Anybody miss their old Toyota mini-truck???

This popped up in my ebay feed, I had the EXACT same truck but not nearly as nice(mine did have factory a/c, black paint, and a pass side mirror though).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeLYxUVztzI


Anyways, I really do miss it in some ways, it was easy to load crap in/out of the bed, 25mpg was great as well. Those are the main things I miss vs my Tundra.

I didn't care where I parked it, somebody hit me/scraped it in the parking lot, do your worst, its already beat to hell, previous owner was mentally ill and painted it with flat black house paint, you could see the brush strokes lol.

Bought it for $600 with 150k on it, blown clutch, engine ran like a new truck, new tires, new battery, needed some cosmetic work on the front end, previous owner drove it into a ditch. Fixed it up a bit, new clutch, new radiator, new hood, hood latch, new front brakes. Front bumper was held on with a piece of extension cord with the plug still visible lol.

Gave me great service for 5 years, 25k miles, that's a lot of miles considering I only drove it 6 months of the year due to broke a/c and black paint making it a miserable oven from about April thru September. Even then it was just back/forth to work, run some errands, I never drove it on long trips. Sold it for $1700 back in 2016, it was still ugly when I sold it, but mechanically it was really well sorted, ran/drove/stopped like a new truck, not a lick of rust on it anywhere.

Now as a 2nd vehicle it was great, something I wanted to drive all the time or on a long trip, not really. Main thing I didn't like was the small cab, fart in there you could possibly execute yourself from the fumes.

 

I never had one, but i do think of getting an old pickup or a landcruiser from time to time.

 

I miss mine for sure. 85 Hi-Lux SR-5

 

Dude I'd give my left nut for something that damn nice in 2018, especially something like a 1985 model with the solid front axle and 4wd. Can't believe I don't see any rust along that lower seam in the bed, even local trucks(Nashville TN) if they still have the original paint are starting to rust along that seam. Rest of the body can look pretty nice, but along that bed seam, they always rot.

I've kind of been thinking about finding a NICE vintage Toyota truck(1984-1995), 22-RE, 5 speed, 4wd. Requirements would be runs great, still has all the emissions crap on it(we test for that where I live), no rust, decent paint, drives straight down the road(aka no radical lifts), not hacked up. That's kind of a tall order, you can find sub $3000 project trucks that are all hacked to hell on craigslist, rusty, won't pass emissions. Finding something worth a damn is a tall order around where I live.

 

I got it from the original owner in Laguna Niguel. He was an 80 year old that had recently broken his pelvis and couldn't drive stick anymore. He cried when I drove it away. It's actually back up for sale on CL.
Zero rust, everything worked, never seen dirt.

 

I miss my 93. Only had it about a year but it was magic. Saw one for sale around the corner and had to fight the urge to buy, I already have 4 cars and dont need a 5th.

@BestGen I would Back to the Future that thing lol

 

Found a few more pics.
33/10.5s fit without a lift!
Edit: had the 'Vertigo' interior option. Only one of 1500.

 

The #1 place to check for rust on these 5th Gen Hi-Lux is the cab especially around the windshield frame.

 

I had an 86, neat truck, nightmare in every aspect. Rust was a battle. The vacuum lines and relays are what drove me to despise this truck.

I also had a 92 Mazda B2200, not a Toyota but same class of truck. This was a gem and I miss it still today. 5 speed. Easy to work on. Reliable. Just a fun truck.

 

I bought a new

$230 Toyota 2wd TOYOTA Tundra Interior BURL Wood Dash Trim KIT Set 2000 2001 2002 2003

Toyota 2wd pickup in 77 to commute to Umpqua CC in Roseburg everyday after working a graveyard shift in my hometown's plywood mill. I don't think that yoda burned any gas. I remember putting in a fiver for gas each morning for the 90 mile round trip. Fun times.

 

87’ Toy P/U here.

Never broke down. Fun to drive in city and tight spots. Put a cap on it with tall skinny Michelin Tires and the thing was fully transformed. Remember about 20 mpg?

Rust got her around the windshield. Leaks. Ran into some money and it knocked me over so I bought an 02’. Donated the 87’ to a local farm ranch place that does good things.

I miss it. But not as much as if the 02’ was gone.

 

First Toyota I owned was a 1982 SR5, five speed AC. I bought it used with 15k on it and sold it with 156k on it. Basically trouble-free (legendary 22R engine).

Pluses:

Basically bullet-proof, nothing failed, easy maintenance, solid vehicle, extremely dependable.

Minuses:

Low on power (had to shift down to 4th to climb basic hills), seat was an absolute back-breaker, no way to recline at all, little storage behind seat.

This truck solidified my opinion on Toyota vehicles and I've owned three since then (1985 Supra, 2006 Tundra and now a 2018 Tundra).

Dan

 

Still have mine. 250k but swapped a 3.4L from an 06 Taco into it. 1989 5 speed 4wd x-cab. Only thing I would like to do is SAS it.

 

Love that body style!!

 

I certainly miss it. I had a 1989 Hilux 2.4 Diesel back in South Africa. Those things had no end. Some of the neighbors still had the same or similar trucks with close to a million kilometers and very little maintenance.

 

I had an 88 dodge ram 50 back in high school in 96. My first vehicle. I was just a stripped down mitsu mighty max. 5 spd, 2wd, couldn't go 75 with the ac on. I loved it! Had a little 8" boom tube behind the seat. I dig the mini trucks. Wouldn't mind having another.

 

See now that is funny, dad drove a 1988 Toyota, reg cab, 2wd, delux interior with carpet, cloth seat, baby blue paint, stripe down the side, full chrome, yet it had the 22R carburated engine/5 speed manual. 2000-2004 that was his pile the miles on commuter truck. It was owned by a little old lady who put 100,000 miles on it from 1988 to 2000, when he sold it to his best friend in 2004 it had 200,000 miles on it.

I drove it a few times and man it ran like new. Loved that heavy clutch and very direct shift pattern. It ran/drove/steered/shifted not like a truck, but more like a compact car IMO. Gotta say he got a winner with that light blue truck, he sold it to his best friend. After a fender bender with that truck(some stupid delivery driver backed up into the truck and peeled the hood off), he had it repainted, fixed the flat ass seat, drove it for another 4-5 years until his stupid son drove it into the ditch with 250k on the odometer. Mr Huff was really damn pissed at his son for totaling out that truck, it was really damn nice, nice paint, good chrome, straight body, no cracks on the dash, mint interior, ran like a top and drove straight down the road.

 

I've still got a 83. Just put a 2rz from a 2000 Tacoma with a automatic in it.

 

Same engine I had in my 2004 Tacoma 2wd/5 speed, hope you had it geared right. That stupid motor had no low end, it did pick up around 2500, really started to sing around 3000rpm to 5500rpm, felt like it was going to fly apart past 5500. Really I'd have gone with the 2.7 3RZ-FE, it was also high strung, but did give a bit more power.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRmbCIAz4c8&list=RDJfyaRQIbOWM&index=3

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-Toyot...7e70233b:g:8ykAAOSwlgFbgsz~:rk:3:pf:0&vxp=mtr

 

Running 4.10's with 37" tires. Does great, it's got dual t cases with 4.7 gears in the rear case.

 

Helluva deal on a really clean rust free 1985, it's a friend of mine. If I had room, I'd already bought it.

https://www.nc4x4.com/forum/threads/1985-toyota-pickup.188955/