sk8rlee

Hi guys, new here, don't actually have a truck yet and that's why I'm here. I saw one with a for sale sign on the side of the road and took a quick look.

He wants $500 obo. I didn't have a whole lot of time so I didn't get a whole lot of info but here's what I know.

• The guy I talked to says it's a '79...is that what it looks like, the grill looks different that what I'm seeing as a '79?
• I tried starting it but it would start, it cranked real strong, just didn't start. He said it's been sitting for about a week without being started but it does run. I have a bike at home that's just as old and it takes a while to start after sitting for a while so I'm don't find that hard to believe. I'll look more into that when/if I go look at it again.
• Not sure of the mileage, I forgot to look.
• Engine bay looks pretty clean and straight (except for the bungee cord holding the battery down) with the 20R engine.
• The body looks pretty straight from what I saw except for a missing passenger side mirror, a dent on the bed behind the right rear tire and the body colored part under the front bumper has a dent in it. Tailgate and latches even look in good shape from what I remember.
• As for the interior, don't know what the seat looks like, it's covered with one of those poncho-type seat covers. The dash looks pretty bad and the door panels look like they're upholstered pieces of plywood.
• One thing that concerns me is that three of the wheels match, the forth doesn't. The forth is on the right rear...where the dent is at on the bed and I'm wondering if it might have gotten hit bad enough to mess up that wheel and maybe some suspension or driveline stuff. How do I check for damage there that might not be so obvious?

That's what I can recall from my short visit. So, based on that alone, should I fork over the $500 (or offer less) and maybe give it a little tune up or should I just run?


Thanks for any help. Here's a few pics I took?




IMG_1506.jpg?t=1378897361

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Hard to see much of the interior, the pics were taken after he'd already locked up the truck and gone back inside.

kawazx636

iTrader: (3)

Not too many shortbed 2WD 79-83 trucks out there. $500 isn't a bad price at all, but be prepared to drop another $500 in it to get it running right. In fact, I would actually pay $500 for that bed alone.

Where is it located? If you don't buy it, I will.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

I would say if he can get you in it and drive it a little bit and make sure there is no weird feelings in the drive train or anything than $500 should be a good deal. After you drive it make sure there is no leaks on the motor or drive train anywhere. Be sure and look under the cab and check the conditions of the floor board. As for it not starting easy that probably is another $500 like kawazx636 said to get it running stable. The first thing people on here will do is tell you to get a weber 32/36 carb on put on it.

sk8rlee

So getting her running good is going to be more than just a fairly simple "tune up", a new carb would be needed? And, about the carb, are these affected by the ethanol gas we're forced to use these days...like the carbs of my '79 motorcycle were...could that be part of the running/starting problem?

kawazx636, the truck is in SoCal, it'll be Friday before I can get back over there and take a look at if. If I pass it up I'll give you the guy's contact info if you want it.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

Sure you can start with a tune up and see how that goes. Maybe it will work for you. I don't know how much the ethanol affects this carb bu I always run fun stabilizer in my tank.

83

No.

Not necessarily.

There's just no way to know without digging in.

But if you buy it (and I don't see any reason why not to, if it were me and I was in the market), do it with your eyes open. It very well could need major engine work. And transmission work.

Almost best case scenario you're dropping $200 on parts to get it running well, assuming you're doing the work yourself. That's just plugs, wires, distributer cap & rotor, carb tuning stuff, coolant and oil change etc.

Full tune up, basically.

bumponapickle

Dont see many of them around anymore (especially in my area of canada)....by the looks of it....if the frame is good to go....500 bucks is nothing....i'd be all over that!!!

Stetson_md

Its worth 500 simply because you could make more then that parting it out

sk8rlee

Ya know, I just realized that I'm worried about getting it running right and I don't even know how it runs yet, I just know that right now it's hard to start. I can handle a couple hundred bucks on tune-up stuff (and I think it would make since to do that anyway) even the cost of the carb if need be, what I'd hate to get caught up in is buying this thing for $500 and spending $1500 trying to get it straight. I just talked to the guy and I'm gonna go take it for a spin Friday and if everything is good I'll probably drive away with it. He says it runs good but stresses that I'll have to put some work into it to pass smog test (it's in CA) but I'd be registering it in MS so I won't be worried about smog check anyway.

kawazx636

iTrader: (3)

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I spent $2,000 on my 83 Pickup and over $6,000 (and counting) later it is still in a bunch of pieces and "technically" doesn't run...

See? $1,500 doesn't seem so bad anymore huh??

83

Yes. Above all, remember it's a 79. If you want a reliable, "turn the key and drive" truck, get a 90's Tacoma 2wd.

These trucks are great...but they're 30+ years old. Things start to fail. The old Yotas are a labor of love. If you want one bad enough, you're willing to put in money and time. If you just kinda think old trucks are cool...but are looking for a reliable daily driver...these can be that, but chances are it's going to need a good amount of money and work to get there.

sk8rlee

Ok, so here's the deal, I live in Mississippi and I work in California. I come to work in CA for 3 weeks and when I get off I go home for 3 weeks. Here in CA I have no transportation. I don't need my own transportation here at work but it sure would be convenient for short trips to the store or to grab a bite or stuff like that, not so much for daily commuting but more like a couple times a week. So I started to occasionally look for something cheap that I could keep here but never really found anything, no big deal. Then one day, while I was riding the city bus with all the [other] crazies, I saw this sitting there with the for sale sign on it and decided to check it out. I went there figuring the price would be more than I'd want to pay. Dude said $500 OBO so suddenly it's now in my price range. And not only that, it's a really cool, old, Japanese truck, I love the old Japanese vehicles (which is why my choice of motorcycle is a '79 Honda CB750 over the HDs/cruisers or modern day sport bikes) so that's an added bonus! Both times that I've talked to him he's told me that once started it runs fine, I'll find that out for myself tomorrow, and he's also stressed the point that I'd have to put a fair amount of money into it to get it to pass a CA smog test and that's the reason the previous owner gave it to him (or a trade of some sort), he couldn't get it to pass the smog test. So this gives me the impression that at least one reason the price is so low is simply because who ever buys it won't be able to register it in CA with out spending lots of money. Since I don't have a residency here in CA I can't register it here so instead I'll be registering it in my home state of MS so that's not a big deal at all. If I do end up getting it I'll probably put a little money into it here and there and slowly get it fixed up and depending on the it's in when my job here in CA is done maybe I'll even bring her home to meet the wife and family...if she's up for the cross country drive...but that's hopefully a ways away.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I would pay $500 just not to ride public transportation. I know what you mean by the crazies on those public buses. The truck might work for short trips to the store but like was mentioned, it can be made a dependable truck but most likely will need a lot of work and money.

Has great potential and is in great shape for its age. It would be hard to find one in that rust free condition compared to what is in the midwest area. Definitely would want to do alot of work before driving it to Mississippi which I know you said is a fair amount of time off from now.

83

Yeah, if things seem ok on your test drive, go for it!

sk8rlee

So here's the deal y'all. I went for a better look today and here's what I found. It took a LOOONG time to get it started, but once it finally started it ran pretty good, nice and smooth but once it's shut down it's like the fuel is draining back to the tank, crank it right back up and it'll start with no problem but let it sit for more than a few minutes and it's crank...crank...crank...crank all over again. So, does this sound like a problem with the fuel pump? Is there some sort of check valve in there (this one has the electric fuel pump) that is supposed to keep pressure on the line? I checked the voltage going to the pump and it read about 10.5ish volts like the internets said it should. I tried to check the resistance on the pump itself but just couldn't manage to get both leads on the pump and I'm not really sure if that would have told me anything anyway.

As far as the drive itself, the truck rides and handles good, and the brakes work good too. And the pick up in this thing (or at least the seat-of-the-pants pick up) really surprised me, a lot better than I thought it would be. The odo says 51,*** so I'm gonna go ahead and guess it's actually 151,*** miles. The "Charge" light stays on on the dash when it's running, what could cause that? I checked the voltage on the battery and alternator and they checked out at 12.5V on the battery and about 13.7V out of the alternator.

And the body on this thing is great, very little rust and what's there is just surface rust. I checked all the vulnerable spots, the floor pans and door jambs and stuff like that, and it all looks really good..except for where the battery is, that part is rusting away so bad that there's a hole, check out the pic, to the left of the battery.


The interior is pretty good for a $500 truck I suppose but there's one thing I noticed that I'm curious about, the shifter. It looks like it's not in the right place. What I mean is there's a perfectly cut circle in the floor board where I'm guessing the shifter is supposed to be but instead a cut was made and now the shifter sits a few inches behind that hole. My only guess is that the truck came with a 4sp and the 5sp that's in it now is a little longer. Sound about right? Here's a pic of that. (sorry, I probably should have pulled the boot back first)


So my only concerns with this truck is the battery area and the fuel delivery problem. And it's also the reason I didn't buy it yet. I'm not sure exactly how to deal with the battery problem and as for the fuel issue, I don't live here so the truck will be parked in the parking lot where I work and I don't think that they would like it much if I dropped my gas tank in their parking lot to change the pump, it is California after all. Oh, and where would I find the fuel pump relay, someone told me I should check that?

So, do you guys think that changing the pump might fix the problem? If so, I think the deciding factor would be if the seller would let me change it in his shop. Also, where's a good place to get a fuel pump if that's what I need?

Thanks for looking and for the help/advice so far. Here's a couple more pics of the engine bay, some of the wiring looks a little shady but it works.

KryptoRoxx

I would say the charge light is either going to be your alternator not putting out enough juice to charge the battery. Could be as simple as a bad ground though.

I agree with the others. Shes got potential but theres going to be some time, effort, and a good bit of money that will make her rock solid again. The rust would be #1 with my concerns. Find the rust and stop it for good. Upol or rubberized undercoating for the frame...and make sure you have a good paint job. That will at least keep the thing together while you wrench on the rest of it.

beamed from my dumbphone