1986 Toyota Pickup Standard Cab, Standard Bed, 2WD, 22R, 4 Speed.
So, I have never done a build thread before, or even posted on this forum, so I figured I'd dive right in. I'm sure people love seeing new builds, and it'll be good for me to help keep track of my own progress. I have typically been into building Jeep Comanches but have always loved Toyota trucks. So when I stumbled on my first Pickup, I didn't hesitate to buy it. Yes, I know this is a 2WD, but there's gotta be some love out there for these too!
I had a great reputation with the owner of a local record store, and he had mentioned in passing that he bought a new Tacoma to replace his older Pickup that had stopped running a few years prior. He mentioned he was planning on scrapping it. I asked how much he wanted for it and told me if I give him $175, I could have it. Showed up that weekend and grabbed it. It's a bit rough. Bed has rust holes everywhere. Cab corners, rockers, and floors are rotting out, interior looks like an extended family of rats have lived in it, and even with a new battery, it showed no signs of life. To top it off, the rear brakes seems to be seized so I had to drag it onto a trailer. Anyone else in Michigan (or the rust belt), will probably understand my pain.
The truck: 1986 Toyota Pickup Std Cab, Std Bed, 2WD, 22R, 4spd with 8" rear, 3.07 gears. No A/C, No power steering. No radio, no clock... This thing is definitely a base model probably more geared towards a work truck. 216,000 miles on the odometer.
Before I get too far into the pictures and what I've done so far, I want to go over what my plans are. Being that it was a little worse off than the original owner had made it sound, I knew I would have a lot more work ahead of me, but for $175, I wasn't about to complain. After going over everything, I have decided to do a restomod. This is going to end up being a daily driver, but I also want it to be fun to drive. I'm not too picky about going back to absolute stock, but don't want to stray too far from it either. I'm going to strip it down to a bare frame, recoat the frame, inside and out, and then either replace or rehab every part of the vehicle as it goes back together, from the frame down. I want the underside to feel like a whole new vehicle. After that, I'll work on the engine, the cab, decide if I'm keeping the original bed, or making a custom one, outfitting a new interior and then driving it! It's going to be a process as I don't have a full shop, a lift, or every conceivable tool, but I'm not completely new to working on vehicles.
This was September 14th, the day I picked it up. I think my favorite part is the rusty JDM tailgate.
Most of the interior is either ripped up, cracked, missing, or beyond repair. Not to mention it has a horrible smell. I was pretty bummed about the interior being so rough, but whatcha gonna do? Did I mention the horrible smell?
I don't have a good place to work on it at my house (the city would give me a hard time about having torn apart vehicles in my driveway), but luckily my grandmother has a farm not too far from me, and has graciously allowed me to bring it there to work on.
The next day, I removed most of the interior except the dash. Half of the plastics crumbled before I even started to remove them, but I was trying to be careful to save as much as I could. There was probably 10lbs of sunflower seeds, dirt, and who knows what else, all packed into every corner of this this interior. On the bright side, I did find about $3.00 in change, and a silver quarter! $175 - $3.00 = $172. Oh, and a quarter worth about $3.25. Down to $168.75. Not a bad first day.
So, I have never done a build thread before, or even posted on this forum, so I figured I'd dive right in. I'm sure people love seeing new builds, and it'll be good for me to help keep track of my own progress. I have typically been into building Jeep Comanches but have always loved Toyota trucks. So when I stumbled on my first Pickup, I didn't hesitate to buy it. Yes, I know this is a 2WD, but there's gotta be some love out there for these too!
I had a great reputation with the owner of a local record store, and he had mentioned in passing that he bought a new Tacoma to replace his older Pickup that had stopped running a few years prior. He mentioned he was planning on scrapping it. I asked how much he wanted for it and told me if I give him $175, I could have it. Showed up that weekend and grabbed it. It's a bit rough. Bed has rust holes everywhere. Cab corners, rockers, and floors are rotting out, interior looks like an extended family of rats have lived in it, and even with a new battery, it showed no signs of life. To top it off, the rear brakes seems to be seized so I had to drag it onto a trailer. Anyone else in Michigan (or the rust belt), will probably understand my pain.
The truck: 1986 Toyota Pickup Std Cab, Std Bed, 2WD, 22R, 4spd with 8" rear, 3.07 gears. No A/C, No power steering. No radio, no clock... This thing is definitely a base model probably more geared towards a work truck. 216,000 miles on the odometer.
Before I get too far into the pictures and what I've done so far, I want to go over what my plans are. Being that it was a little worse off than the original owner had made it sound, I knew I would have a lot more work ahead of me, but for $175, I wasn't about to complain. After going over everything, I have decided to do a restomod. This is going to end up being a daily driver, but I also want it to be fun to drive. I'm not too picky about going back to absolute stock, but don't want to stray too far from it either. I'm going to strip it down to a bare frame, recoat the frame, inside and out, and then either replace or rehab every part of the vehicle as it goes back together, from the frame down. I want the underside to feel like a whole new vehicle. After that, I'll work on the engine, the cab, decide if I'm keeping the original bed, or making a custom one, outfitting a new interior and then driving it! It's going to be a process as I don't have a full shop, a lift, or every conceivable tool, but I'm not completely new to working on vehicles.
This was September 14th, the day I picked it up. I think my favorite part is the rusty JDM tailgate.
Most of the interior is either ripped up, cracked, missing, or beyond repair. Not to mention it has a horrible smell. I was pretty bummed about the interior being so rough, but whatcha gonna do? Did I mention the horrible smell?
I don't have a good place to work on it at my house (the city would give me a hard time about having torn apart vehicles in my driveway), but luckily my grandmother has a farm not too far from me, and has graciously allowed me to bring it there to work on.
The next day, I removed most of the interior except the dash. Half of the plastics crumbled before I even started to remove them, but I was trying to be careful to save as much as I could. There was probably 10lbs of sunflower seeds, dirt, and who knows what else, all packed into every corner of this this interior. On the bright side, I did find about $3.00 in change, and a silver quarter! $175 - $3.00 = $172. Oh, and a quarter worth about $3.25. Down to $168.75. Not a bad first day.
(That is the official welcome emoji). 
