Long before Toyota pickups became commonplace, there was the Stout. This 1960s example was recently spotted in a Washington driveway by CC Cohort contributor Ralf K (Don Kincl). It looks a little rough, but apparently it’s destined for a second life as a restomod.
It’s truly a rare find—dare I say, a unicorn? None of CC’s contributors, nor anyone on the Cohort, has ever come across another Stout found in the States. A few have turned up in our coverage, but always in South America. Whatever its condition, this little piece of Toyota’s past is about as neat a find as they come.
From an American perspective, the Stout is a wonderfully obscure bit of Toyota history. Sold as the Stout 1900 from 1964 to 1969, it served as a companion to the Land Cruiser. Both helped keep Toyota’s U.S. operations going after the company’s early sedans struggled to do business. A reported four Stouts were sold in 1964, with roughly 3,400 finding homes over the model’s brief U.S. run. Modest business by today’s standards, when Toyota sold about 422,000 Tacoma and Tundra pickups in the U.S. in 2025.
But this was Toyota’s early American adventure, when the Stout and Land Cruiser helped keep the lights on while the company found its footing. It surely turned around soon after, with the T40 Corona arriving in 1965 and the Corolla in 1966. Then, in 1969, Toyota brought its new compact pickup to the States, developed in alliance with Hino: the Toyota Truck (HiLux), the pickup model more familiar to U.S. eyes.
Elsewhere, the Stout soldiered on, with the model remaining in production from 1956 to 2000. In its home market, it occupied a medium-duty truck slot, and the example featured here belongs to the second generation, built from 1960 to 1978. As noted in earlier posts, some see a strong resemblance to IH products, while I see a bit of GM influence as well.
Toyota offered inline-four engines displacing 1.5, 1.9, and 2.0 liters, with the 1.9-liter naturally being the one fitted to U.S.-market trucks. Minor grille updates appeared throughout the model’s run, but today’s example falls within the 1963–1966 period.
Ralf K caught up with Cory, the Stout’s owner, who apparently owns two of these rarities (!). This one is destined to receive a Tacoma drivetrain, visible in the opening image, in the near future. When ready, this Stout should have no trouble filling its quota of “What’s that?” reactions wherever it goes.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1964 Toyota Stout – Steady And Stoutly Does It
Cohort Outtake: Toyota Stout Double Cab And Regular Cab – Doubly Stout
Separated at Birth? 1961 IH-C Series and 1963 Toyota Stout
Curbside Classics: ’65 Toyota Stout and ’70 Dyna – Toyota Workhorses Still Making a Living
Very cool!
There’s a gnarly Stout in central or SE Iowa, lowered with a massive V8 in it. I’ll try to get a picture of it at the next car show.
I’m glad Ralf K included a picture of the owner to provide scale. Because the styling looks so much like an International C Series I think of them as 1200 A sized when it’s really more 90s Tacoma sized.
I also saw the Stouts heftier counterpart last year and was astonished how low a stock late 60s FJ45 Land Cruiser Pickup was.
Nice ;
Glad to see it’s going to be saved even if modified .
I had no idea these were such low production ~ there have always been a few here and there around So. California, I nearly bought a decent one in white for $1,000 but the windshield was badly cracked and I feared ever finding a replacement .
-Nate
“overnight parts from Japan”, seriously Japanese parts are a mix depending how old and how common. My son’s friend struggled to find a reasonably priced hood for a Crown, but my son found a HiAce windshield in Portland.
An acquaintance of mine in Seattle (with whom I’ve since lost touch) had one ca. 1985. The first Stout I’d heard of, but I didn’t know just how rare it was.