Hello, New to the forum and and transitioning from a long history of hot rodding! Here is my new purchase as of last Sunday! It is a 1980 2WD 5 speed with the 20R. It has 87,000 original miles and purchased from the original owner! Has the original owner's manual and spare tire. Mechanically it was maintained very well but the body needs some attention. It still has the small hub caps and beauty rings. It has some surface rust and the bed has some small pin hole in several areas. In east TN, we have alot of weather conditions and road salt to deal with, so for a "30 something" year old truck, it's really in good shape! I paid $1400 for it which up in this area, it's hard to find anything under $2000 that runs with no cancer.... I would like your input as to what mods and direction I should take with this. Like I said, I am new to mini truckin'! I really like this forum!
Welcome ! Cool ride ! I would restore to original. most guys here will tell you to slam it or bag it ! Best of luck either way you go ! 22R88
I agree with 22r88 its a very clean nice original so restore it! However it is your truck and do what you please with it. Best of luck
She's a beauty. First thing is attack that rust so it doesn't spread. Check brakes and other little things that make a truck reliable and the rest is up to you. Plenty of inspiration on this forum.
since you're from a hot rodding past and not restoration i say adjust ride height, smooth out the body and put a stupid amount of power in it!!
No sense in restoring it in my opinion. It's just a toyota truck lol Clean it up, add some personality, make it better. Don't replace parts, upgrade!
Thanks for the input guys! I scored some really nice Mustang wheels and good tires for $150 this weekend and installed them. What a difference in the way the truck handles and rides...I learned about the bolt pattern compatibilty on this forum! Great info! I'll look at a slight body frop maybe 2"...nothing radical, and go to work on the body. I was walking thru the local pull-a-part on Saturday and noticed another '80 flat bed that had a header on it, which if it's not rusted thru, i'll snag and a '79 4WD truck that had a factory tach in the cluster and a separate gauge console with oil and temp gauges mounted below the AC vent...it looked like it was a facory option. Any wisdom on the gauge console? Was it a factory option? Also, if anyone wants the original 14"s complete with the beauty rings and caps, let me know and we will work out something. Easy pick up if you live near east TN...more pictures to follow! Thanks again!
