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History Of The Toyota 4x4 - Toy EvolutionFollowing The Trail Of Innovation From the October, 2008 issue of 4Wheel & Off-Road By Jay Kopycinski Photography by Jay Kopycinski
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Before 1979, If You Wanted a 4WD Toyota truck you had to build it yourself. Then Toyota sent 4WD trucks to these shores in 1979 and 4Runners followed in 1984. These rugged vehicles have made daily drivers, weekend warriors, and hard-core trail rigs for numerous wheelers. Patterned after the sturdy construction of the venerable Land Cruiser line, the early trucks were built on a fully boxed ladder frame. In the '80s, trail rigs were largely composed of domestic fair. When you did find a Toyota truck out on the trail it was often smothered amongst a variety of Jeeps, Broncos, and Scouts. But in time, all things change and those trucks and 4Runners came into their own and developed a modern prowess that continues today on trails everywhere. The factory suspension and body configurations have changed over the last 30 years, but with the help of a lot of innovative wheelers and some dedicated manufacturers, great changes have been made to suspensions, drivetrains, body mod styles, and off-road protection. These days you'll find all manner of Toyota trucks, 4Runners, and pieces thereof out playing. Builders have diced and spliced their rigs to suit their trail needs, be it weekend crawling or an expedition-style camping vehicle. There are early-model stockers to full custom buggies sporting the skins or the guts from some Toy lineage. We've come a long way since we first saw Toyota 4WD trucks nearly 30 years ago. Plenty of those early trucks are still around and kicking, supplemented with the newer breed. We're betting the innovation continues.  The earliest adopters of the...  The earliest adopters of the Toyota truck often found themselves as lone Toys out on trails. Fortunately, Toyota built plenty of strength margin into the design and these trucks proved to be rugged and reliable trail vehicles. Typical upgrades were the swap up to 30- or 31-inch tires which the four-speed, four-banger drivetrain could handle decently.  A typical mid-'80s Toy might...  A typical mid-'80s Toy might sport a rough-riding 3-inch lift kit and 33-inch tires. Gear swaps to lower ratios became common to keep some sane highway power, and a few companies such as Gleason and Toshiki-Fuji supplied limited slips or lockers. Rock armor wasn't as abundant as it is today, so bumpers and nerfs were more cosmetic than functional.  Those who thought the Toyota...  Those who thought the Toyota four-cylinder motors didn't have enough power could move up to V-6 or V-8 power. Companies such as Downey and Northwest Off-Road could supply you with Toy engine upgrades or take you straight to domestic swaps with engine conversion parts.  In 1986, Toyota took away...  In 1986, Toyota took away the much-loved front solid axle and replaced it with independent front suspension (IFS). The dirt-road ride was better with the new setup, but we lamented the loss of axle articulation. Guys would later go to some crazy ends with custom third members, drive axles, and A-arms to try to make their IFS work well for tough trails.  In the mid '90s a few guys...  In the mid '90s a few guys started to take up the torch and convert their IFS trucks to a straight front axle. Pre-'86 salvage parts were commonly used and the front leaf configuration was cloned from the earlier trucks. This opened the way for skilled do-it-yourselfers to convert a newer truck into a more capable trail truck. One benefit from the IFS versions was the 3-inch-wider rear axle that allowed more articulation room between the tires and rear framerails.  Crafty owners sourced longer...  Crafty owners sourced longer packs from the local junkyard and combined them with relocated frame mounts and extended shackles to help their trucks and 4Runners inch their way higher up the RTI ramps that had come into vogue.  With lower axle gearsets and...  With lower axle gearsets and lockers came the ability to run larger tires, maintain a decent pace on the highway, and gain traction off the highway. But when Marlin Crawler popularized the dual transfer-case conversion in 1994, it opened up a whole new world for Toy owners wanting to tackle tougher trails. That was followed by the introduction of 4.70:1 gears in 1997, and we could have four forward gearsets and easily have 11:1 transfer-case gearing.  Owners that wheeled hard trails...  Owners that wheeled hard trails soon found a scary weak point in the steering linkage. The J-arm that connected the pitman arm to the driver-side steering knuckle would be overstressed when the driver-side tire was fully drooped. A few adventurous souls worked out crossover steering conversions using various salvaged steering components and Land Cruiser knuckle arms, then All Pro Off Road brought a high-steer crossover conversion to the masses in 2000.  One trail advantage the Toyotas...  One trail advantage the Toyotas have is with breakover angle. With the transfer case on the Toyota located more towards the front axle rather than centered in the wheelbase, Toys could clear ledges fairly well given their longish wheelbase, and they also excelled at climbing. The stock transfer-case crossmember that Toyota used was fairly sturdy, but it was a simple affair to construct any variety of plate-steel replacements that improved ground clearance by nearly 2 inches.  Upgrades let Toy owners push...  Upgrades let Toy owners push their rigs onto tougher trails. Along with the aftermarket Birfields, we would get chromoly axleshafts, high-pinion third members and drive flanges cannibalized from FJ80s, and hydraulic-assist steering setups. No aftermarket locking hub would ever surpass the reliability of the stock Aisin units. In later years, hardened hub and knuckle studs, upgraded knuckles, custom axlehousings, cryogenically hardened axle components, and Marlin's super axle seals would fortify the drivelines even more.  The full Toyota beds were...  The full Toyota beds were great for hauling camping gear and home-improvement supplies, but their rear overhang could make a noisy tail-dragger on the rocks. Owners originally resorted to running skinny spare tires and tilting them higher under the bed for clearance. Then some went to cutting the tail end off the bed to gain clearance. The bottom skirts were trimmed up higher, rear bumpers raised, and the tail of the bed shortened or "bobbed."  One downside of driving a...  One downside of driving a full-bodied vehicle on technical trails can be the lack of visibility. Some owners began to remove their doors on the trail to improve visibility and minimize metal crumple. Trimmed-down half-doors became popular as well.  With the popularity of solid...  With the popularity of solid axle swaps (SAS), plenty of second-generation 4Runners became more serious trail rigs. Their heavier weight was sometimes a detriment, but you had room to haul along friends or family and tackle some pretty good terrain.  With the bigger rocks nipping...  With the bigger rocks nipping at the expanses of sheetmetal and beds getting beaten, some truck owners shed their stock beds in favor of tubular creations that could better take the rock pounding and retained functionality for hauling or weekend camping.  With the gain in popularity...  With the gain in popularity of IFS swaps to solid axles, builders tried other ways to increase articulation and front axle traction. Linked coil-spring conversions and some using coilovers and air shocks started to appear.  Around 2001, a few guys started...  Around 2001, a few guys started dabbling with Toy truggies which usually consisted of a reasonably unmolested Toy front cab and clip combined with a tubular tail section. Drivers found that stripping some weight typically made for a better wheeling rig and could help to reduce carnage.  The tubular Formula Toy debuted...  The tubular Formula Toy debuted in 2003 and is part of a spec class rockcrawling series. The Hendrix Motorsports Chassis offers Toy enthusiasts access to a Toy-specific tube chassis that was built to accommodate many of the Toyota parts you might have on your truck or 4Runner.  Owners are also churning out...  Owners are also churning out some cool hard-core Tacomas. Advancements have been made to increase the performance of the IFS, but for those looking to go beyond those capabilities and unwilling to tackle the conversion on their own, the aftermarket provides any number of axle-swap solutions. The frames have gotten a bit lighter and lost some of their full boxing.
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