Hello! Hello! I'm in the mid west, and found a truck for sale, researched it and found this sight. There is awesome builds and info on here!! Found a 1986 pickup truck, black, automatic, 2wd with 200,000 miles and thinking about picking it up. It is drive able but has a rough idle and a loud exhaust leak. They are asking 600 but it has been on Craigslist for 21 days now. So I can hopefully get it for less. It is black wit a dented front and rear bumper. It has an extended bed which looks ok, but the outside fenders are all rusted up and they sprayed black paint over the rust. I would only drive it in the summer and like to swap the motor eventually. I just bought my first house and want to remodel stuff so this would be perfect for getting supplies, but I mainly would use it to haul my motorcycles to and from the track. A couple questions 1) is there replacement panels that are easy to find to fix the outside part of the bed/ fenders? 2) I see everyone jacks these up to go off road, or lowers them. I would lower it. But how much could I lower and still put 600/700lbs in the back and not have it bottom out? I would want to improve handling but not slam it. These roads can be bumpy and rough out here. 3) you're commend any specific areas I should check for serious damage, that can't be repaired? A sign to leave it and walk away?
Welcome! 21 days on CL at only $600 would have me questioning many things about the truck and I'd make sure I know what I'm getting. Here in CA I can't even find a non-running truck at that low of a price, so I'm assuming this truck is pretty beat up based on that and your description of rust. Definitely inspect the undercarriage of this truck. The older trucks are more reputable for having a more robust boxed in frame than say the 1st gen Tacoma, but still rust gets to everything it seems and if your fenders are already gone, I'd suspect many parts underneath are too.
Thanks for the info Everyone out here wants a Chevy, Ford, or Dodge pickup truck. But yes that has me questionging stuff too being on craigslist for that long. It is an hour and a half north of me. The guy is willing to meet half way and he said he wants it off his lawn... He sent me a photo of the engine, and bed. I will ask him for a photo of where the leafsprings meet the frame. i am going to meet with him after Xmas.
Well i couldn't go look at the truck over the weekend due to work. I will go pick up the truck after the holidays, this weekend. from the photos . . . it doesn't look to bad where the leaf springs meet the frame, except for the last one. I think if i attack it right away, it won't be a problem. The other 3 look fine for the age of the truck.
From those pics it doesn't look too bad. Probably didn't drive it a lot in winter, but then again you said the fenders are rotted out so there is some decent rust from the years. I agree that if you tackle it now you might get another decade out of this truck at least. I know fender parts are still available, but I'd think about fiberglass replacements as an alternative. They're more expensive but will never rust.
i have seen the fiberglass fenders online, found the site while searching on here. once i actually get the truck and see it, i will update on here and see what my options are. i mainly want to make sure it is reliable to drive throughout the summer, and not break down on the side of the road. So i will do an oil change and check the plugs. The current owner said it doesn't need a tune up, that it has new plugs and wires already. Then i will work on that rust on the frame and the bed. We will see. i am excited to get it though.
a couple more photos of the truck that he texted me looks like there might be an oil leak towards the front of the engine . . . it already has a tone of stickers
