FYI Toyotafiberglass sells new side panels. All three of the panels in my '85 were seemingly toast...cracked, holes near the quarter windows, etc. I had some Vulkem 350/351 laying around from a boat project. I coated them with that and used metal backing across the holes. Seems to have worked great, made the panels fairly flexible again. But the Vulkem is expensive and nasty to work with, probably would have gone the fiberglass route if I'd known about it.
http://www.toyotafiberglass.com/Truck.htm

 

Thanks @OldBlueMidnight , I saw those fiberglass parts... kinda spendy though. At $350 for just the side panels - and they'd still need paint or covering, I'm keep that option as a last resort.

It kills me that there are likely lots (!) of these parts sitting in wrecked 2-wheel drive trucks just rotting in junkyards. I scoured the Sticky at the top of the page - calling used parts places. Most of the ones in that sticky are no longer in business though. It's a vintage sticky.

ACC carpet sells the same carpet by the yard. I may do what @Devildawg712 did. I like that it's only sorta permanent - can peel it off if I change course later. Just have to come up with a way to finish the carpet edges. Maybe I'll have to rely on a pro for this one.

 

Yeah I hear you about cost. I think the keyword in your post above about all the panels out there is "rotting"...mine were on the verge of disintegration, and probably anything you find will take some work. I think Devildawg's solution is a good one. That interior looks better than new. Definitely above my skill level. Interior guys are getting hard to find around here at least. My truck sat in a guy's shop for a solid three months, with him telling me weekly he was going to get started on it. Finally, after he started calling my 40 year old self "kiddo", I just let him know working with him was going to be way too aggravating for me, took my truck back, and found a guy halfway out of the business to rebuild my headliner and take care of a few other things. If you can find a good interior guy, that is a really good way to go.

 

A huge number of those trucks are not rotting in yards. They get towed mexico in the toyota caravan chains. They seriously flat tow like 2 rigs behind one and have all the beds full of parts. Thats one reason its getting harder to find old affordable toyotas. That and also there are a crap load of the GMT400 Chevys down there now as well.

 

@Manhattan Sorry. I somehow stopped getting notifications for posts on my thread. I'm supposed to pick up my 5x7 covers for my KC bumper lights next week. I'll ask them all those questions.

 

Couple more updates.

I made 2 more trips from the SF Bay Area to the Nevada County line for my roll bar and then again for my nerf bars. Scored a sweet deal for a rear Smittyblt bumper w/ built-in tow hitch and made literally %1000 (yes 3 zeros) profit.
I was able to sell the 6x9 KC HiLites and bout the correct 5x7's (Havent Mounted them yet.) Trying to decide if I'm gonna tap into the bumper or just buy those KC tube mounts.
Purists will probably not be a fan of what I've done with the bed, but I like it and that's all that matters. After cleaning it, sprayed it down with bed liner and then laid down some high-density nonslip 3M Marine Decking.
I got my 5th spare wheel and tire M&B and then mounted it on the bed in between the roll bar with an angled mount (lockable of course). I had to buy one more small roll to clean it up, but I like it.
I'm just about done. I just need to mount up my 5x7 KC's and then wire it all up. I'm sure I'll find something else to tinker on tho Mods are NEVER done. Here's some pics =)

 

Man that truck is looking great. I love that you found and are using vintage KCs. My daughter asked yesterday if we were going to put lights on the bumpers. I said maybe some "Hellas" to see her reaction. She said "Wait... that's actually a brand?" I told her that's where the saying came from - "it all started with 'Those are hella bright.'" I'm not sure if she believed me.

Did Toyota make/sell the roll bars back in the day? Where they a dealer-installed piece? Or, always aftermarket? They're definitely rare.

 

Thanks man. I don't think made OEM roll bars, but I can't be certain. Yea, I wanted to stay away from installing anything new or modern when it came to the gadgets so was scouring the net for new old stock lighting. Pricey, but worth it for me.

My extra roll off the 3M marine decking came and I went ahead and filled in the blacks. Needed to keep my mind busy after yesterday's heart breaker. Bolted in the Smittybilt Gastank mount while I was at it.

 

Can anyone point me to a document forum thread or video where there's a step by step DIY for an SR5 Gauge cluster (with tach) Swap? I can do pretty much anything when it comes to DIY, but I leave enginework to the experts. Seriously, I don't even know what the stock oil pressure sending unit looks like or where its located. This mod seems like or sounds simple enough. I know I gotta buy the appropriate oil pressure sending unit off an SR5, which I just took delivery today. The SR5 cluster is on order and should be delivered by this weekend. I saw LC Engineering's post on it, but it was pretty much just a write-up. I'm a dumb Marine and I literally need to watch or see something being done otherwise my ADHD gets the best of me=/. Any help would be much appreciated. So far I've pulled information from the attached youtube link and the screengrab from LC's page. (I hope that's ok with the fellas over there. And I'm hoping the sending unit I just got is the right one.

 

looks like pizza planet truck

 

Couple new updates.

installed the front 5x7 KC's but still waiting on my covers
Scored an sr5 Cluster from someone off craigslist and installed it yesterday. did the sender too, but the one thing didn't expect is for my speedo to not cooperate. I'm scouring the net right now trying to figure out a solution for that.

slapped on some vintage decals on the roll bar, which I think looks killer.

I'm exploring some period-correct foglights at the moment. Just not sure where/ how I'll be mounting.

@Manhattan hey brotha, havent forgotten about you. My upholsterer has been MIA for the last two weeks and I just stopped by his shop. Just saw that he had a note on the front door saying hed be gone for 2 weeks on vacation.

Here's some pics of her

 

Havent posted in a while so here's some updates.

I was able to unload the 88 sr5 cluster after determining that it was in fact not correct for my truck. I got lucky and sourced an 84 sr5 cluster with tach and now it works perfectly.

I installed a kenwood slimline sub that provides the perfect amount of bass for the cabin

7 inch Pioneer double din

KC Amber Fogs integrated as DRL/ and turn signals

wired up all the KC lights on the lightbar and front bumper with a custom toggle switch setup

Slapped on another 5 gallon gas can

I think I'm just about done with the mods. Kinda sad cuz I have nothing to do. I'm kind of getting antsy and want to start another project. I posted the truck up on CL and FB for a "unicorn trade". I'm pretty certain It wont sell for what I want so I'm not even gonna try to sell it. I'm hoping the "perfect trade is out there. Some dude with a 2nd gen sequoia who is recently divorced and wants to downsize. LOL. I'm actively looking for a nice Sequoia that needs to replace the entire front end as well. This is all so I can start my next build.-- (Sequndra)


Here's some photos/ eye candy

 

That's beautiful.

 

Nice.

Don't think many people are buying now.. But good luck

 

thanks

Yea, I'm not really trying to sell it. If the trade presents itself then it's worth looking into. But it would have to be one hell of a deal.

I forgot to mention that I finally parted ways with the camper shell. Somebody from LA drove up North to pick it up. Slapped it on his 85 SR5.

I turned down a ton of offers and I finally let it go. Happy it went to a good home.

 

Definitely looks like a good home! Great shots.

 

Welp, My local body shop made me an offer I couldn't refuse on the final piece to my build. I removed the body graphics and dropped her off to the paint shop. See you in a couple weeks.

 

Curious to hear how it turns out!

 

Welp. Shes a beaut! gotta wait a couple more weeks before the final cut and polish than I'll be ceramic coating it and laying down paint protection

 

Check out that 4x4! That's hot!