1990 Pickup (5th Gen)

I've had my '90 truck (22RE 5MT) for almost 20 years, so I thought it deserved its own post. I bought it from my uncle (the first owner) in 2004 and daily drove it until 2019.
2023:
2006:

2014:
2016:
2018:

I didn't have much money to put into it for the first 15 years I owned it, so I've been fixing it up over past couple of years. I currently drive it a few days a week around town. I've dropped in a rebuilt 22RE, replaced the clutch, dropped a junkyard rear end in it, and had a bodyshop repair some bad rust damage around the windshield channel, along with a ton of little fixes. Rust:
Stock looking aftermarket head unit:

The factory rear bumper had rusted clear through from the inside out. I found a cheap aftermarket one on eBay that will hopefully last for a few years.

When I bought it from my uncle, it was missing the driver's side rear mudflap and mudflap bracket. Young me thought that would be a great first project, so I went to the dealership and bought those parts. I then promptly snapped the M6 bolt head off with my ratchet. Those little body bolts can be a hug PITA when they get even a little rusty and I didn't have much wrenching experience back in those days. That mudflap bracket traveled with me for the next two decades, until I finally got around to drilling the broken bolts out a few months ago. I've finally got matching mud flaps!

Also, for anyone who has one of these older trucks where the blower motor only works on high. The blower motor resistor has a tendency to burn out, but it's a very easy fix. Two screws and a $30 part underneath the glove box.

I've got a junkyard SR5 gauge cluster, clock, and wiper switch sitting in a box that I plan to swap in one day. I just need find a weekend to tear apart the whole dash. If anyone else is considering this, it's mostly plug and play (so long as you make sure you get the right cluster based on whether or not you have a speedometer cable). You just need to switch the oil pressure sending unit, the one for the standard cluster will burn out the oil pressure gauge on the SR5 cluster.

It's a great little truck, super simple and easy to work on, but it's a lot better as an in town work truck than a road tripper. The bench seats and lack of AC don't make for the most comfortable long hauler, particularly as I get older.

Edit:
New 30” BFG KO2s and 15” steel wheels with Bilstein 4600 front and rear shocks. Major improvement over the blown out original front shocks.

 

Nice! Love the old pickups. I had a 89 and 94, both 22RE 5spds.

 

Thanks, totally agree. They're super simple, easy to work on, and reliable.

 

This truck fucks

 

Thanks man!

 

Awesome little truck OP

 

Thanks!

 

sweet truck. Nice repair to the rusty area. where did you find the windshield weather strip?

 

It's a universal strip that I got from my windshield guy, not sure what the brand is, just cut it to length. I decided to switch to a urethane seal windshield rather than the original rope seal since it was easier to source and cheaper.

Side note, the rust was bad around the windshield because of the sketchy $120 mobile windshield replacement I had back in 2005. He scored the paint in the windshield channel during the install and it started rusting within a year. Lesson learned, you pay for cheap work sooner or later...

 

That’s badass. Love seeing those little trucks cruising around.

 

Beautiful rig and thank you for sharing. The 1st gen Tacomas are easy to retrofit ac to it and I wonder if you can do the bench seat mod that is 2nd gen guys have done

 

Thanks man!

You're absolutely right, adding AC is pretty much a bolt on mod (it was available as a dealer add for ~$1000 or so back in the day) and I've definitely looked into it. The issue I ran into is sourcing a complete AC unit in decent shape for a reasonable price. It would be easiest if I could get a rusted out or rear end totaled parts truck, but I unfortunately don't have space for one, and junkyard parts are crazy expensive over here.

If any of you guys ever have a lead on AC parts, I'd be very interested.

I'm not sure what 2nd gen bench seat mod you're referring to, do they swap bucket seats from another Taco or a different vehicle? Again, always down to make this little truck better!

 

it lets you recline the bench seat to 3 different positions

 

Gotcha, I think you’re talking about this mod? https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bench-seat-recline-yes-there-is-a-way.237873/
The bench seat on my truck is too basic for that, unfortunately. This is what the bench seat latch looks like.

 

Really cool! I still own my 86 Toyota pickup (2wd) that I bought new and I love it!

 

Couple quick questions:
1. im looking at buying a 94 reg cab 4x4 and ive never owned anything older than a 96 4runner. Any advice on what to listen for, check for, etc that might be specific to this vehicle?
2. What size tires are you running? And are those the og steelies? Or did you swap those out?

 

What you're looking for depends on the condition of the truck and what you're planning to do with it.

How many miles and what work has been done on it? Is it a west coast truck? 22RE engine? Are you looking for a project truck or a daily driver? Has it passed smog?

I'm going to assume you're looking for a daily, not a project.
If it's been sitting, you're looking for the standard rotted hoses, rodents chewing wiring, water damage in the cab.
If it's been driven/has high mileage (I'd say 300-400k), check front end suspension components for wear (ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings). Check driveline for play, listen for rear end clunks under accelation. They're solidly built, I've still got a basically original front end at 200k miles, so this stuff all may still be good to go.

The 22RE has a normal timing chain tick, it's constant and you'll hear it at a constant rate, including at idle. but when you test drive listen for irregular ticks under heavy acceleration. They sometimes will need head/ valve jobs, but are otherwise super solid engines. Standard stuff too, check fluids, check under the truck for oil/ coolant leaks. The bushings will be crispy, but they generally will still be solid unless they're falling apart.

Frames are generally solid on west coast trucks, but poke around the crossmembers and control arm mounts for rust spots. The manual locking hubs might be seized up if they aren't used that often, those are easy to rebuild.

I'm running 30s (30/9.5 R15). I was on factory steelies, but wasn't digging the rust so I just got some new 15 inch black steelies and replaced my 20 year old KM2s with KO2s. Also swapped the original front shocks with Bilstein 4600s.

 

94 DX 4x4 with 155k original miles. Benn lightly driven over its course and been in northern CA and Oregon but never coastal. My goal is just to have a little errand runner and occasional camp vehicle so nothing major. Truck is stock, and in good shape. Good to hear about the timing tick. It began as a CA vehicle and has been in oregon last few years, but im assuming if parts are in working order shouldnt have any issue coming back to CA where I live.
I was also wondering about the locking hubs as ive never owned a truck with those before.

Did you get a little lift when you swapped out the shocks? This truck has a pretty noticeable front rake in the photos. Wondered if that was from sagging shocks or just maybe a wonky image. Anyway. Your truck looks great... although im a sucker for old steelies.

 

Sounds like a nice little truck, I don't think you'll have any rust issues. With a 22RE and regular maintenance, you can probably get another 150k out of it.

I think the photo angle exaggerated the rake, it looks about the same in person after I put the new shocks on. These trucks use torsion bars in the front suspension and you adjust the torsion bar to adjust the front ride hight. I've always kept it at stock height.

Yeah, I was on the fence about swapping out the steelies, but the surface rust had gotten deep into the wheel and kept bleeding out onto the fresh paint when I rattle canned it. I do think I'm going to take the rear hub caps off though.

 

I’ve driven about a hundred miles with the new Bilstein 4600s and it’s made a huge difference in ride quality. I can’t say how it compares to a functional stock setup (my 33 year old OEM front shocks were blown and the rears were cheapo aftermarket replacements), but potholes and rocks aren’t a roller coaster ride anymore. They aren’t cheap, but seems like people get 150k miles out of them. At the rate I put miles on this truck these days, I’ll be dead by then.