My brother's birthday is coming up and he has requested gifts for his '85 Toyota Pickup 4x4 with a 22R engine instead of himself; how generous. He has a fairly new rebuild on the engine, but the carb. and everything else is original. I had an '85 Toyota 2WD w/ 22R engine that kicked his Toyota’s ass as far as power is concerned. He has 35" tires, but still for a rebuilt engine the truck lags. I was thinking of getting him a performance carb., or tuned headers/exhaust or intake manifold, but I think a fuel injected 22RE would open more doors for mods, power, reliability, 4x4ing, and control. I have done a search and am to believe that an '85 22RE will bolt right in to his 22R equipped Yota, but will I need to change the computer as well? His truck uses a primitive computer utilizing a hand full of sensors including a single wire O2 sensor to somewhat control his feedback carb. I think the fuel injected 22RE would need a little more sophistication. I can get the Engine for wholesale, but is it worth it if I have to change the exhaust, computer, etc. Perhaps a (CA legal) carb., intake, and exhaust may be the way to go. Please help, I am uninformed. Thanx.

 

since you're in california you have to worry about smog nazis. therefore you'd have to use 22RE guts off an '85 or newer engine which kind of sucks considering that the '83 and '84 22REs in celicas had a fairly simple setup with no speed sensor or knock sensor. i think the easiest way to go would be to either get a new toyota carb or a weber 38.

you say your 2wd truck was much faster than his with 35s. is his regeared or does it have the stock ratio? the 2wd is typically faster since it's a tad lighter and lower to the ground(less wind resistance), the 22R feels like a v8 in a 2wd truck compared to a 4x4

 

The most strange, ironic thing happened. I called my brother today to talk things over ( leening towards a new carb.), and he said his truck was stolen last night. :pat: I told him that made my decision a lot easier. He had full coverage so "New Toyota". What is a good year for the 22RE in an SR5 Pickup? Hopefully his B-day will turn from crappy to great.

 

don't think there were any bad years for the 22RE. if you want a 4x4, an '85 is the most sought after typically, though you'd be better off buying a newer one if you wanted to get really serious and SAS it(you'll come out about the same, since you have the wider rear axle, bigger brakes, odds of a better tranny, easier to find and newer in general)