My new 4x4 toyota van

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jlhollowx13

jlhollowx13

10 Year
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Threads
66
Messages
541
Location
Gunnison, Colorado
I'm very excited to announce the newest addition to my toyota collection. I recently purchased a 1988 toyota van 4x4 5 speed with 130k miles! My wife and I decided to downgrade (or upgrade depending on who you talk to) our 1990 Thomas school bus rv conversion to something we could use year round, as a dd if needed, in more hard to get places and something better on fuel. We have our 40 and 60 series, but they both chow gas, and the 40 has become more of a valley/fun/sight seeing/summer (or deep snow) cruiser than an expedition rig and I've been reluctant to do too many mods on my 60 for long trips as it is the workhorse, pulling snowmobiles, getting firewood, hauling, taking dog's out, and some light camping. This 4x4 toyota van was the answer! They are hard to come by with a 5 speed, manual locking hubs and low range, but it was meant to be. The first thing I'm getting this next week is a roof top tent, I already installed a roof basket and both will fit for plenty of room up top. Inside I plan to have a dining table that can drop into a bed if we want to sleep inside and I'm still figuring out the cooking area and all the ins and outs. I also plan to have a small solar system in it with a panel that I'll probably store inside the tent while traveling. Can't wait to get this project underway!

Anyone else have one of these?
 
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Very nice
I just helped my daughter buy a Toyota diesel lwb hiace van to travel around OZ but it's only a 2wd. :)
 
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I would look at VW microbus camper vans for inspiration for how to use interior space, they
seem to be similar size. Nice find, curious to see how this works out for you.
 
half k cruiser said:
Do you have any more specs on this thing. What kind of motor, suspension, etc ?
Click to expand...
It has a 4 cylinder 4-ye, same engine toyota uses in their forklifts, even today I believe, or at least up until the 2000, except the forklift models have a different intake to burn propane. This model has coil suspension, but supposedly some cargo models were optioned to have rear leaf for extra capacity, but some of the van gurus I've talked to that have seen many many vans have never seen such a model here in the states. I doubt I'll need more capacity then what I have or can achieve with larger springs but some guys have done leaf spring conversions. I'm not looking to do too many such mods as I have the cruisers to play with for that stuff. Rear axle is solid and front axle is a weird mix between a solid axle and cv shafts, something I read maybe gm or ford has done, it has independent front suspension with this configuration. The cool thing is that this is a true mid engine vehicle, the engine is under the driver, the drivers seat lifts up allowing access to the engine. It allows you to work on most stuff but a separate panel under the passenger seat can be removed, with some work involved, allowing access to pretty much everything. It is much more tight in there than the cruisers, but that's part of the reason I love the cruisers, plenty of room for me to work. I think it will be ok though, getting used to but if these are as bulletproof as a lot of the owners claim I shouldn't be in there much! The front can be lifted with some sort of nut that I need to look into more, only about an inch, and the back requires better springs, but the real set back is the wheel wells, your seat is basically the front so not much cutting can be done, the tires that are on it now rub if braking and cornering. This will need to be considered and I think most options for 2 or more inch lifts is limited.

I ordered the rooftop tent and am on the way to pick up materials to start on the inside, I'll post up some photos as it progresses. We will be taking it today after a flush of diffs, tranny and transfer case, and a general tune up and inspection. The trip will be about 150 miles round trip to the big(ish) city. Let the fun begin!
 
Ctenosaurian said:
That is really cool. What model is that? A Master-Ace? I would love to get one of those to camp in.
Click to expand...
Toyota called the imports to the USA simply the toyota van with the base model, LE model and for one year a Delux model, it was called master ace, surf ace, town ace, etc most other places, among other names. I have heard it called the spacecruiser here in the states though, I like that, it fits nicely with land cruiser. Mine is the LE model with power Windows, locks and mirrors and cruise control.
 
More pictures!!!!!!! Motor, suspension, etc.
What a great find and a fun project. Watching this one!
 
Nice van! There are a few Japanese import RHD versions with a 2C diesel running around here. Not quite as popular or well supported as the Mitsubishi Delicas.
Check out Delica.ca for some ideas on interiors and have fun with it!
 
I have been looking at CL for one of these for a long long time. I have searches setup to alert me daily looking for a manual trans 4x4 toyota van. NICE SCORE!!!!!!
 
Yeah they are very hard to find. Right now there are a couple 4x4 on colorado craigslist, but not anywhere near the condition of this one. The guy I bought this one from has a bunch, he offered me another 4x4 5 speed for $900 if I bought the one I did but it needed a bunch of work, the po hooked the battery up backwards. I was really tempted to buy it and fix it but it was a 200 mile drive and I couldn't justify it to the wife. My roof top tent was delivered a few days ago, waiting on my crossbar now. I'll get photos posted once it's installed and show progress on the rest of the build as I go. So far I have taken all the seats out except 1 captains chair in the back. When I bought it it had no fan shroud but the seller included one. I put it on but it didn't fit. Come to find out it was for a 2wd and it doesn't fit the 4 and one for the 4 is supposedly next to impossible to find. Luckily the po included an electric fan which I have since installed. So far so good!
 
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