I'm part of the Gen1 Tundra Family! :)

Pristine condition for a 20 year old truck. I thoroughly inspected. Mechanically it's 9 out of 10, only deducting due to about 150,000 miles. Drives great even at highway speeds, all gears worked in a parking lot test, climbed curbs effortlessly, engine and transmission performed excellent with no apparent problems in performance or fluids or hints of any issues. Cosmetically it's a 9 out of 10 with some minor blemishes, inside and out. And the blemishes are either fixable or very trivial. Big item, no rust and it looks like it had a very gentle and well-loved 20 years...

Carfax totally clean, and this was babied and spent 75% of its life in Southern California...

It was by far the least expensive Gen 1 I've looked at anywhere in the nation, especially with the King lift kit and mag wheels, and it was relatively close.

Overall, I'm very very happy and the bubbly look has really grown on me.

I very much appreciate all the advice on this forum! Thanks everyone!

 

congrats. How's the frame look? From that front angle it almost looks like it has baja front fenders...or whatever they're called. It looks great!

edit:
or maybe it's just cause there isn't any fender flares up front???

 

Definitely different fenders.

 

hard to really see. Need another angle

 

I crawled all around under it and saw no serious issues or rust, except the muffler. Frame looks to be in excellent condition and with a heavy protectant coating. Might be a small few spots that could be addressed.

Maybe someone here with a more trained eye can provide feedback?

 

A few more underneath. I found almost no rust. Would it be a good idea to get under it with a wire brush and get that surface rust off and hit it some black rustolium, or should I take it to a pro?

 

looks like a great find. Congratulations.
I'd say to change those brake & P/S fluids.
Which implies you may want to just change all fluids & lube all the zerk points underneath.
It's a nice truck, don't let simple maintenance catch you out. Better to know where you are starting from.
Enjoy it, looks like a real find.

 

Fenders definitely flare out front and rear.

 

i'd say taking it to a pro is overkill at this point. i'd go the wire brush & paint route. I'll just say I'm a big fan of POR-15 Top Coat.

It's the UV stable version of POR-15, little pricey but I've found it does what you want it to & lasts.
You might look into Fluid Film or Waxoyl. It really keeps a clean truck clean (rust free) underneath.

 

Some asked about the flares. Don't know more about the flares. Here's two good pictures of the flares.

The lift kit has King written on it. I'm not experienced with lift kits but some research suggested they are very good. The wheels and tires are 305/70/16 BF Goodrich KO2 ATs and they all appear nearly new.

 

Inspect that center bearing, the rust around the flange might mean it's on borrowed time.

 

Welcome aboard from SoCal.

 

Fiberglass fenders on that bad boy.
Someone took good care of it, I’d say you did well!

 

It’s sitting on a body lift. Not a big fan of those... but you can’t really remove it without going with smaller tires

 

I'd love to know more since you seem to know what you're talking about. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to this.

 

Looks nice. Great find

 

Where the body and the bed mount you’ll find the bolts that mount them. From the one photo you posted under the bed it appears there are body lift pucks. Factory mounts for the bed were straight onto the frame. A body lift does as it says, it lifts the body off the frame to clear larger tires. Likely have a steering shaft extension and some other little things. Good news is it’s all reverseable (but time consuming) But your tires on it now will no longer fit without rubbing dang near everything

 

Yup that's why the engine splash guards are missing. Those don't work with a body lift

 

Something like this might be a easy solution. Any downside?
https://youtu.be/b1R5AMDqDRY

 

yea. any rubber like thing there will help greatly keeping junk out of the engine bay

 

Scored!

150k miles is just getting started on these 4.7L engines.

As far as the body rust, I’d just spray the whole frame with some PB Penetration (one can should do) and come back a few days later and do a grease rub using a 2 tubs of Moly-b and a sponge. Lots of work doing the grease rub, but it will never come off and it turns your frame black again. The grease turns from goo when applied into a doughy protective shell over time.

 

Wow, great start!! Kings upfront, bilsteins in the back, fiberglass fenders, ko2's, body lift and super clean!

 

The truck has so much lift in the front in you've got easy access to do headers.

Great find! She looks nice.

 

I was looking at this and completely jealous as I am contemplating starting this, this weekend since I got the rest of my tools in...looks too easy on this build!

 

I can't believe he has OEM upper control arms with that much lift. Didn't think it was possible.

 

Great looking truck. I love that body style.

 

It isn't doing much lift by the coilover so the arms aren't struggling. The body lift is increasing the gap between body and frame, that gives more space for header install. The fiberglass fenders look like they give about 3" rise and 3 or 4" flare out. 2 reasons why he doesn't have fender liners. Looks like there are wheel spacers up front as well.

Sweet truck, I'm liking the color and the stance. Really a clean find.

 

Thanks everyone for the information and encouragement. I looked nationwide for a long time for this unicorn. The only drawback is the mileage, which is actually low for 20 years and low for a well-maintained Tundra, but it's still 1/2 way to the moon and a lot of miles... But it was among the nicest and lowest mileage ones for sale I found and it was local to me, and it also to my surprise the least expensive especially with the condition and lift.... From my research on the value of these along with the condition & lift, I feel like I paid about 1/2 what the dealership could have sold it for. I don't want to say how little I got this for ... but for the price I bet everyone here would have walked in with cash and bought it. It was really inexpensive and I am still surprised and waiting for the engine to blow or the wheels to fall off. lol.

I was actually a bit nervous and didn't want to jinx myself. I put down a ~10% deposit on a signed purchase contract, but the dealership had to fix a few minor things and it took 2 days. I was sweating it out over two days because I feared someone would offer more money and buy it out from under me and the dealership would just make up a reason to break the sale to me.

 

Oh, also, another detail, when I picked it up yesterday and these repairs were completed I talked again to the owner. I had briefly spoken to him in passing a few days ago at the dealership, small talk, being cordial. When I paid and picked up the truck yesterday he was there again and he mentioned the phone was ringing off the hook for interest in the truck. I'm shocked I got it and for the low price, actually. Kudos to his integrity and not hosting a bidding war and selling it out from under me.

 

Your black could look this good.