New purchase, repairs have started

Initial pics and start of the paint work. I'll add more as time goes on. Purchased the truck for $1,500 from a co worker 3 weeks ago (3/17/23). Lots of plans for it. 1998 SR5, 2wd 202,xxx miles.

 

Did some body work and primer. Coming along!

 

Are you going to paint it yourself?

 

Yep!

 

I’m watching… my clear coat is bad on my hood and roof so imma see how you tackle this

 

Nice, hopefully you document the paint job so we can follow along.

 

Well, I’m not a pro nor am I a wealthy guy. So it’ll be done on the cheap but it’ll be nice and all one color lol

 

Sounds exactly like me haha

 

So, I've been researching and weighing my options for what I want to do for a refinish on the Tacoma. I did get a quote from my local MAACO. They said if I wanted to do the 'preferred paint' it would be $1,300...the 'Basic' paint was $999.00. There was no super cheap deal from them like you see on YouTube and what not lol. Those prices right now are way out of budget for me...So my next consideration was a Dip your car kit. Cost of that was around $400. Not bad. But my budget was set and I know it would push me over. Sooooo....I decided to go the rattle can route. I did this on my 1986 GT Mustang and it came out pretty good. It was a hold over till I could save up for a nice paint job in the future. My thoughts are the same with this Tacoma project. Get some sort of a finish on it, then save for a refinish down the road. I'm gonna try the Rust oleum 'TURBO' cans. Preferably in white. Price for the paint based off of my research for the amount needed should be less than $150.

 

Here is my GT painted with John Deere Blitz black.

 

Sounds like an interesting project you have going on.

I spent way too much time online reading up on the "charger $50 paint job"

A guy painted his Dodge Charger using a roller and thinned out Tremclad paint (Tremclad is the Canadian version of Rustoleum).

That guy got a decent "driver quality" paint job by spending $50 and a whole lot of his time on it.

Keep the pictures coming.

 

I like spray cans over brushes. Those "turbo' cans are pretty intense lol. 10" fan spray pattern. Should cut down on tiger stripes. I had some of those happen on the GT.

 

So I started a list of mechanical items/services I'm gonna need to buy and do on my Tacoma. The truck has been driven daily for the past 8 years by it's last owner. He bought it with 150,000 miles and it now has 202,000. Only things he did while owning it was oil changes, new tires, exhaust(muffler) and front brake pads. So with that in mind I started to look over the truck and get my list together. I'm still working in the confines of a budget and I'm hoping I can stay with in it while doing this project!
Here's what I got so far:
1) New shocks, front and rear
2) New lower ball joints.
3) New UCA's with ball joints.
4) New plug wires
5) New coil packs
6) New spark plugs
7) Fuel filter
8) Air filter
9) New battery

On top of those parts it needs a coolant flush, rear diff service and a trans service (drain and fill. No flush!)
Then we get into some other things such as, the interior is filthy! Complete deep cleaning and steam cleaning is needed. Wheels need to be cleaned, prepped and
refinished. I want to replace the bed liner with something other than the warped and faded plastic one. Ugh. I got my work cut out! I know I'll encounter more things down the rabbit hole!

 

I decided to tackle the interior cleaning and had some pretty good results. Used a portable bissell cleaner and a small steamer for the plastic parts. Looks much better and smells slightly better
Here are the before shots…

 

Here’s the after…

 

This is so satifying! Keep it up!

 

Nice work so far! Looking forward to seeing your continued progress.

 

Turned out great!!

 

Also got around to fixing and painting the front bumper, side mirrors and wiper cowl. Used rust oleum trim paint.

 

I finally took the plunge and changed the fuel filter tonight. It was a little bit difficult… it took me about an hour. But all in all it was not that bad. I have large hands and it’s a very tight area to work in so that made it a lot of fun lol…Before I did the install, I made sure I could get my tools on all the bolts needed to be loosened or removed. After I broke them all loose I went ahead and I depressurized the gas tank by opening the fuel cap. Then I loosened and removed the bottom bolt on the bracket the holds the fuel filter. Once that was removed I was able to access the bolt above it that actually retains the filter into the bracket. Once That was loose I could then move the filter back-and-forth. I then went on top and removed the fuel rail banjo bolt. When it was off I was able to retain the bolt and both washers. I then proceeded to remove the front banjo bolt on the filter itself. When it was removed I was able to slide the filter assembly out of the bracket and out of the engine bay from the top. I was able to work on the assembly off the truck, either on the bench or on the floor as I did. It was a much easier job reinstalling it as it slid right into the bracket. And I was able tighten up the retention bolt and install the lower bolt on the bracket once the filter was in place. At that point I was able to snug down and torque all the banjo bolts on the fuel rail and on the front of the filter.
Here’s a few pics.