I live in metro Detroit, and I’ve adapted to my local environment by evolving into a bit of a rust-enthusiast (not fetishist). So take it from me when I say that this 1984 Toyota Truck for sale in Lincoln City, Oregon may very well be the rustiest truck in America, outside of junkyards. And if the photo above doesn’t convince you, just wait until you see the floor of the bed.
As soon as I saw this truck, I reached out to the seller, John, to learn more. He told me he bought the vehicle from a friend eight years ago, and has put about 10,000 miles (16,000 km) on it, religiously changing the oil every 2,000 miles (3,200km) (which seems a bit excessive, but whatever it takes to get quality sleep at night). The rust, he says, is just a product of the truck living on the coast of Oregon.
He told me the frame is still solid, and that between that and the low-mileage powertrain—the truck only has 121,000 miles (197,400 km) on it—there’s some real value, here. I’ll let you all decide for yourselves whether he’s right:
Here’s a closer shot of the bed floor, so if there are any small children in your vicinity, have them look away and maybe also wear headphones; Listening the petrified screams of an adult can’t be good for a kid’s psyche.
Under the hood is a 2.4-litre four-cylinder “22R” engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission, and it apparently scoots the truck along quite well. “Runs great…idles perfect and lots of power,” the Craigslist post reads. “4 Speed Manual Transmission works great.”
The final line in the listing prior to “Open to all offers” is “It is a real work of Rust Art”—which, I guess, is one way of putting it.
I actually agree; I think this truck is magnificent and drips with soul. Just look at the holes in the roof!.
The engine bay looks remarkably clean, and I bet that motor—if it was maintained as well as John claims—has quite a bit of life left in it.
I’d be interested in seeing the underside of this machine, because just looking at the pictures, it appears the thing rusted from the top down, which is the opposite of what I’m used to seeing here in Michigan.
Also, full disclosure: I emailed the seller a max offer of $US400 ($605). He has yet to respond, which isn’t surprising, since I myself am no fan of over-the-internet offers (I did offer to call!), especially when they’re less than half of the asking price.
I’m actually a bit concerned that writing this post and declaring my affinity for the soulful old truck is going to reduce my bargaining power, but that might be an absurd thing to worry about given what we’re dealing with, here…Right?
Editor’s note: David is fucking insane. Look at this thing. It’s turning into its own cutaway diagram. It must make more brown clouds of rust-dust than actual exhaust. If David takes this into the city limits of Detroit I give it a week before he walks out one morning and just finds a brown outline of the truck on the driveway and four tires.