Looking at an '83 pickup...things to look for?

The next couple of days should allow me to go check out this 1983 toyota pickup.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/car/408049257.html

For people who have/had this truck, what things might I want to be cautious of when checking out this truck? I have no familiarity with the 22r motor (only the 22re) and while fuel injection would be preferred, I don't want to be this picky. It sounds to be a good truck. The current owner said alot of stuff had recently been replaced. If it is worth my time/money, I wouldn't mind the pickup (prefer the 4rnr though), but the price seems a bit high? Am I wrong on that?

Thanks for the help!

-Chris

Though I have an 86, I think some of the same things apply.

When you look at it, push on the tops of tires in an inward motion to make sure there is no play, as that is a sign of problems.

Also, the Aisin carb is a very good carburator, my truck is also a 22R, and though I'm rebuilding the engine now, the engine has gone 300k miles on original everything.

Looks like its in very good condition, price seems decent. I'd jump on it

(but thats just me)

Curse said:

Though I have an 86, I think some of the same things apply.

Looks like its in very good condition, price seems decent. I'd jump on it

(but thats just me)

Click to expand...

You think $4K is good ???? Jump on it ??? You are freakin crazy.

First off, it's 25 years old

Second, it didn't cost much more than that WHEN IT WAS NEW !

I have an 83, the tranny they put in that year (an that year only) is a POS.

Pinion seals was another problem they had.

And then there's the factory rust package. I had to replace the frame, and then the cab/bed. And WI is in the rust belt too.

The ad says it was a CA truck and only 1 yr in WI, but he probably has a bridge for sale too. I'd check every square inch of that frame for rust with hammer. Looking at it means nothing, they rust from the inside out, so if you can see it, it's way far gone.

And only 150K original miles, and he rebuilt the engine ???
More BS, if it actually was rebuilt, there was some thing seriously wrong with it. The 22R is almost indestructable. I put 225K on one and it still ran great when I gave the vehicle away.


If it was actually in the stated condition, it'd be in the $500-700 range here in the mid-Atlantic.

Some common issues:

1. Timing chain guides - shouldn't be an issue if the engine has had a recent rebuild

2. Tranny - The L52 is a rather weak unit. Again, with a recent rebuild it should be ok, but I would drive it and listen for noises, particularly in 5th.

3. Frame rust - shouldn't be an issue if it's spent most of its life in CA, but I'd crawl under it and look around, particulary around the gas tank.

4. Smog equipment - Only an issue if you to pass smog test. If it's an issue make sure all the equipment is in place.

That's about all of the potential problem areas that I can think of. I guess I have some concern as to why with only 150k, that it needed an engiine rebuild. My 83 has 260k and is all original except for the timing chain. I also think 4k is too much, but perhaps rust-free trucks bring more (aren't any of those here in KS).

You could try knocking down the price some. Believe it or not I'm seeing more in this price range. I bought an 86 in the 1500 dollar range and it 135,000 miles on the odometer and no A/C and it had a little rust last year. I have not had any major issues with it.

If you you lucky you can always find a low milage rusted 1983 celica GT and swap engines. They came with EFI setup.

Well I just had a chance to go look at the truck. Not enough time to drive it around, but that will happen later this week. Man, this thing is a beaut. Aside from a handful of dime and nickel size rust spots scattered around the body exterior, and a couple rust patches on the underside (rust, NOT rot), the thing looks pretty clean. Started it up (took a few cranks since it had been sitting for a while) and happily reminisced about my '85 runner. Frame is clean, interior is beat up (chunks of foam missing from drivers side seat, and normal accumulation of wear and tear), and it comes with brand new BFG AT's.

I asked the owner why the engine was replaced: P.O. blew a rod he said. New engine put in by a toyota mechanic.

I asked the owner why the tranny was replaced: P.O. trashed it (probably doing the same thing that caused the engine to blow.)

He also said the radiator had a leak. Common?? I can't imagine that woulod be that big of a fix.

Hoping he will take an offer between $3k and $3.5k

Next time you're there, depending on how convenient it is, pull the carpet back right where your feet are, they have a habit of rusting pretty good right there, I've even seen that spot rusty on really clean rigs.

It's always a nasty little sound to hear your cab bouncing around on the body mounts because there is a large baseball sized hole where there used to be a bolt hole.

I bought mine for $1900 last year. It only had 160,000 on the clock, the interior was redone, it had new tires, and it's an AZ truck with no rust. $4000 seems WAY too high, I'd try to talk it down.

Good point Wancho, didn't they only cost like 4-5k brand new lol.

Check where the rear springs meet the frame, common to find that interface rotten, then the rear of the frame can break there.,( just behind the rear tires).

well I finally had a chance to drive the truck this weekend. Owner went with me but we were able to talk about it while I drove . Drove really nice. Smooth engagement, firm clutch (pretty new actually.) Took it on the highway, through town, and then to a parking lot to run through 4wd. Everything seemed to work really nicely. 4hi/low both engaged well, with no odd sounds or clunking (unfortunately for me, it's been a while since I drove a vehicle that a) had a working p-brake, or b) hubs that had to be engaged from outside. So after I locked the hubs in, I climb back in the cab and drive around a bit. Woulnd't have felt like an a** had I remembered to disengage the p-brake...OOPS!) Anyhoo, the truck was really nice. I found out a little more about why the engine/tranny were worked on. Tranny was started to sound funny to the owner about 10k ago, so had it dropped and rebuilt (clutch was replaced then.) A little while later, the engine started to take a crap, so he had that pulled and rebuilt (this is when the water pump and timing was done.)

Along with that, it has a new exhaust, new brakes, new radiator, tires, and a couple of other little things. Crawled underneath and the thing is dry as a bone! No oil or grease, no sludge, nothing. A little bit of grease around where the u-joints are, but not anything I was concerned with. My truck was ('85 4runner) and is ('90 cherokee) covered in muck from various little things leaking, and I fell in love with this new truck as soon and I got to explore it. Springs front and rear appear to be original (fronts are a bit saggy).

I am a bit concerned (paranoid?!) of a few things, and I think it's only because I don't want any unexpected surprises should I happen to purchase it...

-coating of oil on sides of block (I'm guessing a shoddy VC gasket, or if the guy is like me, an oil filler cap that was left off for a period of time )
-lever for turn signals has to be disengaged manually after a turn (an easy fix or not???)

-one of the radiator hoses has a small leak (he told me about this, but I couldn't find it. I figured maybe I could replace the hoses and clamps right away and take care of any and all issues.)

-a few rust spots (soooooo......)

-shoddy interior (fun weekend fix-er-up-er project )

-the gauge cluster consists of a speedo. that's it. I don't like that (replacement options that look decent? did any 1st-gen trucks come with a bezel that had other gauges in it? Aftermarket would be simple with a GF that works at NAPA, but relatively stock-looking would be cool.)


So all in all, I'm pretty excited about this truck. Not too keen on the price however. The guy said he's pretty firm because of all the little things that were recently done to it, and the fact that he doesn't even want to get rid of it. He said it would be ok if I put a down payment, and the rest would come later, but "the rest" depends on me selling my cherokee and comanche, and I have no idea how much they will bring. Hopefully it will all work out in my favor.

In the past year I bought a '93 extended cab 22re 4wd for $3000, a '91 extended cab 3.0 4wd for $2700, a '94 regular cab 22re 4wd for $2400, and an '88 4runner 22re for $1800. I thought that Texas prices were being inflated by the endless towbar trains of the Mexico buyers. Dude don't give four grand for that pickup. Old Toyota pickups are like crack for me, so I know how bad you want that one, but the seller needs to sit on it until he realizes he can't get his imagined payday.