Hello everyone newbie here needing help with potential new truck for me.

I am looking at buying a 1974 Hilux long bed. I went to look at it today and it has some good and some bad.

The good:
-Body is not dented or badly rusted, it does have some rust but it's all surface.
-Transmission seems to be strong although gear shift has very little feel is this normal?
-Idles very nicely, no smoke
-Interior is in decent shape for a 74. Needs to be cleaned but not trashed.
-It drives and stops, electrical all works.

The bad:
-The engine seems to have a slight miss and a strange sounding backfire that seems to come from near the manifold
-Under load (like climbing a hill) the backfire and miss seem worse and it looses most power-was able to climb in 1st gear though, second mostly, third not so much

Does anyone know or have an ed. guess as to what is wrong with the motor? It seems to have plenty of power (for a 2.0L) until it starts popping. The truck has obviously sat for a while after the previous owner/driver passed away and now the son-in-law is selling it so the man's daughters can split the money. And it hasn't had much TLC. The gas is no doubt old, and the motor hasn't run much at all for a long time.

Is this a huge problem or is it something I can fix? I am mechanically inclined and have a pretty good set of tools, but I'm not familiar with these motors. I have confidence I can do just about any repair save tranny internals and a complete engine rebuild because I don't have those tools.

He is asking $800, and I have him currently down to $700. Should I consider buying this truck or should I pass?

Thank you for any help and guidance you can provide.

 

if the body is great shape along with the tranny. I'd say go for it.
I bought mine for $500 with engine problems. but everything else was fine. I'm glad i did.
As far as the losing power issue problem I wouldn't be much help, Sorry.

 

Thanks lolifemarty. I think it's not a bad deal especially since overall the truck is not trashed. But I can tell from driving it that I will have several areas to update/repair. Where do you get your parts? And how do you like the overall build of your 74-Is the motor strong enough for highway driving, brakes seem ok to you?

I have also been looking at 78 Toyota pickup and ironically it sounds like it has most of the mechanical in good shape but is lacking in the areas that the 74 is good in. It has the 20R, 5-speed, & disc brakes up front and the CO says it runs really good, but needs some steering work (it feels loose he says). But it needs windshield (it's cracked), seats are bad, no carpeting, small holes in floorboard, no rear bumper, and it's covered in black primer which makes me worry.

Tough call either way. Of course I realize that no matter what with these old vehicles there will be issues and projects you must tackle, I just don't wan't to get stuck with major unexpected expenses or some catastrophic thing I can't fix (or afford to).

 

74 or 78 are good
the 78 is a bit better cuz 20r part are dime of dozen and mix match with 22r and front disk brakes big +

74 is still good but drum brakes and 18r nothing wrong with that but hadder to find parts or special order mostly if not online is the only place you'll find them

either way happy hunting

 

Toyota engines of this era are EASY to work, so don't let the engine thing worry you! It might be hard to find parts for but for that price I would buy it in a heart beat!

Cheers!

r/ Bake

 

sounds like maybe an exhaust leak. Carb and filter probably needs to be cleaned too.

 

also might want to check the plugs, wires, distributor... sounds like timing may be off.. adjust the distributor and it may fix it

 

Thanks all. Update: I bought the truck for $700 and drove it home (28miles-not interstate) just after dark in a driving 38 degree rainstorm!! Well...we made it but it was an adventure. The interior lights don't work and I had it on 'heat' instead of 'defrost' so I only had a little bit of clear windshield. The brakes are 'squirrelly' from sitting for over 2 years and it maxed out around 47mph in 3rd-4th was a no go for power. It stalled on me twice when I came to a stop even though I was ready for it, but it started right back up after just a few seconds. The lights brake & turn lights were intermittent at best (like a Christmas tree) but I'm not surprised because they have been seriously modified by the PO - lots of extra lights EVERYWHERE!! I will post some pics soon.

To the engine. I think it's all the above. Exhaust leak, ignition is likely off, the emission control system is half intact half just hanging and unattached-Air cleaner is missing snout and has multiple holes drilled all through it-EGR is just hanging loose. Vacuum lines are on the Dizzy but some are just open. It's a mess but she runs! Idles pretty nicely and now that I have good stabilized gas it seems to be running better, but still has that backfire and very little power. Plus it has some loud washing machine noise that sounds like a bearing going bad to me. Only notice it when revs are climbing over 3k. I am in process of dis-assembly and replacing anything that looks suspect. I would welcome any advice on how to deal with the half n half emission systems. I will post pictures of the carnage and the clean up as I go-wish me luck.

On the + the body seems to have zero cancer-only surface rust which is amazing considering this is a 1974 with over 300,000 on the OD. I could use a new dashboard if anyone has any ideas-the part where the radio attaches is cracked and coming apart.

 

cylinder head

 

lets see some pics bro

 

Well I've been diggin through the old girl. I think the engine problem is actually a carb problem. I am posting pics as requested. Only the first shaft is being moved at all by the pedal as there is nothing connecting the second shaft so it's butterfly is just sitting closed, and the backfire is def coming straight up out the carb body, plugs all look too rich, so I'm betting that's my number 1 issue with power. The strange noise was the alternator popping all over the place-no nut on the bottom bolt and about 2" of play in the drive belt. Sadly I did find a small amount of bad rust, guess where? The floorboard right where it's most exposed to the elements. It looks to only be two spots one about 3" in diam and the other one about 6". So I guess I will be welding after all. Found out why the lights are funky-because the wires are-multitudes of bare wires, wires that go no-where and such (ugghh!!) it's a mess but I don't think he messed to much with actual original wires, but the fuel gauge doesn't work? Anyway here is a few pics-these were all from the first or second day. I am steadily working when I have time.

Randy, can you elaborate on your 'cylinder head' comment? What did you mean?

First arrived


Interior before I touched it




lovely shock it was loose and it just collapsed after it came out


dash under repair

EDIT- I have found a few good suppliers for parts so next time I post I will include names & links for everyone. Also did anyone notice that when the PO put in an aftermarket stereo he chewed up the dash and now it spells "Yota" guess that is her name now.