hello everyone! my name is bill, i live in new mexico, and ive been a member here for a few weeks, just havent done anything till now. i am the proud owner of a 1972 toyota hilux rn10. this very truck belonged to my grandfather who bought it new in 1972 about 2 months after i was born. i learned to drive in this truck. he had it all those years until he sold it in 2004 to a local guy here. grandpa died in 2006 and i thought this truck was long-gone until one day, a few weeks ago my friend and i were driving around a neighborhood looking for another friends house and i saw my grandfathers truck sitting in a back yard. i knew it was his because of the paint... we stopped and went and knocked on the guys door and asked if he wanted to sell the truck. long story short... he sold it to me for 400.00, probably too much, but i dont care, because i have my grandfathers truck back!! So! if anyone has any leads on ANY parts for these trucks, PLEASE let me know. Thanks!
Welciome to TM. Nice to hear the story and glad you got it back. So whats the plans for it? Post up some pics?
pics.... i bought it in a pretty crappy state. the windshield is broken, hit with a crowbar in a street fight... tough neighborhood i guess. thats when the guy i bought it from decided to park it, it had 4 flat tires and a dead battery. my buddy and i showed up to pick it up, complete with new battery and a portable air tank. we filled up the tires enough to get it back to the shop i work at which is about 2 miles away, put the battery in, and started cranking. didnt take long for it to start! no chugging, no smoke, no knocking! it was unbelievable! drove it back to work and started cleaning and dreaming... didnt take long, and a bunch of failed internet searches looking for parts, that i started making things fit! started with the wheels, because 14" tires are stupid expensive, i got a hell of a deal on some brand new take offs through work. the wheels and tires that are on it now are from a 2011 honda civic lx. 205/55/16. the bolt pattern is the same 5x4.5, the back spacing is a little different, but they dont rub, but i had to make the center bore 2mm larger, which i did with a metal cutting drill bit i got off the snap-on truck. took about 20 minutes for 2 wheels, but they work. the windshield part of it sucks! ive got crazy quotes from companys, up in the $500 range, so my buddy found an old hilux sitting in a field with a bunch of farm equipment, we just drove out there today at lunch and surprisingly found the owner. he wanted 1000.00 for the truck, which is not at all worth it, rust has had a field day with it... but we talked him out of the windshield for 150.00. i just cant find a gasket! anyone know where i can find a gasket?? in the u.s.???? found one on ebay in bangkok for 29.00 with 52.00 shipping! crazy! i got the windows tinted 5% a few days ago... changed all the fluids, oil, diff, trans... painted the front windshield opening while the windshield is out, and got a little carried away with the paint... thats about it so far! im constantly messing with it everyday, so things will keep changing. ill post as i get stuff done! thank you all for saying hi! and if anyone can help on the windshield gasket thing... -bill
