DillonLee

Ok, I recently totalled my 2000 Grand Prix and I am now looking for what I should buy with the money I will recieve from the insurance company. At the moment I am split between another Grand Prix, or a very nice 1984 Pickup I found. I have been looking for a nice DD pickup for almost 3 years now and I think this may be the opportunity I am looking for but I am not sure if this pickup will be good for what I want. Here is the ad, click on the links for pics.

i have a 84 toyota truck (short box) 22r with about 30k on the motor and 120k on the body. new 35inch goodyear wrangler mtr tires chromoly axel shafts, detroit lockers front and rear, dual optoma red top battery, over 10k invested with recepts. runs great, drives great and straight 513 gears STREET LEGAL! this truck is in great shape for the year no major dents no major rust spots does come with custom bumper if wanted (winch NOT included)

$3800 obo
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cto/971669137.html

The only doubt I am having is whether or not I want to drive a vehicle with a carb in Minnesota where it gets down to 15 below. I don't have a garage to store it in so it will be sitting over night in the cold. I would like this pickup to last me a while and I am just looking for some input on what I should do. If I got this pickup I would sell my 83, which is a work in progress and which is not driveable right now, and go down to one vehicle. Any thoughts?

Johannes

I love the truck! I'd drive it if it were here. However, I see the folly in a carb'd engine when it gets that cold.

I'd have to look into the swap, but it shouldn't be that hard or expensive to find a wrecked toyota with the 22RE and do either the engine swap itself, or just the fuel injection platform, basically make the 22R it has in it to the 22RE.

But otherwise, I like the look of it...and don't get another Grand Prix, Pontiac is likely to go under and out of business and try getting a vehicle like that repaired if the dealer isn't stocking anything for them, parts aren't being manufactured...etc. etc.

abecedarian

+1 on the don't get another pontiac (unless it's a 60-70's muscle car )

Sounds like a decent deal, maybe a tad higher than I'd pay. You could install a block heater and keep it plugged in overnight and use an engine blanket to help with the starts in the morning.
Converting to EFI is fairly easy also, save for swapping the ECU and wiring over. If you only swap over the engine externals (manifolds, etc.) you may have an issue with the intake manifold bolting up since there were some variations between the stud locations in the early 22rs and 22res, but usually it's just move a stud from one hole to another.

Johannes

^x2. I'd go that EFI swap route for sure.

JasonWin

EFI swap is not possible, unless you swap over the whole engine. They changes the 22r block for the 85 year so it would not be a simple bolt on. Actually there is a way to swap it over but I belive it involes taping a new hole or something like that. I don't see the carb being a problem thought. I'm sure there's lots of truck on here that start up in much colder on a regular basis.

abecedarian

22re's were available in the celica gts before 85 so it may be possible to utilize the manifold from one of those. yes, it may involve drilling and tapping a new hole in the head, or may not....

DillonLee

Im thinking I would go the block heater route right away and maybe do the EFI swap later, depending on how much cash I get from the insurance company. I definetly want the pickup more than the car but the cold starting issue and the gas mileage are holding me back from committing fully. Does anyone drive a setup like this daily? Im not really worried about losing creature comforts or anything like that, I have driven some rough vehicles in the past few years. Oh, one more question, does the price sound fair? I was thinking about offering 3500 and seeing what happens from there.

airmen65

I drive a 85 with stock gears and 33's and its not the fastest and darn near unacceptable gas milage, but since there it has gears it should get decent milage.

91Toyota

Only thing I don't like is the fact that he obviously used it off-road. May be good or bad, but I prefer a vehicle not abused by some ignorant kid. I wouldn't buy my own vehicles...make sense?

toyota4x4907

Go with a block heater and either battery blanket or battery heater pad. Even though it has the red tops, its still easier on the batteries to have some heat.

$3500 would be a good obo price. If you can 'negotiate' start lower, like $3100/$3200 and go from there. Tell him you'll go full price if you include the winch

DillonLee

Well I think I will definetly go with the block heater and a battery heater pad sounds like a good idea also.
I can also see what you mean about the truck being used off road and being abused. But I also figure if you have the right setup it should be able to take the abuse. chromoly axle shafts, Optima red tops and Detroit lockers are made to take the abuse. I think I would be able to live with it being abused a little. I thrash my rigs and I haven't had any major issues with anything yet. Although I geuss I won't really know until I take a look at it.
Insurance money won't be here for a while so I have time to deliberate.