I think everybody has given you great advice on your situation. I definitely agree with those who have said to save and invest.

But hell, start small, practice your welding, in short time you will find it is not that tough and really rewarding knowing that you can burn steel. If you want to spend a little of that money burning a hole in your pocket, buy a nice little mig and maybe a bender. You could get a nice mig and a bender for under $1500 and when your buddies find out about your new toys, start bending tube for them, believe me they will pay you for your work.

I am a firm believer in doing your own work, this isn't rocket science. You will have a deep appreciation and understanding for the hobby and your friends will be jealous knowing that you can do it yourself. Plus, if your stuff breaks (which it will at some point), you will be able to fix it yourself, and with that experience you will make it better.

If you want to start a project, go find a front solid axle and rebuild it. You should know what goes on in there anyhow. Then go get the sas kit. Baby steps. Soon enough you will have that trail rig you and your Dad always wanted.

Good luck with your project.

 

go 63" chevy springs in the rear. way more comfortable and smoother ride. trust me. not to mention the amount of flex you get from them.

 

Sorry if I'm jumping out all off-topic and sht...

1989toy4wd-
You've got a lot of people here behind you, no matter what your choices, no matter how you decide to build your dream. You may have lost something, but you've gained something else. We may all have different ideas about how to do things, about what is best or not, about everthing for that matter...
but we will all help in the best way we can.

Best wishes to you.

 

I agree with abecedaurian and wabbit...

Here's my point. I'm a 32 year old guy. It doesn't seem like it's been that long since I graduated high school...whatever that means to you. I have had 2 kids, been married once, divorced once, and finally found the love of my life (which I honestly think that's true this time).

If I had $15K - 20K to throw away on my truck, with everything else going on in the world, I would DEFINTITLEY invest...maybe contact some investment guy who would do the thinking for me...and put maybe $5K (tops) into my truck. I'd have a sick truck...later on, a cool house...hot chicks wanting to come over...money in the bank...I'd go to all the cool rock-crawling events...again with the hot chicks...back to the cool house, of course, with more hot chicks...

You see where I'm going with this, right?

You can learn to do all this stuff yourself (it's really not that hard), go to harbor freight...get all the tools, cheap...read some stuff...do the work...and, make your dad proud!

 

the only reason i want to do it all at once is because, the truck isnt running and because it needs alot of suspension work. so i would be killing two birds with one stone. the truck motor burned alot of oil when it did run, a quart every three days. i also am going to buy some tools with the money cause i am going to school for automotive technology and dont have many. i was planning to pay off my moms house and buy it from her. and please excuse my spelling and punctuation im using my ps3 as my computer while in school.

 

i would love to find a shop somewhere and buy it and start doing this stuff on the side. i just miss my truck and my dad, but you guys are helping me a lot.

i never thought about buying a welder or bender though, thats a really good idea!

and the thing about buying my moms house, it really needs a lot of repairs, i really need to think about all of this

 

In that case buy a MIG welder and related accesorries to learn how to use them, maybe a Miller MIG 180. I have taught myself how to weld in less than 2 months, I am getting better and am building small parts that don't affect safety, such as a SAS. As per the house, it will build equity, the truck won't, at all, so fix it and get the truck running.

 

i am really, really sorry man.

 

I'm very sorry to hear about your dad. I'm 19 and I know going out and spending money on toys is much more fun than saving and investing but thats really probably the right thing to do, go ahead and do the swap and wiring harness to get it running and then move on a piece at a time. Buy some property and build your self a shop/apartment/house. Thats what I plan to do in the next few years here.

 

Agreed.

Sorry about your loss... but I think it's a good move to post your thoughts and take input on what next steps to take moving forward.

If you are into automotive fab and mechanics (which it sounds like you are), spending money now on tools and learning how to use them will be a wise investment for the future.

Think how many rigs you can build once you get the fundamentals under your belt.

 

Sorry about your father. That is way too young to go. I am farely new to this site but have found that you can get some good advice here.

my 2 cents - I lost my father to brain cancer in 1999 at the age of 57. I didn't get the LI or any other $ because it went to his wife. However, I had a desire to go spend money on something. I thought at the time it was the right thing to do but now realize spending big bucks on some material object to make me feel better was not a good investment. I'm not going to stick my nose in your business but just tell you what my experiece was. When you lose someone close to you most people go out and buy themselves something expensive. I did, other people I know did. It is not the smart thing to do. If I was in your shoes I would give it some time and see how you feel 6 months from now. If you do decide to build this Toyota -Start slow and make sure your future is secure. Trust me- I'm 40 with 2 kids, house payment, 3 vehicles, saving for college. I would love to have the $20k I spent on a ski boat after my father died. I bought it just because growing up my family use to hit the lake in our boat every good weekend so I thought it would be nice to boat the same lake my father use to boat on. I thought it was a good idea at the time. Nothing depreciates faster than a boat- Plus living in Maine you never have enough sunny days to get your money worth out of it.

My other thought- I just built up a 2000 4runner. I had someone install the suspension because I didn't have a coil compressor. I had someone weld me up a rear bumper. I gave him the concept I was looking for. I installed the new yellow top, winch cables, undercoated the truck, I made and installed the tire roof rack. I bought and installed the front bumper and skid plates. I have spent hundreds of hours researching and working on this truck. I do not have the time, money or tools to spend on the mods you are talking about. Most don't. I don't have the technical knowledge either. What I'm getting at is -don't let anyone shame you into doing mods to your truck that are over your head. I trust you want this truck to turn out nice. You know your limits- so I would do what you can and get help where you need it. I myself would like to see the finished product and really don't care how you get there. Goodluck with whatever you decide and again- Sorry about your father.

 

I wouldnt spend all that money at one time. Like others have mentioned get it up and running first. I can see doing an engine swap to get it running. But then make the modifications along the way. It gives you a chance to learn how to wheel and make modifications you need and not want. That way you can have some of that money sitting in a CD building interest or maybe even a mutual fund. sounds to me you should be taking advice from someone who knows how to invest or manage money rather than modifing a truck.

I am sorry to hear about your dad and Im do not know what it is like to loose a family member like that but Im sure if you dad wanted 15-20k dropped in that truck all at once he would have done it himself. So be smart and let Interest from a bank pay for all your mods and not you

 

Secure a house soon while the market is ripe for buyers and then fix up the truck.

 

Hey 1989,

I'm sorry to hear about Your Loss.

If Your looking for Advice, Here's some....Do what You can For Your Mother....

As far as the truck, Do what ever the hell You want to........Your already 1/2 Your Father, He lives on thru You! So You already Know what to do.

Kiwi

 

well thanks guys i have been thinking a lot, and i am going to do some things to the truck just dont know what yet. but i think i am going to pay off my moms house. and put some money down on another house too, and either live in it or rent it out. cause the market is so good now. the only thing is, i think the foundation is cracked in my moms house.

 

1989toy4wd:

PM me sometime. I have 6 years experience in real estate, and I'd be very happy to talk to you about what's going on with everything there in your life. No worries, man!!!!!! You'll get everything taken care of, no problem!

 

Where has that guy been??? He hasn't wheeling that thing in years. Sweet rig though.

I'm running 40's on Toyota axles. So far so good! I've had 4 runs on them, 3 of them on very tough Colorado trails. Stay out of the skinny pedal in double low and you'll be fine

Sorry to hear about your dad.