Toyota Historical Pictures (1 Viewer)

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1963 auto show
autoshow1963.jpg
 
While in hEll Paso TX i was up near Anthony, NM. A small garage at W Ohara Rd (Rte 404) and Dreams Dr (this parallel to Rte 478) There was a Stout sitting in the weeds. I can't remember to much about it other than it being the first one I have seen in person. Just throwing some information out for some one.
 
FS45V ambulance
Take a Crown pickup, stretch the chassis, add a van rear body and replace the 1500/1900cc 4 banger with an F engine.

That is a swap I would need to see. Either it had one heck of hood blister or a side sump oil pan. Also can't imagine the life of the RS front suspension with an extra 300# of F motor sitting on it. :eek:
 
The S4# Crown's also had the option of the 2000cc M or 2300cc 2M engines, so the F engine isn't such a big leap in engineering terms.
But in terms of power it's a big leap :)

Earlier 4 cylinder Crowns were factory modified to make 6 cylinder police patrol cars, ambulances, etc by fitting stronger components (eg springs) and using extended front sheet metal. Some extended the front chassis but most simply let the engine overhang at the front. The same basic underpinnings were used for such 6 cylinder conversions from about 1947 to about 1960. I don't have part numbers but I suspect they would share a lot of parts from the Land Cruiser because the early BJ's were developed from the SB light truck chassis and so were these conversions. Follow some of the links on the WP page to get an idea of what I mean.

- Stepho
 
Stepho,

Good Stuff. :) It wasn't the power of the F, but the shear bulk of it in the small sedan. Looking at some of those pictures I can see that it was a completely different chassis. I was never even aware of the FH being a "mid size" truck.

These are just plain scary though. Classic American hot rod, stuff the biggest motor you can find into the smallest package. I wonder how many were lost when they had to take a corner at high speed:
patrol.JPG
 
A potted history of the early cars is in order.
In 1947 Toyota made the SA as essentially a VW Beetle with a water cooled engine up front - the public hated it.
Toyota put the same engine in the ladder framed small truck called the SB.
The public loved this and made custom sedan bodies for it.
For the next 10 years Toyota released variations on this same chassis with various sedan bodies on it (SD to SF, RH, RR).
This chassis was sometime customised (by the factory and others) to receive the B and F engines and special bodies (fire engine, police car, ambulance).
I believe (but can't prove) that the BJ also used a variation of this chassis and engine.

There is a good reason why Chinese call white ambulances 'death cars'.
For starters, the colour white is the colour of death.
Imagine being in an accident and then waking up in a small white room which feels like it is being shaken by demons, there is a horrible wailing sound, you're tied down and some people dressed in the colour of death keep trying to stick needles in you.

- Stepho
 

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