What makes the perfect old truck?

So let's say hypothetically you're in the market for a pristine gen1 or gen2 4Runner and you have like $20,000 you absolutely hate and need to get rid of. You're drunk so naturally you go to the drunk car person's typical stomping grounds, bringatrailer. You're scrolling, scrolling, scrolling then BOOM there it is. The perfect truck. You shall not be outbid.

My question to you is, what are the characteristics that make this the perfect truck? Purely low mileage? Light but tasteful modifications? Lots of small livability touches like Dynamat, interior LEDs or a good sound system? Absolutely bone stock?

Lay some game on me, I'm curious what you all think.

 

Well lets start with I ain't paying 20k for a 1st or 2nd Gen.

Also no such thing as perfect when it comes to things that old.

- No rust
- Decent mileage not something 500k
- No leaks
- I rather have limited or no mods.

 

Low mileage doesn't mean dick. It just means it wasn't driven so you have a lot of differed maintenance. I want it to be authentic to how it rolled off the factory line with tasteful mods that were offered or in style at the time. Bonus points if those mods were offered FROM the factory but rarely chosen on said vehicle.

I wouldn't want too many current features on it like bluetooth, led's, airbags or the other nannies they put on cars these days. That's part of the reason I would buy it, nostalgia! They didn't have none of that shit when I was learning to drive! I want it to look, feel, drive and sound like it did from the factory.

Now, a vehicle like this would be my 2nd or 3rd vehicle. Purely for weekend cruising, date night or cars-n-coffee meet ups. Not a daily commuter at all.

 

Might be a little tough since a lot of us with a hypothetical $20k won't have the same taste as someone who would realistically have the means to drop $20k just like that.

See: CyberTruck, bright-colored supercars, Bentleys, boats, etc.

I'd come at it from a "stock" or "stock+" perspective. Someone dropping that might have something else in mind and I doubt a lift already being on there will seal the deal.

 

I'd put the 20k down on a nice 5th gen.

But to answer your question. The perfect older truck is rust free/garage queen. No modifications. Just oem spec repairs. A lot of older vehicles have been molested.

 

With no mods and original mounting points for motor, transmission and suspension in tact, 1st to 3rd gens are 50 year trucks. With more electronics in 4th gen onward especially with ABS onward it can get tricky.

 

My 2nd gen is a 1st gen in 4 door disguise. Complete 1st gen driveline, 22re with a 5spd/old school GEAR DRIVE T-case. It can be dual t-cased like the 1st gen. Only the coil rear suspension is different.
Waaaay better approach angle than my 5th gen, departure angle not so much.
Sloooow, but has always got me home in the 35yrs I’ve owned it.
I brought both my boys home from the hospital in it and they both learned how to drive in it.

 

Looks can be deceiving as they say. So a thorough run at decent speeds is what would give me an idea if the old truck still has it. Stress test the system and then you can figure out if worth or not the hassle. It will require investment, but if you want a project then it could be fun. Good luck.

 

Done:

https://cars.bonhams.com/auction/25...00-sport-customchassis-no-f10yp971817/#photos

 

That is some truly gorgeous patina. I've got a handful of cars with failing clear and generally garbage paint. Why can't they look this nice?

 

That patina has been "created"
Its been satin cleared over from the looks of it. A lot of high end builds and even rat-rod style builds people are doing distressed paint and patina and doing satin clears over it to protect it. You probably seen a big wave 10-12 years ago of all the women wanting to distress the paint on chairs and end tables by doing a dark base coat, lighter top coat, then sanding over it with a brillow pad or scotchbrite to create areas where the dark base coat shines thru. This is basically what shops are doing on the paint of vehicles to create a distressed look. Plenty of youtube vids and instagram reels showing people doing it.

 

@Airdam , interesting. So you're thinking they took a truck with perfectly good paint and sanded it down for the patina? I actually have some of the satin finish you're talking about in my garage. Was intending to put it on my XJ but then I decided the patina doesn't really look cool enough to warrant that.

Looping back to the original question, what I'm hearing you guys say is kind of the assumption I've been operating off of so far. Originality is key. What do you guys think of unseen value adds like sound proofing? Say you saw a truck that was nicely covered in Dynamat and MLV underneath the carpet and door cards, is that something that would impact your decision on this hypothetical old truck splurge? Not necessarily like "oh, that has Dynamat I have to have it" but more like it's an additive factor?

I kind of have this little theory that one thing that's pushing prices is "sweating the details". Lots of small things like making sure the windshield wipers are painted rather than looking old, a thoroughly detailed engine bay, dying faded interior pieces back to their original color, fresh carpet, replacing worn suspension components, etc. I think there are a couple of types of trucks that are going for big money. One is trucks that are low mileage (say 75k or less), then the other is trucks that have a huge amount of recent work and all the details are attended to. I've been scoping N60 4Runner and FJ60/62 Land Cruiser closed auctions really hard. There's definitely a correlation between mileage and price but low mileage doesn't absolutely guarantee a high sale price, nor does high mileage guarantee a low sale price. I've seen some very well sorted high mileage (over 300k) rigs go for well over $20,000. Now in all fairness, the main one I'm thinking of the guy had done so much work he still probably lost money in spite of the high sale price.

 

Paid off

 

One owner

 

Got to have the little doors in the lower kick panel for air flow. Bonus for vinyl flooring for ease of cleaning.

Could just be an International Scout II Diesel and It would suffice for a long time..

 

The lack of "patina" on the lower half of the front fender
The lack of "patina" on the roof
The lack of "patina" on the entire bedside
Look in the pictures and you will see what appears to be bare metal, silver, surrounded by rust. This is either airbrushed or actually taking a DA sander and sanding down to bare metal.
The different color of green on the drivers lower door versus the front fender and bedside
The clear sheen on the entire hood
The clear sheen on the roof
The complete mirror reflection on the entire side panel of the truck from the rear shot, even though there is "rust" and bare metal?
This would make me speculate as i did, that this truck and paint were doctored.
I have seen too many vehicles like these old ones that have real patina, you are going to see it on the hood and roof first and then the top of the doors and bedsides. What happens is these single stage paints lose their "clear" and start to oxidize in the areas that receive the most sun. You are going to see the paint start shrinking and cracking and then peel away from the metal. This exposes metal to the elements which lets the metal rust. Wanna know what happens after that? The rain washes the rust down the paint and you get stains on the paint below the rust. You start to see patterns below the rust and fading from the oxidation that starts to work its way lower down the panel eating the paint up. You dont see these signs on the door and hood below the "rust" which i speculate is actually brown paint that has been splotched with a sponge to make it appear like rust or maybe even airbrush.

Dont think i am knocking the paint job, if thats a real legit paint job someone probably has 50+ hours in the masking, taping, sanding, prepping, painting, masking, repainting, ect ect ect. Its a lot of work but its missing the hallmarks and signs of real actual faded paint and rusty panels. Plus its got a smooth sheen over the whole hood and roof, something you WONT see on an actual vehicle thats been out in the sun 50 years.

 

One owner, stock, low miles and the truck has some good stories to go with it. Stick is fine, short bed. No or very little rust.
Ford, Chevy, Toyota of course. Even though I once had a Nissan Flat Bed truck.

 

Paint aint dry yet?

 

85 Ford F100, 3 Speed on the column?

 

That, my friend, is a 1986 F150 XLT Lariat 4WD Auto 5.0!

 

Well, since this thread has morphed...

 

I was in the ballpark....I had an 85 with a 3 speed.

 

The perfect truck is simple, reliable, understressed, and suited to the needs of the owner…

 

Mmmmm. GMT400. Yeah man, I've got a GMT800 Suburban and it is a fantastic vehicle. It tows, it hauls, it off-roads, it's a comfortable people hauler and it only cost me $3,000 with about 200k on the clock. When I bought it I didn't know what I would use it for, I just smelled a good deal. But we use it all the time. Up to 250k now and I think I've spent about $400 on repairs (not including when I got a little rowdy off road and punctured the gas tank, that was my own damn fault). That one has legit "not-pretty" patina which is great because I don't have to give a s*** about how it looks. I used it to push a parts car into my backyard yesterday. I'd love a 400.

 

This is an aesthetic that has always lurked in the back of my mind but never bubbled up front until you put it into words. Baja wheels and a big fat brush bar with a pair of Hella 500’s! Dinky ditch lights look stupid and out of place on an old truck.

 

Agreed. The only off-road wheels that I want to see on a 70's or 80's truck cannot exceed 15 inches. Preferably some 15" chrome alcoa's!

 

Yeah, I think this is where I'm leaning. I'm starting to keep an eye out for a squarebody K5 Blazer or Suburban, probably Suburban due to cost, and I'm finding the more original looking ones appeal to me more.

I've seen some cool modded ones, there's actually a lifted Burb with a big block that I'm considering, but I think mostly stock is the way to go, less potential issues.

 

Yeah, like this one: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-chevrolet-suburban-17/

 

I'd get the 454 if I were in your shoes. Much easier to undo a lift than to swap an engine.

I'm looking at a handful of vehicles to branch out from 4Runners, old Suburbans are definitely on the list. Only issue is it's so much area to cover in paint and I'm not sure I could easily paint one in my garage. My GMT800 burb fits in my garage but like... barely.