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I have a 81 short box that I’m at a crossroads with. I bought it with a bad 22R, and have been collecting parts over the years to do a 1UZ conversion. It’s a tight fit, and I just keep thinking about doing a LS swap, or maybe a 3RZ. I think at some point I will want to sell it, and since it’s pretty clean I don’t want to turn it into a wheeler. I figure I have about 5k to put into it, so tell me what you would do.
Such a cool looking truck. LS swap would be radical but i think it would eat the $5k budget quickly and probably not raise the value of the truck.
i think a 3rz would be great for it.
In that condition, I would keep it stock as much as possible. Get the engine rebuilt or buy a rebuilt long block, which is what I did for around $1800. Make it a good DD and save a 1st gen. truck
If it were me, I'd drive it up to Montana and leave it in my driveway. I'd appreciate it very much
It's a hard one. You'll obviously get a lot more money for something that runs & drives, but for a lot of people it's hard to justify the time and effort spent to get something running just to sell it.
It all depends on your life circumstances; we can only give advice for what we'd do. If I had a place to store it out of the way, I'd hold onto it. But I've gone through quite a few trucks I thought I'd never sell. They're gone, and I mostly don't regret it.
In that condition, I would keep it stock as much as possible. Get the engine rebuilt or buy a rebuilt long block, which is what I did for around $1800. Make it a good DD and save a 1st gen. truck
Rebuild and restore it. Those old paint schemes can fetch a few bucks just for nostalgia sake, but a clean, as far as I can see, first gen is something worth keeping original. I drive a banged out XXXX box of a first gen, constantly getting offers on it.
I also vote to keep the truck as stock as possible, preferably with a freshly rebuilt 22R.
You are probably going to get the most return out of a stock truck too when it comes time to sell.
If you plan to do a swap, I would stick with the 4 cylinders and go with the 3R-Z.
I am not really a fan of LS or other General Motors swaps. They take the "Toyota" out of these trucks, and we buy these because they are Toyotas, right? I feel that if you want to do that, sell the Toyota and buy yourself a Chevrolet Suburban or Chevrolet S-10 to mod.
In the end, the above is just my opinion, and that is your truck. You can do what ever you want with it!
I agree with the others, if it were me I'd keep that thing as stock as possible, DD it, and enjoy the jealous looks other Toyota lovers give as you drive by.
Aug 28, 2019 | 04:56 PM
