Did you ever wonder what happened to all those old Toyota show trucks that were featured in the 80’s magazines? Well one that I remember well just showed up for sale on Craigslist for a mere $16,000. The ad doesn’t mention that the truck was featured on the cover of the April 1985 Volume 11 No.4 Truckin’ magazine.  It simply states that the 1981 Toyota 4×4 is in show quality condition. The current owner lists the truck in Salem, Oregon although originally from Covina California.

The truck looks to be in the same shape it was some 25 years ago when featured in the magazine. This truck was know as Barhopper because the bar graphics which begin on the hood continue down the body to meet with the roll bar, then “hop” into the bed. Even the interior is stitched and door jams painted with the bar graphic.

At $16,000 asking price this truck is a bargain. The original build exceeded $40,000. The list is endless. The truck retains is stock 22r engine although totally built and detailed. The truck has an estimated 25 inch lift rolling on 44 inch Gumbo Moster Mudders and Center Line Champ style wheels. Practically everything under the truck is chromed- from shocks to driveshafts.  The interior is full on custom with Momo steering wheel, Alpine stereo, and Cerullo seats. Did you notice the grafted Dodge Ramcharger taillights? Or the shaved door handles replaced with Kenworth openers in the lower diamond plated door panels? How about the “prerunner” style gas tank in the bed? Of course the featured Smittybuilt triple tube rollbar, front bumper grill guard, and rear bumper were all powder coated metallic gray. The numerous lights are everywhere making it impossible to count them all.

This truck is truly a piece of art and a great piece of Toyota history. Considering what the Safro Trekker sold for at auction, and the original cost of this Toyota show truck, the asking price is quite a bargain.

One late night of surfing the web revealed an Arizona 1982 Toyota 4×4 shortbox for sale on craigslist. This turned out to be an extremely rare find as the truck had just 27,545 original miles. I might be suspicious of such a claim, but the story checked out and the pedals show minimal wear. The truck was a tan deluxe model with basically no features other than an aftermarket air conditioner. In fact, it never had a radio; one of those rare models that just had the block off plate with Toyota visible on the dash. No power steering, no tilt, the basic 4speed trans, and vinyl everywhere on the inside. Outside was a basic tan paint with no extras; although it was revealed that the truck had been repainted some time ago. Basic stamped steel wheels with no hubcaps. Bone stock and bare to the bone it was in great shape for 27+ years old with no visible rust.

This was a must have and I started to think about how to get it back to Michigan. Getting from Detroit to Phoenix was easy with airfare as low as $155. The issue was that the truck was about 3 hours east of the airport and as hard as I tried there was no way to get there; either by plane or on the ground. So I had to let this one go. It’s hard to negotiate a deal when 10 other guys are there with cash in hand.

I’m not exactly sure what I would have done with it anyway. This isn’t something to drive around town. It would have been a nice addition to a Toyota museum somewhere. So although I am bummed, there are more opportunities out there. This is just one to talk about- the one that got away.

Old School Toyota with a 6″ lift Super Swampers 36