1981 Toyota Tacoma

Pickup Truck

22R

Manual

JT4RN48D2B0000883

Clear

This is a rare unmolested 1981 Toyota Long Bed Pickup 4x4 that lived it's whole life in Ridgecrest, CA and Yuma, AZ so the truck is virtually rust free with only some surface rust issues showing through the original paint. The truck belonged to a pastor of a local church in Ridgecrest and was used to go back and forth to the church. Both Ridgecrest and Yuma are very small towns and so the mileage remained low on the truck. The second owner purchased the truck in 1989 and he used the truck for him and his son to go motorcycle riding there in Ridgecrest. The truck never saw any rough 4x4 terrain. The second owner's wife passed away and he relocated to retire in Yuma, AZ about 4 years ago. He drove the Toyota from Ridgecrest to Yuma and the truck really just sat from that time to the present with very little use. The second owner was a retired BMW engineer so he knew his way around cars very well and he rebuilt the carb on the Toyota and got it running well and decided to sell it as he was not using the truck an longer. I happened to see the truck on a corner with a sign on it when I stopped for gas in Yuma on a trip from Southern California back to my home in Tucson. I am an old Toyota guy and love the old Land Cruisers and pickups so I arranged to see the truck. He had just had the seat completely rebuilt, new door panels put on the truck and brand new tires. I am a purist and I like things all original with original paint and, other than the radio, this truck fit the bill so I went ahead and bought the truck. I noticed the truck had some of the factory AC stuff still on the truck and I inquired about the AC. He told me he was in the process of replacing all of the AC parts to get the AC working again when he decided to sell it. He had a box with all the original AC brackets and pieces. He also had collected all the parts necessary to put power steering on the truck and I have all of those in a box as well. I have the four steel original rims as well that come with the truck. The rims that are on it I think came from a later model pickup. My plans for the truck were a full restoration as these trucks will bring big money when restored correctly. One just sold here on eBay for over $18000 a few weeks ago that was fully restored (but not a factory AC truck). Since I got this home I found another truck that I really would like to purchase that is in even better all original shape and so I am selling this one to free up some cash to possibly get the other truck. This truck is an excellent candidate for restoration or just drive it as it is with some patina on the truck. The truck is in great shape for a 1981 pickup. The bed was only used for motorcycles and light objects so it's not beat up. The only rust on the truck is superficial stuff and mainly in the seams of the side of the bed on the inside but this is only surface stuff so the truck needs no rust repair. The second owner tried to do a little body work on the front edge of the hood and the passenger's door where his son let his motorcycle fall and the handle bars made small dents in both of those areas. He put a little filler in both of those areas and it looks like he tried to match the paint with a rattle can in those two small spots. You can see them up close and I think the pictures show the two areas. Because the bed was a single wall bed there are multiple small dings along the bed sides but no major dents. The interior is pretty clean with the new seat and door panels and original floor mat.. The dash looks good and the gauges all work, heater works, horn works, wipers work, all doors open and close with ease and lock/unlock as they should and windows go up/down as they should. Original jack and tools are behind the seat. Front windshield looks new. Rear slider is functional but the aluminum frame of the portion that slides rattles against the outer aluminum frame unless you slide a piece of cardboard or something between them to make it a tighter fit. All lights and turn signals work as they should. The truck runs and drives pretty good and all 4WD components work as they should. It doesn't drive like a new truck but it drives straight and stops straight. No leaks and it doesn't smoke. Seems like just a good old truck and would be a great driver or project. I will be listing this locally so I reserve the right to end the auction at any time if it does sell locally. Take a look at the pictures and if you have any questions I will do my best to answer them. I have tried to describe the truck the best that I could and with any older vehicle the truck is sold "as is" with no warranties expressed or implied.