[Blister]

Hi, just arrived today and already have some questions.

I have an 87' toyota pick-up which I haven't driven in almost 9 years. This truck was given to my uncle to drive while I was sick in 2000 and at that time, I could put in 10 gallons of gasoline and go right at 400 miles with no load. As far as I know the carburetor had never been tampered with and there is no device or system to increase mpg on the truck.

The truck I drive now is for pulling a 5000lb load around, my tractor/backhoe and the fuel prices are obviously killing me since I am one of the few who still charge a fair price for my services. I am going to repair the toyota for driving to town and such (we live in the sticks) and possibly (very likely) modify it.

One of the things that need to be done first is the carburetor either needs to be replaced or rebuilt and I am actually a little paranoid about replacing it. I no longer trust auto manufacturers, epa guidelines concerning fuel mixture regulations or anything govt'al really and I'm wondering if a replacement (as opposed to rebuilding it) would actually damage the vehicles efficiency.

At this point, I really don't have the money to play around with so whichever of these I do, I'll just have to live with for a while. Anyone have any thoughts on whether to replace or rebuild the carb? Anyone have any thoughts on why my 87' pickup got almost 40 mpg in 2000 but other, newer vehicles of the same weight don't?

If you view this as an unfounded fear, it's alright but if you have an opinion on the issue, please let me know.