Celicamino: 1985 Toyota Turbo SR5 2WD Pickup

, , , , , 1

Turbocharged gasoline powered pickup trucks haven’t seen much popularity until the until the Ecoboost Fords. Given the state of the technology up until now, perhaps that’s not surprising. No one wants to sit at the boat ramp with their foot to the floor for 45 seconds, waiting for enough turbonium to snatch their pontoon boat out of the water. Find this 1985 Toyota Turbo SR5 2WD Pickup for sale in North Charleston, SC for $3,200 via craigslist.

Tip from Jon


Even in the South, the Toyota trucks couldn’t avoid the dreaded bed rust, as indicated here. However, this could be a negotiating point. That and the fact that the price has fallen by $1,300 in the past six hours would indicate that it’s time to strike while the iron is broke. Whatever the cost, it’s worth it for the scripted Turbo SR5 decals and loud Z stripe down the side, paired with some wicked boost flutters on drop throttle.

The 22-RTE was put in a pretty poor position to start with, being a marginal bump in performance over a standard 22-RE while also filling the duty of a stop-gap until the 3.0 V6’s blew headgaskets became available. The turbo motor was also less bulletproof than what we’d normally imagine a Toyota truck motor to be. The turbo hung unsupported off of the head like a bedroom in a Frank Lloyd Wright house, causing some pretty hellacious turbine housing cracking problems.

The interior looks to be in decent shape, considering that most of these have the appearance of being used as temporary wolverine storage when not being driven. I can’t make a judgement on the seats though, because I can’t see them. Maybe you guys can help me out but I’m not seeing any seats or steering wheel rim at all. Something that resembles a duck blind, maybe, but certainly no seats.

See a better place to start your next Mini-Truckin’ feature? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com

Matt, a self-proclaimed bottom-feeder of the classic car market, spends half of his time buying cars, half of his time retrieving them, and the remaining third on keeping them on the road.