Post by Sponge Bob Square Fenders on Jan 18, 2005 12:36:51 GMT -5
So this is where we get to tell about ourselves, eh? Well, give me an inch....
Twenty six years ago this month, I was in the market for my first 4WD, but gas was also hovering near $2 a gallon here on the east coast, so the Dodge "Li'l Red Wagon" full size I lusted over was not an option. I was born and raised on the flatlands of Nebraska, so I knew all about the full size truck options, but only Chevy (LUV) and Subaru (Brat) were in the mini truck business at that time (unless you wanted a Brahma or other such conversion).
I didn't like it much, but I put in my order for a Brat with the local dealer and waited....and waited....and waited. Several weeks later (still waiting), I see an ad on TV for a local Toyota dealer where he has his new '79 inventory arranged behind him. Way in the back was this truck sticking up, and I yelled for my wife to come see. She wasn't fast enough, so we waited for the ad to come on again (remember, this was pre-VCR and Tivo!). Finally, there it was - standing tall behind the little Corollas. I was at the dealer the next morning, and I fell in love. $7,250 later I was the proud owner of a 1979 HiLux Standard 4WD shortbed in blue (and canceling my order with Subaru). That was February 1979 - one week before the President's Day storm that dumped 24" of the white stuff here.
More about the truck.... White solid wheels, 4 speed, 20R, bench seat, AM/FM radio. Air conditioning was the only option, and there was no SR5 version yet (next year). I have a Polaroid that if I can ever get scanned properly, I'll post it. I know it was one of the first in the country because of the VIN. I used to know it by heart after all these years (?JT4RN?), but know that the digits were 0001276.
I hadn't even made it all the way though the owner's manual yet when the storm hit while I was on Navy duty one swing shift. Looking out at the window at dawn revealed only the rooftops of the tallest trucks and vans. We were stuck in our office for the next 5 shifts before any relief could get in. When it did and we could start digging out our rigs, emergency calls for 4WD transportation for nurses and doctors were constant. I hardly even knew how to lock the hubs (when I could get to them), but I spent the next 8 hours between Baltimore and southern suburbs playing 4X4 taxicab for essential personnel. The truck was awesome and I was hooked for life (obviously)!
That truck took me to California when my Navy tour was over, where I soon learned just how tough they were..... I rolled it one night being stupid
...fell asleep at the wheel on the way home after our police academy graduation party. Went straight where the street curved less than a block from home, and gently flipped it end-to-end off an embankment. I ended up back on my wheels, and it fired right up and made it into the garage. I had just put a solid Smittybuilt rollbar in the bed, which kept the cab damage to a minimum, and insurance willing to pay.
Being exposed to the "Cal Custom" enviroment of lots of chrome, lifts, and cool paint, I decided to tweak it a little when rebuilding. The paint went from stock blue to silver metallic with black along the rocker panels and arching over the wheel openings (just like the factory would do a couple of years later). A Downey add-a-leaf lift was added front and rear, as were 15X8 chrome spoke wheels and 30X9.50R15 Wrangler Radials. The roll bar was kept, repainted and topped with KC Daylighters, and a front "nerf" bar was added with two 7" KCs. I seem to remember adding a Holley carb also, but can't remember if it was a 360cfm 2bbl or what. I am sure of the header....Downey, of course!
Since returning to California in late 1979, I had been involved in the local 4WD club - the Tri-County Ridgerunners (formerly Paso 4Wheelers), with my friends Bill Thompson, Cliff and Sudie Smith, Gary "Bear" Nickerson, and Kenny Remo. They were all drivers of the "J" brand, but they were impressed with what the "mini" truck could do. Often, I was the last to get buried by the quicksand that covered the bed of the Salinas river. We played in the river, raced at Pismo, did the Molina Ghost Run, and worked SCORE races in Parker, AZ. My first sand drag trophy at the Winternationals at Pismo expanded my 4WD interests to racing. Gary formed Bear Racing, and we all raced under that banner at one time or another during the '80s.
I went back into the Navy in '81, but stayed close by going to school in Monterey until Spring 1982. My HiLux next took me out to Texas for more school, then to New Orleans to be put on a container ship bound for Spain.
To say it attracted a lot of attention in Spain (both good an bad) would be a severe understatement. Owners of Land Rovers - the primary 4X4 found there at the time - wanted to know what it was, and less desirable types wanted to see what was behind the dark tinted windows. By now, I had put more money into it, mostly in the interior, and had custom bench/bucket seats, a nice stereo (with equalizer!), Grant steering wheel, a state-of-the-art for the time Clifford alarm with keypad, and the tint.
I'll never forget the night I watched from my balcony as a little punk on a moped hit the driver's side window with his fist, only to have it bounce back in his face - they knew nothing of U.S. safety glass - and the alarm responded accordingly. I knew he would be back for another try, so I got in the truck and crouched down. Sure enough, he was back a short time later, but before he swung the crow bar at the glass, I fired up the engine and chased him all the way to his moped. Just as I had hoped, he jumped on and headed out of town - with me on his a$$! Near the beach, I gave him a gentle "tap" with the nerf, which sent him down doing his best impression of Evel Knevel. When he got up and ran over the dunes to the beach, I though about chasing him some more, but seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the transmission into 1st gear, then reverse, then 1st again, then reverse.... This "problem" just happened to be right when I was on top of his little bike. You get the picture.....
At this same time, I had also customized my life with the addition of a partner of the softer kind in '83, and a beautiful baby daughter the next year. In fact, my little girl was 3 days overdue when I took my wife to play in the sand dunes...she gave birth that night! We had outgrown the two-seat pickup, but we held on to it as long as we could. We had fun with the other military families who had brought their 4X4s over the pond. One POS (piece of you-know-what) Scrambler, one even bigger POS Datsun, and one other new HiLux SR5 with the new factory custom stripes. One other late addition to our group - a brand spanking new 84 1/2 Toy 4Runner 
. One look at that, and my wife and I knew we wouldn't have to give up the joy of a Toy 4X4 just because our family was growing. The Toys ruled the south Spain beaches
! The new Toys and the 22R was definitely quicker than my 20R, even with the header and Holley.
Very sadly, I sold my baby to a female SP (shore patrol), sometime around early '86 when we were due to transfer to West Texas. Who knows if it is still on the road somewhere, but if you know of a silver over black '79 shortbed, let me know! I'd love to buy it back and start all over again....
(I just realized that I'm not going to be able to get this all down in one sitting - too many good Toyota 4X4 stories. So I'll break this up into segments, and call this one "1979-1985". Watch for more to come!
)
Twenty six years ago this month, I was in the market for my first 4WD, but gas was also hovering near $2 a gallon here on the east coast, so the Dodge "Li'l Red Wagon" full size I lusted over was not an option. I was born and raised on the flatlands of Nebraska, so I knew all about the full size truck options, but only Chevy (LUV) and Subaru (Brat) were in the mini truck business at that time (unless you wanted a Brahma or other such conversion).
I didn't like it much, but I put in my order for a Brat with the local dealer and waited....and waited....and waited. Several weeks later (still waiting), I see an ad on TV for a local Toyota dealer where he has his new '79 inventory arranged behind him. Way in the back was this truck sticking up, and I yelled for my wife to come see. She wasn't fast enough, so we waited for the ad to come on again (remember, this was pre-VCR and Tivo!). Finally, there it was - standing tall behind the little Corollas. I was at the dealer the next morning, and I fell in love. $7,250 later I was the proud owner of a 1979 HiLux Standard 4WD shortbed in blue (and canceling my order with Subaru). That was February 1979 - one week before the President's Day storm that dumped 24" of the white stuff here.
More about the truck.... White solid wheels, 4 speed, 20R, bench seat, AM/FM radio. Air conditioning was the only option, and there was no SR5 version yet (next year). I have a Polaroid that if I can ever get scanned properly, I'll post it. I know it was one of the first in the country because of the VIN. I used to know it by heart after all these years (?JT4RN?), but know that the digits were 0001276.
I hadn't even made it all the way though the owner's manual yet when the storm hit while I was on Navy duty one swing shift. Looking out at the window at dawn revealed only the rooftops of the tallest trucks and vans. We were stuck in our office for the next 5 shifts before any relief could get in. When it did and we could start digging out our rigs, emergency calls for 4WD transportation for nurses and doctors were constant. I hardly even knew how to lock the hubs (when I could get to them), but I spent the next 8 hours between Baltimore and southern suburbs playing 4X4 taxicab for essential personnel. The truck was awesome and I was hooked for life (obviously)!
That truck took me to California when my Navy tour was over, where I soon learned just how tough they were..... I rolled it one night being stupid
...fell asleep at the wheel on the way home after our police academy graduation party. Went straight where the street curved less than a block from home, and gently flipped it end-to-end off an embankment. I ended up back on my wheels, and it fired right up and made it into the garage. I had just put a solid Smittybuilt rollbar in the bed, which kept the cab damage to a minimum, and insurance willing to pay.Being exposed to the "Cal Custom" enviroment of lots of chrome, lifts, and cool paint, I decided to tweak it a little when rebuilding. The paint went from stock blue to silver metallic with black along the rocker panels and arching over the wheel openings (just like the factory would do a couple of years later). A Downey add-a-leaf lift was added front and rear, as were 15X8 chrome spoke wheels and 30X9.50R15 Wrangler Radials. The roll bar was kept, repainted and topped with KC Daylighters, and a front "nerf" bar was added with two 7" KCs. I seem to remember adding a Holley carb also, but can't remember if it was a 360cfm 2bbl or what. I am sure of the header....Downey, of course!
Since returning to California in late 1979, I had been involved in the local 4WD club - the Tri-County Ridgerunners (formerly Paso 4Wheelers), with my friends Bill Thompson, Cliff and Sudie Smith, Gary "Bear" Nickerson, and Kenny Remo. They were all drivers of the "J" brand, but they were impressed with what the "mini" truck could do. Often, I was the last to get buried by the quicksand that covered the bed of the Salinas river. We played in the river, raced at Pismo, did the Molina Ghost Run, and worked SCORE races in Parker, AZ. My first sand drag trophy at the Winternationals at Pismo expanded my 4WD interests to racing. Gary formed Bear Racing, and we all raced under that banner at one time or another during the '80s.
I went back into the Navy in '81, but stayed close by going to school in Monterey until Spring 1982. My HiLux next took me out to Texas for more school, then to New Orleans to be put on a container ship bound for Spain.
To say it attracted a lot of attention in Spain (both good an bad) would be a severe understatement. Owners of Land Rovers - the primary 4X4 found there at the time - wanted to know what it was, and less desirable types wanted to see what was behind the dark tinted windows. By now, I had put more money into it, mostly in the interior, and had custom bench/bucket seats, a nice stereo (with equalizer!), Grant steering wheel, a state-of-the-art for the time Clifford alarm with keypad, and the tint.
I'll never forget the night I watched from my balcony as a little punk on a moped hit the driver's side window with his fist, only to have it bounce back in his face - they knew nothing of U.S. safety glass - and the alarm responded accordingly. I knew he would be back for another try, so I got in the truck and crouched down. Sure enough, he was back a short time later, but before he swung the crow bar at the glass, I fired up the engine and chased him all the way to his moped. Just as I had hoped, he jumped on and headed out of town - with me on his a$$! Near the beach, I gave him a gentle "tap" with the nerf, which sent him down doing his best impression of Evel Knevel. When he got up and ran over the dunes to the beach, I though about chasing him some more, but seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the transmission into 1st gear, then reverse, then 1st again, then reverse.... This "problem" just happened to be right when I was on top of his little bike. You get the picture.....
At this same time, I had also customized my life with the addition of a partner of the softer kind in '83, and a beautiful baby daughter the next year. In fact, my little girl was 3 days overdue when I took my wife to play in the sand dunes...she gave birth that night! We had outgrown the two-seat pickup, but we held on to it as long as we could. We had fun with the other military families who had brought their 4X4s over the pond. One POS (piece of you-know-what) Scrambler, one even bigger POS Datsun, and one other new HiLux SR5
with the new factory custom stripes. One other late addition to our group - a brand spanking new 84 1/2 Toy 4Runner 
. One look at that, and my wife and I knew we wouldn't have to give up the joy of a Toy 4X4 just because our family was growing. The Toys ruled the south Spain beaches! The new Toys and the 22R was definitely quicker than my 20R, even with the header and Holley.Very sadly
, I sold my baby to a female SP (shore patrol), sometime around early '86 when we were due to transfer to West Texas. Who knows if it is still on the road somewhere, but if you know of a silver over black '79 shortbed, let me know! I'd love to buy it back and start all over again....(I just realized that I'm not going to be able to get this all down in one sitting - too many good Toyota 4X4 stories. So I'll break this up into segments, and call this one "1979-1985". Watch for more to come!
)