Im on the fence with a trade and i was hoping you guys could help me out. I have a 1986 K5 Blazer with a 6 inch Lift and 35 inch tires, the trucks in good shape and runs pretty good too. A guy wants to trade me his 1983 Yota with a performance modded 22r with 0 miles on the rebuild, engine is being installed next weekend. The Yota also has a 6 inch lift and 35 inch tires, 4.38 gears, rescent tranny work, custom front and rear bumpers and a couple off-road accessories. Its a real dirty truck as it sits but i see a lot of potential. The problem with me is that i get bored too easy with stuff and i dont wanna make a trade that is stupid on my part just to get something different. This is where im hoping you guys could add some feedback on the quality of the older yotas and maybe let me know what you would do in my position. Thanks in advance

Yota or K5? single choice
	1983 Yota
	1986 K5 Blazer
Votes accepted starting: 06/04/07 05:00 AM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

A lot would depend on your intended use for the truck. If you are planning to go mud bogging or something that needs high horsepower, the Blazer might be a better choice. For rock crawling or navigating tight forest trails, the Toyota would be best.

WHere do you live? What type of wheeling do you do?

Do both vehicles have open differentials? Any other modifications? I don't see the benefit to the Toyota, unless better mileage and a smaller vehicle are benefits to you.

I live in Washington state. I dont do a WHOLE lot of wheeling but i do like having a capable rig thats also fun to drive around town. Fuel mileage is definatley a benefit to me because i plan on using it as a daily driver in the future. And yes, both differentials are open ( if that means no lockers >< )

The mileage will certainly be better with the Toyota, however the 4.38s are not necessarily a good match for the 35s. 5.29s would be a better match, and you should be able to clear the 35s with a 4" lift. Lowering the vehicle would pick you up some mileage on the freeway and also make the truck less tippy on the trails.

How about street value of the older yotas, i know its impossible to guess the value of the truck im looking at but do they generally hold a descent value or am i trading a 3-4k dollar rig for a 2k dollar rig?

you can drop a lot of lift off that truck if you're just running 35s. 34s are fine on my truck with 3" of lift.

the older trucks don't really hold much value...i don't think i could get more than $2k out of mine, and that's if the buyer knew exactly what they were getting...

I have owned both (86 toy 78 blazer) and the toy is more fun hands down.Go for the toyota if your not going to be towing anything much.my toyota doesnt tow well over 6-800#. Not to mention gas at 3-4 bucks a gal.

A clean Toy tends to bring atleast $2500 here in CA, more if you want to hold out for more money. If the 83 isn't beat up and just needs a good cleaning it should be worth about $3500. As mentioned you will want to do a gear change even with a performance built 22r, and possibly swap the stock steering(if it is still there) for a high steer set-up. Figure gears and steering will run you about $1-2K depending on how much work you can do yourself and wether or not you find used diffs, check Pirate, Marlin, etc. for parts.

The best thing to do would be to drive the Yota and see what you think of it, i.e., can you live with it on a daily basis.

How difficult is it to change the gears to 5.29? I like to think i have a little bit of mechanical inclination but i couldnt rebuild a tranny by any means. Lower gears would make more torque and better gas mileage as i understand it but ive heard it is a tricky task. Also, what would be involved in changing the steering if i decided to do so? I have about a week before the Yota will be ready to test drive so i would like to get as much info as possible, i appreciate all the help ive gotten so far.