I had a 97 Tacoma. Sold it to my dad over 20 years ago. One sad day in the future I’ll probably get it back. I like the grill of the 95-97 better than the rest of them.
I have been wanting one for a while and i really like the look of the 97 model. Stay tuned I will have a video on mechanical repairs coming out in about 5 weeks and then the final video will be the body.
Bought a 97 tacoma 4x4 last week with 20k on the odo. Flawless and runs great! Completely different from my 2023 4runner.....still fun! Timmy C Arizona
Thanks very much for the comment. I will work to improve the future videos. I will be putting out the completed interior video tomorrow and then there will be a mechanical repair video and a body repair video. After the Taco is finished I will be looking for another truck to perform a driver quality restoration on.
This was my first video for RUclips. It was also the first video that I ever made. I watched other channels on RUclips for a couple of years and just tried it for myself.
In my opinion, not long after bedliners were invented their use was unnecessary. 90’s and newer trucks just didn’t have as big of problems with beds rotting so fast. Spray in liners are ok, the plastic ones are dumb.
I have a 97 Tacoma without the Tachometer and have been wanting to swap it over to a newer version with a tachometer. Did you have to do anything extra to get the tachometer to work?
Harvey, The used cluster with tach plugged in to the existing harness. The tach worked and all of the warning lights worked. Toyota must have used one dash harness for all trucks. It also was wired for the clock. I did not show plugging the new cluster in the video. After going back and looking at the videos there are a lot of things I could have done better. I was very surprised but it is cool that it was just plug and play. There is one issue that I am going to add to the next video. The tach seems to be accurate at idle but may not be reading correctly when driving at highway speeds. I am going to verify that with my multimeter that has a tach and I will show it in the video. It is possible that the used cluster was from a truck with a V6. We will find out is it is accurate together.
A friend of mine has this Tacoma in white with an automatic in his garage it only has about 60,000 miles on it, the last time I seen it the bed was full of bags with recyclable cans and bottles and the rest of it was buried in bags of recyclable cans and bottles.
60,000 is just broke in. You should try to get it from him if he will sell it. These are fun little trucks. I see that you are a fan of the square body. So am I and after I finish up this tacoma I am going to find a square body and restore it and video the restoration. It will be a driver quality restoration like the tacoma.
Man.. this is awesome looking at getting one. First gen Tacoma. Looks awesome 👏. Where do you live! Sounds so peaceful and quiet. Looks beautiful too! Keep it up fam! Love from Las Vegas Nevada
I paid $7800 I was the high bidder on Ebay. It had 150,000 miles. These trucks are hard to find in good condition. I was lucky with this one because you take a chance when buying a car on Ebay but this truck turned out to be in pretty good shape.
I sent the seatbelts to Safety Restore. They are located in Massachusetts. They have a website. They only cleaned the mechanicals and replaced the spring that returns the belt. They also replaced the belts. They sew back in the original tags and labels on the belts. I believe that you can get different stages of restoration. They can just clean and replace the belts or complete restoration. It cost me about $175 for both belts.
It is a cyclo dual head orbital polisher. Very heavy and on flat surfaces it does the work for you. I bought it several years ago. I would not say that it is better than a single head polisher but it is a good tool.
I am not sure where to get the side steps. I believe the side steps that were on my truck were a dealer add on. I have seen one other Tacoma with them.
In the next video I will be performing mechanical repairs such as repairing the leaking steering rack and replacing the warped brake rotors. I will also detail the engine bay and give it a tune up. In the final video I will replace the hood due to hail damage and work on the body and change the rear bumper and front grill. The body is in rough shape but it does not show how bad in the videos. There is no rust but it has scratches and hail damage.
These trucks are hard to find in good condition. I wanted one for years and finally decided to find one and restore it. Check out my other videos on this truck.
I had a 97 Tacoma. Sold it to my dad over 20 years ago. One sad day in the future I’ll probably get it back.
I like the grill of the 95-97 better than the rest of them.
Thanks for the videos. I have a 1st Gen myself and never get tired of people showing them on RUclips.
I have been wanting one for a while and i really like the look of the 97 model. Stay tuned I will have a video on mechanical repairs coming out in about 5 weeks and then the final video will be the body.
Bought a 97 tacoma 4x4 last week with 20k on the odo. Flawless and runs great! Completely different from my 2023 4runner.....still fun! Timmy C Arizona
Great find.
Mikey this video is phenomenal!!! especially for your first video too, had me fooled and the Tacoma looks hella nice✳️✳️🍎
Thank you for the comments.
Mikey: Watched both your videos and enjoyed them (I'm a Toyota fan). Great effort for a first timer! I look forward to the series, thanks.
Thanks very much for the comment. I will work to improve the future videos. I will be putting out the completed interior video tomorrow and then there will be a mechanical repair video and a body repair video. After the Taco is finished I will be looking for another truck to perform a driver quality restoration on.
I’m glad you don’t have music blearing. Enjoy the video.
Thanks for the comment.
When I bought my 99 those fender flares were the first thing I took off.
Happy i found this channel, good stuff here
This was my first video for RUclips. It was also the first video that I ever made. I watched other channels on RUclips for a couple of years and just tried it for myself.
@@4x4mikey you nailed it for what I like to watch
Thanks so much your videos made me believe that i can do it myself and guess what i am doing same on a 2nd Gen
Get busy on your project. Good luck.
Great video. Can you tell me what color/brand paint you used on the interior parts?
Excellent, thanks. Watched all, subscribed.
Thanks for the comment and thanks for subscribing
In my opinion, not long after bedliners were invented their use was unnecessary. 90’s and newer trucks just didn’t have as big of problems with beds rotting so fast. Spray in liners are ok, the plastic ones are dumb.
I have a 97 Tacoma without the Tachometer and have been wanting to swap it over to a newer version with a tachometer. Did you have to do anything extra to get the tachometer to work?
Harvey, The used cluster with tach plugged in to the existing harness. The tach worked and all of the warning lights worked. Toyota must have used one dash harness for all trucks. It also was wired for the clock. I did not show plugging the new cluster in the video. After going back and looking at the videos there are a lot of things I could have done better. I was very surprised but it is cool that it was just plug and play. There is one issue that I am going to add to the next video. The tach seems to be accurate at idle but may not be reading correctly when driving at highway speeds. I am going to verify that with my multimeter that has a tach and I will show it in the video. It is possible that the used cluster was from a truck with a V6. We will find out is it is accurate together.
A friend of mine has this Tacoma in white with an automatic in his garage it only has about 60,000 miles on it, the last time I seen it the bed was full of bags with recyclable cans and bottles and the rest of it was buried in bags of recyclable cans and bottles.
60,000 is just broke in. You should try to get it from him if he will sell it. These are fun little trucks. I see that you are a fan of the square body. So am I and after I finish up this tacoma I am going to find a square body and restore it and video the restoration. It will be a driver quality restoration like the tacoma.
nice seiko btw
Bad ass watch imho
no talking is good
Man.. this is awesome looking at getting one. First gen Tacoma. Looks awesome 👏. Where do you live! Sounds so peaceful and quiet. Looks beautiful too! Keep it up fam! Love from Las Vegas Nevada
I live in a little town in the south east near the gulf coast. I have always wanted to visit Las Vegas and I will one day.
Just curious, how much did you buy it for and how much was the mileage. I’m still searching for a 1st gen tacoma myself
I paid $7800 I was the high bidder on Ebay. It had 150,000 miles. These trucks are hard to find in good condition. I was lucky with this one because you take a chance when buying a car on Ebay but this truck turned out to be in pretty good shape.
Where did you send your seatbelts to be rebuilt?
I sent the seatbelts to Safety Restore. They are located in Massachusetts. They have a website. They only cleaned the mechanicals and replaced the spring that returns the belt. They also replaced the belts. They sew back in the original tags and labels on the belts. I believe that you can get different stages of restoration. They can just clean and replace the belts or complete restoration. It cost me about $175 for both belts.
Thanks!
Never seen a polisher like that, dual dual action?
It is a cyclo dual head orbital polisher. Very heavy and on flat surfaces it does the work for you. I bought it several years ago. I would not say that it is better than a single head polisher but it is a good tool.
Has anyone Tun 265/75/16 successfully with stock suspension? No rub…
Or what’s the biggest tire size you could run
where can I get similar side steps?
I am not sure where to get the side steps. I believe the side steps that were on my truck were a dealer add on. I have seen one other Tacoma with them.
Subscribed! What are your plans for the rest of the restoration?
In the next video I will be performing mechanical repairs such as repairing the leaking steering rack and replacing the warped brake rotors. I will also detail the engine bay and give it a tune up. In the final video I will replace the hood due to hail damage and work on the body and change the rear bumper and front grill. The body is in rough shape but it does not show how bad in the videos. There is no rust but it has scratches and hail damage.
I own a 1999 Tacoma SR5 Prerunner. Everywhere I go someone wants to buy it. Nope not for sale.
These trucks are hard to find in good condition. I wanted one for years and finally decided to find one and restore it. Check out my other videos on this truck.
Friend work had 97 tacoma his exra cab sr5 black auto matic 4x4 power windows locks
😊
28 yrs old few weeks 29 yrs old
😮
mantap
Thanks for the comment. It is good to see some tacoma fans from your part of the world.
Leave the mud flaps on
I will be reinstalling the mud flaps in the final video when I perform repairs on the body.
😮