Toyota Pickup Project

Thanks for all the personal stories about your Toyota's. If all goes well the project will be done next fall when I need it the most. One thing I forgot to mention was my truck has a camper shell as well. Jeff took it off a number of years ago but I may put it back on after some work to it. Never had one before but I think it will be nice for keeping gear dry and ready to go.

Eric
 
Awesome looking project there Eric. Any my 2 cents, I picked up a tonneau cover on my truck and love keeping gear out of the rain and readily available during season. Currently keeping my eye for a camper shell now because downside of current hard cover is I lose a lot of the benefits of a truck bed
 
Guys (and Dani),
I have a 92 Tacoma, only two wheel drive, with 130,000 on it. Bought it at 90,000. That was an education for me. To find an older Tacoma ("Taco") as they are called with under 100,000 miles on it, I had to range out 300 miles from my home on Hilton Head. It says something when so many of the older Tacomas for sale have 300-400,000 miles on them.

Mine is the little four banger and I have had absolutely no issues with it. Great, strong little engine.

I put a rack on it to go with a tool box. Amazing how much more versatile the rack makes that little truck. I can throw a kayak or canoe on the rack and still tow my 15' Whaler.

Here is a pic of the truck and my Old Town 119. That boat, it's versatility and light weight has led me to sell my kayak and Grumman canoe.

Fun stuff indeed!
Larry


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Larry Eckart said:
Guys (and Dani),
I have a 92 Tacoma, only two wheel drive, with 130,000 on it. Bought it at 90,000. That was an education for me. To find an older Tacoma ("Taco") as they are called with under 100,000 miles on it, I had to range out 300 miles from my home on Hilton Head. It says something when so many of the older Tacomas for sale have 300-400,000 miles on them.

Mine is the little four banger and I have had absolutely no issues with it. Great, strong little engine.

I put a rack on it to go with a tool box. Amazing how much more versatile the rack makes that little truck. I can throw a kayak or canoe on the rack and still tow my 15' Whaler.

Here is a pic of the truck and my Old Town 119. That boat, it's versatility and light weight has led me to sell my kayak and Grumman canoe.

Fun stuff indeed!
Larry
Click to expand...


Larry, you are breaking the rules and settling a bad example for the rest of us boat addicts. Larger/more expensive boats may be sold to finance new purchases or because our needs have changed, but canoes and kayaks are sacred and must be accumulated, even if that requires off-site storage to avoid the "no net increase in number of boats" rule that was imposed as a post-nuptial agreement. LOL!

Unfotunately, up here with winter salt on the roads, those old Toyotas usually rust out before they die, so we don't see them with much over 250K on them.
 
Late to this party but I thought I'd share, I had an 85 the same as yours but with the 22R vs. the RE. Those trucks really are dang near unkillable, one of the most solid pickup designs ever! Only thing that I wish I could change is that the overseas versions are all diesels-they weren't allowed to import a diesel into the US when they started selling them here so they developed the petrol version. They also made the solid axle version overseas up until the late '90's, early 2000 era. When I lived in New Zealand they were a really common farm, off-road and tradesman's truck, you could get a Diesel Hilux with a solid front axle, factory snorkel, and factory locking differentials for not a whole lot of money! BTW if you are interested in some great upgraded parts for your truck check out a company called Marlin Crawler, they specialize in off-road parts but also make beefier versions of a lot of stock factory parts.
 
Thought I'd give an update on the Toyota project. Since February I've been working to get the truck back on the road. Some of the big ticket items include new motor, new suspension, new exhaust, new tires, and a lot of little things, like getting all the gauges working. It kept adding up. Getting the new motor in and troubleshooting all the little things that had gone wrong over the four years she sat took considerable effort but I think I'm about there. You may recall the clogged catalytic converter and glowing red hot exhaust manifold episode I wrote about. Just last night I determined there was a partial clog in the return fuel line to the tank. I believe one of the mechanics who worked on it "solved" that issue by swapping the return with the vent line. That works fine until it gets hot and the tank pressurizes forcing gasoline to come squirting out the return line under the hood and onto the ground. That one has been giving me fits for weeks but I finally tracked down where the lines were "mistakenly" swapped and got to the root of the problem, debris lodged in the return line. A 160 psi blast from air compressor fixed that issue. I won't go into all the repairs I've made because my wallet starts to throb but let's say it has been both frustrating and rewarding. Dealing with mechanics who drag out repairs is frustrating. Getting things working correctly is rewarding. The truck now has cold A/C for the first time in over a decade so that sure is nice.

From the factory these trucks came with wimpy 28" tires. I put new 33" mud tires and to get the rpms back too spec I re-geared the axles to 4.88. Wow, what a difference in driving that made. She's quite zippy. Top speed isn't anything like today's 200+ hp trucks, but the 105 horsies under the hood will certainly get the job done.

Next step is the body work. I'm taking her in next week to start the cosmetic restoration now that the mechanical stuff is mostly done. Can't wait to get her back.

Eric



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Eric,
At times we duck hunters wonder at our own sanity due to what we go through get where we want to go.

I hope that at the end of the day, you reach the conclusion, "It was worth it!"

You are a persistent and talented man, brother. And also a wee bit poorer financially, but what the heck?

Larry
 
Larry

Thanks. I'm usually pretty good at estimating a project's cost but not this time. Blew it by a factor of two but I'm liking driving it and the direction it's going. I've had three people stop me and ask if I wanted to sell and several more just comment on how they love the old Toyotas. I expect I will own it for many years.

Eric
 

Just a suggestion.

ROLLBAR

I have seen more than one with oversize tires on it's side, or worse.


The 4-Runner came with one, and for good reason.

4-Runners came to Baltimore, MD as a pickem up, and then was converted to the 4-Ruuner. Installation should not be a major problem.

There will be times when you are glad the rollbar is there.
 
The Toyota Pickup restoration has just about come to a finish. All that is left is to build and install some 6x9 speakers and track down a water leak that is causing water to pool at my feet. When I started out I thought it would be the simple straightforward task of dropping in a new motor and fresh paint and carpet. It turned into a MUCH LARGER project. The outward appearance at the start was better than most trucks of 30+ years but this truck had more than its share of problems. Needless to say I am now an expert at tracking down parts for the 84-88, so called 2nd gen, Toyota trucks and 4Runners. I have no doubt Jeff would be pleased with the restoration job. I kept it stock for the most part except for some interior parts that are difficult to find, expensive, and will likely crumble if you do happen to fine one. This was the case with the center console and shifter bezel. I opted out of that foolishness and went with an ammo can for the console and added a sorely needed drink holder I welded together from scrap steel. I got Toyota beat on these two improvements. The door panels (ABS plastic is a wonderful substitute for rotting cardboard originals) are graced with handles from Steve Sanford and the pictures don't so them justice. A nice touch to a "duck truck".

On to the pictures.

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This is how she looked the day I got her from Jeff's dad. From this point she was trailered to a local repair shop along with a brand new motor that would replace the blown one. That shop took their sweet ass time replacing the motor. It was 5 months before I got her back. Never tell a shop they are working on a project because they will keep you at the end of the line knowing your vehicle isn't needed to get someone to work. When I got it back from this shop I drove it less than one hour and it died. I took it to a Toyota specialist who had it almost 2 more months. He, unlike the first shop, actually cared about doing the job right. His only delay was tracking down the right parts. Much of what the first shop did had to be re-done.​

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With the truck now back on the road it was time to work on the body and interior. I split the interior work with the body shop and they did all the body work. The body shop owner is Ricky Shaneyfelt from Owens Cross Roads. I have been a customer of his for years and he took it to a new level with this truck. He told me numerous times he was treating it like it was his truck and it shows. Thank you Mr. Shaneyfelt.
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Eric,
Now the thing that is of greatest concern is some idiot STEALING your trophy.

What a great looking refurbished 2nd generation Taco.

Congratulations,
Larry
 
That looks great Eric, that would be a great truck to tow the duck boat around, just right size for getting into the out of the way places. Would be a great grouse and deer truck for the north woods (or your south woods).

I?m in truck biggering stage of my life and getting bigger each purchase with the associated downsides too. I?ve been thinking how great it would be to have a truck like that for hunting around home, would be fun to build one up like that. Nice.
 
Carl, I like it way better than the original which had no room, was too low to lean on, and had no place to store drink. $12 upgrade. The ammo boxes in the bed are nice too. They are screwed to the bed and hold my jack and a bunch of tow and ratchet straps. Easy to get to yet very secure.

Larry, I don't even want to think about that. I've had a Benelli shotgun and a 25 hp Yamaha stolen in recent years. No more!

Tod, I still have my Tacoma and Thomas's Silverado for bigger needs but the Pickup is perfect for nearby hunting and weekly driving. With a four banger she's not exactly fast, but she can get in and out of places bigger trucks can't. Plus I try and travel light so this fits my style quite well.
 
What a beauty, you did a great job.

These were the trucks that made me fall in love in Toyota pick ups. I very happily drive a 2010 tacoma but would love to one day have a truck of this vintage to bomb around in.
 
Beautiful job Eric! Those older Toyota's sure do have eye appeal. I'm currently running a 2006 Tacoma ,5 speed, 4 cylinder with 388,000 plus on it. Original clutch and starter still. I have worked that truck harder than most big trucks get worked. Great vehicles. Enjoy and great pictures too.
 
Eric, that truck is now too nice to get all dinged and mudded up, but if you want to try, I can draw some lines on maps and direct you to some very remote north woods trout ponds or partridge covers. We can get some scratches from the overgrown spruce and fir on that nice new paint job, kick some mud and gravel into the clean bed, and, with luck, get you some boulders or stumps to test whether that lift kit was high enough. I guarantee we can find some mud to test out the tires.
 
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