If you’ve followed us on Instagram long enough, you’ll remember a trip we took to Boise, Idaho back in September 22’. What started as deciding where to go for a shop camping trip, quickly spiraled out of control when an ad popped up on facebook for a finely patina’d 1983 Toyota Pickup 4x4. Why not take a trip as a team and bring home a truck?
We knew the mission was no easy task. After talking to Levi (previous owner) on the phone, we knew the clutch needed work. The truck had sat for 10-15 years! For a trip like this though…we were embracing a challenge. Loading up two trucks full of parts and tools we hit the road, taking our time, camping and enjoying the open country as we headed east towards Boise.
Our first sights on Levi were promising, he fired right up and we left our initial meet feeling confident. There was no doubt he was a project, but one we were eager to dig into. The plan was to find a spot to drop Levi’s transmission, replace the clutch, tune up what was needed and drive him 1200 miles back to Long Beach. The truck though, had other plans. That night, Levi blew his head gasket.
Towing the truck home felt like the easy way out. We could flat tow or send Levi on his way, camp on the drive back, maybe even do some fishing. That would have been nice. Instead, we called the local Toyota, ordered a 22R head gasket, found a local motel that would let us wrench, and went to town. Over the course of 2 days, we would come to drop the transmission and replace the clutch, pull the head and install a new gasket, completely rebuild the brakes and fix multiple wiring issues, as well as register/insure the truck. All from the comfort of Boise’s sketchiest motel, The Cabana Inn.
Building Levi in a parking lot was never the end goal. In any business, if you don’t love what you do, challenge yourself, and have a little fun then what’s the point. We knew everything we touched in the field would have to come apart again back at the shop, but we were okay with that. The spirit of adventure and desire to travel is rooted deep in the core of Squirrel Concepts and boy did we hit that mark. Levi made the journey back to Long Beach and over the course of a few months since his return, we went through every nut and bolt on that truck. The proper way.