1980 Hilux 4wd base model long bed

Got my Hilux in January 2021 from SW MO. Incredibly clean, it was a CA car that wound up in Missouri via an estate sale within the family. Owner had too many projects so it sat for a year, then he decided to sell.
Living in St Louis, I have a local TW group, Tacos in St Louis for help plus a friend at the Parts Department of a Toyota dealership. He recommended an Import shop where the owner is very knowledgeable. So In the meantime I can do some things on my own. Pleasantly surprised to find parts available for this 40yo car from the dealership. 1st thing is the dash pad, notorious for dry rotting. Mine had a gnarly aftermarket carpet cover too. Started working on it in my unheated garage, replacement wasn’t fitting. Got a space heater, couple of hours later it warmed up and snapped right in. Weird thing was replacement had extra spring clips for which there were no holes in dash. Pulled out extra clips, planned to put double sided tape in their place, but pad snapped right in - so far so good. My plan is to get this back to stock. The defroster vents just under the windshield are dry rotted too. However the windshield has to be removed for access, which is way down the list. Like to take it out for some wheeling for some video, def before it gets painted. I’d sworn off MO wheeling due to the beating my Tacoma has taken, pinstriping being the least of it. o

 

New dash pad. It’s hard to describe how rewarding this simple repair is. Went from touching a dry bone to touching your gf’s shaved knee. Plus it occupies a lot of your field of vision, went from gnarly to pleasant.

 

Replaced stick shift knob. It was on so tight I suspected Loctite, did research on Loctite removal, then got a giant pair of water pump pliers and went for it . Came right off, whew! Although replacement is Toyota stock the 4 speed pattern isn’t a metal plate, rather it’s embossed into a softer rubber knob. Original is hard rubber. Got my paint marking pens and filled in pattern. Then went back over it with a razor knife to remove over fill. There’s still some haze but it should wear off with use.

 

Nice find, I've been looking for one for a while...

 

Posted this in Hilux Forum, which I’m starting to think is completely useless. Get a fair amount of views, no comments, even though I post questions. Anyhoo...
Started paint removal in my long bed. Each corner has a boxed section with bolts and caulking around the edges. My ‘79 short bed didn’t have this, as I recall. (It’s been 21 years). Any insight about function?

 

The caulking is seam sealer.

P.S. that truck is really clean.

 

Finally got a creeper and went under the bed, believe those are replaceable floor panels. Best grinder disc so far is Harbor Freight polycarbide. Estimate using 8 discs for main part. 8 discs for bed.

 

Installing Koito headlights, harness. Pulled trim off front, grille, headlight bezels. Took a stab at refurbishing pot metal T logo with paint marking pens.

 

Got the wheel the little guy. Needed a locker here. The 20R did well, little apprehensive about the steep angle for 10 minutes or so while being winched. Didn’t stall.