This 1989 Toyota Van LE 4×4 is the equivalent of a unicorn carrying two politicians reaching across the aisle on their way to the we’ve-finally-achieved-world-peace celebration. It’s rare, maybe even rarer than any of those other things, for sure the last two. Not to mention, this 4×4 van has been in the same family since it was new and it’s 100% rust-free, according to the seller. Make that even rarer than a unicorn.
When was the last time you saw a second-generation Toyota TownAce van? In person? Never? It’s been a very long time for me and I’m a vintage Japanese vehicle fanatic. They were made from the end of 1982 until the end of 1991 and North America got them beginning in late 1983 for the 1984 model year. We got the rear-wheel drive model until 1989 and the 4×4 version from 1987 to 1989. We didn’t get a fancy name, they were just called the Toyota Van here, in either Deluxe or LE trim, as seen here.
If I were still in rabid car-buying mode I’d make a point of stuffing this LE 4×4 into a storage unit. I mean, buying it and driving it… not hoarding, I was not a hoarder! Some of you may remember a somewhat similar van that I bought a few years ago, a 1986 Nissan Stanza 4WD Wagon, although mine was a five-speed manual and this Toyota van has an automatic. And, both side doors opened on my van, or wagon as Nissan called it.
This Toyota Van LE is positively luxurious compared to my bare-bones Nissan wagon. This one has power windows and locks, air-conditioning, and best of all, seating for seven adult-sized passengers, even with the optional Captain’s Chairs second-row seating. Combine that with the 4×4 system and you have one great weekend go-to-cabin vehicle. The interior looks almost like new, front, back, and in the rear cargo area. Another very cool feature, no pun intended, is this van has an optional cooler and ice maker! Even cooler than that, and the cold AC both front and rear, there is said to be no rust on this van other than normal light surface rust underneath. My Nissan was also 100% rust-free but I think I like this Toyota better, it’s more unique-looking and that’s a big thing for me.
The engine is Toyota’s 4Y-E, a 2.2-liter OHV fuel-injected inline-four with just over 100 horsepower, and it sends power to all four wheels as needed through an automatic transmission. It’s said to run and drive as new and there are several YouTube videos showing this van. It’s listed here on eBay in Lakewood, Washington, there is no reserve, and the current bid price is $6,600 with just two days left on the auction. Have any of you owned a Toyota Van of this era?
THESE VANS ARE AWESOME!!!! There now that i got that out of the way. When I was a teenager with a new license a family friend had one of these 2WD with a stick. I Loved it!!! Still do. I think these vans were very well built and designed. And to see one with 4WD was very rare back then. This is just so nicely preserved. Hope it goes to a great new garage.
This one’s nice! Although it’s not a unicorn. Mine is a unicorn being a 5 speed. Got 340k on it and it’s still running like a top. Best 700 bucks I ever spent.
I drove a stripped, 2WD, 5-speed 1984 cargo version as a teenager while making deliveries for a local delicatessen. The thing was an indestructible beast. Used and abused by many teenagers, myself included, the thing never missed a delivery in the six years I drove it.
Those oh-so-’80s side graphics really make it. I hope the new owner keeps any “JDM” trim parts well away from it – the fact that it’s an original US-spec model imported by Toyota back in the day to sell as a new car is part of what makes it special!
These were introduced to the US market for 1984. Early magazine articles called the vehicle the “Toyota VanWagon.” By the time sales started, the name had been shortened to “Toyota Van” due to a lawsuit brought by VW, which claimed that the name was too close to their own “Vanagon.” I think maybe VW had a point.
Yeah,I can see where the two would get mistaken for a
VW Vanagon – just like confusing a Ford Granada for a
Mercedes.
My grandparents bought one of these when they first came out. They had a clock shop in the Philly area “Dell’s house of clocks”. My grandfather use it to deliver and pick up Grandfather clocks etc. They nick named it “The Ugly Bugger” but loved it.
Radwood Gold! I have been following this market for years waiting to buy one but they have all been janky, missing seats, rusty, cargo vanified, etc. This one checks all the boxes and has to be one of the nicest non-JDM ones left. I want to bid but the barn is full. So nice!
These were badged ‘Model F SpaceWagon’ here in the UK – just a slightly different front end with two single headlamps.
In have a friend whose parents had one from new – just two wheel drive as we didn’t get the 4×4 – and the amount of space inside was ridiculous. Talk about luxury motoring.
Was subject to a couple of recalls, mainly regarding the braking – if you stamped on the brakes too hard, they tended to somersault and roll forward.
Haven’t seen one here for years – think the tin worm got most of them!
My HS principal had one of these. I’m not sure if it was 4wd or 2wd. They also had a Mazda Navajo (same thing as a Ford Explorer, I believe) with a 5 speed. I guess he was into sort of oddball Japanese vehicles. I’d like to have the Navajo….
I have owned 3 of these beasts: ’84 Auto, ’86 Auto, ’85 5-speed. Drove them over 300,000 miles in 10 years doing bulk newspaper deliveries for a local newspaper. Only paid $2100 total for all three. Hard to find anywhere here in the rust belt. Sure miss ’em!
I was selling Chevys in Phoenix in 85 when I bought an 84 Toyota van. I wasn’t impressed with the early Chryslers or the Astro at the time and I loved the way Toyota made access to many maintenance areas much more convenient than it looks. Turn on a dime, the ice cold AC and fold down the rear seats for full 4×8 sheets of plywood for all my projects. Miss that van.
Looking back I can remember working at a Toyota dealership when these came out – to even access the engine you had to get it from the inside by flipping up the left floor which went up with the drivers seat and the doghouse. It was very tight and not much fun to get at. the dual A/C equipped cars had frequent issues with leaks and there was all sorts of lines from front to back. The “National Traveler’ editions stick in my mind as there was a lot of them, but the interiors and stripe kits were not Toyota and we had a lot of unhappy customers because certain parts just weren’t available from the dealerships.
These were basically built as work vans used by businesses in Japan and the forward control style of steering was a huge help in the busy Japanese cities. With the unexpected popularity in the Chrysler minivans Toyota needed something to compete with, and fast . This was the result. While the Chrysler minivan (and others) were basically a replacement for the station wagon and rode like a car, These were made to used as trucks and rode like that too. the engines of course ran like clockwork, but they were a pain to fix, so owners would be paying more in labor costs. That and rust killed most of them off. I cant imagine where you could find replacement parts for this one now.
Are they full time 4×4 or can it be shifted and if so how is it done, I am interested in this van.
It’s at $9,200 and the reserve is off with nine hours left!
Scotty, I love that first paragraph!
This, and the Pontiac Trans Sport were some of the great and unique designs of the early 90’s.
Thank you, sir! More often than not, I’m getting in trouble for joking about something and someone takes it seriously.
Sorry to hear that, Scotty.
It’s amazing has some people lack a sense a humor and/or understand a witty remark.
Auction update: this time capsule sold for $12,664!
Stopped biding to soon and missed it, my own fault.