No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, this isn’t a photoshop exercise, this is real; or at least I think it is! This wacky hauler is a 1980 Toyota Hilux Pickup and it’s in Shingletown, California, about thirty miles east of Redding. It’s on Craigslist for $3,500 or best offer, or trade. I’m not sure if you could build this truck for that amount of money.
This is one strange pickup. Could this be a dual-axle pickup from a Toyota camper without the camper on the back? I’ve never seen a dual-axle pickup by itself, but it looks pretty cool! Or, I think it does, it would sure have a crowd around it anywhere you parked it.
This may be an SR5 (Sport Rally 5-speed) model but as usual with Craigslist ads, the info is fairly sparse. Although, they mention that it does have a 5-speed manual, and that it “drives good” but will need new ball joints. Maybe it was used as a camper conversion and someone made a custom box/bed for it?
The interior doesn’t look quite as good as the exterior does, but I guess it isn’t bad. The next owner should be able to dig up some of those missing parts and pieces and bring it back to life. That shifter looks like it’s out of a Peterbilt, dang. From the looks of that dash this may have been Robbie Knievel’s pickup, it looks like it may have taken a jump or two in its lifetime. The exterior of this truck actually looks pretty good to me, if it is a custom they did a nice job. There are no engine photos but they included a photo of a louvered hood but no photos of what’s under that hood, which is a Toyota 20R, a 2.2L inline-four with around 90 hp in California. I’m assuming that this is a California truck. What do you think of this one? What would your offer be for this long hauler? Is this something you could see yourself driving?
This modification was not that uncommon back in the days when “Minitrucking” was a fad. This was probably someone’s custom, not a factory job
Of course it wasn’t a factory job…..when was the last time you saw a factory brochure for a pick-up like this from any manufacturer ??
Someone went to a lot of trouble to make a fugly truck fuglier.
No pictures of that rear dual axle setup either which would worry me that it may be fake and the rear axle is just a roller. Looks cool but I would need a personal inspection before laying out the cash.
It is undoubtedly just a tag axle behind the drive axle. It is definitely an answer to a question that no one has ever asked.
There’s some plywood in the bed (bed liner) and it also has shaved door handles (cool factor 10).
The ad says something about being “non op”. What’s up with that?
Very cool machine. I’d like to see the undercarriage.
Non-op allows you to keep the car in the DMV system but not pay to register in California. My 65 Mustang has been this way for a few years now as I don’t want to give up my black and gold plates and I won’t drive it with my kids without seat belts, so there it sits. Gets driven around the yard once in a while and “may” see the street near my house but doesn’t go far.
ummm, 65 Mustangs had seat belts from Ford … reinstall them and get your kids involved
Lot of questions here. Are both axles driven? And aside from that, why? If it’s for aesthetics, in my humble opinion this just looks awkward. If its for additional load capacity, again, why? The suspention on this littld truck just wont handle a lot of weight. Obviously a lot of work went into this, I just wonder what the point is.
Looks like a factory long bed that had a dummy axle installed and then two beds were merged to make it even longer. Built during the mini truck craze as others have said. Built for looks not utility.
This would actually make the little workhorse kinda useful for us do it yourselfers. Ever tried to load a 8′ sheet of plywood into the box of a regular mini-truck?
This won’t solve the drywall problem… it’s less than 4′ between the wheel-wells…
Don’t you have to pay by the axle on toll roads?
This thing should be titled, ‘Bordom and Bondo’.
Boredom, Bondo and Boom from the requisite woofers installed in the cab with the box extending into the bed.
Trailing axle on it is a dummy…100%
The most valuable part is the rare period correct Dino Steering wheel! Those were the thing in the wayback machine, had one in my Datsun 210, moved it to my Chevy Citation (hey they made a hub, go figure), then to my BMW 733i, then my 325e. To my knowledge its still in the 325 as it races in SE30 with NASA!
No offense intended, but i may have changed your generations diapers. My how times have changed.
OK..but why? Just to claim that you did it? That’s like welding a hammer head onto an anvil.OK, I did it, it’s one of a kind, so what ?!
The license plate should read : “STUPIDITY” ….if that many letters would be allowed.
That is so 80’s cool!!!
As the first poster stated this was one of the hottest things to do to your MiniTruck in the late 80’s and early 90’s. That and convertible conversions. (Mine was convertible not tandem axle.) Very rarely was the rear axle driven. The plywood bedfloor is most likely temporary because I bet this truck was intended to have a c-notch in the frame to allow for further lowering lowering, The wheels are straight late 80’s. In a crazy turn of events former MiniTruckers are now buying what we once had to relive our youth so this is the time to sell.
This is factory made.
I just had one “dumped” by our driveway.(a real pos now)
Someone put a flatbed on it. The frame is made for the extra axle.
I saw one at the Auburn Ca. Toyota dealer WAY back when.