Small pickup owners chime in

[e30bulldog]

Nissan Hardbody d21 or frontier d22 is a great truck. Cheaper than the toyota and still gets the job done.

[M-technik-3]

MR325 is correct.


Although i really like my small 4 cyl truck.

Needs the CB antenna back.

[LJ851]

needs the cb antenna back.

10-4

[mrmckie]

those 22RE toyotas definitly fetch a premium i see compared to the others i listed...the s-10, ranger and dakota prices look pretty decent and are newer so parts may be easier to get.

how are the v6 versions of the toyota?

[golde30]

those 22re do like to blow headhaskets though.... they are pretty notorious. but they are still good lil trucks. dont even bother with the early v6 toyota trucks though, not worth the hassle or bad gas mileage.

i was just given a 95 F150 6cyl 5spd, damn that thing is slower than shit.

[golde30]

seems like a good deal.

[JasonC]

Don't know how tall you are. But I always found Toyotas and Nissans kind of cramped.. With that said, I always liked my S10s and Dakotas. My daily is a 91 GMC Sonoma right now.

[bmrfan]

Toyota P/U with the 22R motor are legendary for reliability but you'll pay a premium.

I have a '91 Ford Ranger with the 4.0L motor & 5spd manual with just over 300K miles (owned since 50k miles)
- Not quite as trouble free as a Toyota P/U with the 22R motor but plenty reliable for a parts hauler
- I've been pretty good with changing Oil & Fluids
- Went through 2 starters, 3 clutches, 1 alternator, 2 sets of shocks, 1 tranny rebuild (my fault for running low on ATF), 1 MAJOR A/C service and 5-6 batteries.
- Even passed SMOG earlier this year

[Swanny]

Had a 98 ranger vr 4x4 for a few years, very capable small truck that handled a very full box. Engines have a habit of spinning bearings or rings failing....hit or miss but parts are cheap and easily found at pick n pulls. With the 3k I really would stick to a toyota if you can find them. The recall they did a few years ago pretty much wiped them off the face of the earth. Haven't seen any locally for a long while (upstate NY).

[M-technik-3]

^ they also tend to rust out in the rear shackles area.

[808e30325i]

Just make your own e30 pickup. Lol!

[slammin.e28]

Don't know how tall you are. But I always found Toyotas and Nissans kind of cramped.. With that said, I always liked my S10s and Dakotas. My daily is a 91 GMC Sonoma right now.

Dad's got a 92 Dakota. 5sp, V6, Ex cab. 260k miles on it, still going strong. Jasper trans, as the original decided to take a dump, but that was like 10 years ago. Gear teeth actually guy the guy's fingers when he took it apart.

Otherwise, it's been a good little truck. Just did the first water pump, and had to replace the ECU and some wiring. Mice shorted it out. Otherwise, the V6 has been trucking along on regular oil every 3k miles. Done it's fare share of towing my e28 and numerous other piles of shit cars that I buy as well.

[mrsleeve]

had 4 or 5 S10's in my life and worked them like a rented Mule. Will run badly longer than most things will run at all....... the 80s tacos are great, if you fit in them and can find one that has not rusted to point it can now fit in a shoe box.

That said if your going to be towing anything any heavier than a riding lawn mower skip the four bangers.

[gte175x]

90 Toyota 4x4....best damn truck I ever bought....won't quit

[mulletman]

The best damn little truck ever made is the Toyota pickup with the 4 cylinder 22R-E engine and a 5 speed trans. Anyone who says differently is out of their damn mind!

A S10 with a 4.3L and a 5 speed is a good little truck too but the Toyota is still king.

I own a 2.2L 5 speed S10. Do not buy one of these! SO SLOW.

This.

I have a 22RE powered '93 Toyota pickup. It's currently my daily driver, and has 188k on the clock. Here are some of the notable events in its last 100k.

- I drove at freeway speeds for 2 hours across Arizona in the summer. It had zero coolant in it the whole trip. It idled weird when I got there. Ran fine after I filled the radiator.

- It was used as a recreational rally vehicle for a while. All 4 wheels airborne multiple times.

- I ran it through a chain link fence and bounced it off a stump in a drainage ditch when I was 16. No real damage other than a punctured tire.

- I recently changed the trans and diff oil. For the first time since 1993.

- It's been run without oil. I could hear it sucking air around right-hand turns. Currently only uses about a quart every 4500 miles.

- In college, a fun activity was to see how large of a pile of snow I could ram it through. Those piles that the snow plows leave are pretty big, but do-able.

- It has NEVER not started. Not in the last 11 years since I have owned it.



Buy one of these trucks.