1988 toyota pickup i just bought from an older lady for $800. one owner until me and has been regularly maintained at the shop i work at. has few small dents and dings but nothing major. bone stock 143k miles. only thing missing is the radio and door speakers and cig lighter. they had it for sale a year or two ago for 2500. they were going to take it to the junkyard before i was able to work out a deal with them. runs great and look forward to building it how i want

 

Wow, where's everyone's manners? Hi! Cool truck! Welcome to toyotaminis !! A dark crab hole in the ocean of old internet that no one uses because ppl don't do long form narrow audience specific focus sites anymore ...

..did I mention welcome ^_^

 

..did I mention manners gentlemen?

 

Welcome! Always good to hear another truck saved from the scrapper.

 

thanks guys. i've always wanted a mini truck but never really saw it happening. this one just fell in my lap. i've started with some lighting upgrades first because i cant see at night lol. really look forward to building this truck and glad to be part of the community

 

Welcome! I too have a 1988 2wd and also live in north Georgia. Not quite in the mountains but not far from them. Do you have any plans for this saved little gem?

 

i'm up near the tri state area about 20-30 minutes from GA,TN, and NC lines. definitely plan to do drop spindles. i'd like to eventually go weber 32/36 and exhaust. i've got many things id like to do as this is the first vehicle ive had in a while that wasnt a family vehicle lol wife is all aboard on all my ideas so thats a plus. first mods thus far have been lighting bc i cannot see hardly with factory light set up. the passenger bumper bracket is bent so ive got one on the way. just some little things first but definitely have plenty in mind

 

You can go with drop spindles but not necessary with your truck. Just turn the bolts that hold the torsion bars and that will lower your front end. The only thing you need to buy are lowering blocks for the rear. That's how I lowered mine 35 years ago. This forum is full of info. You can find most anything if you have time to look for it

 

yea i had looked into lowering it with the torsion bars and lowering blocks but had read that you'd pay for it in ride quality. i'll be daily driving it for the most part and would probably rather spend the extra money for it

 

Im in the savannah, GA area.

I had this at one time and its decent on gas and fun to rip around in.

End goal, do u wanna go static or bagged?

If static, just get the drop spindles and renotch the torsions and for the rear do blocks. This will help for daily driving. U can get air shocks for the rear or a coilover.

Air bags, do the research as ive never owned a bagged truck.

 

I put Doesch Tech Nitro Slammer shocks on mine and the ride isn't bad at all. These are shorter than normal shocks. It's a lowrider and will have shorter travel so it's not gonna ride like grandma's Buick. I went down 3" in suspension and another 2" with rims/tires. I would love to do a body drop with airbags but my Z-Rack would have to go. Not quite ready for that yet

 

That's your truck in the thumbnail?

I gone down a total of 9" with drop and tires; special lowrider magic..but I need a notch def.

Edit* hai, sry to thread jack u bcondetti /:

 

static-ish. id like to be low but functional enough to slide it a bit eventually. ill be daily driving it to work but want to be able to go out and cruise or have a little fun in it. this is very similar to what id like to do https://images.app.goo.gl/3GfV7gS5Fdqvu8eu5

although part of me has half a mind to drop it, throw some steelies, goodyear eagles (yellow lettered lol), 302 swap it (have a couple 302 motors), throw some winston cup contingency stickers on it and boom. nastruck

maybe one day. maybe not. but for now i'll keep it relatively simple as my bronco 2 and 4runner will be requiring the majority of my attention soon


no need to apologize about the thread quickfox, all good here. glad to hear other folks input and experiences with their builds

 

Yep, that's it. It sat for about 25 years so I am in the process of returning it to its prime. New tires, radiator, hoses, brakes, etc. Hoping to have it rolling soon

 

Love the stance in those photos but if you're concerned about ride quality, those tires will be your only suspension. No where for them to travel with the fender on them

 

yea idk that i would quite have it that low, more so i guess the "poke", as quickfox would call it, that that trucks got. with a little bit more meat on the tire. id prefer not to have much wheel/fender gap but i'd rather have a little to allow for travel than sacrifice ride quality.

 

How low is low for u?

Cheap way: rear blocks and lower torsion bars/flip ball joints (recommend notching torsion bars so u dont hit them on speed bumps)

Decent: spindles or lower control arms; rear blocks. Just need decent shocks for the measured travel.

Top: do the front from "decent", but get lowered drop leafs for the rear (weight capacity will be lowered)

Would also suggest a rear sway bar and upgrade front. If u can find a dually, those be best.