New Taco Owner From Alabama

Hello everyone,

My first experience with a Toyota pickup was at my first duty station at Ft Hood Tx in 1986 when I met my friend Ryan from Eugene Or who had ust purchased a used 198 SR5. We had a lot of fun in that truck at "The Pits". We met a man by the name of Jeff Dane who had a 4x4 shop in town and was the creator of Awesome Kong Monster Truck. By the time I left Ft Hood in 1987 Ryan had that little SR riding on 44's with the help of Jeff building many of the suspension parts from scratch. Ryan has since sold that old blue truck in around 2004 for $10,000 with over 500k on the odometer and he only gave $9000 for it in 1986 with less than 15k on it lol.

A lot of time has passed since those days. I now have 3 sons at or above driving age and I ust purchased a 1997 Tacoma for my middle son. He is 18 and this is his 2nd vehicle. His first was a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP 3.8 Supercharged. He loves hiking, camping, Eno, and is in college to become a Park Ranger Biologist. He discovered his GTP isn't best vehicle for his activities so he asked to sell his car and get a Tacoma. I have been looking for a while but because they are so popular, desired and run forever even the old ones are expensive to purchase.

We finally found a local one that was in an accident last week. Young man was driving on a 4 lane divided hwy when a lady in a station wagon pulled out in front of him and he had no choice but hit her in the back pushing her rear bumper all the way up to the back seat. The kid had a brush guard on the front bumper and it probably saved the truck from extensive damage. The brush guard and front bumper was pushed in a little, the radiator was driven in to the fan, the hood was slightly crumpled on the passenger side front corner, the right side fender was pushed back and bowed a little, the grill was shattered, and the skid plate was bent. It sounds much worst than it really is. The kids grandfather pulled most of the damage out, replaced the radiator, and actually got the hood to close again. The engine was rebuilt last year by a very reputable engine builder in the area when the truck was purchased for this kid as the previous owner had ran it without oil. The engine looks and runs great now with about 13k on the rebuild. The truck drives fine and the body is very tight. The truck is a DXL model but has all the options, A/C, elec windows, SR5 inst cluster, SR5 interior, sun roof, and sliding back glass. I ust ordered all the replacement parts for $250 including shipping. The kid had cut the muffler and tailpipe off so I got a magnaflow single in duel out oval to put on. My son wants to eventually plasti dip the tool box, bed rails, front and rear bumpers, and the brush guard. I prefer the chrome myself. Of course we will get new tires for it as it currently has street type tires that have very little tread left. I really think we got a great deal for $2500.

 

Welcome!

 

Good morning Scott a lot,

I hate to be a grammar and manners police but I have no idea what a Moran is and its rude to call someone a Moron if you have no idea of all the details. First I said they payed 10k not over 10k for the truck. The mileage on the truck was over 500k but it had nothing stock about it except the body, frame, and axles. This truck had over 18"s of lift, was on its 3rd engine, 3rd transmission, it had no rust, new paint, triple rollbar and bumpers. Why would that be hard to imagine? Many Tacomas are on the market for 10k or more that have only a few aftermarket mods that have over 300k on the odometer. The truck I am describing was modded by a professional monster truck builder. He probably could have gotten more for the truck if he had placed it on a nation wide market. He wasnt even trying to sell it when a local guy came to him and offered the 10k. This truck is a one of a kind.

Thank you for the welcome though. No hard feelings.