calebintn

I have bought this 81 4x4 4spd truck and I am supposed to pick it up tomorrow.
Please take look at the pictures & give your opinions or point out red flags.
Truck has been painted, no rust, looks like a weber on it & has either a little over 100k miles or 200k (more likely), a/c not working, supposed to be no leaks.
Keep in mind the truck is wet from driving in the rain

HighLux

Looks nice. How much?

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Can't tell if it has a Weber or not from the pics.
Not sure what you paid for it but overall it looks to be a nice truck. Not sure why they would have painted part of edge of the transfer case.
Not a lot of trucks still have the stock front skidplate

Edit- since the AC doesn't work I would pull the ac belt...

83

Looks really nice. Someone has either kept the engine very clean, or did some serious cleaning right before selling it. You can see where they've cleaned gunk/oil off. Not necessarily anything to worry about at all. The photos make it look like it's in very good condition. But we really can't tell much from photos, other than the fact that it's clean, and seems not to have been abused or neglected, so that's a good thing.

So really, it's just a matter of whether it was worth whatever you paid for it. You don't need to tell us, that just means we can't tell you if you got a good deal or not. In the end, if it's in good shape, and it was worth, to you, what you paid for it, then you did ok.

83

My guess, unless certain things have been replaced, is that it only has a little over 100,000 miles on it. By 150,000 or so, the brake and clutch pedal are getting seriously worn.

But those can be pretty easily replaced. Still, the dash looks nice, and the seat and interior doesn't seem very worn, so I'll bet it's not crazy high mileage.

83

Mine does!

Discombobulated

Looks pretty wonderful to me

calebintn

ok guys sounds like I am going to do alright.
I will be $3,300.00 cash and all day truck and trailer drive to get it.
I have owned many toyotas including a 2wd 81.
I just want a dependable trash hauler and weekend ride, but dont want a ton of maintenance.

red1983

iTrader: (1)

I think that is a decent deal, I paid about the same for a very good condition '83, and drove all day to get it. The one I am buying now is much rougher for $1000.

83

Yeah I guess it depends on where you live. It wouldn't go for that much here, but I'm sure Tennessee is a whole different deal.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

That sounds about right for TN. I live there(here) and they typically go for that much. What part of TN are you in?

I also have a front skid plate but its not on ATM.

calebintn

Well here is an update, I loaded the truck & trailer then drove 3 1/2 hrs to get there. The truck looked really good as I pulled in the drive but as I walked up the paint looked like it was applied with a garden sprayer with runs everywhere and cracked bondo in the tailgate. The entire truck was rust free except for one seam in the bed. The bottom of the truck had fresh oil everywhere from a leak somewhere. The interior was decent with a recovered seat, dash cover not original, rubber floor not original, entire fan vent under dash was missing, heater controls didn't work properly and lastly a huge hole where a radio once resided. Under the hood there was a thin coat of oil everywhere from a leak I could not find. The truck sported a weber carb and started right up with chunks of muffler blowing out of the tailpipe. (original exhaust)
The truck drove reasonably good but lacked the power it should of had.
Over all its a great candidate for a restore. I told the gentleman that I really liked the truck but could not justify the $3,300.00 price, he turned around and walked back inside.
I expected to negotiate but obviously he did not. I felt that the truck was truly worth about $2k but being a toyota head I knew that I would go $2500.00.
Oh well I will keep looking I really hope I find the right truck.

calebintn

Oh yeah I am near Watertown, TN

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

OK yea that's about 4 hours from me. I don't think that truck was worth that much but then again it was almost rust free. My truck was my grandfathers and it came from the mountains of east Tennessee and it had a lot of rust. I can keep an eye out for trucks here in Memphis if your interested. There is a 2wd here that looks pretty good for $1300.

83

I hear you! That was probably a good decision.

BUT. I will say. A 30 year old truck for a reasonable price is only going to be so nice. I think you made the right decision on this one as some things didn't add up. But expect, with a truck this old, that there will be a lot wrong with it. No matter what you buy, it's going to be quirky and need some work. These are old trucks.

So be smart, but expect that anything you look at of this vintage is going to have some issues.

crazytexan

iTrader: (1)

Glad you stood your ground and even drove home empty handed. I have a hard time working with people when I buy stuff. I feel like a low baller even though its logic. And when I have to travel to get it I have only one time been able to walk away from a vehicle, and drove even further to the next, so I wouldnt have to go home with nothing.

calebintn

yeah you have be tough, i wanted it though.
The search continues

cman1

iTrader: (1)

im always leary about JUST PAINTED!! you can hide a lot with fresh paint.sometimes you just gotta leave your number with an offer...and sometimes theyll call,sometimes ya gotta just walk away....