When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you buy a truck sight unseen and it comes with a blown head gasket, build a really cool truck. Sometimes life doesn’t always work out as planned and James brown is a classic example of how a shitty situation, doesn’t necessarily have to be.
Early 2022 we set out for a trip to San Francisco in order to acquire some new projects to bring home. One of which was James Brown, a patinad 1987 Extra Cab Pickup which we bought sight unseen. PSA: Don’t do that. We arrived into San Francisco late one afternoon and due to timing and coordination issues, we had received the tile and keys prior and the truck was left waiting for us on the side of street. As always, our intention was to, on the spot, fix what needed to be fixed and drive him home. We jumped in the cab, turned the key, and it became clear rather quickly, we needed to start looking for a tow. A bit of AAA trickery later and JB was on his way back to Long Beach.
It's easy to get frustrated in a situation like this, and to say we weren’t would be a flat out lie. After many conversations over the hood of a struggling 22RE, we made peace and a new plan was born. Go All In. James Brown would eventually end up leaving the shop as a fully mechanically restored Toyota Pickup. We pulled the head and touched everything we could while we were in there. The wiring harness got a makeover, all accessories were either rebuilt or replaced, the fuel system was overhauled front to back, and every bit of dirt left in that nearly 40 year old engine bay was evacuated. The interior was fully gone through and brought back to life with restored plastics, redone headliner, seats, and all minor plastics/trim got the attention it needed. But we didn’t stop there. Brown’s suspension and steering linkages were all replaced with OEM Toyota components, Bilstein shocks, and a full brake job made sure he was safe to hit the road once again.
Can we fit every detail of this truck into one blog post? No, we cant. But we will say, Brown is now back out there, living his best (second) chance at life, attending car shows, and still turning heads after surviving what most would consider a “scrap yard bound” situation. These trucks will live forever and with the right amount of love, even a lemon can be Brown.