1971 Toyota Hilux pickup truck

This was my first vehicle. I don't really count it, though, since I only had it a few months and my dad had it most of that time. I bought it for $300 from a hippie guy I knew, who had bought it in the Kootenay Mountains of eastern BC. I believe the previous owner before him had towed a boat with it, because of the way the rust had formed on the box mostly and not on the chassis or the front end of the truck. The hippie feller was the one who put the funky bumper stickers and fuzzy dice on.

The truck needed a lot of work - my dad put a new muffler and new front shocks on almost immediately. Aside from that it wasn't bad but when I started driving it, the clutch master cylinder failed and I (being a very novice driver and not having a clue what was wrong) destroyed the transmission trying to get it home to be repaired. I ended up selling it for $100 for parts.

It was a funky truck, it was called a "Hilux" because of the high-mounted turn signals - on the hood, they were on funny little stalks that unfortunately had a bad habit of rusting away. This truck was one of the few I've seen that had them intact. Most folks ended up adding aftermarket lights to these trucks, once the stock ones rusted away.

Another funky thing was that the hazard switch was hidden way under the dash where it was very hard to find. I spent a good hour looking for it one time.

I should mention that most early Japanese cars and trucks suffered from rust problems due to the Japanese not being aware of the toll our climate takes on metal. They didn't paint the insides of the sheetmetal panels, and the vehicles tended to rust from the inside out. Usually, however, they stayed structurally sound - it was only the body panels that were prone to extreme rusting. The chassis was made of much stronger metal and, if kept away from the road salt, lasted forever.

Click here to see some pictures of the truck - if you have a slow connection, it may take awhile...