No, it’s not a requirement to own a CC in order to rent one of my houses. In Dannelle’s case, I didn’t even know ahead of time. But it was moving-in day, so I dropped by and was pleasantly surprised. Her ’76 Toyota is currently the oldest car any of my tenants drive, and I approve, especially in that mustard color. Almost matches the house.
No, it wasn’t pressed into serious moving duty though; a relative’s great big Chevy did that; makes quite the contrast. Toyota trucks of this vintage are still quite common in Eugene; I should post my collection of all the ones I’ve shot over the years.
When I told Dannelle that I was taking pictures of her truck to post at CC, a popular blog about old cars, her face brightened a bit and she asked “can I call and ask you for help if I have a mechanical problem?” Umm; probably not. If there’s something wrong with the house, yes; but not on the truck. I keep busy enough with keeping a dozen old houses running. Unless it’s an easy one…it won’t be the first time.
Her Toyota should feel right at home with the other ones in front of my others houses I have there, starting right next door. There’s also a ’92 Corolla, and an old Escort. CC Cottages; that’s what I should name them.
That truck definitely has the bulletproof 20R engine. It’s either a 4- or 5-speed, but more likely a 4-speed.
My dad had the same engine in his ’78 Celica GT. The body rusted out in 10 years due to living in snowy Vermont but the engine couldn’t be killed. It even outlasted several bad Fords my mom had at the same time.
So Paul should accept mechanic duties as they will never be required. Gentleman points with zero effort.
I’ve always wondered why they didn’t bother to paint the nose cap body color… anyone?
here in the northeast old Toyota pickups only exist with the (rusted) bed removed and a home made wooden flatbed in it’s place.
There are a couple of this vintage in my neighborhood in Richmond, both with good amounts of body rust but still running. Unkillable by anthing but the tin worm, apparently. I’m wondering if either of them will make it to the point where they become worthy of restoration, or (more likely) it’s a case of “I’ll drive it until the frame rusts through”.
And then they might leave VA for one of the surrounding states that has less strict or no inspections at all.
I believe they’re both on antique plates, which means no inspection anyway. So, drive it until the wheels fall off–literally!
My Father bought Toyota pick ups all thru the 1970’s and early 1980’s. They were bulletproof, high quality appliances whose short length enabled Dad to park daily in New Orleans’ tight French Quarter streets. His short truck easily parallel parked into the spots that the huge American cars of the time period could not squeeze into. When he got tired of his various Toyotas; there was an eager group of co-workers waiting to snap ’em up.
I recall their bouncy, kidney punishing ride quality (although the SR-5 models, with their bucket seats rode better) and the annoying “click” noise every time you stepped on the brake pedal.
NEVER failed to start, tight, precise 4/5 speed transmissions shifters.
Swell looking truck all around and I wonder if the original nose cap was yellow? Anyone know if those wire seat supports for your back actually work? There are a few of these around Portland, but many more Tacomas and T-100s.
That truck is actually a GMC Sierra due to the nose and while it looks excessive it is probably used like a truck due to the long bed.
I’ve seen original pictures with both body-colored nose caps and others with contrasting nose caps. This ad from ’76 shows them as body-colored.
it seems to be popular to paint the caps black or some other contrasting color.
Thank you.
And this one from ’73 shows the contrasting nose cap:
Well kept old truck and well kept old house. It was nice of you to paint the house to match her truck, Paul. Speaking of paint, off to paint kitchen of my 1943 bungalow rental. New tenants will be here Saturday.
Looks like the SR-5 my dad & I borrowed back then to haul some concrete benches. Nice drive even with a load.
Mini pickups were all the rage at my H.S.; “fats” in the back were essential mods. Datsun 510 2-doors were also popular.
Love these old Toyotas. The color combo is almost too good.
Very rare ute here either they didnt sell well new or they didnt last long due to rust but there are very very few left.
Same here. I saw some around when new, but not common even then. IIRC Datsuns were commoner in those days.
Amazing. Simply no longer seen where I live in salt country.
My dad had a 1977 Toyota pickup truck when I was a boy. His had a 2.2 litre 20R 4 cylinder engine under its hood. It also had a 5 spd. manual shifting transmission. Not much in terms of creature comforts. It was nevertheless the most fun vehicle I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving. I’d buy another Toyota pickup if it were for sale. 🙂
Yes, that is the first thing I noticed when I first drove one of these little trucks- they are enjoyable to drive!
There is a Chinook of this era near me
I love Japanese trucks of this era, especially early Hiluxes like this one. This one looks very clean and original, and I really dig the oh-so-seventies mustard yellow paint. The only thing that kills these trucks off is rust.
+1! From 1970 to 1980, pretty much all Japanese minitrucks were pretty cool looking in a pugnacious kind of way. I love the mustard yellow paint and the four eyed face. The wheels in black are ok, but we all know that trucks and sport utilities in earth tone paintjobs are best set off by either wagon spokes in white or ansen sprints. This is a very cool truck and its in killer shape!
My only gripe about early Japanese mini trucks is that the cabins are bit on the cramped side. I used to have an 86 hilux, which is a slightly larger truck but I still would have preferred more room inside.
I’m actually a big fan of 70’s cars with earthy tone colors, and I think they look great in the context of their time. It’s a great way to stand out in modern traffic too, as you just don’t see yellows, oranges, greens, and browns like that anymore. Why people repaint vintage cars with modern colors is beyond me.
+1 on the ansen sprint or white spoke wheels too. Either would look perfect on this truck.
She signed the lease just because the color of the cottage is a close match to the color of her truck.
Watch out, she will try to get a free paint job too.
Almost all gone here- HiLuxs get worked hard and long, and these have almost all worn out now!
Having owned 11 of these trucks, I can definitely say that the nose is supposed to be body colored. This one has the larger cab vents on the sides making it either a ’77 or ’78. It may have been sold in late ’76. That shade of yellow ran from ’75 to ’77, my 75 was the same shade. These are actually starting to become collectable in CA, just last week a gentleman offered me $3000 on the spot for my mostly primered, but extremely straight one. I said no…..
The later ones, yes; but the earlier ones of this generation, from 1973 or so, clearly had the contrasting paint on the noses, as this 1973 ad shows. Pretty obviously the common practice of painting the noses a contrasting color started with these factory ones.
Paul, you are correct, the ’73 had a different style of Grille and was painted silver. The ’74’s had the same grille but were body colored. Then Toyota switched to a different (and in my opinion better looking) grille in ’75.
I was kicking myself after seeing your ad for the ’73’s 🙂