Hey everyone, I recently came into a possession of a 1979 Toyota Pickup SR-5. It has a 20R engine and 5 speed transmission 2 wheel drive. I'm not new to working on vehicles. I have never had to work on a rear wheel drive carbureted engine. I have rebuilt and tuned the carb. I have also replaced the clutch, clutch Master and slave cylinder. But everything is still stock.

What I want to do with this truck drop it, add more power, convert to fuel injection and or swap the engine. Not really sure how to go about all that just yet. Still doing a lot of research. But mainly I was just wanted some suggestions/ideas on which route to take. I will be posting some pictures of the truck as soon as I can.

Any suggestions or ideas will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

1- welcome to yotatech
2- your plans sound good
3- have you thought about propane?
4- pictures: use photobucket. it's super easy
5- good luck!


edit: oh, and by the way- you don't sound like that much of a "noob" if you've already done all that maintenance. as long as you have a 10, 12, 14, and 17mm wrench, you're good to go

 

EFI-not going to be very easy to convert your 20r to EFI-
find yourself a wreck tacoma 2wd and put the 2RZ into your truck..quick and semi cheap way to gain EFI and a lot more HP

 

I can't help with dropping it. As for power. Sounds to me like you have to figure out how much power your looking for a go from there. The 20r puts out a whopping 90hp. the 22re puts out 105-112 depending on which year you get. Some people putting the 20r head on a 22 series to raise the compression a bit for a few extra numbers. The 22re-t (turbo model) is rare, but puts down about 135 stock. These are the easiest swaps with minimal modifications to the rest of the truck. A modded supra engine will put out 400hp, but will take WAY more time and money to complete it and make it reliable. Plenty of threads on swaps for you to look through.

 

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/parts/

this will help.

 

I've worked on a lot of newer cars mainly honda's. the carb hoses and all the emission hoses is what confuses me. I have never had to deal with it before. I live in Kentucky and there is no emissions testing is it possible to remove all the spiderweb of vacuum lines? And thank you for all the ideas. I'm actually working on it as I'm writing this. I'm trying to reconnect all the vacuum lines, and I have a Haynes Manual but no readable diagram.

 

Just thought I would post a pic of the truck.

 

Welcome! Great looking truck. Seems as if you're off to a good start.

 

looks really good! and yeah, a 2rz swap, like dropzone said, seems to be a great way to add some power easily. and if you do it right, you can do it for fairly cheap.

 

What transmission do I need to use to do the 2RZ swap? And does anyone know of a thread on swapping a 2RZ into a 79 SR-5?

 

check the engine swap section, or search for "2rz swap"... though most of us do 4wd, the principles are the same.

honestly, if you can afford it right now, buy a wrecked 2wd truck and swap the entire driveline (tranny + engine). it'd be a bit easier than trying to match and source other parts, you would have everything you'd need, and you could sell all the bits off the donor truck that you don't need.

 

either get a donor to swap out the guts OR do a 22r/20r hybrid. I have a buddy who has that setup and hes got more than enough power to pull 37" all day! if smog is not a prob (here in cali it is) then I would go for it. And if tuned right, carbes can pump out more raw power than a computer controlled EFI , no disrespect. good luck!

 

Thanks for the advice. There are no emissions or vet testing in louisville ky. So don't have to worry about that.... the carb on this truck is the only carb i've ever messed with so tuning it to get more power is probably a longshot for a DIY guy like myself. now I guess I need to find a donor truck.

 

Drop in a 350 or buick V6