1982 SR5 Longbed (1 Viewer)

[ToyotaDon]

So I saw this truck listed on Craigslist a couple weeks ago, and emailed the guy about his price.

He got back to me quickly and we exchanged a few more emails & texts including these pictures that I shared with Marlin. His advice was that the asking price of $1700 might be a little high, but it looked to be in good shape.

The tags on the truck were from 2008, and when the owner checked with DMV, they told him the back fees were over $600, so he dropped the price to $1100. It was a 2+ hour drive into the mountains for me, but after we cleaned up from a yard sale on Saturday May 30, I loaded my 2 older sons, several tools, a battery, & all 3 wheels/tires from my camping trailer.

 

[ToyotaDon]

It was advertised as non-running and needing to be hauled away. I knew it needed a battery and at least one tire that would hold air. First thing I did was drop my extra battery in and try cranking it over. It turned over nicely, but starting fluid in the carb did nothing. A quick check showed no spark, with further checking finding nothing simple. It would be over a week later before that was resolved--more details to come.



When I got there, the guy had the right rear jacked up and had tried to inflate the flat spare, but the bead was unseated. I started getting my tires put on and at that point, I was committed. The left front looked flat but wasn't on the ground. It turned out there were a couple cinder blocks under the front axle. Just to clarify, the guy selling this was not the original owner, but his girlfriend's deceased brother was. They had driven out from Michigan to settle his estate, and were wanting to head home that Tuesday.



I made the deal that Saturday, and had been in touch with my uncle who has a truck & trailer. He promised to go after work on Monday to pick it up. As it turned out, he got home earlier than expected on Sunday, so we headed up that evening and brought it home.

Actually brought it to work (auto shop) so I could work on it during free time.x

 

[Mudder]

Nice find! Glad to see it getting some new life with a good owner

 

[vegasfj40]

Good find!

 

[allworknoplay]

That looks like a great deal to me. I paid way more for mine...and even though it runs the motor turned out to be toast anyway. There's just not many of this body style in decent cosmetic shape for sale.

 

[SFROMAN]

Very nice. Good find.

 

[ToyotaDon]

It is almost as good as a barn find, with the exception of the roof. Sitting at 5700' elevation, the pine cones & snow wreaked a little havoc.

Engine compartment.

Some exterior pics.

The only thing that had been done at this point was getting a pair of better tires on the back, and cleaning up the wheels themselves. I had done a quick cleaning with degreaser & the pressure washer, but they didn't look much better until one of the guys offer to go after it with wheel cleaner & steel wool.

I need another 6 lug nuts, because 2 have the cap portion broken off and I'm not putting the difficult wheel locks back on.

 

[Mudder]

I am jealous of your find.

 

[ToyotaDon]

Underside.

I'll have to get some more next time I have it in the air.

Interior is dirty but in decent shape.

Factory air.

Non-factory amp filling up the glove box.

All the cool Toyota tools, including the grease gun adaptor.

Cleaned everything out from under & behind the seats.

I love how clean the bed stayed with the shell covering it.

 

[ToyotaDon]

So in my attempts to get it running, I made a few errors. First off, when checking for the ground signal to the ignition coil, I had something. A test light would flash dimly, and a meter would read Hertz. This made me assume the coil was the culprit, though it appeared the PO had put a newer one in at some point. I decided to go with Napa instead of OEM, but there were some delays in getting it.

Finally, on Monday I had a new coil, but when I plugged it in and cranked the engine, there was still no spark. In the meantime, I'd been researching on the forums, and found that coils rarely go out, but Igniters do. With the 22R, you can substitute a GM ignition module from the early HEI systems, so Tuesday morning, I picked one up from Napa on the way to work.

On lunch break, I fashioned a quick set of wires with connectors and plugged them into the factory harness.

After doing this, cranking it over produced a nice spark on the tester at the coil wire. :shocking: Connected the coil wire to the distributor cap and started cranking and pumping the accelerator. After popping a few times, it started to fire, but ran pretty rough. I'd read that the wires from the pickup coil in the distributor could be switched & cause problems, so I tried connecting them the other way. All I got was backfiring, so the original way was right. The next day was my day off, so I spent a little time making the GM module a more permanent part of the system.

De-soldered from the old board and soldered to the new. Added a 1 K-ohm resistor to the tachometer circuit, which worked like a charm.

I tried to add a piece of aluminum inside to mount the module to, but there just wasn't enough room. I ended up mounting it to the base plate instead, providing a good ground, but possibly less heat dissipation.

All put together!

After that, I celebrated by giving her a quick bath. Looking better already.

 

[Muddy Bean]

Video of starting/ running love this find! Keep us updated

 

[KLF]

That corrosion on the roof is nothing, a quick sandblasting and some filler primer, it'll be good as new. Very nice find, it's in amazing shape considering it's been sitting outside for so long.

 

[ToyotaDon]

Video of starting/ running love this find! Keep us updated

I actually set up the camera when I first had the ignition module hooked up. Started recording, started the truck, then went to check the camera and found the memory card full. It caught the first 2 seconds of cranking, then quit. I will clear some space, then shoot a good one.

That corrosion on the roof is nothing, a quick sandblasting and some filler primer, it'll be good as new. Very nice find, it's in amazing shape considering it's been sitting outside for so long.

I know that's what you could and would do. I will probably get by with sanding and trying some tan rustoleum for now. I did get a quote from our used car lot painter for $250.

I'm sure some are wondering what direction I will go with this build. The options are pretty endless, but here are a few.

1. Full restoration to factory original condition (I don't have that kind of coin).

2. Resto-mod with a newer FI engine, like the 22RE or 2RZ/3RZ (doable if I could find a donor truck for cheap).

3. Crawler build with tons, big block, and exocage! (who wouldn't want this?)

What I will likely be doing is a "driver-quality" restoration, leaving a lot of the paint & patina as-is, cleaning & fixing the interior & wiring, and just enjoying it for awhile. My oldest son turned 14 in April, and he's already excited that this will be his truck in a couple years. He wants to learn to drive a stick shift, and get some experience on the trails even before he hits the streets.

Mods will probably come as extra funds come available, mostly subtle things to make it more capable & add some body protection. Post up any opinions about what to do.

 

[ToyotaDon]

As promised.

The first recording.


Success!


I still need to get a bigger card, and take some more.

 

[ToyotaDon]

Got a small pile of parts today. Still need to source the belts and power steering pump seals, since they're not available as a kit anymore.

 

[Muddy Bean]

Loved the video. Love these old Toyotas. I had an '89 pickup and loved it. Best vehicle I've ever owned. I'm watching this thread out of sheer nostalgia . Glad you're keeping it as driver original as you can. This was mine before selling it:

 

[GW Nugget]

Hey Don thanks for the share. I didn't know you tell such a good story. Great photos.
I had a white 82 SR5 long bed with a snugtop back in the day, a flash of memories come rushing through my head.
So you ask what to do with it... I say ask your oldest son if he wants the truck & do the build with him. This will acomplish many things. It would be a father and son thing. He would learn how to work on stuff... My 82 was my 1st truck... I'm so glad I didn’t have a V8, I would of been dead many times over with a bunch of horsepower. As far as paint that is so close to flat tan, just sand & rattle can that bad boy...

What do you think you should do?

Nugget

 

[SFROMAN]

The plan for my 82 is to improve on it and enjoy it as a daily driver and light trail and light work duty truck. The plan for mine includes suspension lift, 33 tires on stock wheels, rebuild axles, 4.88 gears make the interior as comfortable, quiet and nice as possible. Metal bumpers front and rear, and sliders will also eventually make there way onto the truck. So obviously I vote for you to do the same.

Ideally, my oldest son who is 8 will learn to drive in the truck and I will pass it on to him when he is old enough to drive.

Like someone already mentioned. Making it a father son project is just icing on the cake

Del

 

[onemanarmy]

Keep it stock, as you can, at least exterior. Most are lifted, hacked, bobbed, and then the builder gets bored and there is one less stockish first gen around, never to be seen again.

I vote for stock steel wheels, and a 2.7L (3rz) swap. Best of all the worlds.

And I am jealous of your find too.

 

[Townsend]

Definitely following - what a find!!!!