I got Pablo a friend.

[mackerel]

I'm awaiting delivery of another '86 Toyota pickup, this one 1/2 ton, 22R with a carb, a good W55 Transmission, drive shaft, and f302 axle with a 3.727 ratio. ...And a rusted out frame and crunched body work.

The problem is that's a 7.5" axle and I don't dare use it on Pablo's 1 ton chassis. When I started inquiries I was hoping for an 8" 3.9:1 diff. to replace the 4.3 I have now. I was also hoping for a 22RE with injectors so I'd have a spare set to send for overhaul without removing the current ones (which I think may be crap).

On the other hand, I get a spare engine, good tires and wheels, other usable and wanted parts, and a couple hundred in scrap steel.

So I'm just telling the universe that I have a 7.5" 3.727 to trade. How many other old Toyota pickup drivers are there on this board anyway?

[mackerel]

Okay, I was just reading an old thread.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ckup-3168.html

How much better is a well adjusted 22RE over a well adjusted 22R? How much better is the same engine with fuel injection versus a carb? I have the chance to do comparisons, and to potentially get good at quick engine swaps.

[mackerel]

So far I'm just talking to myself here, but I'll keep going, hoping for useful input from elsewhere.

Trixie has arrived. Her frame is completely rusted out so that I can reach under, grab chunks, and hand them to visitors as souvenirs. I did take one ride in her before I parked her in the garage and started removing things. The suspension is rough, and the pumpkin leaks, but the speed difference between Pablo's 4.300 and Trixie's 3.727 is amazing. I'll have to keep my eye out for a 3.900 8" third member for Pablo.

And I've been staring at Trixie's motor. 22R with 186K on it, and all the mid-80's emissions control vacuum system linkages. It ran fine, but I'm not sure it would once I transplanted it, just because I'm not sure I'd get all the vacuum stuff back together right!

My old truck, Gort, a '71 Datsun, came with a Webber GDV carb, and it ran great. I see that's an option on ebay. I saw someone else (http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...uck-23034.html) was thinking about one of these too. I only got about 22 mpg with it in Gort, but that was before I learned to drive sensibly.

I worry that with Pablo, I'm trying to re-live my miss-spent youth. Here's another 26 year old Japanese 4cyl pickup that I'm looking at having this little Webber on. But right now, Pablo's mileage is really disappointing, almost certainly due to dirty injectors, which I haven't quite gotten up the courage to remove and clean. My worry is that I'll get it apart, find that one is beyond redemption, and not be able to put the truck back together for weeks.

My day job is calling, so I have to be aware of how much time I sink into Pablo and Trixie. Just now, I simply want Pablo to work. I've had clutch slave issues, and he's full of trash and ready for a dump run otherwise.

[mackerel]

Okay, so: Pablo has a 22RE. Trixie has a 22R. The biggest difference inside the engine is that the 22R has an eccentric on the cam to drive a mechanical fuel pump. The 22RE has an electric fuel pump in the gas tank.

I'm planning to de-smog Pablo. I'd rather make more NOx to fall in the middle of the Atlantic than burn more fuel. I've replaced the injectors and there's still a slight hesitation somewhere, and I'm not seeing the mileage increase yet. I'm also concerned that I've installed something improperly and may have a minor fuel system leak.

What if I decide that the EFI is more trouble than it's worth, and want to install the 22R Manifold with a Weber DGV 32/36 carb? I have a high pressure (50 psi?) fuel pump in the tank, and can't install a low pressure mechanical pump on the engine without removing and replacing the cam. Can anyone tell me about fuel pressure regulators that could take the pressure down to the 3 psi I'd need to run the carb?

Everything I'm reading is that EFI and the OEM carb have about the same fuel economy, but the Weber DGV can beat them, which makes it very tempting. Yes, I have Trixie's motor with the eccentric and fuel pump, and I could just swap motors rather than heads, but I'd like a simpler option.

Once I get the engine mechanics taken care of, I can really start on the aero work.

[mackerel]

I think I just jumped a hurdle. Since putting in cleaned injectors, I hadn't been getting what I hoped for, and Pablo was starting very hard. This morning I cleaned the cold start injector on the bench, blocked off the EGR, and (D'oh!) found that I'd never re-attached the throttle position sensor wires after doing the main injectors.

What a difference! I don't have mileage data for this yet, other than the last tank (with the throttle position sensor inoperative), which sucked: 23.6 mpg. But with the EGR blocked, there's a rough spot in the power curve that's just gone. The ~50 miles I drove today don't seem to have moved the gas gauge nearly as much as in the past. For my Tacoma, The Rust Victim, I got about 30 mpg at this time two years ago. I guess I'll see at the end of this tank whether I'm doing that well. I'm guessing I'll at least match that.

I've bought a Weber DGV, which has yet to arrive. I'd like to have Trixie's motor fully spruced up and functional on a test stand, ready for action, including the DGV. But today's success means it may be longer before I'm motivated to make the swap.