- The Restoration Of My 93 Pickup -

[jliddle]

Alrighty here is the rundown.. 1993 Toyota Pickup V6 4wd. I have owned this truck for almost 6 years now. It was given to me by my dad when I got my learners permit. It has been my pride and joy ever since. Now sitting at almost 269,000 miles, it has been subject to a well deserved restoration for a few months.

Here is an old thread I made about it back in 08..
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/pics-videos-buffet-149/532017-my-daily-driver.html



It decided to sprout a coolant leak back in December which led to a top-end rebuild. Everything but the heads came off.. These V6's are a major pain to work on. But I eventually I managed to fix the leaks and do some preventative maintenance along the way. :thumbsup:

Here are some engine tear-down pics I took thru the process ( when I actually remembered to take pics...)


NIGHTMARE OF VACUUM/FUEL LINES!

Upper intake off along with timing cover

Lower intake off

Valve Covers off for new gaskets ( Part of the preventative maintenance )

The laundry list of all new (engine) parts went something like this:

Timing belt idler

Radiator ( mine was an older brass design and the brackets started breaking loose from the radiator itself )

Upper Air intake hose ( Original was cracked )

New fan shroud

Couple new coolant bypass hoses that were seeping coolant

New plugs

New belts

All new gaskets including injector O rings

Here it is reassembled and just about ready to fire

Fired it up and all was well :rockon:



THEN. After fixing the motor I started finishing what has been a long process since last fall. BODY WORK.

Luckily for me I work at a body shop and have the knowledge and proper tools to accomplish such a feat.


It all started back in the fall of last year when I purchased a used bed in TOP NOTCH condition from my former boss. My original bed has some rust that I wasnt going to repair.

New bed in all its rust-free glory

Here is the new bed upside down getting some severe undercoating.

Shaved the gas door lock while I was at it

Pulled the original bed off and undercoated the rear section of my rust free frame

Finally bolted on

After that I drove it until the previously posted engine mishaps happened.

As I worked on the engine I decided to finish restoring the body.

Got a new fender in.

Painted and re-installed

I also ordered a new fender for the other side and sprayed it along with my windshield cowl.

While I had the fenders off I painted the aprons just to give it some extra corrosion protection.

Then the mud work began as i started fixing dents in the doors, ext cab sections and besides.

Stripped the hood and reprimed.

Got around to priming and spraying the tailgate

Ordered new bumper and valence along with a new grille.

Etch-primed and painted backside of the bumper.

 

[T76 Mach]

Dam good trucks.Worked on a 250K mile one the other day and the vacuum lines were all cracked.Replaced the broken lines and it idled/ran like day one off the assembly line

 

[jliddle]

Then I ordered a new grille. I always loved the look of the mesh-type tacoma grilles w/ emblem in the corner.

No such grille is available so that forced me to build my own.

Started by ordered a new grille. Then I pulled out my old one a used it for a test dummy as I built my new insert. I went to lowes and ended up finding some "gutter guard". It ended up being about the right mesh pattern I was looking for. Also picked up some rod and flat stock while i was there.

Here is my old grille with the center cut out.

I took the round stock and made one side of the insert

Made the other side and welded them together.

The way Im fastening it to the factory grille is by welding the flat stock to the backside of the insert allowing me to drill holes and bolt it to the inside surface of the factory shell.

Then I wrapped the whole insert in the mesh and tack'ed the mesh to the insert.

Getting close

Then came the emblem. I wanted something different. Some will bring the hate, others will like it. Either way its different, and I like it.

Made a backing plate for the emblem, painted the insert and cut out the brand new grille ( very tediously I might add ).

Finished product..

 

[jliddle]

THEN COMES TODAYS PROGRESS...

I show up to the shop this morning to do the FINAL stage of bodywork to the truck. My plan was to have this thing ready to spray when I left this evening.

I arrived at work only to find this...

The next pics are dents in the doors, ext cab sections, bedsides and hood. Hard to get any definition or depth on a primered surface. But these are serious dents. Not scratches or chips. I normally get paid around 2-3 hours to fix dents this size. There are multiple dents in every panel but the roof.

My truck was vandalized last night. EVERY panel except the roof was dented multiple times. All four Mickey Thompson tires were cut. Both tail lights were broken. Drivers side ext. cab window was busted. The cab corner took a severe hit which chipped the back glass.

Luckily I didnt have the new front end bolted on.

I know who did it, and have filed a report.

 

[MountainDew]

Dang it man, I hate people that vandalize! How do you know who did it?

 

[1bad95]

Dang that totally sucks man! Hope that guy who did that pays dearly!

 

[jliddle]

Forgot to add that I also had a new windshield installed. Tinted 35% just like the previous one.

 

[bleedingfordblu]

awesome yota! ive got a 87 4Runner with 332k miles thats my dd/ trail rig. planning on sasing it in the spring/summer.

 

[Terminator-Fox]

Holy **** all that work and then that! Someone does not like you, enemy?

 

[jliddle]

Dang it man, I hate people that vandalize! How do you know who did it?

Well the owner of the shop has a son that used to work here. Kid is a total druggie. According to my boss/the father they were having some issues yesterday and got in a big fight. Kid stormed out of the house full of rage.

Boss man spotted him near the shop last night.. You do the math.

Trying to be as discrete as possible.

Dang that totally sucks man! Hope that guy who did that pays dearly!

You and me both.




A repair estimate will be wrote monday morning to get monetary compensation.

 

[jliddle]

Holy **** all that work and then that! Someone does not like you, enemy?

Nah no enemies..

Im just a quiet guy, do my work and go home.

My truck was on the recieving end of a drug abusing kid. :bored:

 

[thirtytwovalve]

I want to see more, great thread.

 

[mineralgrey01gt]

man that is awesome trucks. Glad to see someone putting one back to its glory. Shitty about that kid, id have to whoop his ass, i couldnt resist it

 

[jliddle]

I want to see more, great thread.

Ill be sure to update regularly.

man that is awesome trucks. Glad to see someone putting one back to its glory. Shitty about that kid, id have to whoop his ass, i couldnt resist it

I value my job more than giving a kid a beating on shop property.

But if I see him off of the shops property its game on. :coolman:

 

[SB490]

Well, you have more self control than I do. That truck is going to be so sick when it's done.

Great work.

 

[jliddle]

Well, you have more self control than I do. That truck is going to be so sick when it's done.

Great work.

Thank you. It will be one of a kind.

 

[jerrad]

Man, so sorry the a-hole did that. Hopefully you can get enough cash out of him to make up for the damage.

 

[GeoffGT]

reminds me of back to the future! isnt that marty's dream truck??? haha

nice truck

 

[Punisher302]

nice job, man! can't wait to see the finished product.

i have a 96 T100 for a work truck/dd and wish it were an early 90's tacoma sometimes. these trucks are classic -- wanted one ever since i saw Back to the Future as a kid.

 

[jliddle]

Thanks for the comments guys. The settlement will be of a large amount garunteed. Not including the new parts that will be replaced.

Yes the back the future truck is awesome, my dad used to own one identical to it.