1981 Toyota Trekker

So now here is this Trekker that was owned by one of the original designers Jack Safro and its made an appearance on Ebay. I originally saw this truck last spring for sale through Mecum auction service at a state fair. I had serious thoughts of going to bid on it, but not knowing the price range I decided against the two day road trip. At that time this truck was advertised as driven barely more than 18,000 miles. Now the truck is in very good condition for sure. The more I read the more I begin to have issues; and now I can see it was a good decision to pass on the sale.

Now that the vin has been revealed:  JT4RN38D4B0011149 we can see that the truck in fact has over 200,000 miles. Since the 81 Toyota trucks only had 5 digits we can assume the actual mileage is close to 218,700 miles; although it could as easily be 318,700 miles too. Here lies the issue- this truck has been restored- not an original collector’s piece. Again don’t get me wrong it is in great shape for a 1981 trekker. But again with my pet peeve on some of these “original” trucks- the vin reveals that the base truck was a deluxe model and there are SR5 stripes on the outside and an SR5 interior. Yes it does have an SR5 package, but its not original as the vin indicates. There also has been some modification of the drive train that is not original to the truck. Again it is a nice restoration, but not an original SR5 Toyota.

Now to add to it, the seller claims distress and will be selling the truck for “half” of what was paid. I saw it for sale on Craigslist a few weeks back and the asking price was $15,000.

Update:I just found the original auction site for this truck and it did sell for $22,500 then- wow! Now the bid is at $9100 and the reserve is not met. With the issues revealed I don’t see the value but considering what it sold for at auction that would be a bargain

Specs and Performance:

Truck weighs 2,200lbs. Custom fabricated frame and suspension was built in 2006. From the raised cab floors to the fabricated drag bars….everything was built from scratch.
Full Air Ride suspension. The truck lays on the ground. Doors, bumpers, everything on the ground!
Chrome air tank and compressor located behind cab. Once tank is full goes up and down fast!
Individual switches for the front and one switch for the rear.

Powertrain:
355ci Chevy small block very mild 9 to 1 compression pump gas street motor  estimated 300hp.
block cast # 14010207 makes it a 80-84 yr. with 1.94/1.50 76cc steel heads
Mild street cam pulls hard to 5,700 rpms and has a really nice lope to it.
Aluminum intake with new race 650cfm Holley that will be included with Buy It Now. If not original 650ci carb will be included. Runs great and more responsive just not as pretty.
Full wet nitrous system adjustable up to 150hp. Turn on toggle on dash and is throttle activated.
Shorty hedders with full 2.5inch exhaust. Flowmasters with turndowns.
Aluminum Radiator with electric fan.
15 gallon fuel cell with Holley blue pump and filter. Braided line up to the regulator mounted on firewall.
Battery is mounted in the rear with a batter cut off switch.
Power glide ATI tranny with ATI guts B&M hole shot converter 2800-3000 stall
Narrowed 10 bolt Buick/Pontiac rear end with 31 spline Mosier Axles and C-clip eliminators
4.11 gear rated with a 28inch tall tire with a nice posi unit.
Wildwood Brake master cylinder
Disc brakes in the front and no brakes in the rear.

Smoothie wheels all the way around painted blue with chrome center caps and beauty rings. The rear are 15×10 and have brand new 26×10 Mickey Thompson slicks.

Toyota silver paint base coat clear coat. Painted Nov. 2009. The truck was solid. I have before and after pictures to show you how straight the body was. Deleted rear bumper valance, smoothed and welded shut tailgate.
Custom pin on front hood with riveted, epoxied, then smoothed, 6 in. Hardwood Camaro hood cowl.
Frenched antennas on passenger side.

Our Toyota trucks stand the test of time, with a daily blast of sand, salt, sun, mud, and other harmful chemicals found on and off the road. Sometime the worst detriment to our truck’s survival is just plain sitting around waiting for that “someday” when the motor will get rebuilt, or that transmission will get replaced. Sitting out back in the weeds, the rust can form and eat away at our trucks faster than some people at a buffet line. In any case the wheels are always in harms way, and although the rest of the chrome on a sweet SR5 truck needs attention, here is one place that an ounce of prevention can go a long way.

So how can I get back that mirror finish on my Toyota’s wheels? Well, there is no magical cure, but a little hard work along with a couple of helpers. Here are two products I have found and used over the years. I always keep both in the garage for cleaning and shining up any metal found on my truck. They are cheap; less than $5 each and a little goes a long way. Neither of course is for painted surfaces. Just the chrome, stainless steel, and aluminum parts.

While Mother’s Mag and Aluminum polish is, well, meant for aluminum, it does work well for cleaning chrome. This is a paste polish so use a damp clean rag to polish and then buff off the area you want to restore. This is great for getting off that oxidization and cleaning other grime off your wheels and leaving them clean and shiny.

Neverdull is a can of wadding for cleaning about any metal surface. You just tear off a piece of the wadding and go to town. This does a great job of removing grime from any surface and it seems to leave a coat of something behind to help protect. It is not a polish however, so usually I would follow up the Neverdull with a quick buff using the Mother’s polish.

The two of these products together would always seem to get the job done for me. Of course once the cleaning phase is done, it only makes sense to protect the “raw” finish now with a coat of your favorite wax. There are many waxes out there and this is a subject of debate greater than I can cover here. However if it’s done, a little maintenance will go a long way in helping to preserve your Toyota for many more years to come.   

Your best bet is to get a factory service manual for any repair or maintenance of a Toyota pickup. However here is a good overview of how to get those hubs back together.

Time to repair the emergency brake system on my 1981 Toyota longbox 4×4. The e-brake has never worked since I got it. I wish I had done this sooner; one day I left the truck idling in the woods and it took off down the hill. Finally the driver’s side door caught a tree and stopped it. Having a working e-brake is much better than having a white door on a blue truck; but that’s history now.

I know this is a very common problem. Spend some time watching this video then go out and check and/or fix your truck. Its a good investment in time and very little money; or else-