Howdy, figured I would make a thread documenting the rebuild of my 1993 Toyota Pickup I bought about a month ago.

So I actually have two of these trucks (both 22RE, Stick, 4X4), my other one is a 1992 with a super rusted frame, but 92,000 miles on the powertrain. I bought the 1993 as a donor frame truck, but I quickly decided to make the 1992 a parts truck for the interior and other parts, as well as having a backup set of low mile axles, transmission, and engine. Ultimate goal is to make this a fun weekend trail rig. Current plans are weld up a flat bed, lift kit, interior swap, lockers, front bumper, and eventually a SAS later on down the road.

Here's the trucks:
1993







1992 Truck with Rusted Frame



Today I started to tear into the truck and remove the fenders, front bumper, and bed to see what I was working with. Diagnosis is worst than I thought as the drivers side area behind the bumper is pretty crumpled, and I'm not sure how to fix it quite yet. Realistically I will need to swap core support and both sides with my other truck, but I will worry about that farther down the road.

Removing the bed is a lot easier with a forklift








Pretty bent up under the fenders:




Also went ahead and ordered a tube bumper from All-Pro offroad with grab handles and front stinger, going to look sweet. Only reason I got this so early is due to them running a really good sale right now that saved me a couple hundred bucks, otherwise I would wait.



I'll keep this updated as I continue working on this thing.

I am here for this!

Did you buy that 93 from whistlin' diesel?

You bought Top Gear's truck!? In.

IN! They should still be making these little pickups.

I'm certain I've seen those exact two Toyotas in-tow on I-35 to Mexico.

A lot of that should buff out.

My son bought a 93 with a blown head gasket two years ago just to fix up and knock around in. We replaced the blown gasket (good lord those are easy to work on) and he drove it around for a few months before selling it.

He hated it and asked me how we drove those "go karts" around back in the 90's. I informed him the speed limit was only 55 and we actually drove and paid attention since no one had a cell phone.

When you're done, are you going to take Jennifer up to the lake in it?

Buck Turgidson said:

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When you're done, are you going to take Jennifer up to the lake in it?

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I thought his truck was the coolest thing I'd ever seen, when I was a kid. Couldn't imagine anything cooler would ever be made.

Alright guys, got some updates on the Yota and some plans are changing (as expected). I've named this truck Fearless based on the stupid windshield banner the last owner put on, think its pretty fitting. To answer some questions about the tree impact, the story I was told was the previous owners son drove it into a ditch and rolled it into a tree. Kid is lucky to be alive.

So over the weekend I stripped the truck bed down for every bolt and bracket I could get. For now, I'm going to put the bed from my other truck on so that I can quickly get taillights working. The rust holes won't look good but it's a lot easier to put 6 bolts in and be able to drive in the meantime.




If anyone's curious, this is how you dispose of a truck bed



Also did an oil change, looked really dark so no telling when it was last changed. Threw some cheap Napa 10w-30 in it.



My stinger bumper from All-Pro/Trail Gear got delivered today, and I did a test fit to see how it will fit until the hardware gets delivered tomorrow. Thankfully, the stock bumper brackets can be discarded and its bolted directly to the frame. The bad news is that the header panel is more bent up than I was anticipating, but is not surprising considering its so crunched up. The header panel and core supports are rivet welded (?) to the firewall, so a cab swap will have to happen hopefully sooner than later.







From what I can see, the front end got tweaked to the passenger side as the bottom bolt holes don't line up, but I also am going to try and put the mounting tabs under the body mount to see if it fits better. Regardless, going to look sweet, especially since it has a winch tray already welded in so install will be super simple.

I've also ordered a set of heavy duty shifter bushings for the transmission and transfer case from Marlin Crawler Offroad since mine are very sloppy. This is my first stick vehicle, so being able to actually feel where the gears are should help me drive it better while I practice.

Planning on making a trip down to Texas in the next couple weeks to get all the other parts I need since I'm in Alabama for now. In an ideal world, I would also swap the cabs while I'm down there but that's extremely unlikely. If anyone has any ideas on how to lift a cab up with no tractor or car lift, let me know. The property has some large Live Oaks, so I'll need to get creative.

That looks like it needs to be in Somalia with a 50 cal bolted to the bed.

https://toyotasofwar.com

Not a very interesting update, but figured I'd share anyway. Made a trip to back to the homeland from Alabama over the weekend to drop the truck off and spend some time with family for a few days. Was hoping to get some work done on the truck but I needed to mow grass instead.

Regardless, got to do a good shakedown on the trailer I got at an estate auction about a year ago. I have a video series on Youtube about it, so the links are below. I had Metro Trailer Repair in Birmingham wire up my brakes on both axles, convert it to 7 pin, and replace the deck for me. They usually work on semi trailers and box trucks, but are extremely knowledgeable and hooked me up since we use them for work so frequently. Great people.

When I bought it:


What it looks like now:


So I embarked on my ~800 mile journey to the Austin area, and made a pitstop in Vicksburg, MS for the night. Truck pulled great and the trailer performed flawlessly.



Drove the truck off and put it in the barn until I make another trip for 4th of July when I can take a lot more time off. Hoping I can put the other bed on and get it road legal during that time, but in the meantime I'm going to order parts to start rebuilding (fuel pump, brakes, intake, etc.)



So this is where she sits for now. Not too interesting, but I felt like I needed to share. If anyone's curious on stats on how a '22 F150 5.0 tows, here's my mileage and gas mileage from my trip towing the trailer the entire time.



Side note - I am actively trying to get myself back to Texas to be closer to family. If anyone knows or has a job for someone that's in the trucking/DOT compliance/Fleet management fields, please let me know. I'm looking to get into the waste management/scrap metal industry.

I'll update everyone if anything else happens between now and July. Thanks.

Buck Turgidson said:

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When you're done, are you going to take Jennifer up to the lake in it?

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Replies like these are why I texag.