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1981-85 Toyota Pickup

In the 1980s, Toyota built its reputation for quality and reliability in the U.S. on the backs of not only its small cars but also its pickup trucks.



It actually started in 1979, a watershed model year for the Toyota pickup. Not only could you get the SR5 with a five-speed manual in two-wheel-drive models but also, for the very first time, Toyota had a four-wheel-drive pickup in the U.S. This rugged truck had a heavy-duty solid-axle leaf-sprung suspension at each end of the chassis. And Toyota timed the 4WD launch perfectly with the rise of off-roading.



Two years later, the company put out the 22R with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that became one of the most reliable truck powerplants of all time. Toyota then added an Xtracab model when it revamped the truck in 1984. These 4WD Toyotas became the go-to truck for four-wheelers that needed a reliable and capable pickup—no other brand of compact truck could touch Toyota's rough riding capability. A cottage industry developing hardcore 4WD parts for these trucks took hold in the 1980s. These rigs were such a part of the culture that a modified one appears in all three Back to the Future films.



By the late 1980s, the Toyota truck became more carlike. It was still a tough, solid workhorse, but those early Toyota trucks are the ones now gaining the attention of collectors who were kids at that time.