I just received a copy of some paint chips for 1980-1986. If you have ever experienced that deer in the headlights look from the auto parts guy, maybe this will help. The codes are printed on a tag, usually located under the hood. So match your color to that code. The second code is a dupont paint code, which may or may not help. The codes are backwards compatible so if your truck is an 88 and has a color code of 033, go back to 1980 to match the color. If there are any codes missing please let me know.

1974 Toyota Hi-Lux Truck approximately 43,000 miles
Here is an example of an older Toyota that is for sale on Ebay. This 1974 truck came loaded with features such as a radio and seatbelts. Oh how the times have changed

The truck also does have an automatic tranmission and that in itself has to be rare. It seems pretty unlikely that the truck has 43,000 miles on it- just 1264 miles a year on a 34 year old truck. But in any case it appears to be in near showroom condition and if baby blue is your color- this is your truck!

My newest Toyota pickup- A 1983 SR5 Mojave Edition. The video on YouTube:

Toyota Mojave Special Edition Pickup on Ebay!

Titled as a 1983 Toyota pickup that runs and drives great, the seller doesn’t know what he has. This is a Mojave Special Edition Toyota pickup. The truck is a 2WD long box with a 22r 4 cylinder and a 5 speed transmission. Because it is an SR5 model, it does have bucket seats, full gauges, carpeted floor with center console. Gone is the factory electronically tuned radio. Sadly the interior is not in good condition and truck needs to be restored.

What makes the Mojave so special? The list of features is long. First the body has been cleaned and smoothed. Gone are any badges, stripes, or decals. Notice the tailgate without TOYOTA embossed on it; gone are the cargo hooks from the bed rails; and no where to be found are the fender badges. The truck sits on factory alloy wheels only found on the Mojave special edition. The truck has chrome in some unusual places. Along with a chrome grill, front & rear bumper, and vent covers, you will also find chrome side mirrors and tail light housings. Mojave trucks did not have vent windows or rear sliders, but the glass was tinted bronze. Last but not least, the exterior color is a special edition Mojave gold metallic clear coat paint. 

Inside, the interior is like no other. The SR5 bucket seats are specially stitched and monogrammed. The door panels have a special pattern pressed into them. The radio is top of the line 1983 ETR with stereo speakers in the doors. In the center console you will find a rare factory cruise control system. The SR5 steering wheel is a one of a kind bronze wrapped with leather. 

Ask me what I did all weekend. I spent the entire time sandblasting the frame for the project Two-tone SR5 truck. The frame is in amazing condition for a 27 year old truck. After a trip to the car wash to remove the oil, grease, and dirt I found for the most part- original black paint. From the cab forward was almost like new. Under the box is where the most rust was. I tried working it with a hand grinder and a wire wheel. But the very back of the frame was pitted enough that each time I touched the sander to it new rust surfaced. Plus there were several brackets and other tight spots that were impossible to completely clean with a wire wheel. It was obvious that the only way to be sure that all of the rust was taken care of was to sandblast it.

I was lucky enough to be able to borrow a pressure pot sandblaster. Searching all over town, I finally found silica sand at a lumber yard. They sell 80 lb. bags for $5 each. I have a 5hp two stage air compressor with a 60 gallon tank, but even that was only enough for a few minutes of blasting at a time. Starting slow and making sure to cover every square inch, I managed to use up 3 bags of sand. Then I turned over the frame to take care of the bottom. The bottoms of the rails were even more rusty than the top, but luckily it was all surface rust. No holes anywhere on the frame. Another bag of sand cleaned up the bottom side of the frame.

Then on Sunday I used the fifth bag of sand to detail all of the brackets. I blasted inside and around each bracket and across each weld to clean out any voids in them. Finally the rust was gone from the frame. For as great of shape as this frame was in, there was a lot of rust.

To seal the deal, I bought some oil based primer made for tractors and trailers. I decided to brush the primer on to be sure to make contact with every square inch of the bare metal, instead of just spray it on the surface. Plus the brush can push the primer into all of the pits and voids in the welds to be absolutely sure that everything is covered so that the rust will not come back.

Next; lots of sanding, more primer (sprayed this time), and finally new shiny black paint for the project truck’s frame. It was a lot of work, but at least one truck frame was saved!