I want to restore my 2003 Tacoma

Hi everyone,
I have a 2003 tacoma with about 300,000 miles on it. He has a few dents and rust on the body, and with the way things are going with the new tacomas I want to restore him and keep him healthy. Engine is going great and have kept up on all maintenance. Does anyone have any advice on where to start? How much something like this would cost - definitely needs to get the dents out, full paint job, new carpets, and detailed upholstery? I'd love to hear any advice on what this will look like. I'm in southern california for a while, so open to referrals. Thank you!

 

Check for frame rust first.
Change ALL FLUIDS, coolant, brake fluid, diffs, Tcase, MT.
Now replace all hoses and belts. 6cyl has timing belt, water pump, Tstat and pulley go with belt kit.
Decent paint job and carpet/upholstery
Last.

 

Lets hope your truck has lived all it life there and your not into Surf fishing .

Any plans on heading into places where you see winter chemicals??

First thing to make sure is your frame is perfect !! Before doing anything else.

Then it all depends how picky you are with body work . A full paint job and body work can get very expensive unless you can live with something like Macco if there are any still around your locations . Each location can be so very different in quality

 

Hi there. I decided to do the same thing w/ my 2004 Tacoma double cab. Vehicle prices have been too high so I decided to try to get 300k out of my 04. I have 187,000 now...

I live in the northeast (NH)....Toyota replaced my frame several years ago under warranty. I went to a body shop and showed them the few rust spots on the body that needed repair. The bed has a bit of rust on a seam...there are paint chips on the doors...and the windshield seal needs to be fixed up and there are a bit of rust above the windshield.

So the body guy said for them to fix those several things it would prob cost more than the vehicle is worth...but he recommended an oil undercoating to prevent any further rust (of which there is not much) on frame....and the undercoating place would oil inside door panels and quarter panels etc.....that was only $250 to slow/stop any further rust.

Regarding the windshield, I happen to have an appointment for tomorrow to get the seal fixed up...and they said they would take care of the rust over the windshield too....that job is costing about $260 (including the new windshield since they mentioned the old windshields often break when removed).

Regarding the rest of the bodywork...I'm gonna look on youtube and see if I can take care of that myself.

Beyond that, I could use some seat covers, and normal maintenance.

I'll be watching to see how you make out and perhaps use the similar advice you receive.

Good Luck
Pete.

 

If you make it to paint and body, can't do prep yourself, don't have a 'friend' in the biz and want it done with quality product, I'll guess $5-6k

On a 300k truck, I agree with the others. Frame, safety items, mechanical all up to snuff before considering cosmetics.

 

So, how is that project going?
I’m in SoCal too, with 237k and I’d live w to keep her and have her beautiful.

trying to figure if it’s worth it.

this one has never given me an ounce of pain, and I just do basic services and keep her checked up, but she looks more like a old painter’s work truck than I want, and I feel like I need a new dash .

all input welcome, thanks in advance

my first ever post in here

 

Welcome to TW...

 

I'm in the same boat.
I have a 2002 4 cyl/5 speed 4x4 with 320k on it.
The trucks looks great from 10' but the paint is starting to have issues.
Searching on this site and talking to a few locals here in Mass I can see a quality paint job quickly approaching $10k.
Putting your comments about the new tacomas aside (I currently own a 22 and a 25), I love my old 2002.
I'm just not sure I want to put real money into an old truck.
I'm thinking about a raptor liner paint job.
I'd set aside $10k for your project.

 

Huge Difference between So Cal California and Mass when it comes to older
Trucks. I would have no problem in So Cal keeping my pick ups and 4 Runners from the eighties going forever . After having Sticker Shock looking at new Tacoma`s
Here in Pa I can hear them rust. If you can do most of the Prep Work yourself find someone to spray it reasonable. The prep labor is the major expensive.

Good Luck!

 

You’re going to want to have a look at every piece of rubber and every bushing on that thing. That’s if you decide it’s worth the effort to deal with any rust and bodywork. The mechanicals and interior stuff you mention I think will be the easy parts.

 

Hey everyone, this post seems to be from 2021, keep that in mind.

 

A new Post was posted today as well!!