timing kit and water pump
New air filter
Factory body pucks and bolts to remove body lift
LKQ replacement bed sides
Running and driving 1993 parts truck
The good:
Rare complete Desert Runner
Factory Prerunner front bumper
Factory Prerunner Rear bumper
Factory Bed Bars/Roll bar
Factory Cooler Mount
Factory Bed Mount Spare Tire Carrier
Rust Free Frame/Cab
Runs and drives pretty well
The Bad:
Needs paint, the truck had been spray painted white digital camo when I got it. I removed the majority of the spraypaint to reveal the factory paint job but the truck needs to be resprayed.
The truck is an east coast truck so the bed has the typical rust above the wheel wells. The majority of it is on the passenger side. I have replacement LKQ weld in bedsides to remedy this.
Has original shocks that desperately need replacement, they don't do much anymore...
Needs alignment after front bushing replacement. Pulls a bit to the right and steering wheel is off center now
Pics:
https://i.imgur.com/BHKAG4cl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uGICvPEl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/bFnkNDNl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/exDz2gtl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tzU2RDBl.jpg
Also included with the sale is a 1993 parts truck. The truck runs and drives good but has frame rot and is no longer able to pass VA safety inspection. It was my winter beater until I took it off the road last year and bought the Runner. The parts truck has brand new tires and the wheels are the OE Lego wheels that came on the factory runners. It also has the factory LSD so there is some part out value for what you don't use. The truck was 5 speed swapped at some point in its life but still retains the lower automatic gears which I had planned to swap into the Runner to give it a little more pep.
Pics of parts truck:
https://i.imgur.com/MXqwxbMl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/tt6pJFPl.jpg
Pricing on the Desert Runners is a bit tough, restored versions go for (relatively) big money but this one is only about halfway there so I'd like to get 6k for everything. Cash is king but I'm open to trades as well. Would really like to get back into an s14 but I'm open to pretty much anything. Feel free to shoot me a PM with any questions!