Builds 1983 Toyota Hilux 4x4 Short Bed (1 Viewer)

[c2dfj45]

Do your wheels in the same brown metallic as the stripe.....would look really cool. The brown would look great with the creme color of the body. You could match the vinyl to the powder coat or the powder coat to the vinyl to get it really close. Have the stripes custom made out of the vinyl colors you want....would look really cool on that rig....it's gorgeous!

 

[pappy]

Nice truck! Technically it is not a "Hilux" as beginning in 1979 The Hilux name was dropped in the US and it was simply called the Toyota Truck.

Yes, but wasn't it the same truck called "Hilux" outside the US?

 

[G-Cat]

I ran 40 Series on my 86 and now my 89 Runner...but would vote white or creme OE steelies (no clips or caps) on your particular truck.

 

[cruiserdan]

Yes, but wasn't it the same truck called "Hilux" outside the US?

They were and they were badged as such. Not the case with US market trucks such as this one.

Referring to one as a Hilux infers that it is a non-US model.

 

[Will Van]

Nice truck! Technically it is not a "Hilux" as beginning in 1979 the Hilux name was dropped in the US and it was simply called the Toyota Truck.

Thanks!

And you’re absolutely correct - Toyota Truck.

However, the problem is that “Truck” is such a generic name that people don’t associate it as model-specific.

“I have a Toyota Truck/Pickup” might be misinterpreted as a Land Cruiser, Tacoma, 4Runner, T100, or Tundra.

But if you say “Hilux,” people know that you are speaking about a specific model of Toyota, even though it is not technically correct.

Edit: I hadn’t thought about the implication that “Hilux” is a non-US truck.

 

[Will Van]

Love those! Where did you pick those up? They look like FJ60 mirrors.

Thanks! I got them off EBay.

Part Number: 1AMRP00219.

I think the previous mirrors were installed at the dealer. They mucked up all the factory weld-nuts and installed SAE hardware (and machine screws). I had to tap the threads M6 to get the new mirrors to work with my SS Metric hardware.

I’m also not crazy about the stainless fender hardware I added to plug the extra holes, but I think it looks better than the exposed riv-nuts in the door skin.

 

[Will Van]

Very nice truck, congratulations! Personally, I like the black wheels. That is what I run on my truck with the FJ40 caps.

View attachment 2115474

I vote no on black. Any one can do black wheels. Appears lazy...unless paired with hubcaps ^

I've been doing the same thing - deciding which color to powder/paint the new FJ40 wheels and hub caps (ordered this week!). My '84 is also Creme (at the body shop right now for body and paint - sticking with O.E. Creme)...
I considered:
- Gray, but decided gray looked better on the primary colors, i.e. blue, red
- Creme - body-matched; still like this... but dropped to 2nd place
- Black - nice, but sort of a strong contrast with the pale Creme
- Antique White. The winner. The white pops just enough - makes the Creme look sort of richer, more saturated. Yeah... probably thought about this a little too much

Similar to this:
View attachment 2115522

I do like gray steel wheels. That's what I have on my 100 Series:
View attachment 2115527

I vote for the silver/gray! I honestly love when they're painted the same color as the truck. I think it looks rad on the steelies. But definitely go with the steelies, and the SR5 stripes. My pickup still has it's on the fenders/cab. Literally my favorite thing about the truck.

View attachment 2115641

Do your wheels in the same brown metallic as the stripe.....would look really cool. The brown would look great with the creme color of the body. You could match the vinyl to the powder coat or the powder coat to the vinyl to get it really close. Have the stripes custom made out of the vinyl colors you want....would look really cool on that rig....it's gorgeous!

View attachment 2116663

I ran 40 Series on my 86 and now my 89 Runner...but would vote white or creme OE steelies (no clips or caps) on your particular truck.

I’m still vacillating on the color. Powder coated says it’s $550 to change to silver. I kinda like black too. And the new OEM wheels are already black, so I could just mount the tires and go!

 

[cruiserdan]

It had Ultra Mirrors fitted. Either at the port or by a dealer. Those were more common than the small plastic mirrors and SAE bolts were indeed run into the original threaded holes.

 

[Will Van]

I pulled the silly front bumper off over the weekend.

Up next - 33" BFG Mud Terrains on stock steelies, round headlight conversion, repair/replace terrible roll-on bedliner, install SR5 graphics.

 

[Manhattan]

Thanks!

And you’re absolutely correct - Toyota Truck.

However, the problem is that “Truck” is such a generic name that people don’t associate it as model-specific.

“I have a Toyota Truck/Pickup” might be misinterpreted as a Land Cruiser, Tacoma, 4Runner, T100, or Tundra.

That happened to me 30 min. ago. I was talking to the guy at a speciality lumber store about kiln dried wood for the "tray back" (flatbed) for the "'84 Toyota Pickup I'm restoring..." "Cool is that a T100?" For people who don't know old Toyotas, you're sorta forced into the a quick history of Toyota branding... or they'll keep guessing. "Oh, so a Tacoma?"

 

[Will Van]

That happened to me 30 min. ago. I was talking to the guy at a speciality lumber store about kiln dried wood for the "tray back" (flatbed) for the "'84 Toyota Pickup I'm restoring..." "Cool is that a T100?" For people who don't know old Toyotas, you're sorta forced into the a quick history of Toyota branding... or they'll keep guessing. "Oh, so a Tacoma?"

Agreed. And even for people who do know old Toyotas it can still be confusing. Are you referring to a Toyota Truck, or merely a Toyota truck? I often say, "Let's hop in the truck and go to the lake." But I'm using the term generically and could be referring to the 2019 Tacoma, the 1977 Land Cruiser FJ40, or the 1983 Toyota Truck. Without a dissertation on Toyota 4x4s, it's easier to just say Hilux.

 

[joseywales]

Nobody is going to call a FJ40 a “truck”. A FJ45 maybe. The Hilux was the same truck up to 1995, as we all know, and I think subconsciously we use that name as it conjures up images of the tough “trucks” on the veldt or in the outback.

I’m confused by the talk of removing “the silly little bumper”? All I’ve seen in your pics is the OEM bumper, no?

I hope I don’t come across as too opinionated, but here goes... I would have left the other mirrors on. Most of those trucks had the port installed ones on them, (including my 81 I drove in high school in 1986). They look way better than having the extra bolts in the doors. I’m also not a fan of the round headlight conversion. Your truck is not a ‘81. The grill on your truck is wrong for the round lights too. Are you going to swap it out for a 1979-1981 grill? It sounds like you are trying to keep it / return it to original, but doing a few obviously unoriginal things.

On the wheels, I think I’d stick to the original color too. Silver is not where I’d go. Gray? Maybe. With your color, I actually like black the best, but that’s not original if that matters.

What did they coat in bedliner? That crap is made for lining beds. Period.

 

[pappy]

Nobody is going to call a FJ40 a “truck”.

I call mine a "truck" all the time.

 

[Will Van]

Nobody is going to call a FJ40 a “truck”. A FJ45 maybe. The Hilux was the same truck up to 1995, as we all know, and I think subconsciously we use that name as it conjures up images of the tough “trucks” on the veldt or in the outback.

I’m confused by the talk of removing “the silly little bumper”? All I’ve seen in your pics is the OEM bumper, no?

I hope I don’t come across as too opinionated, but here goes... I would have left the other mirrors on. Most of those trucks had the port installed ones on them, (including my 81 I drove in high school in 1986). They look way better than having the extra bolts in the doors. I’m also not a fan of the round headlight conversion. Your truck is not a ‘81. The grill on your truck is wrong for the round lights too. Are you going to swap it out for a 1979-1981 grill? It sounds like you are trying to keep it / return it to original, but doing a few obviously unoriginal things.

On the wheels, I think I’d stick to the original color too. Silver is not where I’d go. Gray? Maybe. With your color, I actually like black the best, but that’s not original if that matters.

What did they coat in bedliner? That crap is made for lining beds. Period.

I call mine a "truck" all the time.

Second. I refer to my 1977 Cruiser and my 2019 Tacoma as "truck" too. I say "Hilux" when speaking about the 1983 Truck because it's model-specific (albeit technically incorrect). We can agree to disagree. But if I said, "I'm going to add an Old Man Emu lift to the Hilux" you would know exactly which vehicle I'm talking about.

The truck originally came with a brush guard that attached to the factory bumper and the front spring hangers. I removed it. Here is a before and after.

On the mirrors, I hear you about the bolts. I'm not crazy about it either, but I absolutely loathe the Ultra Mirrors. They seem really out of place on such a small truck. Like they should go on a 1980s Dodge diesel. Not a Toyota Pickup. I still have the Ultra Mirrors in case I want to go back. But for now, the current small mirrors w/ bolts are staying on.

I'm also moving forward on the round headlight conversion. I prefer the round headlights to the square, regardless of which model-year they originally came on. You are correct - to swap to round headlights you need to change the lights, headlight buckets, headlight doors, and the grille. Again, I'm keeping all of the old stuff in case I choose to go back. But I don't get too wrapped around the axle with "keeping it original." I just build the truck the way I want it.

I agree with you on wheel color - black. I think it matches the color combination well, and the wheels are already black, so I don't have to pay extra to powder coat them a new color. Black wheels look really sharp on this setup.

The bedliner is limited to the truck bed, but it was just poorly applied. I think it was one of the early DIY kits, and it is flaking off. I don't think it was prepped properly.

I am going to have the old bedliner sandblasted off, then primer, and a new high-quality bedliner reapplied. I will probably continue the black theme on the bedliner color. The Line-X provider can pull the original 557 Creme paint color, but I'm afraid it won't quite match the 37 year old paint on the rest of the truck. If it's not going to match, I'd prefer to just stick with black. I'm also going over the bedrails, so I think it would look odd with two different textures and slightly mismatched color. Quality black bedliner over the rails looks pretty sharp on the Marline Crawler truck, so I'm going to try it on mine.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress on the truck.

 

[joseywales]

I had hoped my “hope I don’t come across as” preface would clear up that I was only offering MY thoughts. I agree the bush bar needed to go. If you do the round lights with the proper grill etc, then that’s great. I would keep all the original parts too. Someday you or the next owner may want them. I also agree the black wheels would look best with your color, I just (as I asked) thought you wanted to put it back to original. The fact that they are already black would have me running them that way too.

And it’s nice to see bedliner in an actual bed. The trend to cover entire vehicles with it is alarming to me. Especially anything that is actually worth keeping for any use other than firewood or rock crawling. And frankly, on either of those uses, why waste your time and money?

My first car was a blue ‘81 4WD Hilux. It had white wagon wheels and 31x10.50 BFG MTs on it when I bought it. It had the bigger mirrors, but I was 17 and this was 1985 so I didn’t know any different. I was seriously in love with that truck!

 

[joseywales]

I call mine a "truck" all the time.

Well Pappy, you’re clearly a special case!

I do give my wife crap when she calls the 100 “the car”. Luckily it doesn’t happen often!

 

[Will Van]

I had hoped my “hope I don’t come across as” preface would clear up that I was only offering MY thoughts. I agree the bush bar needed to go. If you do the round lights with the proper grill etc, then that’s great. I would keep all the original parts too. Someday you or the next owner may want them. I also agree the black wheels would look best with your color, I just (as I asked) thought you wanted to put it back to original. The fact that they are already black would have me running them that way too.

And it’s nice to see bedliner in an actual bed. The trend to cover entire vehicles with it is alarming to me. Especially anything that is actually worth keeping for any use other than firewood or rock crawling. And frankly, on either of those uses, why waste your time and money?

My first car was a blue ‘81 4WD Hilux. It had white wagon wheels and 31x10.50 BFG MTs on it when I bought it. It had the bigger mirrors, but I was 17 and this was 1985 so I didn’t know any different. I was seriously in love with that truck!

Apologies if it sounded like I was being defensive - I appreciate your feedback!

 

[pappy]

Well Pappy, you’re clearly a special case!

Oh heck ya I am.

Also, a "truck" does not need to be a "pickup." It's a generic term to define vehicles with ladder frames usually used to haul stuff. I think most SUVs qualify. Note that a unibody "SUV" is technically a "crossover."

 

[yotadude520]

I'm a big fan of the round headlights, and like josey I HATE when people coat whole trucks in bedliner.

Anywho, Monstaliner is a pretty nice product. I used it to coat my Jeep YJ's hard top and it was pretty durable and looked good. I mixed a little bit of black glossy paint with it to give it a little bit more shine (just since it was the hardtop). I hit trees and all sorts of stuff with it and it never flaked off. Was really happy with it.

 

[Will Van]

Well, bad news - I purchased a set of Toyota steel wheels that I assumed were identical to the wheels that came on the truck (and the spare under the bed). Unfortunately they do not fit. The wheels are too wide and the backspacing is incorrect.

OEM steel wheels on the Hilux are 15" x 5.5" with 3.75" backspacing (Toyota PN: 42601-60082).

The wheels I purchased are 15" x 6" with (???) backspacing and are actually designed for 1985 - 1989 Pickups and 4Runners (Toyota PN: 42601-35390-05).

The wheels fit in the back, but contact the tie rod in the front.

I'm going to keep researching and see if I can find refurbished OEM Toyota wheels for 1979 - 1983 Truck.

Edit: So it looks after a bit of researching, the wheels I need are Toyota PN 42601-60082. These are essentially Land Cruiser wheels without the tabs for the hubcaps. They are also NLA.