i found an 80 model yota for $250. ofcourse the bed is rusted but the rest of the body is fine. the 20r motor is blown but the tranny, t-case, and axles are in perfect shape. so i did some searching and still need someone to point me to some good write-ups on what engine will be the cheapest to swap in, where to look for the most common frame rust, what to with the fact that it has no power steering, and any other info that would be helpful. i will search more, if someone knows of some good info for me to check out. thanks in advance.

Did you try a search in the toyota forum? Try this.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173918

He know what that is, his question was more along the lines of, "What to look for?"

cheapest/easiest motor to swap in? either find another 20R or a 22R. both are bolt-in swaps, just convert the 22R over to canadian emissions and it's a piece of cake to rig up. it'll bolt right to your tranny

you could probably easily find a fuel injected celica motor
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218852&highlight=celica+motor+swap

I got a 80's yota p/u, and what I did was bobbed the bed and it looks sick, but if your bed is rusted out, I would think about doing a flat bed kit (http://allprooffroad.com/) they got a good one. With steering, you should put in a Hi-Steer kit, not hard at all to put in, and it kicks ass. You will need to swap out your steering box for a IFS steering box. I got my kit at http://www.marlincrawler.com/index.shtml and it was a sweet deal. If you got any more questions or anything PM me and I'll be happy to answer them.

u better buy that fawker or i will do a engine swap and u have a sick truck i have been building a 80 toy also that was a rust bucket when i got it so i went flat bed rock sliders flat bed roll cage swampers lockers cases all kinds of shit but like i said u better have bought it if u dont give me dudes #

A motor rebuild is not out of the question - If I can do it, anyone can.
Although I have no experience with the 20R, the flogged 22R in my trail truck has more than enough power and that thing really needs to be put to death.
For simplicity's sake you might find an old 22R, rebuild it and drop it in. It will bolt in directly.
On the other hand you could spend some more coin and try to find a complete 22RE setup. You also have to tackle the wiring for the EFI system. Depending on how you wheel, the EFI might be worth it.

Rust - Take a hammer with you and start tapping up the insides of the frame rails; head to stern, especially starting at the cross member below the cab, all the way to the back of the frame. The common spots are at the rear spring hangers. Also check the tubular cross member althoug it's not hard to replace w/common pipe. Check the floor boards in the cab. The floor was shot in my '81 when I got it.

Power steering: You'll need all the power steering components off another truck - pump and pulley, all the bracketry and bolts, additional pulley row and bolts for the p/s belt, line cooler, high pressure line, low pressure lines can be cut from common hose, push/pull power steering box if you intend to keep the factory type steering...Adding p/s is super easy.
I have an '85 power steering box and high pressure line laying around. Come to think of it, I also have an extra pump, all the brackets and a cooler tube too. You'll need to get another pulley though. I also have the extra row and bolts you'll need for the main engine pulley. PM me if you're interested. I can ship.

Check the rear frame rails...they are notorious for rotting along with the bed. My buddy had to build a whole new rear frame from behing the cab on his 85'

My 80 yota was rusted on the rear frame rail behind the muffler. Just plated it and havent had any problems since.