what to look for on an 85 4x4 truck

so i've been off doing all sorts of things, building my own camper van out of a 1 ton diesel econoline, and now i need a daily driver that is easier to park in downtown denver, which brings me to this post.

i am about to look at a 1985 single cab 4x4 truck, not sure if its the 22R or 22RE yet, but that no big deal.

what specific things should i look at to make sure its going to be fairly trouble free?

the bed is rusted in the wheel wells along with the tail gate. no worries there, ill flat bed it in the summer. but other than that, i beleive it to be in decent condition.

"IF" it needs head gaskets, is that a job that could be done in a day provided a new head was ready to go from machining?

 

The frames were pretty fragile in those days. Pay close attention to that - holes or failure.