Toyota pickups continue to attract a crowd on the major auction sites, and it’s amazing how many owners purchased one of the best workhorses there is and then babied it like it would fracture under any semblance of hard use. This is yet another example of a pristine Toyota Hilux pickup, this time equipped with the unusual combination of the optional 3L V6 and five-speed manual transmission. The seller notes in remains in very good condition overall, aside from some cosmetic flaws. The interior benefits from fresh upholstery, and overall, it looks like a solid buy. Find it here on eBay with bidding just over $11,000 and the reserve unmet.
Now, calling it a solid buy is certainly a subjective opinion, because there are plenty of people who wonder why a used Toyota pickup commands this much money. In a way, I share that curiosity, but not because I don’t doubt the truck’s sterling credentials. Quite the opposite: there’s no doubt Toyota knows how to build a pickup. It’s more that vintage Toyotas at this point aren’t being purchased for regular use, at least as far as I can tell, because why would you? You’re still going to have to fork over $15,000 or more for one like this, and then risk torpedoing its value if you actually use it like a truck. This one looks tougher still with that roll bar in the bed and some KC Hilites mounted on top.
Interestingly, the seller had the interior redone as part of prepping it for sale. Listen, I love seeing interiors redone, as it’s rarely cheap and requires the car be out of your sight for a few days (or longer). It’s just surprising to me considering the seller is a dealer, and those guys rarely put that kind of work into whatever they’re flipping that week. The bench seat was redone with new vinyl as part of the refresh, and the seller notes the carpet and headliner are both in good shape. The dash has a few small cracks but nothing major. Mileage is reported as being a tick under 50,000, and it spent the bulk of those miles with one family in the Tucson, Arizona area.
Now, I’ve heard the V6s from this era are a mixed bag; in general, it seems if you want the most durable, least-amount-of-headache option, you should try and find a Toyota pickup with the four-cylinder engine. That being said, this one certainly looks to have been well maintained, and the combination of six cylinders and the five speed manual is hardly a bad thing. The seller has made some noise as of late selling pristine Toyota pickups, so the question becomes do you make a play for this one, or hope he shows up with an even better truck next week?
Nice and all that, but those 3.0s are awful.
I’m amazed that the Japanese (or Korean, for that matter) car companies no longer offer a durable, simple, small pickup like this. It would be really useful and economical and fun, unlike the cartoonishly mammoth things truck buyers seem to favor lately.
wrong engine , wrong cab, nice to look at
Oh what a FEELING!”
Convert to 22r or it would make an awesome parts truck or static display. The V-6 kills the deal. My daily is a near identical 86 with long bed. For economy, looks, and reliability, the 22r 84-88 Toyota 4×4’s are the best light duty pickups ever made.
haven’t followed the bent6 frm Toy. either. Just know this is just a lill bit past the single-walled bed models (seen w/the outside tie dwns), a small cab, and automatic. I’d go for it due to that last point, want 4WD, but am not sure I’d pursue for more than 6 or 7K$ due to the other points I’ve mentioned…
Guys help me out, why are these V-6’s so bad?
Prone to deep failures = expensive repairs
The issue is not so much the “bad” of the V-6 as it is about the awesome advantages of the 22r engine, that is powerful, economical, super easy to work on, bulletproof reliable, parts are plentiful and cheap. I would rate the Toyota V-6 on par with similar GM engines …. OK, but not great, and when they give you trouble, they hit you with both barrels. Just my experience.
The bad V6 was the 3.0 engine. The 3.4 V6 is AMAZING, and it weights less than a 22R engine.
Because the 20R and 22Rs were sooooo good. Hard to live up to that. Kind of like me trying to follow my big brother after he was the valedictorian in high school and graduated at the top of his class in med school. Everyone was expecting great things from me, I did okay, but how do you follow that? Overall, just a great kind of truck. Why can’t we buy small trucks like these today? I have zero need for a 75 grand 12 million pound four door pickup, but I could find a million ways to love and use one like this if I could buy one new, for say, under 25 grand. I have a hard time believing that there isn’t any profit for a truck like that at a reasonable price. Trouble is, they have gotten away with horrifically over charging for bigger trucks (and the idiot public takes out 7-10 year loans to pay for them) and they don’t want to be reasonable ever again.
Thanks. I knew all about the 22R but never saw too many of these roll through the shop. They were probably at the dealer.
The 4cyls were some good engines.
My friend had an 86 and it started losing power so we did the timing chain(belt?) it was so worn that we were able to slip it off without removing the gear or tensioner, but what amazed me was that we had been driving it everyday and had just driven it to our garage to do the work.