83yotastockR's Bullet Proof 83 Build
Jul 10, 2012 | 04:17 PM
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83yotastockR's Bullet Proof 83 Build
Heres the story my Dad brought this 83 toyota home after braging about his 84 he used to have. I was 16 at the time. We found it on ebay for $2075.00 what was so great about it is it was a desert rat so NO RUST!! The truck had 4 diffrent tires on it so the first thing was to get a good set of tires!
FIRST DAY HOME!!
Here is the new tires after some light wheeling!
So two years later I turned 18 and within 14 days of my 18th birthday I was shipped off to basic training! I was assined to Fort Drum NY and Deployed with them after that deployment my dad sent the truck to me. Little to my Knowlage I was PCSing (Moving). After about a week of having the truck up north the RUST set in L.O. Macco paint job wasnt up to par! SO WHAT TO DUE FULL PAINT MAKE OVER.
Here is the almost compleated project but had to throw the bed back on not fully finished untill I got to my new duty station!
So after moving me and my wife fell on expensive times we were hurting for money and the only option was to sell my little pickup 
I sold it to a guy for 2500 saved his number and life went on. Recently I found a 1980 toyota pickup for sale and went to look at it, frame was almost gone. One trail ride and it would probably snap behind the cab. Me and my wife on the way home talked about my old truck. Then I remembered I saved his phone number it was a long shot but at least it was a shot! He picked up I begain to explain everything to him. With a sye he told me the truck was compleatly torn apart. And would take a few months to rebuild!f I went and looked at my old truck. WOW it was torn down. He then told me shortly after buying the truck he had to sell it. The kid missed two payments and he took it back. The Kid wasnt nice to it he painted primer flames all over it! So back to it. I found it Got it back and its getting another full repaint and rebuild! I dont have any pictures of it right now but I will post them soon!
I sold it to a guy for 2500 saved his number and life went on. Recently I found a 1980 toyota pickup for sale and went to look at it, frame was almost gone. One trail ride and it would probably snap behind the cab. Me and my wife on the way home talked about my old truck. Then I remembered I saved his phone number it was a long shot but at least it was a shot! He picked up I begain to explain everything to him. With a sye he told me the truck was compleatly torn apart. And would take a few months to rebuild!f I went and looked at my old truck. WOW it was torn down. He then told me shortly after buying the truck he had to sell it. The kid missed two payments and he took it back. The Kid wasnt nice to it he painted primer flames all over it! So back to it. I found it Got it back and its getting another full repaint and rebuild! I dont have any pictures of it right now but I will post them soon!
Jul 12, 2012 | 06:24 PM
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So I got a parts truck with good interior panels so the truck is going to be Black and Tan Im going to swap the tan dash with wiring but just curious does anyone need some new glass for the vent window style was going to swap mine to the vent windows but I like the single pane window better I have both passenger and Drivers sides vent windows with tracks and the roll up windows dont want to throw away if someone needs them. Let me know.
Jul 12, 2012 | 08:09 PM
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From: hohenwald tn.
very nice truck and a nice story it coming from your dad, looks like youve got a good start on it. I picked up a 83 long box awhile back I havent had a chance to get started on it been trying to finish up my 86 runner first but really looking forward to working on my truck. good luck with the rest of your build I will be following along.
dang I dont know how I missed the seeling and then getting it back part, man that has to meen a lot sorry about that.
dang I dont know how I missed the seeling and then getting it back part, man that has to meen a lot sorry about that.
Last edited by jason in tn; Jul 12, 2012 at 08:31 PM.
Oct 10, 2012 | 03:46 PM
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Update running into a bunch of problems with swaping the dash and wiring. Heater cables are broken and the heater contol is broken. Just a heads up and I should have checked but steering colums dont swap. Im guessing 2wd are about an inch shorter then 4wd. Should have measured. So yeah just a little frustrating anyone have an extra 4x4 steering colum out of a parts truck please let me know. More updates to come.
Oct 21, 2012 | 06:01 PM
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Found a Junk yard truck the next day and guess what in luck Had almost all the parts I was needing!! Still need a good dash mat tho. This is getting frustrating not getting enough time to work on the truck with everything at work! Then people get all mad about the truck I have to keep it covered and the people that live across the street call on me for working on it. They are just jelious that I dont spend Hundreds of dollars at a repair shop to fix my vehicals! Some time it feels like I gave up alot of my freedom by protecting other people freedoms! Sorry went a little off track there but anyways. Got the dash in and the steering colum any one know where I can get some Dash vents? (the defroster vents) kawazx636 I live in KY now was in Fort Drum NY and grew up in Grand Canyon AZ.(AKA Tusayan AZ)
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Jan 18, 2013 | 06:47 AM
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Cab finally painted all one color!!
Headliner installed but didnt like the Tan!!
The tan interior but like I said didnt like it
I dyed the door panels black they came out really nice
Headliner dyed Black
Wanted to break up the black a little what do you think??
Dash reinstalled painted black along with the floor coating
Trying to learn to pinstripe basic spider web Im not going to keep it but the truck is perfect for learning on because I didnt pay 3000-5000 for a paint job on it!!
Taxes are around the corner Hoping to finish engine wiring and get to install the engine Hoping to have it running by the end of febuary and finish it by middle of march!! I finally found a tailgate my buddy at work is flat bedding his 81 and the bed is rusted out and from a 83 so I got a minimal rust tailgate for $60 dollars
Feb 5, 2013 | 07:40 PM
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A little update found a 87 or 88 4 runner at the junk yard with almost imaculate seats. The seats are the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in. Only probleam is they are light gray. They dont match the interior at all (well neather do the tan seat belts). Should I just throw a custom seat cover over them to make them black or dye them? I dont want some cheep seat covers tho and Im not a fan of mixed colors I just finished adapting them to the truck I will get pictures ASAP since it is dark right now!
Feb 7, 2013 | 12:10 PM
#12
A little update found a 87 or 88 4 runner at the junk yard with almost imaculate seats. The seats are the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in. Only probleam is they are light gray. They dont match the interior at all (well neather do the tan seat belts). Should I just throw a custom seat cover over them to make them black or dye them? I dont want some cheep seat covers tho and Im not a fan of mixed colors I just finished adapting them to the truck I will get pictures ASAP since it is dark right now!
Jan 14, 2014 | 05:07 AM
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ok it's been a while since I've been on here after almost a year the engine is all done all I need is a new weber carb and header. It's been a busy year new baby moving and just bill after bill. So my new engine didn't have the pully on the crank for power steering so I modified the power steering bracket to use the old pully for the smog pump. Hope it's not under driven I think it's only a hair smaller. I had to drop the bracket down and move it back. I first tryed to just move it back but it was hitting the cap. So had to drop it dwn it's a tight fit with the water inlet but doesn't rub.
Sep 29, 2015 | 10:17 AM
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Hey guys long time no log in! So a lot has happened still have the 83 no luck making her run properly short on money and time and 1300 miles away. She is in storage until I can get back to Kentucky! However I picked up a new ride it's 1987 4runner SR5 EFI bone stock minus 31 inch tires. Now I can take the kids wheeling took them last week for some desert running and shooting the rifles! I have to say I enjoy the on road habits of this truck but miss my old sa truck. I will be posting a build up thread once time permits my runner is going to be a moderate trail rig I'll attach a link once I get it started so you can get an idea what I'm wanting to do!!
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