1997 Tacoma 4X4 Restore and Drive Part 1

I took a chance on Ebay and bought this 1997 Tacoma 4x4 to use a a daily driver and as an extra vehicle for my family. In this video I will clean and evaluate the condition of the truck and make a few minor repairs. The truck is in pretty good shape however it is filthy and has some damage that will need to be repaired. I will be driving this vehicle as repairs are being made. I will buy only OEM Toyota parts when possible. This is my first KZbin video so there may be some glitches and hopefully my videos will improve.

[@jodiwright4920]

Thanks for the videos. I have a 1st Gen myself and never get tired of people showing them on KZbin.

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@atompoop]

Mikey this video is phenomenal!!! especially for your first video too, had me fooled and the Tacoma looks hella nice✳️✳️🍎

[@4x4mikey]

Thank you for the comments.

[@TimmyCramer]

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

[@4x4mikey]

Great find.

[@anthonytaylor3753]

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.

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@rjsmith7170]

Excellent, thanks. Watched all, subscribed.

[@4x4mikey]

Thanks for the comment and thanks for subscribing

[@legion1630]

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

[@4x4mikey]

Get busy on your project. Good luck.

[@staleyexplores]

Happy i found this channel, good stuff here

[@4x4mikey]

This was my first video for KZbin. It was also the first video that I ever made. I watched other channels on KZbin for a couple of years and just tried it for myself.

[@staleyexplores]

@@4x4mikey you nailed it for what I like to watch

[@glennrhinehart3186]

I’m glad you don’t have music blearing. Enjoy the video.

[@4x4mikey]

Thanks for the comment.

[@MRxESKIMOx]

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

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@sammy8796]

nice seiko btw

[@staleyexplores]

Bad ass watch imho

[@FOURFTP]

Has anyone Tun 265/75/16 successfully with stock suspension? No rub… Or what’s the biggest tire size you could run

[@i_run_far1132]

Subscribed! What are your plans for the rest of the restoration?

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@harveykendrick2242]

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?

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@secondcreekworkshop3908]

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.

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@2k_]

no talking is good

[@Christianrreyes]

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

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@mesranhobbies3799]

mantap

[@4x4mikey]

Thanks for the comment. It is good to see some tacoma fans from your part of the world.

[@Rafael-ex3cu]

I own a 1999 Tacoma SR5 Prerunner. Everywhere I go someone wants to buy it. Nope not for sale.

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@staleyexplores]

Never seen a polisher like that, dual dual action?

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@jameslakes5019]

Friend work had 97 tacoma his exra cab sr5 black auto matic 4x4 power windows locks

[@jameslakes5019]

😊

[@charlesrose5945]

Where did you send your seatbelts to be rebuilt?

[@4x4mikey]

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.

[@charlesrose5945]

Thanks!

[@jameslakes5019]

28 yrs old few weeks 29 yrs old

[@btwin1981]

Leave the mud flaps on

[@4x4mikey]

I will be reinstalling the mud flaps in the final video when I perform repairs on the body.