Older Toyota question

[jeep4x4greg]

I found a dirt cheap Toyota pickup with an extended cab (looks funny...the roof is a little higher than the roof above the drivers head....if that makes sense)

he said its a 1986 model with 4x4 and manual trans

the bed appears to be falling off, but the Cab looks OK. I'd replace the bed with a homemade one anyways and turn the truck into a trail/expedition vehicle

are these generally reliable trucks? is there anything i should specifically look for (other than rust)....I know what to look for on jeep but not toyotas.

let me know! I'll certainly post a few pictures if i get it

 

[Martinjmpr]

By any chance did it look like this?

This is a conversion that was fairly common in the mid-80's, before crew cab mini trucks were available. They would take a regular mini truck, cut the frame behind the cab and then weld in extensions and put in a fiberglass "cab extension" so you could seat two more people back there. Obviously no doors so you'd have to enter/exit through the front doors. Probably not real comfortable.

Mid-80's Toyotas were as reliable as anything made back then, probably more so. But they are still 24+ years old, so expect some problems. I'm assuming this has the 22r 4 cyl engine, the good news is that while it's not a super powerful engine, there are a lot of aftermarket parts and original parts available for it still.

 

[Jacket]

The 22re is one of the most reliable engines every made. That said, all engines get tired and need attention at some point. If it's <250k miles, you could probably buy it and drive it for a while. Otherwise, it might need some attention and maintenance.

 

[jeep4x4greg]

I'm not worried as much about the wear and tear as much as design flaws....example is the frame of certain CJs cracking behind the spring perch as they get old....oor the Jeeps with the peugot transmission that would explode if you did so much as talk angrily to them......

heres a pic of the truck. pretty rough but dirt cheap. if the core of its being is strong I dont mind doing the work to clean it up.

I just know nothing about Toyota having been a jeep guy since i was a teenager....Just want to make sure I'm not buying the one toyota truck that had all the chronic problems

seems like it would make a neato expeditionary vehcile with a little extra room for stuff of a few kids in the back.

 

[bjowett]

Mid 80's Toyota Trucks are probably the best of the bunch. They do have rust issues, so inspect the frame carefully. Check the fluids, look for leaks, etc. The timing chain guides on the 22R series need attention every 100 - 120k, HD guides are probably still available.

 

[bjowett]

This video series sums up mid 80's Toyotas very well....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9iu2Gou8kM

 

[Soobarubin]

That's called a "Custom Cab"
Pretty sweet trucks, I wish I owned one. I would pick it up if I were you...

-Jaren

 

[jeep4x4greg]

Ok, I got a few more pics from the seller.

I'm not to stoked about that dent in the front since I do want to make it a little more presentable.

but they are asking $1000...which means they'll take less.

and it has 113K miles supposedly.


what you guys think? go for the super cheap turd? or wait and find something else

 

[Toyotero]

Wow, that bed is done.

Considering the bed condition, be sure to check for rust on the frame. One common rust area seem to be at the rear spring perch area.

That dent in the front looks like it could be 90% fixed with a new fender.

$1100 seems like too much, but prices may vary in your area I think that $800 would be more the price here, or less with that bed.

Considering the overall condition, I would expect that the last couple of owners might have neglected the regular maintenance, so be sure to check for neglect (very dirty brake fluid, dirty radiator fluid, leak in radiator or heater core, non functional a/c, irregular braking, etc) and expect to possibly have to refresh those systems.

It would make for a cool and unique Expo/trail vehicle.... although you might need a 10" lift to fix that break-over angle with that long wheelbase :-D

Best of luck!

Cheers,

 

[Martinjmpr]

About the rusty bed...

Very, very common in this generation of Toyota.

Here's the story I heard, not sure if it's true but it makes sense:

The US imposed (and still does) a major tax on small trucks imported to the US. It's called the "chicken tax" and I think it's something like 25%.

To avoid this tax, Japanese manufacturers would import a complete truck, minus the bed, to the US. Because it didn't have a bed it wasn't considered to be fully assembled. When they got to the US, they would put a US made bed on it. Unfortunately, the rustproofing of the bed was not as good as on the Japanese-made cab. That's why these trucks usually look OK from the cab forward but the beds are often rusted through.

Nowadays, of course, they avoid the tax by building complete trucks in the US.

Anyway, you can either get another bed or go for a custom or flatbed. Otherwise those old Toyotas are pretty much bulletproof.

 

[User_Name]

Very, very common in this generation of Toyota.

Here's the story I heard, not sure if it's true but it makes sense:

The US imposed (and still does) a major tax on small trucks imported to the US. It's called the "chicken tax" and I think it's something like 25%.

To avoid this tax, Japanese manufacturers would import a complete truck, minus the bed, to the US. Because it didn't have a bed it wasn't considered to be fully assembled. When they got to the US, they would put a US made bed on it. Unfortunately, the rustproofing of the bed was not as good as on the Japanese-made cab. That's why these trucks usually look OK from the cab forward but the beds are often rusted through.

Nowadays, of course, they avoid the tax by building complete trucks in the US.

Anyway, you can either get another bed or go for a custom or flatbed. Otherwise those old Toyotas are pretty much bulletproof.

I don't know if it was called the chicken tax but yes they did send them here without beds installed to avoid a tariff.
My 79 4wd had a bed made in LA California and after 30 years the only part of the truck with any noticeable rust was the bed.
The paint itself was really durable but I don't think they spent much time in prepping the surface before shooting it

 

[washington taco]

LC engineering out of Lake Havasu AZ makes a lot of hop up parts for the 22R. I would also check for rust at the cab/cab extension. Also listen to the transmission for gears whinning usually means the the tranny is going.

 

[austintaco]

nice find! There was one at the drive through the other day and I almost got out to take a better look, but I didn't want to scare off the driver. It was 12:30 AM.

get it!

 

[jeep4x4greg]

I'm going to go take a look at it this weekend.....the price is borderline...so there would have to be a lot of good hidden in all that bad.

If that doesnt work out, I'm going to work with a friend of mine to find a vehicle where he lives (a salt free state!)

 

[ntsqd]

There are actually 4 different beds that were used on that body style series of trucks. At one time I had them all sorted out and could recite them from memory. Let's see....

Bed w/o rails or tie-down hooks & center tailgate latch: "California" bed;

Bed with rails, but no hooks, center latch: "Federal" bed;

Bed with rails and hooks, center latch: "Canadian" bed;

Bed with rails and hooks, side cam-latches: "JDM" bed.

When looking under the hood have a look at the data plate and note which series of transmission is in the truck. You don't want a 'G' series. Most likely it is a 'W' series, which when drained and re-filled with a quality synthetic trans lube is a great, trouble free transmission. The G series is pretty marginal.

I like the 22R, but there's no way that I'd try for a lot more power out of one. The cylinder head simply isn't going to cooperate. It is a very dated port design. For the money invested in trying to increase a 22R/RE's power output you could re-power the truck and have a MUCH more reliable engine. Not to say that the 22R/RE isn't reliable, because that is one of it's hallmarks, but that a hot rodded 22R/RE is asking for trouble. Mild tweaks, sure, 50%+ HP increase? Forget it.