Just bought one. Should I rig it up or restore to original look

[letswheel]

Hi All,

Just bought because i been missing my previous LC 100 that I sold to get a family vehicle back in 2018 and been missing it since then.
What do you think?
2004. 102K miles. Minor rust because it is from NY. Always serviced at local Toyota dealership. All records. Exhaust, break lines, AC condenser, gas tank, timing belt service, fluids (trans, diff) and all problems were solved by the dealer with all records.
Salvage title. I am 3rd owner. 2nd owner was a dealer who put 500 miles on it and then did minor damage.
I lean towards getting it restored to original immaculate original condition. My heard breaks when I look at at dismembering it and mounting all the expedition gear. Paid too much for it.
I dont do offroad. At least for now.
Any feedback?

 

[caffecapri]

The salvage title part and the rust make it more likely ok to make into what you want. It’s not a pristine example although low miles and in pics, it looks great.

 

[BlkOwl]

The title and rust shout off road rig but if you don’t off road much then there may not be much point. I just picked one up and I’m going for a very stock oem+ look for now because I love them just as they came. She may get some off road parts down the road.

 

[baltistyle]

Hi All,

Just bought because i been missing my previous LC 100 that I sold to get a family vehicle back in 2018 and been missing it since then.
What do you think?
2004. 102K miles. Minor rust because it is from NY. Always serviced at local Toyota dealership. All records. Exhaust, break lines, AC condenser, gas tank, timing belt service, fluids (trans, diff) and all problems were solved by the dealer with all records.
Salvage title. I am 3rd owner. 2nd owner was a dealer who put 500 miles on it and then did minor damage.
I lean towards getting it restored to original immaculate original condition. My heard breaks when I look at at dismembering it and mounting all the expedition gear. Paid too much for it.
I dont do offroad. At least for now.
Any feedback?

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You are familiar with the platform BUT.

IMHO, NEVER EVER buy a car that has resided in New York. You can see some rust, but I can guarantee there is hidden rust in there and the only thing you don’t wanna deal with in these vehicles as you know is any rust. Did you actually thoroughly inspect this vehicle with your head up in the drivetrain up to the floorboard or did somebody send you a picture that “looks good”…. Since you love platform and wanna get back into it, look for something completely rust free, not low mileage. I’ve seen some of these hundred thousand mile vehicles pop up that I would never ever even think about touching or owning versus a 300,000 mile vehicle that has zero rust. Been there done that. One flake is too much. Since that means inside the frame or third member will have surprises.

I’d also suggest not to listen to the input of anybody from the salt belt that says rust is normal and blah blah blah because they don’t actually care about their vehicles or protect them and they will not have their vehicles last the lifetime they are meant to. Some of these people even say not to use fluid film because vehicles neglected rust in Michigan or Illinois, making absolutely zero sense to someone like me that has the opposite thought to actually protect my vehicle when I know it’s going to rust.

 

[Irishpilot]

Rust and salvage title = do whatever you want. That rig will never have high resale value even in stock form, so might as well enjoy it.

 

[excessive]

post a picture of the underside, and we can tell you if its worth putting any time or money into. If the brake lines have been replaced, that's a not good sign.

 

[letswheel]

So how bad is it?Spray with Eastwood rust encapsulator and not worry too much? I live in GA. I don't have salt. Interior and exterior are in fantastic condition. Drives smoothly. No squeaks.

 

[letswheel]

Bought an 04 with 100k miles, always maintained at the dealer. New gas tank and AC condenser with lines. Drives smooth and quiet. Body and interior are in good shape. The car is from NY so there are some consequences of that. I live in GA and don't worry about salty roads anymore. Underbody is a bit rusty. Any advice on that? Should I treat the rust and keep it or am I facing some long term issues?

 

[delz05]

Rear crossmember, behind/in front of spare tire seems to be an issue... Is that a crack/split??? Could just be a weld seam... Drop the spare to explore further. DO NOT USE any ecapsulator, just clean off the oxidation with a grinder or heavy duty wire wheel, treat with a rust kill or converter, then prime and paint. Clean out the inside of the frame and spray in a liberal amount of woolwax or similar. Posted pictures would not scare me away... Once the exterior frame is cleaned up, coat with the same woolwax or similar....

 

[Kabanstva]

I was expecting much worse. That rust is not bad at all. I have tons of pics on my phone of salt belt 100s that are ten times worse.

 

[hickuptruck]

Yeah that generic muffler makes me question if it was always serviced at the dealer, not one that is OEM at least.

 

[excessive]

its not too bad. you can never fix that , but you can slow it down.
I would suggest eastwood's rust converter , or similar. once you've stopped what you can, then liberally apply fluidfilm or surfaceshield to the underbody and that will stop it from getting worse

also - it looks like they put a new fuel tank in , but there's no shield. just be aware that you are missing that protection that Toyota intended for your fuel tank

 

[letswheel]

its not too bad. you can never fix that , but you can slow it down.
I would suggest eastwood's rust converter , or similar. once you've stopped what you can, then liberally apply fluidfilm or surfaceshield to the underbody and that will stop it from getting worse

also - it looks like they put a new fuel tank in , but there's no shield. just be aware that you are missing that protection that Toyota intended for your fuel tank

Yes, I realized that they have no shields from transfer case , engine and tank. I wonder if they were rusted away and were removed it before sale. Have to do a research where to find full underbody shields

 

[letswheel]

Update to previous comments.
At this point I spent too much on this rig already. I am already $17K in and feel very disappointed. I am worried that rust will be giving more problems down the road even though I am in GA.
Should I sell it and just keep looking for a better one?
I have not done in person inspection before buying and never had a rust belt car before. (one of the dumbest moves I ever had)
When car was delivered it seems that the dealer purchased it from the first owner and done some modifications to prepare for sale
1. all of the shields are missing (gast tank, transfer case, front guard under engine)
2. Gas tank is new
3. AC Condenser and lines are new.
4. Rear axle wheel bearings sound like a jet engine
5. Odd sound from the engine belt area, noise pitch increases with RPMs. Fan bracket pulley?
6. A lot more rust than I anticipated. Mostly surface rust, have found couple bubbling spots.

Drives solid (except for bearing noise) . Steering breaking and everything else seems to be in great condition.