1993 Pickup: A College Kid's Budget Build Up

[Bixby93]

So to start off, this thread is hardly a built, more like a summary of the stuff I've done to my truck in the 3 years that I've owned it. Wanted to create a profile on Expedition Portal for lots of reasons and I felt like a little thread on my truck could be a fun way to get started, so here it goes.

My 1993 Toyota Xtra Cab, V6, 4x4, 5 speed

Here's the first picture of the truck and I on the day I bought it at 16 with the money I made busing tables.



Had about 107,000 miles when I got it(sweeet!!!), sitting on some bald 31 inch BFG ATs(not so sweet).

Besides some plasti-dip accenting and new 31's, I didn't really modify the truck too much in the first two years, but my next few posts will be about the stuff I've done more recently to make her a little more unique and fun. Feel free to leave any thoughts on the truck or suggestions for the future, or even things you thing I did horribly wrong. Hope you Enjoy!

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

Welcome. NIce truck.

Now let us see what you have done to it.

 

[Dumpolina]

Great
Truck
!

 

[Big mike]

Great start , like the truck
Mike

 

[Bixby93]

Princess gets new slippers

Shortly after buying the truck I replaced the bald 31x10.5 BFG All Terrains with a brand new set. The best price I could find was at Costco but because 31's were technically oversize, I had to remove all 4 wheels, leaving the truck on jack stands in my parent's driveway, and take the wheels to Costco to get new rubber then mount them myself. Kinda annoying and unnecessary but it seemed worth it for the lowest price i could find.

I ran those for about two years until I saw a set of 33x12.5 Duratracs on black steelies for cheap on craigslist(yeah, used tires, kinda ghetto) and started realizing I could swing a little lift kit and tire size upgrade. I really like the tread pattern and size of the Duratracs and having rims that were actually black was an added bonus. As opposed to chrome with a coating of Plasti dip. After a quick Road trip to the SF Bay Area to get the tires, I added a 2" ball joint spacer lift to the front and an add a leaf in the rear to clear some room for the new rubber. Shamefully, I had my local shop install the lift, but without the right tools, It just made more sense at the time.

Loading up some new shoes. Made my buddy here want a set of 33s for his Westfalia.



Had to break in the tires with a little camping trip to Big Sur, CA



Next Step: dealing with that bent rusted chrome excuse for a bumper

 

[Stay Wild Outdoors]

Where did you camp in Big Sur? It's coming together nicely.

 

[jpat30]

Nice truck and welcome to the party (portal). Hey there is no shame in having work done for you by a shop and don't let anyone tell you different, although it is more fun to turn your own wrenches sometimes. Looking forward to following along for the ride.

 

[4runnerteq]

Nice truck. Both my boys have similar. A 92 and a 93 regular cab, auto, 4cyls. These are great rigs

 

[tanglefoot]

Nice! The 3rd-gen X-cab is one of my favorite looking trucks.

I'm very comfortable with used tires. I've never purchased a new set for the '85 in the 17 years I've had it. The ones I've had on the past few years were $10/each and are the nicest-rolling ones I've had.

Enjoy!

 

[Laxaholic]

Great truck mane, love it.

 

[Bixby93]

Current Setup

After about a year with the open bed, and one very wet camping trip, I decided I needed a shell so I hunted on Craigslist for a while before finding one for the same model truck but in a peeling dark grey color so I bought it for a hundred bucks and painted it black with bed liner. I also added some new locks to the back so I could keep the honest people honest when it comes to security.

Also this summer, I removed the old rusting stock bumper and replaced it with a new trailgear rear bumper. Removing the old bolts took quite a bit of elbow grease and a whole lot of PB Blaster.

Shinny new bumper and not so shinny or new camper shell



Here's some pictures from a Central Coast trip this summer. Westy-Yota camp and a surf check from about 2000 ft.



These last two are pretty up do date, I'd love to hear your thoughts or ideas for possible additions(maybe a storage/sleeping platform).
Thinking about adding a roof rack. Also, anyone have any ideas or favorite ways to mount a Hi-Lift?

Looking forward to any suggestions from the community,
Thanks guys