1985 Toyota 4x4 Pickup Truck/Hilux - Review - YouTube

1985 Toyota Pickup - when a truck was still a truck.

This is my 1985 Toyota Xtra Cab I’ve owned since 2010.

I sold my boring, reliable, 45 mpg civic to daily drive this 4x4 beast 100 miles per day

- with no regrets.

I bought this truck because of its rugged off road capability, but I told my wife it

was for hauling materials and wood for improvements to our first home.

It took a couple of years to figure out that an off road toy doesn’t equal a reliable

daily driver.

So, I bought a 4-door when my family started growing, but had fallen in love with my Yota

and began restoring it to the vehicle you see today.

After 10 years of ownership, I’ve spent a good amount of time repairing just about

everything on this truck from the frame, to replacing engine, body & paint work, and all

kinds of mechanical stuff.

If you’re subscribed, you’ve seen my how-to videos.

It’s about time I do a full review and show you all the details of the 1985 Toyota Pickup

(or Hilux if you’re outside North America.)

Toyota designed the 2nd generation Pickup in 1984 and kept this body style through 1988.

The squared off front end and hard lines gave the truck a tough masculine look.

The 4wd model looks more aggressive with flared fenders and bed sides compared to the 2wd

trucks, and features a more refined grill over the egg crate style of the 2wd's.

The trucks were available with a standard 6 ft bed or a 7 ft long bed and they're known

for rusting away... more on that later.

My truck is the Xtra Cab, only available with the standard bed, which offers 2 feet of cab

space behind the driver’s seat.

That extra space provides a cargo shelf, but isn’t big enough for rear jump seats like

the S10, Ranger, or Nissan Hardbody had.

Safety.

It wasn’t really a priority in 1985.

My mostly bare-bones truck is a great example, lacking such options as a passenger side mirror,

or a rear bumper.

I mean, the rear bumper was the bed.

You don’t even need to press in the clutch pedal to start the truck.

That was intentional in case you stalled or flooded the engine in deep water.

You could put it in first gear and drive the truck out in 4 low, using the starter motor.

Construction.

The 80's Toyota body was the same compact dimensions as an S10 or Ranger, except the

Toyota was considered a half ton truck due to its frame & suspension.

These trucks are built on a rigid fully boxed frame instead of the C channel frame that

the big 3 were using durimg this era.

There’s no doubt that boxed frame reduces twist off road, but would become the Achillies

heel of Toyota trucks for years to come, thanks to rust.

On a C-channel frame, the inside of the frame can be cleaned.

Once debris and moisture gets inside of the boxed frame, it’s about impossible to remove

it all, leaving ideal conditions for rust to form.

That rust continues to eat away the inside of the frame until it’s cut out and replaced

with fresh steel, or the frame breaks.

I’ll put video links to both of those situations in the description.

This is a major problem in road salt states and Toyota trucks would have frame problems

for decades to come.

Some people weld plates over the existing frame when they start to look bad, but that’s

only a bandaid to buy some more time while the rust gets worse inside.

1985 was the last year of the solid front axle for the North American 4wd Pickup.

The rest of the world had the solid front axle until 1997.

Toyota felt that North America needed a smoother, more refined independent front suspension

like other small trucks had.

So in 1986, Independent front suspension with torsion bars were standard on all Pickups.

“SAS” “Solid Axle Swap it” “IFS Sucks.” says the internet.

Listen.

You don’t need a solid front axle to have fun off road.

Yes it’s stronger and more durable, with less components to break, but don’t pass

up a clean 4wd because of the IFS.

For most normal driving, IFS is fine and it is less harsh than the solid front axle.

If you’re doing serious offloading, or rocks are your thing, then you’ll want the solid

front axle.

The 86 and up trucks received a 3” wider rear axle to match the 3” wider IFS.

My truck has the wider rear axle, along with a Sky front widening kit, which helps the

IFS alloy wheels sit more flush with the body.

Both the solid axle and IFS 4wd trucks came with manual locking hubs, but automatic locking

hubs were optional.

The 4wd trucks had a 225/75R15 tire.

You can use a 31" tire with no issues, but as you go bigger with the factory gear ratio,

the engine is going to work harder, especially the 4 cylinder - more on that in a second.

These alloy wheels have a 33" tire.

I also have a set of 35” tires that I put on once in a while for offroading, or driving

over cars.

The 35’s fit this truck great with a little cutting to the lower front fender area and

6 inches of lift.

It's re-geared with 5.29's, but I’ll make a separate video of all the modifications

since there’s a lot.

Horsepower.

Also not a priority in 1985.

This truck has the carburated 22r 4 cylinder engine, good for a laughable by today's standards

97 HP and 128 ft. lbs of torque.

It's crazy to think that was the norm back then.

If you wanted more power, 85 was the first year of the optional fuel injected 22RE, good

for 113 HP and 140 ft lbs of torque.

For 86-87, a turbocharged 22RE was offered, bumping horsepower to 135 and 173 ft lb of

torque.

In 1988, Toyota only offered the 22RE or the new 3VZ-E 3.0 v6 which put out 150 HP and

made 180 ft lb of torque.

The 3.0 v6 didn't carry on the bullet proof reputation of the 22R and 22RE though.

They became notorious for leaking head gaskets.

Although they can take a beating, the 4 cylinders used plastic guides for the single row timing

chain in this generation of trucks, which could eventually allow the chain to wear through

the timing cover, mixing oil & coolant, if the proper maintenance of the guides, tensioner

and chain are ignored for too long.

There are also aftermarket metal-backed guides for a better piece of mind.

There was also a diesel that's kind of rare to see in the US, but it made a little less

power than the 22R.

The 4wd trucks had a 5 speed manual transmission while the 2wd pickups had a 4 or 5 speed available.

Both had optional automatic transmissions.

Interior.

My truck is the mostly bare bones DLX model, so it's pretty basic compared to a modern truck.

That's how it was back in the day.

Trucks were utilitarian work horses designed to function, not keep your family comfy on

a road trip.

First off, you'll note the lack of power to the doors with the crank windows and manual

locks.

These doors don't even have full door panels covering the whole metal door.

The SR5 got all of those things, they even had carpet!

Instead of carpet, this truck has a vinyl floor covering.

The original floor mats were thick plastic and cracked into pieces after 30 years.

The Xtracab came with buckets instead of a bench seat, but only the higher trim levels

got a center console.

Forget about power seats.

There's a dome light on the rearview mirror, but the SR5 got fancy with dual map lights.

No tachometer on this truck... you just get a feel for the right time to shift after driving

it for a while.

A tach was standard on the SR5.

AC was optional, but so were vent windows.

These guys pull a surprising amount of air into the cab when the truck is moving.

A lot of vehicles had these back in the day and I wish they would make a comeback.

This xtra cab has the optional sliding rear window.

By the way, if you ever have to replace a rear window on these trucks, the Xtra Cab

window is an inch taller than the standard cab rear glass.

My truck did come with tilt steering and the adjustable speed windshield wipers.

The Inclinometer was optional and I added one, along with an updated radio.

I swapped the quartz clock from another truck - There used to be a blank plate there.

You'll notice there are quite a few blank switches where there would normally be options

on the SR5 and 4-runner.

4-Runners are nearly identical to the pickup from the back of the doors on forward.

Toyota did a minor interior update for 87 models which added fake stitching molded into

the plastic dash pieces, some color matched plastics to replace some of the black pieces,

and a slightly different dash pad that still cracked as easily as the original.

Southern heat and UV rays really take a toll on the interiors of these trucks.

Up here in the north east, our interiors are mostly preserved, but everything metal rusts.

I mentioned the frame problems earlier, but there are also rust issues with the rocker

panels, floor boards, core supports and last but not least, the bed.

You see, the 84-88 beds are made up of multiple pieces and that's why there's a horizontal

seam going across the outside.

The bed cargo area surface actually extends beneath the removable side panel covers and

there's a hidden space behind there.

Water, mud and salt can also sit behind the panels and that's where the welds that hold

the beds together begin to rust.

Most people don't clean behind the panels and by the time rust bubbles appear on the

outside of the seam, it's already ten times worse on the inside.

That's why you see so many flat beds on these trucks.

I put a fiberglass bed on my truck and I'll put a link to more info about that in the

description.

Starting in 1989, Toyota used a bed with solid bed sides, like other manufacturers.

and they will eventually rust, but it starts from the bottom edge instead of the middle.

Top Gear spent a couple of episodes famously

trying to kill a 4wd Toyota with everything from a wrecking ball, to fire, to drowning

it in the ocean, even parking it on the roof of a building and demolishing the building.

The truck wouldn't die and it earned a permanent spot in their studio.

There's a reason the Toyota is the preferred vehicle of militant groups around the world.

Toyota earned its respect as a capable offroad vehicle, straight from the factory.

With a lift, bigger tires, gears and lockers, you can have an offroad vehicle that will

get you most places.

These trucks are 35 years old now and there are still plenty of abused bashed up trucks

on the trails and rocks that refuse to quit.

But that won't be the case forever...

These 4wd trucks were only around $10k new

(around $23k adjusted for inflation in 2020.)

Toyota trucks have always held their value in the used market.

Then a few years ago, clean, low mileage examples started showing up at the big auctions along

side classic muscle cars, and selling for over $20k.

After 30+ years, 1980's vehicles are becoming collectible, especially imports.

Yeah, a lot of these trucks were sold in the US, but far few nice examples are left.

Prices are on the rise for the second Generation Toyota Pickup.

It's not too late to find a good deal, but if you want to own one, now is the time.

I only see prices continuing to rise for these trucks, because they just don't make them

like they used to.

I'm an enthusiast, owning 8 of these trucks so far, and I'll probably buy more.

I still don't consider myself a Toyota expert just yet, there's people out there that know

a lot more than I do, so if I missed anything please let me know in the comments.

If you have any specific questions on my truck, let me know and I'll be glad to answer.

Thanks for watching!