what can i say, except corey and his trekker build has kept me motivated to getting this thing done before summer. here are some pics from the last month:

first day home



the interior included several rats, both living and dead

pulled the bed first to see how much frame damage there was





then got to work on gutting what little interior was there.



time to pull the cab. not too much fun working by yourself.



engine and trans next...


the cab ended up being a little more work than i had bargained for so i found another one that needed minor repairs. hated to do it, but my welding skills are suspect at best.

currently working on the frame and the engine teardown depending on how cold it is outside that day. hope to post some more progress tomorrow if it doesnt rain. tony

 

awesome!
Never figured out how Toyota did the bed rail tie downs, some short beds only have 2, yours with 3 is much more functional.

Are you doing a full restoration? As in back to stock or a personalized one!
I would love to do a frame off some day.

 

thanks robb. not sure why there are different number of tie downs on these beds, my 83 doesnt have any at all. yep, full deal, gonna redo every part on the truck down to the last screw and returning it back to its original glory with the exception of the interior. planning on a nice carpet, and redoing the seats, door panels, and headliner in leather.

tony

 

i picked up some parts i needed to restore the truck from a guy in tampa. he has several warehouses full of goodies.

 

as i suspected, the weather let me down today with rain and now cold. got almost half of the left side rail media blasted before the storm rolled in this morning. had to spray some cheap primer on there to keep the bare metal protected until its ready for the epoxy prime and por-15 inside the rails. its coming out alot better than i had hoped. there is only one section in front of the rear axle on the right side i will need to cut out and weld a new patch in along with the front crossmember which is toast but luckily i scored one off of another truck.

 

Wow looks like you got your work cut out for you. Looks fun and relaxing. Hopefully one day.

 

Those seats are awesome.... I like 'em

edit: if you need a source for other 1st gen parts, TrekkerPaul has a good collection of parts

 

Awsome love ya thread i too have an 81 i just picked up and am trying to make a fun project truck/restore... check out mine

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f114...toyota-224992/

I wanted to do a frame off resto too but.... i dunno If imma do that this time... maybe later down the road....

These trucks had so many tie downs because toyota intended these trucks to do "work" and not really be pretty. Also they were sold world wide as well so other certain countries needed a truck like this.

Also that motor in your truck is not an 81 ..... Tis a later 22r

 

sure do, and it has been fun. my son is restoring a mustang at the same time so its been getting a little cramped but still great father son stuff. hey, what year do you need the heater control for? i may have one in the garage.

 

checked out the thread, nice truck! to me its the best body style there ever was. i do believe the motor is out of an 86 but havent been able to date it. im gonna do a full rebuild of it unless i can find an older 22r. tony

 

still not sure if i want to use the buckets or the bench seat with center console i have. just hate there are no head rests, but a cup holder is a beautiful thing!

thanks for the link to the parts. i will look him up when im in need.

tony

 

Subscribed! Great work! Same engine or are you upgrading?

 

subscribed! i love the first gens! keep up the good work man

 

thanks guys. i really appreciate it!

im going to rebuild the one that came in the truck unless i can locate a period correct motor. i have the 20r head already done.

 

If your trying to get everything right in the resto you can try and find a 22r 83 an older.

The only real difference in the motors is that the timing chain is double roller, "sloped" valve cover, and they had slightly different deck clearances.. i forget what they are compared to the other 22rs but yea. The exhaust and intake manifolds were different as well.

I'm lucky the motor in mine is the original.... well the P/O had it rebuilt but other wise..
__________________________________________________ _______

I'm trying to find some seats for mine. I'm curious what those are from and do they fit well?

Man i wish i could find an OEM steering wheel. "Drool"

 

you are lucky. i was surprised when i bought this truck that it even had a motor and trans in it. i had been asking the owner to sell if for the last 12 years as it sat behind a fence far off the road. i just wanted the body. he finally gave me the price of 400 bones and ended up paying 350. even the a/c worked. just needed a fuel filter and fresh gas to get her goin. oh yea, and some serious exterminating to get rid of the rat infestation.

 

i bought the seats from a guy in tampa florida. all he has is 79 to 83 stuff, so they should be from one of his old trucks. they match the sr5 door panels i picked up as well. he sold me the seats for 70 bucks with the tracks and trim, and gave me the bench with the console for 20. still not sure which im going to use but i'll let you know.

 

Lolz thats cool and a good find I like the colors and desgins yours has.

I paid 500 for mine

Yea the owner of mine i had been nagging as well. He had it at a storage place sitting there for i think 3 years. He was a class mate of mine in school and always talked about it and the times he had with it.

He finally said he was moving out of state for good coming the end of this year and he had to get rid of the truck. He wanted to take it but he was talking moving somewhere like texas..... and he didn't wanna take it all the way there. He had people trying to by it off of him for its weight in scrap! I was like oh my gosh no no no. So i bought it

After it sat 3 years it cranked up off carb cleaner a few fresh gallons of gas twas music to my ears.

 

I see you found this board .. or decided to post your build here anyway

lookin' forward to your progress


.

 

Ah ok cool.