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Two years of not driving a brick have passed, after having bought and then sold a 1986 Toyota Pickup, I bought myself a rust-free (West Coast) dealer-maintained maroon 245 DL with an m-47, and 214,000 actual miles. I bought it sight-unseen from a Volvo dealership 250 miles away in Corvallis, Oregon, for $2000 and drove her home.
There were no signs of structural bodywork, but it was cheaply resprayed at some point and the clearcoat is peeling pretty severely on the hood. The tail-lamps came cracked, the tailgate wiring harness is shot, the exhaust is on its way out, and the rear bushings need replacement. Otherwise, newer steering rack (2 years), throttle body, intake manifold & gaskets, heater hoses, water pump, timing belt, all new front suspension components and bushings (less than two years old). New cap, rotor, wires and plugs. 1-year old dealer-installed blower motor and heater core, 5,000 miles on new brakes, master cylinder, rotors, and calipers, and tires have plenty of tread. No rips or tears inside (but there is a cracked dash), both map pockets are there, but the e-brake console is smashed. Imagine that. I just drove the 250 miles home south on I-5 in Oregon flawlessly, tracking straight on the highway and quietly and smoothly humming down the road 70-75 mph most of the way.
My daily-driver "rolling restoration" is underway; over the next year I hope to get everything in tip top shape mechanically, and then the year after work on aesthetics (i.e. paint and body). The goal is practical perfection, but right now it's function over form. I'll post pics, insights, commentary, and questions (for sure), as I go through the process of getting her up to snuff. It'll be fun!
I just did the seafoam treatment through the brake-booster vacuum tube on her, which worked well. Lots of smoke. I did it twice, in fact. Much more smoke the first time. The engine now runs slightly cooler - which I found to be interesting. I wonder why that is?? I changed the transmission fluid to Redline MTL, switched out the rear diff fluid, changed the oil to 10w30. This month I'll be putting poly bushings on the rear, adjusting the valves, rewiring the tailgate, and replacing the cat-back exhaust with an FCPGroton Starla exhaust kit. I bought the Estonian headlights and tail-lamps off of eBay, which, in my experience are of very high quality. They'll go on this week when they come in. Since what I had were yellowed or cracked all-around, and I do a good amount of night-driving, it was time to find a replacement.
Again, I'll post pics as I work through this one. It should be fun to watch! Glad to be back on the Brickboard!
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