Meet Charlotte. I bought her from a dude living in her in the woods. (1 Viewer)

[88pkupdreams]

Good afternoon esteemed gentlemen.
Its very unlike me to ask the internet to solve my problems, and I haven't been on a forum since you had to wait for porn to load on a dial up modem.
But here we are.

Meet Charlotte. Shes an 88, 5speed, 4wd, 22re. I'm mildly in love
She's charming but rough, like a funny vegas hooker. I've attached some pics to show that the previous owner (who didn't seem like a muppet) has done some work, but she's old, and could use some more TLC.
She seems to runs grea, just 30 years behind the times. she's wet on the bottom, but doesn't seem to leak fast. She has ~215K in freedom lengths. I've had her about a year, and drove her up the pass all winter.
Recently she started making UFO noises after I put her back in 2WD for the spring, and I'm convinced its T-case ATM.

Since I am new to this whole line of truck.....
What should I do with this oh wise internet gods? Give me your best bad advice.

Should I get a t-case and keep it stock? Just replace s*** as it breaks?
Am I about to fight a whole mess of un-forseen issues?
Can parts be had for this, or have we broken them all already?
Knows issues with this vintage of truck I should watch out for?
Should I go nuts? What's popular with these if I still wanted to daily it but also live in Oregon? Common suspension upgrades?
Sorry for being a dumbass, but a leopard never changes its spots

Thanks for the replies in advance!

 

[CreeperSleeper]

I'll give it a shot:

• Should I get a t-case and keep it stock? Just replace s*** as it breaks?
  • It all depends on what your final goal for the truck is! Judging by the pics, I don't see why your stock case couldn't be rebuilt. However, I'm not convinced it is the t-case...
• Am I about to fight a whole mess of un-forseen issues?
  • Maybe? The truck is almost 40 years old! You will be tinkering and fixing little things constantly just because of age. That comes to a personal preference on if driving an old vehicle is worth it to you.
• Can parts be had for this, or have we broken them all already?
  • Most parts are still available. There is a thread on here listing parts that are no longer available.
• Knows issues with this vintage of truck I should watch out for?
  • There are people on here that will be able to give you better advice on this. I never own them long enough!
• Should I go nuts?
  • Again, this all comes down to what your goal is for your truck. If you want this to be a daily, then probably not.
• What's popular with these if I still wanted to daily it but also live in Oregon?
  • Usually 89 octane and avoid Portland / Gresham / Salem / Eugene
• Common suspension upgrades?
  • Again, it all depends on how you want to use the truck...