Does this seem reasonable? - 89 Hilux 1.9 VW - TDI 30MPG?

[Saskwatchian]

Hi, I am moving back to Canada in a few days and want to replace my Explorer that is patently waiting for me at home.

I have been souring Kijiji for good deals and ran across this gem (or turd, TBD)

Anyway it is a 4x4 1989 Toyota Pickup / Hilux with a VW 1.9L TDI swap running on 32s. The owner claims it gets 35 MPG in 2h which seems a bit too good to be true for a 4x4 on 32s.

Being Canada that could be either imperial or US gallons, if imperial that would work out to be 29 US MPG which I would still be quite happy with for a vehicle like this. Actually I would be happy with anything under 9 l/100km highway (26 US MPG, 31 imp MPG) as is and might be able to improve on it with a custom box and aerolid.


So my question is, does 30/35 MPG sound reasonable for a truck like this, or is the seller being a bit optimistic? Here is the add

[pete c]

I have heard of guys putting them in old toy pickups and getting that sort of mileage, even with the big tires.

[War_Wagon]

My '91 with a V6 got in the 20s on the highway with 31s on it. I am sure his numbers are based on highway mileage, seeing as there are no cities around there lol. Man that's a lot of money for 24 year old rust though. Go over that frame with a fine toothed comb if you go look at it!

[Saskwatchian]

Thanks guys. good to hear it isn't unreasonable... and what do you mean we don't have cities? we have 16 of them, two are even larger than 40,000 people

Yup old vehicles are definitely a risk and need to be thoroughly looked over. one advantage though is once it becomes a 25 year old bucket of rust it will only cost $100 a year to licence and insure in Saskatchewan

My budget is about $12,000 so that leaves a fair amount of room for fixing minor things. I am not to worried about the body as I can chop and cover the front fenders and will be replacing the bed but the frame needs to be solid.


I am hoping to build this up into a offroad capable camping tourer with a flip-top camper on the back, or with a aerolid for general and winter duties. I wouldn't go overboard on either off-road or eco mods but would focus mostly on the camping tourer setup.

I might also get a firefly/metro for everyday use or possibly a small cheap motorcycle to puts around on as I realize I don't always need a truck, but they are sure nice to have when you do.