*excuse my gramer and punctuation and also this is my first build thread, so i appologize in advance*
Well I am finally getting to a restoration/build ive always wanted to do since i was a kid and my dad took me 4 wheeling in his 1982 SR5 pickup. I have a soft spot for these first gen pickups. So my plan is to attempt a full frame off restoration and upgrade what i can without compromising that oem factory look, i want her to be as close to stock as she was when she was new in the 80's.
So i bought this 83 pickup from a guy in bakersfield ca for $3000 in 2016, he was only the second owner and this pickup is 98% rust free and no dents or damage anywhere. Which is pretty amazing since he used it as a work truck for 15+ years, so i was amazed at how perfect it was and offered to buy it on the spot and of course he said no but i left my number and 4 years later he called and i drove from Nashville to Bakersfield to buy it from him.
So this is the truck I am working with, i also have plans to make her a true SR5 eventually. That was the only thing missing that i really wanted, the SR5 looks the best in my opinion. And i do not want a "clone" so when i get a solid frame and vin numbers she will be a true.
So this i basically what i want her to look like in the end for the most part, give or take a few things.
The engine bay was perfect except the owner did not put the battery tie down back and the battery slid into a belt and slung acid all over and pitted the metal underneath the battery and on the various parts, thats why i said 98% rust free. She drove perfect and ran great, everything worked except the factory AC, which i will keep and fix as well.
The interior was in excellent shape and all of the parts are there except the tilt steering colum covers. So i really want to ditch the bench seat and get some buckets 100%, and the carpet and headliner will not be factory, im going to go my own direction when that time comes. I do not have a first interior picture when i just bought her, this is after i already removed a few pieces and such.
I wish i had all of the pictures i had originally took but that phone took a dump and i lost most of my pictures. So once i decided to do a full frame off resto it was time to strip her down and asses all the damage and rust and see what i had to work with. So i wanted to get the interior stripped and organized before winter set in so i could use that down time to just locate and purchase what needed to be replaced or changed. So throughout winter and still currently i am buying as many new oem interior and exterior parts as i can. I only want quality toyota parts on this build, NO TAIWAN parts only JAPAN! So that being said it is pretty difficult since almost everything is discontinued, but i have got a few parts, atleast the main trim and interior parts.
Well I am finally getting to a restoration/build ive always wanted to do since i was a kid and my dad took me 4 wheeling in his 1982 SR5 pickup. I have a soft spot for these first gen pickups. So my plan is to attempt a full frame off restoration and upgrade what i can without compromising that oem factory look, i want her to be as close to stock as she was when she was new in the 80's.
So i bought this 83 pickup from a guy in bakersfield ca for $3000 in 2016, he was only the second owner and this pickup is 98% rust free and no dents or damage anywhere. Which is pretty amazing since he used it as a work truck for 15+ years, so i was amazed at how perfect it was and offered to buy it on the spot and of course he said no but i left my number and 4 years later he called and i drove from Nashville to Bakersfield to buy it from him.
So this is the truck I am working with, i also have plans to make her a true SR5 eventually. That was the only thing missing that i really wanted, the SR5 looks the best in my opinion. And i do not want a "clone" so when i get a solid frame and vin numbers she will be a true.
So this i basically what i want her to look like in the end for the most part, give or take a few things.
The engine bay was perfect except the owner did not put the battery tie down back and the battery slid into a belt and slung acid all over and pitted the metal underneath the battery and on the various parts, thats why i said 98% rust free. She drove perfect and ran great, everything worked except the factory AC, which i will keep and fix as well.
The interior was in excellent shape and all of the parts are there except the tilt steering colum covers. So i really want to ditch the bench seat and get some buckets 100%, and the carpet and headliner will not be factory, im going to go my own direction when that time comes. I do not have a first interior picture when i just bought her, this is after i already removed a few pieces and such.
I wish i had all of the pictures i had originally took but that phone took a dump and i lost most of my pictures. So once i decided to do a full frame off resto it was time to strip her down and asses all the damage and rust and see what i had to work with. So i wanted to get the interior stripped and organized before winter set in so i could use that down time to just locate and purchase what needed to be replaced or changed. So throughout winter and still currently i am buying as many new oem interior and exterior parts as i can. I only want quality toyota parts on this build, NO TAIWAN parts only JAPAN! So that being said it is pretty difficult since almost everything is discontinued, but i have got a few parts, atleast the main trim and interior parts.