I'm new to the site and just bought my first pickup. Picked her up for $500 from a friend. I'm the 3rd owner; my friend inherited the truck from his brother. It's an '88 carb'd 4spd with 147k on the odometer. I think the color is dark grey metallic. My goal for this truck is to restore it the best I can. Here are some pics and a progress report...



only thing wrong with the rear is this patch of rust and a broken left tail light. I plan on getting the whole truck painted so I will address the exterior rust then.


147k, no oil leaks :-D


First thing I did to the truck was get rid of the Cowboy plate! You can see the damage on the front. I am going to replace with a new bumper and bumper brackets, valance and a new grill.


damaged body parts removed


here is a closeup of the more internal damage. I found a new upper radiator support so that's not an issue. What worries me is the beam underneath the radiator is bent in slightly, about an inch. Any suggestions on how to do that properly? My dad suggested taking out the radiator and fan shroud so its accessible from the back and hit it out from there. Last resort I guess is to drive her down to a shop and get a quote. Ideas?


another angle


and another


interior before I got started


removed the seats and dropped them off at the shop to get reupholstered


this is what I was left with


removed the flooring


after some vacuming removed the old alarm system along with the an old sub and amp.


the clutch master cylinder is leaking, it appears to have been a long time.


the cluster side of the dash is in good shape. the right side is in poor condition which I want to remove and prep it for a dash cap. Anyone have some advice on removing it? I have most of it loose includint the screw hidden behind the cluster. I believe there are screws behind the vents on the right. Do I have to remove the black ac ducts from underneath to access them?

 

so thats approx what my floor should look like... I found rust hole at the corner about the size of my fist where yours is just rusted.... Fix that sooner than later. otherwise pulling the front straight again is nothing as its barely bent... absolutly great deal on purchase price also.

 

nice truck, i think this is one of the cleaner ones

 

weekend update

got some work in this weekend. Finally got the dash out. Replaced the leaky clutch master cylinder. Did a radiator and engine flush and then removed the radiator. Discovered some rust on the frame that I'll have to work on next pay-check. Took off the original rims so I can have them restored.

 

Wecome to TM. Pretty good start man, nice buy. So your just going to restore it and then what ,lower it ,lift it or just keep it stock?

 

Had the same leak in my $500 88 Base
Got it clean, layed some rustoleum and called it a day
Don't want to put to much into a $500 project.
Not even a month after I did that, i spilled a Large Horchata all over everything...

Keep it simple and cheap

 

Hmmm. For now it's a straight restoration. After I get bored with it I'll probably lower it. Nothing too drastic, just enough to eliminate the excess wheel well space. I like the look of the rims at weldracing.com. There is another user here that inspired me to look there. In the future I am going to try and find a spare 22r that I can really tear down and build a high compression weber carbed motor with. I'm trying to buy a home within a years time so the motor might have to wait.

 

I have a new dash cap for that cracked pad if your interested...
It's black abs and glues right over the damaged pad.
I was going to use it then came across a good pad so used it instead
If your interested I'll post a pic for you

 

sure, I'd appreciate that. pm me a pic and price.

 

I posted a thread for it here
http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/showthread.php?p=81247#post81247
I don't think it's the right style for your truck though
Pretty sure it's an 84-86 pad 87/88 were a little different

 

looks like a great project u got going on!

 

thanks andy. I couldn't get much work in this weekend due to rain but I did straighten the lower support out and I started sanding the rust in the interior. I am going to try and finish sanding the inside and then cut out the rust under the right fender so I can patch it up. Bought some bondo and fiberglass. On the other hand I did get the seats from the shop and I'm picking up the rims tomorrow. I'll post up some pics of that too.

 

the seat came out great and i bet its a major improvement, how bad is the rust that u are planning to cut out? and i cant wait to see how the rims come out

 

Dang that seat does look good. How much did that run?

 

The seats came out to $100. It's usually a 200-250 job but my old man deals with the shop owner so I got a fair price. Very happy with them. It wasn't just the fabric but they put new foam in as well. I didnt want to bend the rails so I haven't sat in them yet so I don't know how comfy it is. On a side note I received my samples from stockinteriors.com on Saturday. On their website I requested about 4 different color carpets and one vinyl. Makes it much easier to pick out when you can see the contrast with the dash and seat. So far the samples appear to be high quality and the vinyl is pretty thick and looks very durable. Should be placing my order soon. Probably next week.

 

got the stock rims back and put them on today. They were painted grey.

 

lookin good, are u gonna put center caps on the wheels or anything or just leave them like that?

 

that's not a bad idea. If i can find a set I would like to try them on and see how they look.

 

Ran into a snag working on the truck as I wait for parts to come in. Under the right fender i have rust that's causing a leak into then cabin that I must address before I can finish the interior. I removed some more dash pieces and the ac blower so that I can get to the rust. I was originally going to bondo it but as I dive deeper into the project I feel a bit overwhelmed. I don't want a quick fix, I want it done right. Here are some pics. In the second pic there are 3 major holes. The one all the way to the right also peeks into the engine bay. I really don't know where to start or how to start repairing this. The last pic is looking up from the inside. Opinions are very much appreciated here please.

 

About the rust issue! Cut away what area s are real bad & weld in new metal! All other areas, use a rust kill to primer type product alone with Por-15 ! This will give you a good foundation!