Nikkshepherd
Observer
Lol. People like me take them off and sell them for $200
Old's Cool
- Thread starter Crenshaw
- Start date
Arktikos
Explorer
Good question. Seems like at least half of first generation pickups I've seen images of are missing a rear bumper. There are aftermarket rear bumpers for 2nd gen pickups and newer, but I haven't seen any for the earlier trucks.
There must be some options other than home made though, right?
bkg
Explorer
many didn't arrive with a rear bumper. I don't recall the exact reason why, but at least in MN, it was one way to get around bumper height laws; if it didn't come with a rear bumper, the letter of the law didn't really "work."
austintaco
Explorer
Dang! I need to drive over and meet up. The Supra guys are always trying to get me to go, but I didn’t know they had a vintage import 4wd section.
Clutch
<---Pass
I remember that the bumper was an option there for a couple years, don't recall the reason either. Betcha Toyota savant Dave in Denver knows. edit: I see pyrate answered it
On my '85 4Runner, it didn't come with a rear seat (a true sport UTILTIY vehicle!), it was a way for them to get around some of the tariffs, IIRC
Arctic Taco
Adventurer
Well I don't know if the dirt baggin approach overlanding requires documentation to count. There have been several during the desert wanderings:
1)56 Ford truck till I bent the frame in an unexpected washout, outside of Red Mountain
2) 67 Dodge 1/2 ton during the Death Valley days Lots of back country camping in the valley and the Sierras
3) 81 Chevy 1/2 ton- first 4x4 since high school started the DV to Ak cycle
4) 82 Toyota SR5 too pretty had to sell it for tuition after 1 Alcan round trip
5) 77 Dodge van- Lots of ski trips up to the Sierras, and Panamints
6) 74 Toyota Hi Lux till it rusted into 2 pieces nice rig all but unstoppable on several trips in AK and even an Alcan round trip
7) 86 Dodge Grand Caravan became the first lower 48 road trip mountain biking rig for 6 yrs till it blew a head gasket with 243k on the clock in Moab. then the Arctic Taco came into the fold for a whopping $5500- most I had paid for anything that rolls up to this point.
8) the 85 Toyota SR5 came a 3 yrs later
So here are these 2 builds
First Reggie the 85 project: Inherited this one after I got the Taco:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/85-springs-revisited.338584/
Next is the Arctic Taco: my replacement for one of my original dirt bag rigs- Ghost Dancer an 84 Dodge Grand Cararvan- pics to follow once I get back to dry land
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/190442-My-Rough-n-Ready-Arctic-Taco-slow-build
to be updated next month....
1)56 Ford truck till I bent the frame in an unexpected washout, outside of Red Mountain
2) 67 Dodge 1/2 ton during the Death Valley days Lots of back country camping in the valley and the Sierras
3) 81 Chevy 1/2 ton- first 4x4 since high school started the DV to Ak cycle
4) 82 Toyota SR5 too pretty had to sell it for tuition after 1 Alcan round trip
5) 77 Dodge van- Lots of ski trips up to the Sierras, and Panamints
6) 74 Toyota Hi Lux till it rusted into 2 pieces nice rig all but unstoppable on several trips in AK and even an Alcan round trip
7) 86 Dodge Grand Caravan became the first lower 48 road trip mountain biking rig for 6 yrs till it blew a head gasket with 243k on the clock in Moab. then the Arctic Taco came into the fold for a whopping $5500- most I had paid for anything that rolls up to this point.
8) the 85 Toyota SR5 came a 3 yrs later
So here are these 2 builds
First Reggie the 85 project: Inherited this one after I got the Taco:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/85-springs-revisited.338584/
Next is the Arctic Taco: my replacement for one of my original dirt bag rigs- Ghost Dancer an 84 Dodge Grand Cararvan- pics to follow once I get back to dry land
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/190442-My-Rough-n-Ready-Arctic-Taco-slow-build
to be updated next month....
Last edited:
Arctic Taco
Adventurer
Nice looking rig.
Best of luck finding a topper in good shape. I have had 4 long beds Toyotas over the years and the shells are hard to find, that is one reason I am looking to make my 85 into a flat bed the other being some bed cancer...
I'll be putting a long block, header(?) and exhaust system in mine this summer.
Enjoy, they are great rigs
Crenshaw
Adventurer
Time to wake this thread up for spring. My OG dirtbagging rig is coming out of hibernation for some maintenance for a trip to Cabo in a couple weeks.
It was time a for a front end refresh after 3 or 4 years of genuine neglect and tens of thousands of miles of river shuttles, mountain bike road trips and general abuse. As usual all the ball joints had slop, boots on the tie rods were all torn, idler arm flopping around etc...it still drove fine. I took no pictures of that work, wrench in one hand, beer in the other. You know what that looks like anyway.
It’s always a squeeze in our carport...here you can see the “almost cheapest” awning I purchased for drinking beer on the beach between sessions of getting thrashed in Mexican Surf. Smittybilt offered an awning that was much cheaper than arb, included mounting brackets and a bunch of hardware, and is still sort of name brand. So it goes.
Here’s about half of the junk that needs to live in the truck for a few weeks as seen from inside...
This truck never had cruise control and I couldn’t figure out how to add it when I swapped the motor. Driving it on the highway sucks. Hand throttle made sense. Old shimano deore thumb shifter and a couple bucks of new housing and cable. Voila!
I’ll add some more details when I get a little more time- I finally broke down and got some of what I generally consider dorky superfluous off-road gear including a 12v air compressor, tire deflator, fresh tow strap etc...
Keep you posted. Cheers, Salud, Prost, Nasdrovia!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It was time a for a front end refresh after 3 or 4 years of genuine neglect and tens of thousands of miles of river shuttles, mountain bike road trips and general abuse. As usual all the ball joints had slop, boots on the tie rods were all torn, idler arm flopping around etc...it still drove fine. I took no pictures of that work, wrench in one hand, beer in the other. You know what that looks like anyway.
It’s always a squeeze in our carport...here you can see the “almost cheapest” awning I purchased for drinking beer on the beach between sessions of getting thrashed in Mexican Surf. Smittybilt offered an awning that was much cheaper than arb, included mounting brackets and a bunch of hardware, and is still sort of name brand. So it goes.
Here’s about half of the junk that needs to live in the truck for a few weeks as seen from inside...
This truck never had cruise control and I couldn’t figure out how to add it when I swapped the motor. Driving it on the highway sucks. Hand throttle made sense. Old shimano deore thumb shifter and a couple bucks of new housing and cable. Voila!
I’ll add some more details when I get a little more time- I finally broke down and got some of what I generally consider dorky superfluous off-road gear including a 12v air compressor, tire deflator, fresh tow strap etc...
Keep you posted. Cheers, Salud, Prost, Nasdrovia!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Smileyshaun
Observer
I know this seems to be a mostly Toyota thread but I'll add my low buck do it all rig. sold my sequoia and picked up this low mile 99 tahoe , No rips or blemishes on the interior runs great and was already lifted and being a gm product everything is super cheap even with replacing the trans I'm into it less then 5k . sure it's not new but it doesn't have a car payment 
it's more of a dd and tow rig ( whenever I finish my jeep , also a low buck wheeler ) than a wheelin rig but it does get out exploring .
it's more of a dd and tow rig ( whenever I finish my jeep , also a low buck wheeler ) than a wheelin rig but it does get out exploring . "This truck never had cruise control and I couldn’t figure out how to add it when I swapped the motor. Driving it on the highway sucks. Hand throttle made sense. Old shimano deore thumb shifter and a couple bucks of new housing and cable. Voila!"
I love it! Tell me more about how you did it.
I love it! Tell me more about how you did it.
