New to Classic Yota's need some buying advice!

[KidVermicious]

Given what I've posted, what's the most you'd pay for the truck in question? I'm trying to figure out a hard ceiling where I'd walk away.

Hard to say. I don't see any serious cosmetic issues in the pics, but they aren't very detailed either. From what the ad says and what you've said, I don't think I'd go over $3000, and I doubt your seller is going to be willing to get anywhere near that any time soon. I'd keep looking.

 

[rusty904]

I think the prices of these things around here might be a bit higher than they are out west. Rust free cars aren't really plentiful around here. I haven't seen anything without significant rot or a rebuilt title for under $3k.

I think I'm going to make the trip to check this thing out but I don't plan on buying for at least another week.

I've put aside about $7k total for the project. I don't want to spend more than $4k on a truck (certainly not this one).

 

[jbtvt]

$4k is a reasonable high end if the compression tests good. Offer $3500, when he offers $4k or below "think" for a second and ask him to test the compression with you there. Decent steel definitely costs a premium east coast. FL has some good ones for a little cheaper sometimes it seems. I flew to Greensboro for my 85 after many months of Searchtempest and paid $8500 plus trailoring to VT. Came with lots of good stuff though

 

[gtgt_bangbang]

national CL search

heres one of the national craiglist search engs.
Onecraigs - Search all of Craigslist nationwide

its kind of unfriendly to use ( lack of functions and screens) but checks em all. Im sure there are others maybe with some features

A two wheel dolly to haul your booty is about 500~700 buy if not rent and you can sell it right after if you pay right. I hit some of the local ads for car dolleys when I had to move things before; a get blown off a little but some guy wants to make 50 0r 100 on his trailer before he sells it.

On that car dolly thing, I dug up a near new Acme Eze-tow (used that nation CL search as a fatter of mact) and that thing ROCKS, has disc brakes takes a LOT of the excitement out of the task up in the hills, easy loader. recommended to any one who can tow two wheels down

best luck for your quest

 

[rusty904]

It's a v6, looks pretty nice though the head gasket issues worry me.

1988 Toyota 4runner 4x4

 

[gtgt_bangbang]

trock

SOLD! I just bot it over the phone.







kidding dude, chill

 

[jbtvt]

You can lose a head gasket in any rig and that recall is long over with. Subaru had the same issue and rather than replacing gaskets they poured a fiber leak seal into the coolant, temp fix at best. You'd be right to worry about a burnt #6 valve at that mileage though unless paperwork shows they've been done. They're a PITA so nobody ever adjusts them, compression test will tell you if it's bad. 22REs are easier to work on, I'd pick that 3.0 though.

 

[rusty904]

Cool, good advice there. The truck looks pretty clean overall though right? Anything else I should ask him about aside from the valve adjustment?

 

[rusty904]

So I drove the 22re on Saturday It was a cold morning and it started right up (I checked to make sure it was actually cold before the guy walked out). The car drove well, brakes felt good, clutch was nice and predicable and trans wasn't at all vague. He even let me test the 4wd on a little "off road course" he had set up in his back yard. The aftermarket Courbeau seats were comfy and in great shape. A/T's had tons of tread left. The aftermarket tach seemed to work well and I liked having it.

On the down side, the rear bumper is missing, some interior trim pieces were also not there (small things like grab handles, dome lights etc.) It needs new carpeting, a new dash pad, the headliner fixed, and a rear wiper arm. The gas gauge apparently goes straight to empty after it hits 1/3rd of a tank. Cosmetically, the dents that he described were there. The one behind the drivers door looks bad but the one on the other side I could live with. The truck would need a full re-spray to look sharp and the removable top was crudely painted.

Mechanically I could not find much fault with it. I couldn't find any worn out bushings, there was no rust anywhere (Car has been in SC it's entire life). Engine showed no signs of serious issue. Only concern was very slight oil residue around the valve cover gasket.

I think this truck would be solid base for a project but only at the right price. We hinted at price but I did not make him an offer. He said he was "laughing at" people who offered him $2200 for it. I agreed it was worth a little more than that but did not get any further.

I'm going to check out the black V6 today if I can and go from there.

 

[rusty904]

So after looking at a couple more trucks I reached an agreement on the blue one. I figured the lack of rust would save me some serious headaches wrenching on it being a lifetime South Carolina truck.

It cold started, ran well, stopped well, and had good wheels and tires on it. I also was digging the courbeau seats.

Gonna pick it up on Saturday and start spending money fixing her up. I want to max out at $6k on the project. Hopefully less but I know what kind of money pits these types of things can turn into.

Anyway, woohoo! Hopefully this will be a fun adventure.

 

[jbtvt]

Congrats and welcome aboard for reals! You should know though, the only fix for a Toyota addiction is...more Toyotas.

 

[rusty904]

Thanks for the welcome!

Anyone know where I can get a good rear bumper with a trailer hitch. Just need it to be strong enough for a hitch bike rack.

The truck doesn't have a rear bumper or bumper extensions!

 

[Chuckles89]

Congrats on the purchase!

I want to max out at $6k on the project. Hopefully less but I know what kind of money pits these types of things can turn into.

I'm sure you'll go over that! lol My 3rd gen that started out as a $2900 truck has close to (or over) $7000 in it (including the purchase price)

 

[Nervo19]

I'm glad you got the 5 speed/22RE. IMO it's worth more than the 3.0. I like the blue metallic too. You can get interior pieces here, from Yotatech or eBay. I live in VA so I know how unusual a nice 22RE/5 speed is. What's your friend going to charge for paint? I still haven't painted mine, after four years. Shame.

 

[Friedom]

So after looking at a couple more trucks I reached an agreement on the blue one. I figured the lack of rust would save me some serious headaches wrenching on it being a lifetime South Carolina truck.

It cold started, ran well, stopped well, and had good wheels and tires on it. I also was digging the courbeau seats.

Gonna pick it up on Saturday and start spending money fixing her up. I want to max out at $6k on the project. Hopefully less but I know what kind of money pits these types of things can turn into.

Anyway, woohoo! Hopefully this will be a fun adventure.

Good on you, man. I've been shopping around in AZ and you guys seem to have more options back east! I'm still debating whether SFA matters much to me, but sure love these trucks.

Guess I'm not adding anything useful to this thread, just living vicariously. Wheel on!

 

[rusty904]

I'm glad you got the 5 speed/22RE. IMO it's worth more than the 3.0. I like the blue metallic too. You can get interior pieces here, from Yotatech or eBay. I live in VA so I know how unusual a nice 22RE/5 speed is. What's your friend going to charge for paint? I still haven't painted mine, after four years. Shame.

Not sure on paint yet. It seems that the new body shop manager has been getting onto employees for doing after hours work. I'm hoping we can work out some sort of arrangement still. If not I can get a slight discount at Maaco through the company I work for. I want to figure out how to pull the two dents first. Hopefully I can PDR without drilling it out.

Honestly the blue color was a bigger factor in my decision making than it should've been. Love that color.

 

[amalik]

So after looking at a couple more trucks I reached an agreement on the blue one. I figured the lack of rust would save me some serious headaches wrenching on it being a lifetime South Carolina truck.

It cold started, ran well, stopped well, and had good wheels and tires on it. I also was digging the courbeau seats.

Gonna pick it up on Saturday and start spending money fixing her up. I want to max out at $6k on the project. Hopefully less but I know what kind of money pits these types of things can turn into.

Anyway, woohoo! Hopefully this will be a fun adventure.

congrats.

 

[Quatre Coureur]

Congrats on your "new" ride and welcome to the world of the 1st Gen. Where u better be mechanically inclined, and if you're not, u will be! :trophy:

 

[rusty904]

So I picked her up today. Truck ran great on the highway for an hour then I stopped for fuel and it started idling a little bit rough. I got home and let it sit for about an hour then I started it up again. Now it will not Idle at all. It runs great on the move but conks out if I take my foot off the gas at a stop.

Also a lesser problem the wipers no longer work. They did on the test drive but now no life from them at all. The wiper motor gets hot but does not seem to do anything. I'm going to take it apart and try to find an issue.

More worried about the idle obviously but input on either problem would be greatly appreciated. What have I gotten myself into? Haha.

 

[wallytoo]

This is where the budget gets blown up.

Suggest searching the forum, along w/yotatech, and especially get a factory service manual.