I found on good ol' craigslist an 89' pickup w/v6. Its only $500 so i called the guy. He tells me he thinks its a "bad rebuild" turns over, spark, fuel, and possibly timing? Long story short, wont start. With all the threads I've seen of these trucks not starting without resolution, im a little apprehensive. I've rebuilt a 22r before (with a little guidance). Is this going to be far above me? What I really want to do is invest a little money into this truck, so i can turn around and fix my 84' like I have always wanted to, then redo this 89. The only reason why i'm extremely tempted to buy this, is because these trucks really retain value unlike a Ford Taurus or some other sub $2k range vehicle. Not to mention, I have Toyota fever... I live in Alaska, so being able to take off down a random trail to a lake in the middle of nowhere is something I really don't want to give up. Plus I recently taught the Fiance to drive stick. She seems to be getting feverish...

*First thread!* w00t

 

Parking in the lake like in your pic certainly won't help a truck. If you already have something else to drive, go ahead and grab this one. Take your time in the tear down, and build it right. Guys on here have resurrected these truck and have turned them into very reliable vehicles. For only $500, you could afford to do a 3.4 swap as well and just keep going. It all comes down to how much budget you have; both time and money.

 

The river incident was when it was my grandpas, e-brake failed on a boat launch. I looked around the forums trying to find a source for these 3.4s. Do people just pretty much pull them out of wrecks...? I always hear about these imported engines but can never find a site or a person to price them. Alaska is pretty limited on wreck selection.

 

Also, now that i think about it... If i swap in the 5vz should i just keep the IFS? This isnt going to be much of an off-roader. Mostly a wife-mobile.