Hey guys, I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Crawlfisher and I've been lusting over old Toyotas since highschool (admittedly only a few years ago) After high school I started searching for the right truck. I saw myself in an 84 or an 85 I NEVER thought I'd be in a first gen. This is my truck

Its a 1982 4wd with a 5 speed manual trans and the awesome 22r. This isn't the truck that I set out to buy, but my girlfriend told me if I didn't buy it she would strangle me in my sleep. Its got a pretty clean frame, and a pretty sweet interior. Ran pretty well when I bought it, and looks great in my parking lot. (sadly, its not drivable right now) Basically I dragged her allllll over central Louisiana and while she is super supportive, there's only so much one girl can take.

This truck is ten years older than me, and if i take care of it properly I'm sure it'll outlive me. So here I am, just a few months after the purchase of my truck, with a list of parts that need to be replaced, rebuilt, or just tinkered with.
Here we go: The previous owner mucked with the carb, and he deleted the emissions equipment, so I've got to make sure that was done properly. The previous owner thought head gasket sealant was a better fix than actually replacing the headgasket correctly. The brakes are making a clicking noise, AND I'm pretty sure there may be a leak somewhere in the lines as well. There's 162,000 miles on the truck, and the seals seem to be original. The transfer case leaks, the oil pan leaks, and the main seal looks fine. (Thank God!). The drivers side window has started sticking when I try to roll it down. Theres no air conditioning and in Louisiana, air conditioning is a must.
The rear shocks are leaking and my bed is leaning. Theres rust on the bed sides, and my tailgate is broken. When I replace my head gasket I plan on replacing the timing chain.
Thats my list. It makes sense in my head I promise. I love this truck, and one day I want to do an engine swap. I have big plans for this truck. But not much progress will be made until I get a new job. So I'm hoping to stick around here and learn what I can and maybe not screw my baby up.

 

Welcome to Yotatech!
Pretty clean truck. Looks like it has a little bit of the typical bed rust, but not too bad.

 

That truck is clean! Great starting place. Be sure to post your updates to give us something to continue living vicariously through others' trucks.

 

Thanks guys! I'll be sure to post plenty of updates on the truck. The previous owner claimed it was an sr5, is there any way to tell for sure?

 

It's in the vin....that's how I found out mine was an sr5.....I'll try an tell you how to figure it out

 

Wait....don't hold me too that...it may be in the model number....checking now

 

Ok found it. To find your model number look on the under hood tag in the middle, riveted to the firewall. It has your vin on top, then the MN is on the bottom above the Color, Trim, Axle, and Transmission codes.


Check here: http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/vin/


Scroll down to the model numbers section.


Mine reads: RN38L-MSA


R- 22R
N- Hilux/Truck


Three and eight for some reason aren't listed on this readout?
3-?
8- ?


L- Left Hand Drive
M- 5 Speed Manual, Floor
S- SR5


Then I have blank sections because mine is a...Regular Cab, Caburetor Type


A- USA Destination Country


then I have to more blanks for....With Rear Deck, and Complete vehicle




So some vehicles may have a model number with as many as 5 characters after the dash(-) Example- XXXXX-XXXXX


Hope this helps, let me know if you need any more help. A good way to find this stuff is to go on google and type in Toyota pickup VIN decoder or model number, stuff like that

 

Cool thanks man, I'll check after work. Right now I'm trying to track down a head gasket, timing chain, and carb kit. Any body have any recommendations for a carburetor? I'm a little apprehensive about trying to rebuild it myself. Plus, I really want trumpets lol

 

A lot of people go with a weber, I plan on doing that eventually.

Maybe dropzone will chime in....I think he put one on recently. He ordered a kit from somewhere.

Check the build threads to see what people are doing to get some ideas.

Great looking truck btw!

 

Nice truck! I like that grey, any chance that you might know the color code and brand of that paint?? I'll be painting my truck soon and I've been bounce back and forth between the original white, single stage black or a single stage grey.

 

Unfortunately no, the original color IS grey, but its just a rattle can paint job. My door card has been missing for what I'm assuming is many years so I have no idea what the stock color code is. Sorry dude.
Personally, my plan is to paint the truck flat white. That way every time a get a scuff or a scratch I can just respray.

 

Crawlfisher, the color code is also on the under hood tag which im pretty sure you have judging from your pics. First set of numbers on the bottom left

Check here after you find it:
http://www.paintscratch.com/touch_up...ta-Pickup.html

Good luck.

 

my weber has actually been sitting in the box for about 2.5 years or so. Made a couple of tweets on the stock carb and it started to run ok so I have been holding of throwing the weber on.
I think I ordered mine from webercarbsdirect.com some feel you get better service and a better carb going through red line or LC engineering.

 

Great looking truck and looks solid compared to most running around in my part of the country. Beds are usually gone. It will have a few issues but nothing you cant get worked out. A Webber will clean up under the hood considerably and works great.

 

Looks like a good truck to start with! Much cleaner than most!!

Like your username! - I'm from Lake Charles originally.

 

Cool are you still located in Louisiana? It's a state that grows on you, but I've always wanted to move out west.....

 

It seems like everything that I've looked at from LC is prohibitively expensive
I'm sure I'll have to put a weber on, everyone says that tuning the stock carb after the de smog is very difficult.

 

From my experience the factory carbs just get worn out pivot points. Here is how much a Webber cleans up under the hood.

 

So today I finally had some time to myself and grabbed a couple of pictures of my interior.



The only plan for the interior is to replace the seats, add some belts that actual provide some measure of safety, and maybe hide a sound system in there somehow. Maybe some AC, I went to tradeschool for something after all.
Right now I need to tackle the first issue. The truck is burning oil, and it only wants to fast idle.

There was water on the ground after I shut off the truck. All this accumulated after only a few seconds.

There was also plenty of soot in the tailpipe