Old Truck, Old Shotgun, Old Man...and My Best Friends

Watchdog

Watchdog

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2013
Messages
12,511
Reaction score
32,351
My old 4Runner and I are celebrating our 25th year together, so I thought I'd mark the occasion with a little casual self-portrait. I bought it brand spankin' new in 1990, and it's still rolling right along. Manual transmission, too...I still love to stir the gears around by hand. I put manual hubs on it, too...none of that automatic stuff for me. Some folks keep asking me, "Why don't you trade that ol' truck?" I just look at 'em and shake my head. Some folks get it, others never will.

The ol' shotgun is a Winchester Model 12 factory riot gun, made in 1951 and stamped "Property of Railway Express" on the stock. It's seen some use...scratches and chips out of the stock. But the action's still smooth as they come. It spends most of its time next to the bed, but I'll take it out in the woods now and then and run a few rounds through it...just to keep it in shape, you know. I'm partial to old guns. Only new shotgun I've ever had was a long long time ago when my father gave me a Stevens single barrel 12-gauge for Christmas (I still have it). No, wait...I did buy a Mossberg 930SPX a year or two ago, one of those all black guns...couldn't sell the thing enough. It just wasn't me.

My dogs (the real Watchdogs) had to get in the shot, too, of course. That's Beau (alias Big Beau, alias The Rock) in front of me, and that's Little Annie Girl on my left.

The truck's like me...showing its age, but it still looks pretty good, I think. It'll outlast me, though, I'm sure. It's in my will to go to the son of a good friend of mine after I'm not around any more.

Although I do have a much newer car, the old truck and I will travel down to the South Carolina Low Country in January or February to visit some old childhood friends. We're lookin' forward to it.
 

Attachments

  • 40.jpg
    40.jpg
    186.1 KB · Views: 338
Register to hide this ad
This is real.

I like your attitude. Same here, "All it has to do is work for me." Old are good. Have a long life.
 
Nice lookin old 'Yota. Looks like it's got about 6" lift and 33" tires? Or maybe 8" and 35" tires? Either way it looks like a lot of fun. Is '90 one with the solid front axle, or is it IFS?

I'm a big fan of the 2-door Cherokees. Mine is set up about like your 'Yota with 5" of "lift and 33" tires.
 
jack the toad said:
And since I'm now there, I can honestly vouch that old aint bad.
Click to expand...

No, there isn't anything wrong with "old". Some folks never get the chance to find out what it's like. I'm grateful I've made it this far, all things considered.

Back when I was in my twenties, I had a friend ran a service station. His name was Gordie Tottle, used to play pro hockey. He was about 50-something when I met him. We were laughing and joking around one day while Tex, his mechanic, worked on my car. Gordie says, "You know, Jim...I'm so banged up from the hockey I feel like I'm a hundred years old sometimes. Why, now it takes me all night to do what I used to do all night long."

I asked Gordie one time how he ended up down here in North Carolina running an Amoco station (Remember Amoco stations?). He smiled, looked me dead in the eye and said, "I fell in love."
cheers.gif
 
I think it would be fun.

What would ya'll think about a thread for social security "entitlement"(choke!!!!) receivers", as we have been referred to being by certain politely unnamed parties. Of course it would have to be all inclusive for everyone but we have all learned how to handle most anything that might come up. My granddaddy always told me that old sure beats dead.
 
Gotta say one thing. If ya worked all those years..paid into Social Security and you're collecting it... at least you earned it. You ain't one of the slugs that chose to NOT work! And getting old ain't easy on ya. Golden Years*%_@&!
 
An old Yota with no rust is like a unicorn. You heard of them but never actually saw one!!!

Nice looking 4Runner. I've been keeping my eye out for an old one 88 - 95 but anything here is either rusty or mucho $$$$$$
 
Nice you've been able to keep it this long. I had a 1990 Cherokee Limited I loved and kept until rust about destroyed it due to the salt they use on the roads. My Jimmy and Trailblazer since don't measure up as well.
 
BC38 said:
Nice lookin old 'Yota. Looks like it's got about 6" lift and 33" tires? Or maybe 8" and 35" tires? Either way it looks like a lot of fun. Is '90 one with the solid front axle, or is it IFS?

I'm a big fan of the 2-door Cherokees. Mine is set up about like your 'Yota with 5" of "lift and 33" tires.
Click to expand...

Mine has a 4-inch Trailmaster lift. Rancho torsion bars. Running 33x12.50-15 Dick Cepek tires on Mickey Thompson wheels. It's IFS (wish it wasn't). I'd thought of doing a body lift as well, but don't want to spend the money for new tires and wheels, plus regear the thing again. Mine has some other goodies on it...some heavy duty skidplates from Northwest Off Road Specialties out in Bellingham, Washington. And I just put a whole new stereo system with Bluetooth in it a couple of weeks ago, complete with a mini-subwoofer with its own amp.

The 4Runner will get a new clutch next month, and that should do it for maintenance for a good while. I hope.

I love those old square-bodied Cherokees like yours. There's an old white one around here in my area that's just crazy lifted, looks like the guy's running 44-inch Super Swampers on it, carries the spare on a roof rack.

 
Excellent!
You might be surprised to find out how much that old truck is worth. I gave my 93 Toyota 4x4 base model pickup to my son last year as his 84 Land Cruiser was falling apart physically. Mechanically it was still sound and I'd suggested he'd get more than he'd paid for it for the tight original motor alone. The 93 had 247K miles on the 22RE motor. Still going strong. Straight body un modified. He's turned down several 5K offers for it in the year he's had it.
 
chaparrito said:
Excellent!
You might be surprised to find out how much that old truck is worth. I gave my 93 Toyota 4x4 base model pickup to my son last year as his 84 Land Cruiser was falling apart physically. Mechanically it was still sound and I'd suggested he'd get more than he'd paid for it for the tight original motor alone. The 93 had 247K miles on the 22RE motor. Still going strong. Straight body un modified. He's turned down several 5K offers for it in the year he's had it.
Click to expand...

I've had a few offers to buy the 4Runner, but I have no intention of selling it. There's just too much of my life associated with it, too many memories...memories of friends, dogs, ladies, and miles and miles traveled, things seen and done. So there's different kinds of "worth", you know? There's dollar value, and then there's that other value that you can't put a price on.

Those old pickups like yours with the 22RE motor are like that Eveready Bunny...they just seem to keep going and going and going.
 
Arik said:
An old Yota with no rust is like a unicorn. You heard of them but never actually saw one!!!

Nice looking 4Runner. I've been keeping my eye out for an old one 88 - 95 but anything here is either rusty or mucho $$$$$$
Click to expand...

Mine has one little spot of rust right next to the left rear tail light where someone slightly dented it, and it's getting a bit of rust up front where the valance joins the bumper, but that's easily fixed. I may have the valance chromed, or just repainted...haven't decided which yet.

If you're seriously looking for a good old one, they're down here for sure. You're maybe 550 miles from me, might pay you to drive down for a few days. The money you'd save on a good rust-free one would probably offset your travel expenses. There's one 30 miles from me, a '94, 115K miles, 5-speed, 4-inch lift with 33s, 4.56 gears, looks good. Wouldn't mind having it myself for a back up truck...probably get it for less than 5K. I always look for the 5-speeds...no interest in auto trannies at all.
 
That second picture of the dogs tells me "Annie" has had enough pictures taken for one day and wants a truck ride. Beau seems to be "hamming" it up for the camera.

Nice !
 
rog8732 said:
That second picture of the dogs tells me "Annie" has had enough pictures taken for one day and wants a truck ride. Beau seems to be "hamming" it up for the camera.

Nice !
Click to expand...

You're probably right. Annie has a mind of her own. Both of them are hams, though, and natural clowns...and both of them love to ride in the 4Runner.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top