Well as the title states my truck caught fire yesterday at 3:45 pm at my work's parking lot. Fire department was quick to react but my truck was already a gonner. As i pulled in the parking lot i noticed a fuel small as i was driving and could hear the fuel pump working really hard. I figured the worst case scenario and asked some ladies to hurry up so i could get my truck parked i thinks it's leaking fuel. As i backed up to let them out of their spot i saw one big puddle and thought oh crap!! this things gonna blow if i don't shut it off now. Well i was too little too late as i went forward to park and shut her down it went. Popped the hood right up and flames engulfed my truck. Hindsight being crystal clear i should have just turned it off in the parking lot blocking every body when i smelled the gas but yeah i wanted to park it so it wasn't blocking and getting towed. I would have rather had a hefty tow bill as opposed to a ruined truck.


I've owned this truck for 11 years and some of you can relate that have lost a vehicle that they put their blood sweat and tears into it's not easy watching it go up in flames. For me it felt like loosing a loved pet or another part of the family. I've been moping around the house today and standing out there looking at the carnage. Drank waaaaay toooo much last night to drown my sorrows and i think the wife cried more than i did. She knew how much that little truck meant to me.


So there's my sob story. Now it's time to figure out what toyota is next for me. So i pour my heart out to the yotatech family please give me some direction as to what you would do. I Can go in one of two directions. But before we decide to give you some idea of what i want. I will, by the end of this weak, have the 91 2wd running and tagged so a daily driver is not an issue. I can either get a nice bone stock 84 sr5 4x4 unmolested and virtually rust free, or purchase another 89-95 toyota pickup and swap my parts. If i get the 84 i'm starting over with a fresh slate to build it how i want and have a sfa. It's also carbed so propane might be in my future. If i get another 89-95 pickup i'll be right where i started with another daily driver weekend wheeler but prone to failures as we all know ifs can have. I can get a reasonable amount of money for my truck if i sell it to put towards the 84 and i might walk away about 1000.00 in the hole after every thing is said and done. If i get another pickup like mine i'll be about 2500.00 in the hole and still be rocking ifs but still modified nicely and capable. Soo give me some ideas kids, what would you do??


Oh and here's some pics of the carnage. Hide this from the kids they shouldn't ever have to see this.






anybody wanna play tapps for me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn_iz8z2AGw

 

NOOOOOO It's sad to see when a brother goes down in flames! Personally i'd get the 84' build that up and part out what you can from your burnt truck.

 

Thats horrible! So you're saying the pump overheated and ignited the fuel?!

 

That sucks to see a truck go like that, but it looks like a lot of parts can be salvaged. I would find another truck like it and swap as much as you can on to the new truck and sell what`s left over. What`s your insurance going to do for you ?.

 

fuel line was leaking from close to the rail as far as i can tell and ignited from there. When looking at the hottest part of where the fire was it's on the back end of the "fire" wall close to the egr. Physically leaking fuel onto the motor as far as i can tell. It must have ignited from there. Scared the crap outta me. I think i'm lucky i bailed out as fast as i did. That truck went up really quick.

 

liability, so insurance will not be involved. I can sell it or part it for what the insurance will give me. I'm leaning towards the 84 due to less cost overall and the fact of the solid axle. Always kinda liked those trucks.

 

Dang, glad your okay, sorry bout your truck though. If it were me I'd get the 84, just because i don't want to have to worry about frame rot and buybacks.

 

OH MAN! I am sorry to read this!
Stay positive and focus on a new build thats about all you can do.
You definitely have the skills and knowledge to build another even sweeter ride.

 

I feel ya man, but as some encouragement, if this thing can come back from the dead, so can yours. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...runner-200608/

 

i'll check back in tomorrow after i go and check out the 84. I gotta get the 2wd on the road so i'm not driving the f150 for too long. It just needs a timing chain and head gasket so a one or two day job and it's good to go.

 

dang dude,, if you lived any closer I would come help you knock out the timing chain in a sixer.

 

thanks xxtreme and yeah that was one of the first threads that popped into my head when thinking about options. I'm looking at the money to work amount and overall time ratio. If i can get back into a toyota 4wd in less time and start over it just might be an option. Resurrection of the mouse is probably not in the cards but a transfer of parts to another might be. We soon shall see. On the bright side it might kinda nice to start over. More opinions needed please. P.S. i'm leaning towards the 84 the more i think about it. Other than the carbed motor what are the other drawbacks of the 84? (i know the carbed motor isn't a bad thing it's more that i'm not super familiar with them)

 

Thanks toyo, i'd fly ya out to the bible belt to do it but lets just say cash is a little tight for the time being.

 

hey what's the drawback on a carb'd motor? haha have you seen my sig? , but yeah yeah, I know angles angles angles. Mine doesn't crap out too bad though for a weber.

 

Ah crap dude! That sucks man!

 

If you keep looking a little longer you could probably find an 85 truck or 4Runner that way you would have a solid front axle and fuel injection. Look in the for sale section here, im sure you could something.

 

well xxtreme you're the guy to talk to. How hard is it to work on, tune and modify these little carbs and my biggest fear how reliable are they? Like i said sight unseen i'm leaning towards the 84 and as you can see once i get a toyota i like to hold on to them so what should i expect to do to it to be able to run 33's or even dare i say 35's. I know gears like 4.88's or 5.29's. But i wanna drive it to and from the trail like i did with the 90 and not be scared of it flooding or pooping out on me. Can you get a lot of power out of the carbed motors? You don't have to spoon feed me but maybe give me a pros and cons idea of what i'm lookng at.

 

i still have to tweak it every now and then but it's a simple carb. much rather this than the AISIN, but I understand how carbs work have owned nothing but carbed trucks. this weber is the best I've owned, still think i need 1 step bigger in jets but overall I am pretty happy with the 32/36, just wish I had some more bottom end. but that may be not due to the carb.

 

damn dude that blows!!

not to be a dick, but thats why i carry this.

 

Sorry to see that, makes me wanna go check and change all my lil brass washers out. Good luck on finding something you want.