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I will be documenting some things I do to my daily driver 1985 Toyota pickup here. Mostly just maintenance items and small improvements as I am not into serious off roading and do not want to hack up a nice 85. I will try to keep this a picture heavy thread as I always enjoy other threads with a lot of pictures.
First pictures of how the truck started at the time of my purchase from the PO in September 2019.
Now after purchasing the truck I gave the engine an easy tune up with NGK spark plugs, NGK coil, MSD plug wires, new PCV, air filter replacment and fuel filter replaced. I repainted the grille with gloss black Rustoleum and silver Rustoleum around the lights. Replaced the dented front bumper with a new one, painted both the front and rear bumpers with Raptor Liner.
My first "improvement" was adding heated seats as this truck will be privileged as being my daily driver in the winter. I did not take pictures during the install but it was very simple. I order the Carhartt seat covers from https://realtruck.com/p/covercraft-c...a/pickup/1985/ and the heater elements from LMC truck. The heated seat elements could also be found on Amazon
The seat covers fit great and I really like the look of them. The heated elements are applied to the underside of the seat cover with the provide adhesive tape, they are so thin you cannot see that they are there. I added the switch panel in the coin cubby hole (after ordering a replacement from Ebay) with aluminum and JB weld to adhere the aluminum panel to the plastic trim of the cubby hole. It turned out looking nice I think. Also added a toggle switch for maybe lights in the future.
To appease the Toyota fanatics out there I assure you I do not plan on letting this old truck rust away without a fighting chance! I have a problem not letting go of any of my cars/trucks, so I intend on keeping this one as cleans as I can. Winter is coming so I applied an undercoating from NHOU to the undercarriage yesterday. The oil is applied with an air gun I got from there kit. The oil is pretty thick and there was no noticeable dripping when it was applied. I used a a half gallon of the oil to coat the bottom in a nice thick layer.
The plan is to bi annually apply this undercoating. Once in the late fall and once in early spring after a power washing of the undercarriage to get rid of the winters worth of salt/debris. I still have to do inside the doors, cab corners, tailgate and inside the bed behind the panels. I plan on doing the rest that was listed with fluid film.
I also have access to a heated pole barn that I will be using to wash the truck 3-4 times a month during the winter. Gotta love the rustbelt.
This is before the coating, the PO tried painting the undercarriage but that didn't last to long. Here is he kit I used. If you have access to an air compressor this job is very simple and easy. I'd rather work on parts covered in oil then parts covered in rust.
Very interesting! I've heard of guys coating the entire under carriage of the truck, but never actually seen it done. So you literally spray absolutely everything down with grease?
Very interesting! I've heard of guys coating the entire under carriage of the truck, but never actually seen it done. So you literally spray absolutely everything down with grease?
That's the idea, its more of an oil then grease but its some thick stuff. I don't know any one personally that has done it, so its an experiment for me. I also sprayed inside the frame, any nook and cranny I could reach with the wand.
I'll try to post here in the spring when I wash it all off before I reapply to see what the frame really looks like.
I recently finished installing a bed cover on my long bed Yota. I tried searching this forum and just googling but no one makes direct fit fiberglass caps or soft covers for these trucks. I tried a month or two on craigslist looking for a top that would be a close enough fit with no luck. Becoming impatient wanting to protect the bed from water, dirt or debris getting behind the bed seams causing rust, I pulled the trigger with TruXedo's TruXport Tonneau TRX-250601. This model is intended for a 1982-2011 long bed Ford Ranger, from dimensions I found online I purchased this hoping it would be a close enough fit.
During the install I found out that the bed rails on a Ranger are wider then a Toyota, require a little grinding on the provided clamps to allow the cover's rails to sit on the rails of the bed. The width of the bed cover is almost perfect maybe 1/2" to narrow for the Yota bed ( I think I just need to do a better job getting the cover rails square). The length of the cover is definitely to short for the Yota bed, leaving a 2" gap. I wanted to make it work so I purchased 2 pieces of rubber from Mc-master Carr .125"x6"x36" to seal the gap. Positioning the cover to be flush with the tailgate leaving the gap at the cab side, I installed the rubber to the bottom of the cross rail for the cover, covering the gap making it "waterproof". But this still looked odd so I cut and painted an extra piece of 1.75" tube I had to fill the void behind the cab. The tube has no purpose besides filling the void, bolted down with a single 3/8" bolt in the center just because there was already a hole in the bed rail and don't want to drill any holes in this truck.
I think it looks ok even though its not a perfect fit it serves the more important purpose of protect the bed and what ever cargo I throw back there!
Original clamp Clamp slightly ground to clear bed rail and cover rail. Cover rails installed Gap is about 1 inch exposing the inside of the bed, 2 inches to the outside of the bed. Installed .125" rubber strips to better seal the bed. But still to much of a empty void. Installed the the 1.75" tube for only the cosmetic purpose. Does it look good or out of place? One small project done.
I think it looks better with the tube vs. without. Seems to fill the void well. My only suggestion is to trim that rubber strip so it does not contact the back of the cab. Dust and grime will get between the rubber and cab paint and slowly wear through the paint as the cab and bed move relative to each other.
I think it looks better with the tube vs. without. Seems to fill the void well. My only suggestion is to trim that rubber strip so it does not contact the back of the cab. Dust and grime will get between the rubber and cab paint and slowly wear through the paint as the cab and bed move relative to each other.
I was reading through this thread and was just about to suggest trimming the rubber strip too.
The canopy/topper that I have on my Truck does not have a front panel or window, and was supposed to seal against the cab using some rubber weatherstripping. The flexing of the Truck combined with dirt and debris did wear through my paint. I have since removed the rubber strip and want to add a front panel with window in the future.
Winter update with my truck. I have installed a bolt on shackle kit onto my rear bumper and two new oem style tow hooks in the front frame in preparation for winter. Also some KC slimlights (xmas gift!) bolted to the stock bumper mounts. Still haven't had time to wire them though :/
Just last Friday we had a small snow storm and on my way home I came across a 2000s Firebird that had died in the middle of a portion of a local highway that is on a steep long hill. Traffic on the highway was very light and everybody was doing around 35 mph do to the unpaved roads. I stopped infront of him in the left lane so traffic could still get around us using the right lane. I asked the driver if he needed help and he responded with that his car had died and he needed a jump. I used my long jumper cables but the starter wouldn't turn the engine over. By this point a cop showed up and started talking to the driver, after this point the driver and passenger never left their car. The cop wanted this Firebird off the highway and asked if I had a strap because the guy in the Firebird had not even called a tow truck yet. I did have my 2" 30' strap and chain bridle with J hooks and preceded to set up. I used my strap as a bridle connecting each looped end to one of my shackles with the strap looped thru the chain bridle. There was no where to really connect to on this Firebird and the driver didn't have a clue, without the chain J hooks I wouldn't have been able to move this car. After getting all wet hooking the J hooks to his lower control arms I slowly pulled him about 100 yards into someones driveway that the owner said we could use. The truck did great, no drama, no spinning tires, no high revving. I made sure driver had called a tow truck then I unhooked from the Firebird and was on my way.
This all seemed to happen so fast with minimum communication between me the driver and the cop that it seemed surreal. The chain bridle J hooks worked great for a slow steady pull up a hill giving me the ability to connect to a car with no tow points. I would not do a snatch recovery with this setup but for this instance it worked great. With this still fresh my mind I wanted to add some more equipment to my bag to help in a recovery situation. So a purchased a ASR Offroad 1" x 20' kinetic rope and a 3" x 8' foot tree saver to use as a bridle. My off brand 3/4" shackles on the truck are only rated for 4 3/4 ton WLL and will shortly upgrade to a set of Campell 12.5 ton WLL shackles. Soft shackles and recovery track boards are also on the list for equipment to help with making recovers safer and easier. Setup for a snatch recovery. Still need a safe way to connect with the other vehicle. I'm thinking soft shackles. My recovery gear. Gear fits nice in the recovery bag. Shovel for the obvious attempt of digging out before snatching.
A rear locker might be in the future for this little Toyota.
Oct 29, 2019 | 07:23 AM
I wanted to make it work so I purchased 2 pieces of rubber from Mc-master Carr .125"x6"x36" to seal the gap. Positioning the cover to be flush with the tailgate leaving the gap at the cab side, I installed the rubber to the bottom of the cross rail for the cover, covering the gap making it "waterproof". But this still looked odd so I cut and painted an extra piece of 1.75" tube I had to fill the void behind the cab. The tube has no purpose besides filling the void, bolted down with a single 3/8" bolt in the center just because there was already a hole in the bed rail and don't want to drill any holes in this truck. 
