Forty Years Ago Next Week

[Timmyjoe]

Came across a few pics of my first offroad vehicle. One of the original Toyota 4x4 pickups. In 1980 Toyota wanted to get into the small truck 4x4 market that was booming at the time, so instead of starting from scratch, they just took their Land Cruiser, removed the body, scaled the frame and drivetrain down, and plopped their small truck cab and bed on it. Turned out to be a fantastic offroad machine. The backside of these pictures are dated March 1981.

We didn't do much rock crawling back then, but did a fair amount of what we called "boony bashing" which was mostly running the power line trails and getting in deep swampy mud. That's me with the dark hair.

That Toyota took everything I threw at it, and at times even pulled out the bigger Ford F-150 4x4's we'd go offroading with.

I probably won't be taking my JL "boony bashing" as much as we did back in the day, but it's nice to know I can if the urge strikes.

Best,
-Tim

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[RagTopDeluxe]

I always liked those trucks. My step-dad still has his (also blue) that was his dad’s since new. It’s cool.

 

[aldo98229]

That was the precursor of Toyota Hilux. Not a particularly handsome truck these days, but still widely respected around the world for its durability.

 

[wolfdog]

My side bar pic is my first, new in '65 CJ5 "Tuxedo Park"!! 27 Jeeps since then!

Boy am I feelin' old and broke!!!! LOL

Go Jeep!!!

 

[Arterius2]

Came across a few pics of my first offroad vehicle. One of the original Toyota 4x4 pickups. In 1980 Toyota wanted to get into the small truck 4x4 market that was booming at the time, so instead of starting from scratch, they just took their Land Cruiser, removed the body, scaled the frame and drivetrain down, and plopped their small truck cab and bed on it. Turned out to be a fantastic offroad machine. The backside of these pictures are dated March 1981.

We didn't do much rock crawling back then, but did a fair amount of what we called "boony bashing" which was mostly running the power line trails and getting in deep swampy mud. That's me with the dark hair.

That Toyota took everything I threw at it, and at times even pulled out the bigger Ford F-150 4x4's we'd go offroading with.

I probably won't be taking my JL "boony bashing" as much as we did back in the day, but it's nice to know I can if the urge strikes.

Best,
-Tim

Toyota used to design absolutely beautiful trucks, their design language definitely took a giant proverbial dump in recent years. Imagine if they kept with those designs and still selling now they'd have a cult following.

I've seen some spectacular restoration jobs on these trucks, like this one below.

 

[Timmyjoe]

My side bar pic is my first, new in '65 CJ5 "Tuxedo Park"!! 27 Jeeps since then!

Boy am I feelin' old and broke!!!! LOL

Go Jeep!!!

My next door neighbor had a babysitter with your same original Jeep back in the late 1960's. She would take all us kids out for ice cream on hot summer days. Her's never had the soft top on it that I remember, but I distinctly remember the bright red color and the black windshield frame.

When I read RagTopDeluxe's reply, I appreciated his words, but when I realized that his step-grandfather bought a new 1980 Toyota 4x4 the same time I did, I started feeling pretty old too.

Ha!!!

Best,
-Tim

 

[Timmyjoe]

Toyota used to design absolutely beautiful trucks, their design language definitely took a giant proverbial dump in recent years. Imagine if they kept with those designs and still selling now they'd have a cult following.

I've seen some spectacular restoration jobs on these trucks, like this one below.

I mean, that was like a lifetime ago, but there is a part of me that wishes I still had it, having been stored in a climate controlled barn over the last 40 years. It was a fantastic offroad toy that simply went anywhere, due to the Land Cruiser hardware and that fact that it was light as a feather. One serious issue they had was the bodies seemed to be made out of old tin beer cans. Very thin metal that would rust thru just looking at it. If they made replacement bodies, where you could just strip it down to the frame and running gear and pop on a fresh top, they could last forever.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Redneck_Jedi]

Those old Toyotas were fantastic trucks. I sure wish someone would build a simple and basic off-roader like that again.

 

[Dash68]

Came across a few pics of my first offroad vehicle. One of the original Toyota 4x4 pickups. In 1980 Toyota wanted to get into the small truck 4x4 market that was booming at the time, so instead of starting from scratch, they just took their Land Cruiser, removed the body, scaled the frame and drivetrain down, and plopped their small truck cab and bed on it. Turned out to be a fantastic offroad machine. The backside of these pictures are dated March 1981.

We didn't do much rock crawling back then, but did a fair amount of what we called "boony bashing" which was mostly running the power line trails and getting in deep swampy mud. That's me with the dark hair.

That Toyota took everything I threw at it, and at times even pulled out the bigger Ford F-150 4x4's we'd go offroading with.

I probably won't be taking my JL "boony bashing" as much as we did back in the day, but it's nice to know I can if the urge strikes.

Best,
-Tim

Awsome memories! The small 4x4 trucks of the 80's and 90's were great for off-roading. I bought a '86 Chevy S10 when I graduated high school. Traded the '86 in for a '90 and the '90 for a '94. I still have the "94 S10 ZR2. It is one of the funnest trucks I've owned and couldn't bear to get rid of it when I needed a family truckster.

Jeep has an opportunity to blow the small 4x4 pickup truck wide open with the J6. There are thousand of us middle aged past raising kids guys that would love to relive those really fun and cool days of yesteryear. We don't need a crew cab with tiny bed truck.

 

[JayJay]

Came across a few pics of my first offroad vehicle. One of the original Toyota 4x4 pickups.

Thanks for posting this Tim. It sure brought back memories. Mine was sand colored and also had white spoked wheels. My wife called it Buster Baby Truck because it made a gurgling sound for a minute or so right after it was parked.
Later,
Johnny

 

[Timmyjoe]

I'd buy a J6 (if Jeep ever put it into production) in a heartbeat.

It's not the vehicle for everyone, but I loved having a super capable 4x4 that was extremely lightweight (Curb Weight approx 3100 lbs). If you follow Matt's Off-Road Recovery on YouTube, he is regularly talking about how important lightweight-ness is to recovering vehicles in that Utah sand. I found it also a huge advantage when pulling out heavier F-150's in the mud we used to play in. And for just not getting stuck.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Neanderthalman]

That's such a gorgeous truck.

I for one think you should go "boony bashing" in your JL.

 

[RagTopDeluxe]

My next door neighbor had a babysitter with your same original Jeep back in the late 1960's. She would take all us kids out for ice cream on hot summer days. Her's never had the soft top on it that I remember, but I distinctly remember the bright red color and the black windshield frame.

When I read RagTopDeluxe's reply, I appreciated his words, but when I realized that his step-grandfather bought a new 1980 Toyota 4x4 the same time I did, I started feeling pretty old too.

Ha!!!

Best,
-Tim

Worse yet, it was my grandfather who bought it. Dad still has it.

My brother had a yellow one and I loved driving it when he was out of town.

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