How "beat" is your beater . . . . Post up pics of your beater
09-25-12, 06:56 AM
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
How "beat" is your beater . . . . Post up pics of your beater
So I bought this POS 93 Toyota truck for $650 about 2 years ago from a friend. Positives were that it had new tires, new battery, new wiper blades, a nicely preserved bench seat, only 150k miles, NO RUST, and ran like a top.
Granted it didn't have a straight body panel on it, it was hit in the front, the hood was held down by a tie down cable and the clutch slipped.
So far I have about $1700 in it, new clutch, new bumper, new hood, new hood latch, new hood hinges, new spark plugs, dis cap, rotor, new radiator, new rear transmission seal, and four new speakers to complement the existing circa 1993 aftermarket JVC tape deck that I use an adapter to play my MP3's.
It now has 164k on it, and I'd trust it to drive to California and back. Best car/truck I've ever owned, its so reliable. I don't care if it gets a minor dent/booboo, but man I'd be devastated if if ever got in a major wreck to where it bent the frame or was undriveable.
Pics of when I first bought it
Still looks about the same except that front bumper is now straight, replaced the cracked pass headlight, hood is a new piece in primer black, and I've washed it once to get the salt off after a big winter storm. Also no more cord holding the hood down, the latch now works properly, after having the hood fly up on me at 70mph.
Granted it didn't have a straight body panel on it, it was hit in the front, the hood was held down by a tie down cable and the clutch slipped.
So far I have about $1700 in it, new clutch, new bumper, new hood, new hood latch, new hood hinges, new spark plugs, dis cap, rotor, new radiator, new rear transmission seal, and four new speakers to complement the existing circa 1993 aftermarket JVC tape deck that I use an adapter to play my MP3's.
It now has 164k on it, and I'd trust it to drive to California and back. Best car/truck I've ever owned, its so reliable. I don't care if it gets a minor dent/booboo, but man I'd be devastated if if ever got in a major wreck to where it bent the frame or was undriveable.
Pics of when I first bought it
Still looks about the same except that front bumper is now straight, replaced the cracked pass headlight, hood is a new piece in primer black, and I've washed it once to get the salt off after a big winter storm. Also no more cord holding the hood down, the latch now works properly, after having the hood fly up on me at 70mph.
09-25-12, 07:07 AM
#2
Forum Administrator
iTrader: (2)
Cool beater! I so see the styling of my mom's old 1992 Camry LE in the front grill and hood of your truck. That car felt so futuristic back then 
09-25-12, 09:03 AM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Here is both a typical and an extreme case:
09-26-12, 11:45 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
^We're far enough south that you can still find 80's trucks with no rust if they were local.
Also it doesn't make sense that they'd weld the beds in California. I think they just shipped the trucks from Japan bedless and bolted on beds made in the US, I just think their supplier for beds sucked. Of course then again if you find an 80's truck with rot in the bed, its most likely going to have a little rust going on in the lower doors, rockers, or front fenders.
Also it doesn't make sense that they'd weld the beds in California. I think they just shipped the trucks from Japan bedless and bolted on beds made in the US, I just think their supplier for beds sucked. Of course then again if you find an 80's truck with rot in the bed, its most likely going to have a little rust going on in the lower doors, rockers, or front fenders.
09-27-12, 07:24 AM
#5
Dysfunctional Veteran
current is a 1992 Ford Escort LX Coupe. 5spd manny, 90k miles, runs like a champ! I paid $800 and it has all the paint, all the parts, no rust. I don't have pix but will see if I can get some today LOL.
09-27-12, 07:32 AM
#6
1999 Mazda Miata MX-5 convertible! It has been more reliable than any Lexus we have ever owned.
It actually has a couple mods of it's own-Tokico coil-overs, $500 each corner and lowered around an inch! It's a corner monster.
It was purchased with all of the mods above for $4000 6 years ago. Since then, it has had 2 part failures. The alternator, and the alternator.
(The original price was about $7200!)
It actually has a couple mods of it's own-Tokico coil-overs, $500 each corner and lowered around an inch! It's a corner monster.
It was purchased with all of the mods above for $4000 6 years ago. Since then, it has had 2 part failures. The alternator, and the alternator.
(The original price was about $7200!)
Last edited by SC400slide; 09-27-12 at 07:33 AM. Reason: Added price and other info
09-27-12, 08:48 AM
#7
although, if i were to ever do it again, i'd like a bigger car....or the extreme opposite and do it on a motorcycle with a little trailer on the back.
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09-27-12, 08:30 PM
#9
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By around 1990 or so the classic bed-rust problem of the small 1980s Toyota trucks was a thing of the past. It happened in the 1980s because of the 25% tariff imposed on foreign-imported trucks. To get around the tariff, Toyota would ship entire frame/cabin/powertrain assemblies over from Japan, and then weld the beds on at a West Coast warehouse. The problem, for several years, was crappy, poor-quality welds that allowed rust to develop from the inside out...so washing and getting the salt off didn't make much of a difference. They all, at one time or another, started rusting at exactly the same place.....the lower bed-line where it was welded onto the body. The trucks didn't all rust at the same rate, but always started at exactly the same place....the bed's beltline.
Here is both a typical and an extreme case:
Here is both a typical and an extreme case:
09-28-12, 06:44 AM
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
Sadly the 1992 ES 300 Manual is on its last legs. 20+ years old and 16+ with me. It just makes no financial sense to dump thousands into it. It still runs but the suspension is just destroyed.
Makes me sad just to type that.
My first Lexus and the reason I'm here.
Makes me sad just to type that.
My first Lexus and the reason I'm here.
09-28-12, 07:38 AM
#14
Guest
Posts: n/a
lol Josh..it needs a ton of work..interior..leaks oil now...
My pops and I get sad just thinking about it. I kind of want to put her out her misery or give it to someone who might fix it. He wants to keep it b/c its the first.