I am now, within the past 12 hours, the VERY proud of owner of a truck I've wanted since I was a kid. Just picked up a 1980 Toyota Pick-up on what I consider a steal. It forsure needs a new clutch kit and radiator... but the engine isn't siezed and oil actually looks really good on it. Here's the kicker... they gave me a whole nother 20r engine that they were going to rebuild with new timing chain set and engine gaskets... again not sized and oil looking pretty good on it.

My question to y'all is this... where do you propose I start? I don't want to get to involved into the engine in the truck right now if its a POS, since I have another one just sitting there, what are some tests or things to look for in these engines that would give me some direction on keeping the current engine, or doing a rebuild then swapping.

 

I asked the same question in another post, best thing to do is look into engine shops around your area and get some quotes for the machine work. After that you can decide and bolt on any level of parts you want

 

Do a compression test on the motor that's currently installed in the truck. If it has good #'s I'd fix any leaks, check the timing, tune if necessary and drive it. I'd also change the thermostat and flush the coolant for piece of mind. If it has a dead cylinder you can look into rebuilding the one you got with the truck or use it for a core and get a reman'd motor. I see them for around $1000 with no core charge, but you have 2 cores.

I'd also recommend finding a 22R from a later model over the 20R. Parts are more available and will continue to be for years to come.

These are really simple motors, and will run like clocks if treated well.