jjswenn

So I bought an 81 pickup 4x4 in December. I’m starting to go through it and make it a descent driver, hopefully. I believe the truck is swapped from a 20r to a 22r. Currently I’m running a Weber 32/36. While installing a fuel pressure regulator, fixing some other odds and ends, and tuning, I noticed the fuel filter looked a little dirty. While swapping the filter I poured some yellow/brownish fuel from the filter. It’s not terrible, but not good as well... So, there’s likely some rust/crud in the tank. Something else I noticed, is that the tank is square, or appears cube shaped to me when crawling under her, and is not the usual shape of my 86 or 95.. Is this square tank factory??? Also, does anyone have ideas where to get a new or good rust-free tank? Any ideas how to clean the tank out? I have access to barrels, a siphon, and or electric fuel pump to suck the junk out, but thought I’d post and get some words of wisdom, as I know the nasty tank is common on trucks this old. I’m definitely new to pre 84 trucks and carburetors. Ideas? Thoughts? Thanks everyone

JJ

Punjab

Unless your truck was built in January of 81 it almost certainly came with a 22R from the factory. And even then, the majority of early 81s had 22R motors in them. And the best 22R motors at that! 81 22R still utilized dual row timing chains like the 20R from 79 and 80. In 82 they switched to single row timing chains.
Not sure about the tank and how square it is. I'll try to climb under my truck and get a good pic of mine. Does the fill neck line up right at the door in the bed and look like it's always been there? Or does it look like it was welded to a fuel cell?
If you have the means to clean it out then that's probably the cheapest option. You could call a radiator repair shop and see if they can flush and seal gas tanks too. Replace the filter and see if it stays the same or gets better.
Pull the idle jets on your carb and make sure they're clean. It would run like crap if at all should there be even the tiniest particles of junk in them. You can also open it and look in the float bowl for particles in the bottom.
Hopefully this helps!

jjswenn

Hey thanks, good to know it came with the 22r. Yes, knowing if the fuel tank is factory would get me started towards a solution to my potential problem, as I believe eventually I will have to swap or clean the existing one. So pictures of early 80’s tanks would help. Interestingly, I inquired about the square tank before buying the truck. The guy told me he wasn’t sure either, but showed me his other 81 4x4, one in a lot worse condition, also had a square tank in it... I still have my doubts about it being factory.

Punjab

Factory 81 Short Bed Tank




There is a difference between the long bed and short bed tanks if I remember correctly but it probably looks the same just longer.
Second pic with the factory rock guard around.
Third pic you can see the fill neck and vent line next to it.

jjswenn

Thanks for the images! Okay, so mine is definitely NOT factory. Ugh, I hate it when people do stuff like that. My own fault for not being knowledgeable at time of purchase.. Well, I guess we go to what options there are to replace it, what years swap. I can see where the factory holes are, where the factory tank should mount up. Then of course the question becomes and what condition are the lines in, etc? I guess I won’t know until I drop it out of there. I’m pretty sure it’s a standard bed pickup.


Here is said truck with tank issues.

2ToyGuy

If the drive line, Toyota calls it a propeller shaft, is in two parts, with a carrier bearing in the middle, it's a long bed. Straight line from the tranny to the differential, short bed.

Is that any help?
Pat☺

jjswenn

yes pat, that helps. I’ll check. I’m hoping some folks will chime in on tank compatibility, as I believe the quickest way to get this carb running well is to swap the tank and get cleaner running fuel through her. Thanks

Punjab

Well whatever you have to do it should be worth it because that truck looks pretty straight! Nice score!
There is a brand spankin new short bed tank on eBay. Item number 174676594885 for your search. $400 isn't a terrible price to pay but I don't know if you'd have to make some custom brackets to hold it.
I only say that because a quick google search yielded a thread here on YT that short bed tanks are 13.5 gallon and long bed tanks are 16 gallons.

2ToyGuy

They must have changed the fuel tank policy along the line, somewhere. My 87 pickup, long bed, 2WD, MT, 22R, has a 13.5 gal tank in it from the factory. I drove it around the block a gas station was on, on pretty level ground, after "The Light" came on, until the engine started cutting out. Two reasons: 1) How far will it go after the light comes on good and steady, and 2) Just how much does the gas tank hold? The people working at the gas station DID look at me kind of funny as I drove around and around their block. At least until I pulled in to fill it up, and explained what I was doing. The engine finally completely quit running completely as I pulled in. I coasted to the pump.
I got my answers. It will go about 25 miles after the light comes on, and the tank holds 13.4 gal when refilled after my little experiment. I am absolutely certain there is no way there was another 3 gallons in the tank once the engine started cutting out. It would have kept right on going if there had been. I would believe there was 0.1 gal remaining in the tank. Pickups in the tank can only draw the fuel down to a certain point, after all.

I did the same with my 87 4Runner, and turns out that has a 16 gal tank. Same conditions for the test. Same gas station, even. They waved at me as I drove it round and round

Just my experience.
Pat☺

jjswenn

Yeah, theres always a little unusable fuel volume in there. Im very familiar with the funny looks from folks while troubleshooting my old Toyota’s, so I sympathize Pat.. My favorite response I received from a coworker who had to listen to my Yota rehab adventures on my 95 one summer while interning with WDFW was, “why don’t you just buy a car that runs???” I’d been chatting to another coworker who was actually curious of my progress and work during our long drives to the job site, but I quickly learned that some folks just do not get it, never will..
So, the driveshaft “propeller shaft” is all one piece, that means short bed. I’ll take a look at that tank on eBay. I don’t think I’d have to fabricate much, if anything, as the holes are all there. The hard lines make me nervous for sure. The truck body isn’t terrible, but could be better. With two other old 22re trucks to maintain, I’m simply looking to get this one as a good driver. I want it to keep the weathered look and get it solid underneath. I’d love to find a better dash for it, she needs leaf springs all the way around, exhaust, new tires, shocks appear original possibly, that crusty rear bumper is getting cut off (it has a strap welded to both sides of the bed frame and the bolts are crusty rusty), gotta fix the heat situation (it blows warm air after warm and sitting, but while driving gets cool again, I suspect air ducts or hose routing as the core, heater valve, and thermostat are new), and rebuild the front axle (it’s wobbly, leaky and WAYYY due). The dude I bought it from did some weird stuff with a header mounted in the wrong holes ( air induction holes), so I may need to just trash this one and swap it (I have a 260 110* cam and matching rockers, but first I need to see what compression is.

I’m getting off topic here.. but, Ive been in the process of tuning the Weber 32/36 DGAV. The only thing I’m confused on is the choke and setting it up. YT Weber instructions have been extremely helpful, but the choke is still unclear. I put in a fuel pressure regulator, changed the filter, and she runs a little better. This thread may have to be swapped to a buildup. Thanks everyone

jjswenn

The dash in my 81 pickup

2ToyGuy

Heh. Funniest looks I ever got was from 3 different Arizona DPS cops. Highway patrol, in other words. Being the weirdo I am, I determined to celebrate the 100,000 mile marks, wherever they happened to occur. My work was an hour's highway drive from town, so the miles piled up pretty fast. Every time the odo turned another 100,000 mark, I'd pull over right where it happened, and do the "Happy Toyota Dance" around my truck. Every single time, well all three of them, a cop pulled in and politely asked me just what the H&^& I thought I was doing.
I made 3 of our local highway patrolmen laugh pretty good when I explained.

Looks like you're going to need a new dash cap for that poor truck. I think they're about $250.00, but I may well be wrong on that.

Sorry I can't be of any help with your carb situation. My pickup still has the factory carb in it. I should probably rebuild it, but hey, it still runs good, so I figure that if it aint broke...

Good luck!
Pat☺

jjswenn

$250 I’d be cool with. I saw a dash in blue on eBay for $700, that’s the cheapest I’ve seen them. The covers go for much much less, unless I’m mistaken, but as far as I can tell the caps are pricy.

jjswenn

I replaced the dash pad/cap for $399 from an online Toyota parts dealer. If fit perfectly and gave me a chance to clean out all the air vents. The old Toyota smell I love is still there, minus the old ashtray smell. The cap did not come equipped with the factory side vents, so I plugged them at the air tower thingies and removed the tubes, they were nasty anyway. I’m happy with it and it looks great.

New Bilstein 5100’s all around and OME stabilizer made a HUGE difference. It was laughable how ridiculously ineffective the old suspension parts were. I had a good chuckle doing the replacement and condition of the old shocks.

New 31” a/t’s on 15” black steel wheels. Those made a big difference as well, as opposed to the 1980’s Toyo retreads that came on the truck. Those were totally unsafe.

I ordered that short bed gas tank for $399 on eBay and will hopefully make it work on my long bed by utilizing a little fabrication on the brackets. If shouldn’t be too terribly difficult to weld/extend the tank mounts. The tank is in transport and yet to arrive. I’ll update when/how that goes.

Things still to do:
- replace the leafs all around.
- remove the crusty rear bumper and replace it with something, maybe a standard aftermarket.
-replace the flooring and patch up the floor boards as needed.
- replace the windshield seal.
- New exhaust manifold, down pipe, and muffler.
- go through the rear drums
- swap the crusty bed to flat bed kit.
- replace the seats with buckets, possibly mr2 buckets in blue.
- black lug nuts

By the way, I’ve done very little research on the flatbed idea. I figure it will be less challenging to swap in a flat bed/weld a kit up than to actually find a long bed in respectable condition to swap out my crusty-borderline rotten bed. So, although I plan to do much more research before making any decisions, I’m wondering what advice/ideas/experiences people might have on the flatbed idea. I’d like to keep the entire thing black, aluminum/diamond plate with as little steel as possible, to keep the weight down. LED lights etc. A descent weldable kit may be the ticket. I’m not sure?? I’m no metal expert, but can competently melt metals together.

jjswenn

Hey Punjab,

Well, after weeks of debating, searching, and contemplating... I pulled the trigger and bought the mentioned tank on EBay for $400, plus tax. After arrival I quickly noticed the words “made in Taiwan” on it. Now, the post doesn’t specify a “brand”, but after speaking with the seller via phone I was lead to believe the tank might be original equipment. Plus, I should mention that I was willing to fabricate an extension bracket to make this short bed tank work in my long bed. So.. after noticing the made in Taiwan and very small remnants of purple Rock Auto packing tape on the box, I started searching some more. Short story, the exact same tank can be purchased from rock auto (2wd short beds 85-88) for about $160, Amazon for $200-240, and EBay for around $200. I’ve been hustled. Clearly the tank was bought for different years and advertised for 1979-1983 short beds, definitely a bait and switch move. I’ll be requesting a return, but expect issues to proceed. I could easily have bought a long bed carbureted tank for between $150 and $250 from numerous vendors with the same questionable fitment dimensions and likely much less alterations/hassle required, and it would’ve arrived much faster. I’ll take some of the fault for not researching further before buying, but I was mislead by the title and seller.

So, I’m still looking for a tank that will work for this truck, out $400 until EBay resolves the issue, and would appreciate some experienced advice on what tank might work for this long bed 81 carb 4wd pickup.

Lastly, for me (and I’m gonna rant a bit here, apologies), I just don’t get it. The effort to obtain parts, post them, and hustle someone for a few hundred or even thousand dollars just isn’t worth it.. I’d way rather have a job, work hard, and not have to worry about legal ramifications, or even worse, an extremely angry person.

Thanks again and in advance for any help offered in keeping my 81 on the road!

Punjab

Damn I am sorry to hear that. I have definitely had to deal with similar issues through private sales. I genuinely hope that it's an easy return and resolution for you.
I also hope this doesn't discourage you from getting it running.

jjswenn

No chance. The truck is running pretty we’ll actually, after draining the tank that’s in there and swapping filters a few times. It’s getting cleaner, but I still like the idea of popping a fresh tank in there. It’s an easy swap once I have one.

mtrdud

Does that tank appear it will bolt up and work. I have been looking at that tank for a SWB 4x4 pickup and it appears the same dimensions as my tank.

jjswenn

For my longbed 81 I went with an extended cab tank for a 2wd truck, it bolted up and has been working just fine for many months now.

13Swords

I know it's late but I found this: Weber 32/36 Carburetor Adjustment

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