What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

I ran across this old shot of my 99 pre.

 

The elements really don't play around where you are

 

I blame the fabricator.

 

Oh my dear gawd! So gross can't like

 

Tell me about it. I have a theory it rusted from the inside out. That particular section is separated from the inside of the cab and more part of the rocker than anything and probably was left bare because I didn't think to paint inside that cavity post welding. That stud that usually is at the bottom of that rocker to hold the body panel on snapped off ages ago and I used a self tapper to hold that fender corner on both sides. My best guess is water got in from the bottom and then just stayed in that cavity.

I'd blame him too but it actually rusted in a spot with no welds At least now I have my own welder setup and can repair it myself. Last time I did the cutting/disassembly and he did the welding.

 

I couldn't get a shot from a paint can in there either, can just sorta see it through a void. So I just blasted Eastwood internal frame coating in that cavity.

 

My tub is mostly just JB weld and I don't think it can rust

 

Hmm…

Mine doesn’t see the conditions that yours does, but your point about the water creeping in there has me concerned. I ended up welding a flanged nut there where the OG fender hardware got cut away and it’s entirely possible that it has allowed some water ingress as well.

Might have to steal Zane’s idea and spray some Eastwood stuff in that weird little leftover pocket through the hole in the nut.

 

Yeah I think that will be my plan after the repair. Will also weld a stud to the bottom of the truck like how it came originally to seal the bottom too.

Eventually I'd like to source a southern or west coast truck body and bed to start over with. I have so many holes in the bed with the setup evolving over the years and now that I finally have a true multifunctional setup I'd love to redo it all on a clean fresh bed that hasn't been rust repaired 8 times. The cab floor also had rust repair done in 2016 I believe too. I'd also love to retub the cab for 37's and reinforce the front core support proactively. Lots of stuff I'd like to do differently to clean up work that came from inexperience. Would be nice to completely gut and rewire the electrical system too.

The frame itself is mint and has been meticulously cared for since the swap in 2016 so that's def not going anywhere.

 

It's def worth checking in on. Curious what gauge everyone used for their tubs too? This was 20 and maybe it was too thin.

Looking back at photos and it wasn't in great shape to start with...




I treated the stuff inside the cab post welding but not that cavity.

 

I used 18ga, I probably could have worked 16ga by hand (not a sheetmetal guy by any means) but 18 was easy enough.





The 18 fought a little but some hammering with the ball peen and some pulling with a strap helped shape it before welding into place.

 

at that point just get a new truck haha

wow I think I used 20ga haha

 

18 felt thin enough, I had asked you and @drr what y'all used and went with the thicker remember?

 

Shit dude I can't remember fuckin anything about what I've said here in the last day haha so no

Or maybe I did 16ga..I don't remember at all at this point, was years ago.

 

16ga would have been doable I think I would have had to use some forms or maybe a large pipe though in the shop to form it though.

 

Well thankfully I documented it. Looks like I tried 16ga and went to 20 ga as I wanted to keep it one continuous piece and was easier to work with.

 

Lol yeah I mean I'll basically keep this one for as long as I can and just slowly un-shitbox it. I'll eventually fall into Theseus' paradox with it. It's already halfway there.

Yeah if it wasn't for my build thread I wouldn't be able to remember shit. It's the only reason I have it.

 

Can we ever really unshitbox these trucks after what we've done to them? I've accepted that mines just going to be a ratty truck for the foreseeable future. It's ugly, but I love it. That's part of their charm.

 

The shitbox charm gets me extra space on the highway

 

It's def hard for me in the NE where trails are tight and risk for body damage is high. But I look at the really clean trucks like @malburg114 @jubei and @cbechtold and I get jealous of how clean and unrusty they look. Mine is ugly on the outside but gorgeous underneath in the frame area.