1979 Toyota Truck shortbed review from North America

Fuel pump, water pump, carburetor.

The first two items went out simply from mileage -- no complaint there. But the carburetor is poorly designed. There's a gadget whose name I forget that is supposed to help the engine run smoothly when it's cold. But I've replaced it twice, and it's out again. So now I just plug in an engine block heater on cold mornings, and it runs just fine and was a heck of a lot cheaper.

The body is pretty rust prone, despite my conscientious efforts to wash off mud and road salt in the wheel wells and undercarriage frequently.

I've never had a vehicle that was more reliable (I've had this one for 23 years now), despite the pesky carburetor problem.

My other complaint is with the cheapness of the interior -- the vinyl dash cracked way sooner than it should, and the heater controls wore out and are too hard to fix.

Mechanically this truck has proven itself -- still peppy, burns no oil, rarely lets me down, and all this after 175,000 miles and 23 years. I've treated it well all these years, driven it gently and maintained everything rigorously, and it has returned the favor.