THEREALTOR1
New member
I could really use some advice regarding the purchase of a 1st Gen i'm hopefully going to go look at tomorrow. I seriously want a convertable T4R and so i'm hoping I can get some advice from individuals removed from the visions dancing around in my head 
Its an 87', 5speed. Has the 22r, which the lady tells me is the 2nd motor dropped in to replace the factory motor about 5 years ago. This was done at a local toyota dealership, and she says she has all sorts of service records, etc., she can provide. She's a Realtor, so i'm hoping she's not just trying to make the sale (gotta watch out for those Realtors) Anywho, the mechanic at the dealership said the truck was in to good of shape to get rid of, so her best bet was to drop in a used 22r that already had approx. 55k miles on it (iirc), and she's put another 25-30k on it since, until recently it "died". She says the truck is sound, just now it will not start.
Supposedly away on a trip, engine started running rough, limped home, hasn't started since. She says there's h2o in the oil. A shadetree mechanic friend of hers says its just the timing belt, change that and she'd probably be good to go, but her and her husband have decided to sell it after owning it for 14 years now that all of their kids have grown, out of college, its like a 5th vehicle, so it was hardly used in the last few years, except for when her kids came home from college, or if they went out on the beach. Yes, she lives in a beach town, and it has seen its share of time on the beach. She even went as far as to say her sons have gone thru a few clutches pulling full size fords out of the sand (ugh
, don't want to necessarily hear that).
So, thats pretty much everything I know at the moment. As I indicated above, I hope to take a ride to check it out tomorrow. She's asking $1500 for it. Fortunately being we're both in "the biz", and she now knows that it would be going to a T4R family, she might be willing to negotiate slightly (i'm still thinking i'm probably looking at around $1200, plus a tow bill). Whats your thoughts on that price even if its a worst case, replace the entire engine, scenario?
Any advice? What can I check thats not super invasive or labor intensive(meaning i'm not going to be using any oil clarity testing kits, or tearing down the top end of the motor). I'd just like to look for some things, that I can check just to kind of get an idea of what kind of life this thing has lived, and am I buying someone else's junk for a grand + of my hard earned money, or does it sound like it might have some potential? Also, if they weren't doing anything foolish (like full pontooning it in the atlantic ocean), and truly were just coming back from a trip when the engine started acting up, what could cause h2o to get into the engine block? Any help would be greatly appreciated before I go buy what could be the truck of my dreams or a potentially regretful experience. TIA!
Its an 87', 5speed. Has the 22r, which the lady tells me is the 2nd motor dropped in to replace the factory motor about 5 years ago. This was done at a local toyota dealership, and she says she has all sorts of service records, etc., she can provide. She's a Realtor, so i'm hoping she's not just trying to make the sale (gotta watch out for those Realtors
) Anywho, the mechanic at the dealership said the truck was in to good of shape to get rid of, so her best bet was to drop in a used 22r that already had approx. 55k miles on it (iirc), and she's put another 25-30k on it since, until recently it "died". She says the truck is sound, just now it will not start. Supposedly away on a trip, engine started running rough, limped home, hasn't started since. She says there's h2o in the oil. A shadetree mechanic friend of hers says its just the timing belt, change that and she'd probably be good to go, but her and her husband have decided to sell it after owning it for 14 years now that all of their kids have grown, out of college, its like a 5th vehicle, so it was hardly used in the last few years, except for when her kids came home from college, or if they went out on the beach. Yes, she lives in a beach town, and it has seen its share of time on the beach. She even went as far as to say her sons have gone thru a few clutches pulling full size fords out of the sand (ugh
, don't want to necessarily hear that).So, thats pretty much everything I know at the moment. As I indicated above, I hope to take a ride to check it out tomorrow. She's asking $1500 for it. Fortunately being we're both in "the biz", and she now knows that it would be going to a T4R family, she might be willing to negotiate slightly (i'm still thinking i'm probably looking at around $1200, plus a tow bill). Whats your thoughts on that price even if its a worst case, replace the entire engine, scenario?
Any advice? What can I check thats not super invasive or labor intensive(meaning i'm not going to be using any oil clarity testing kits, or tearing down the top end of the motor). I'd just like to look for some things, that I can check just to kind of get an idea of what kind of life this thing has lived, and am I buying someone else's junk for a grand + of my hard earned money, or does it sound like it might have some potential? Also, if they weren't doing anything foolish (like full pontooning it in the atlantic ocean), and truly were just coming back from a trip when the engine started acting up, what could cause h2o to get into the engine block? Any help would be greatly appreciated before I go buy what could be the truck of my dreams or a potentially regretful experience. TIA!
Your money. But don't be shocked when you hear the engine is toast due to something or another.
