Okiyota

Reading comprehension eludes you, haha!! You still havent seen a Wolverine, in fact, no one ever has, not the Trekker/Trailblazer version at least, they dont exist!! (Just pulling Corey's chain) The Toyota Wolverine that you will find if you go searching the web will be the pre 1979 4wd conversions that were done using a Dana axle and a Dana 20 transfer case all from a Jeep before Toyota was releasing a true factory 4wd.

85gijunk4x4

im confused...so what excactly is a "wolverine" is it a 2wd 4runner type suv that was upgraded with 4wd from a jeep? or like a pickup with a custom made suv type camper thingy?? or just a 2wd pickup someone converted to 4x4...but then why do they all look llike negative 2 generation 4runners. (get it negative 2 as in two generations before the 4runner excisted lol) lol im confused!!!

86 TOY

Is this a "Wolverine" or Trailblazer? What is the difference?

http://evansville.craigslist.org/cto/1780309951.html

yoder519

from the pics, it look homemade to me. like a 1st gen truck made into.... whatever it is... just my opinion

slacker

iTrader: (1)

that is a trailblazer , unlike the trekker , the trailblazers utalized the STOCK steel bed . This is the reason they are so rare now .. not to many unrusted metal beds out there



hahaha .. dog !! i'm still lookin' ..


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elblako91

Makes me think of a turtle lol

mikeadd

Hi All, This is my 1978 Toyota Wolverine 4 wheel drive SR5 hilux pickup. I have enjoyed it for over 20 years now. This conversion was sold at a toyota dealer after adding a dana 20 transfer case, dana 30 frt axle and leaf springs
I will upload more pics

6/18/16
I have posted the 1978 toyota Wolverine For Sale on Craigslist.
It is located near Ocean City Maryland.
Mike

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Awesome

:wabbit2:

sportrunner2001

want to sell?

if only i had money and a great job haha

mikeadd

TOYOTA 4X4 MINI-TRUCK
A super clean 4x4 Wolverine conversion.
Story by Mike Anson
AUGUST 1977 FOUR WHEELER

Four wheeling in a mini- truck makes a lot of sense. The little trucks give good fuel economy, carry two adults in a reasonable amount of comfort and the load-carrying capabilities are amazing. Only trouble is the factories haven't caught on yet—maybe they never will; unless the demand goes to more than 50,000 units (spread among the total mini-truck market). This leaves the four wheeler with a mini in search of a converter. Off Road Marketing of Garden Grove is determined to end that search. With a total of six Toyota mini-truck conversion plants across the U.S., Off Road Marketing with their Wolverine is the largest converter of minis around. Unlike many other converters, they are able to service the entire country with conversion facilities in six states.

Charlie Erickson who, along with Karol Vanzant heads up the Wolverine operation, is a four wheeler from way back. He was leading expeditions into Baja when the road to Camalu was still dirt, and thoughts of a highway all the way to La Paz were not even considered plausible.

Erickson is understandably proud of the Wolverine conversion. "We were the first to be certified by the super-stringent California Air Resources Board," he explained. Any change to a vehicle in California is thought to change the emissions. Even though the Wolverine engine is not disturbed, but an additional 300 lbs. are added, the vehicle had to undergo the full series of tests to make certain that it did not put out more exhaust emissions than before. "Actually we came out slightly better than the stock vehicle," said Erickson with a smile."The other things we are concerned with are the quality and the uniformity of.,parts. We use as many stock Toyota parts as possible to make the vehicle easy to service, especially items such as the shock mounts and the spring hanger brackets-. The result is that a Wolverine built in California is exactly the same as a Wolverine built in Connecticut, or Texas or one of the other three plants." Wolverine also mounts the transfer case directly to the transmission; this is to keep the driveline angles from excessive angles (the industry standard is from 9-11 degrees—Wolverine is 9.5 degrees) and eliminating a third driveshaft. The front drive axle is, of course, the ubiquitous Dana 30 which is used on all the mini conversions and the Jeep CJ series. Special two-leaf inverted leaf springs, built for Wolverine by Cambria Spring Co., are used at the front. They use the stock Toyota rear spring hangers to mount the front springs thus assuring a quality part. To retain the stock Toyota disc brakes, they use a special aluminum hub; this prevents a mismatch of braking components.

The steering box is relocated to the front of the truck to give more room under the engine. A special 5-qt. aluminum oil pan is installed for plenty of room between the engine and thefront drive axle; it is finned and gives a small addition in oil capacity. Special shock absorbers, built for Wolverine, are fitted front and rear.

Even the seemingly small but annoying details that usually crop up in a 4x4 conversion have been given attention. The speedometer at the rear of the transfer case is adapted to take the metric pickup of the Toyota cable.
Our feature truck was icebox white with semi-gloss hood treatment and side panel custom color with "Wolverine" lettered on the doors. The wheels were 15x6 chrome spokers and the tires were H78-15 with multi-purpose tread. A dual tube roll bar was mounted in the bed with a pair of KC HiLites on the top of the bar.

This Wolverine was a real eye-catcher and got head-turning looks wherever we drove it. On a long trip up the California coast we got a chance to put the Toyota through its paces. One of the main areas of interest was the fuel economy and, after calibrating the speedometer, we averaged 22 mpg. On the road, the little truck was not as rough as we expected. In fact the ride was better than stock (without the four wheel drive), but a stock mini-truck ride is really rough. The way they get those half-ton ratings with the small trucks is by using extremely stiff springs, and stiff springs and short wheelbases combine to make the ride choppy. With the Wolverine-installed Cambria springs the ride has been smoothed out somewhat. Although the ride height has been increased and nearly 300 additional pounds have been added, the Wolverine Toyota is still a good pavement ride. Off the pavement the little Toyota performed admirably. The four-cylinder engine required more rowing of the gear lever and the transfer case had to be put in low range earlier, but the performance of the little truck could not be faulted. How does such a tiny truck project such a massive appearance? At the front it's easy with the Superguard grille guard and winch from Superwinch. It's a great looking assembly finished in bright white paint. The winch comes with 35 feet of 3/16-n, galvanized cable, a remote, dash-mounted switch, a pulley block for double line use and a cable sling for attaching the cable to boulders and tree trunks: The unit boltsto the truck and is secured by a tapered lock nut and a keyed torque nut called a Superlock. Overall, the Wolverine is a very appealing package. With four wheel drive go-anywhere ability, good fuel economy, excellent cargo carrying capacity and handsome looks, the Wolverine is a winner.

If you want one you will have to get it directly from an authorized Toyota dealer—that's the only way they are sold. This one went directly to the dealer, Buena Park Toyota in Buena Park, California, and was sold the same day. For more information on the Wolverine and the new 5-spd. version which is due soon, contact Charlie Erickson at Off Road Marketing, 12812 Garden Grove Blvd., Suite B, Garden Grove, California 92643, (714) 636-8652.

AUGUST 1977 FOUR WHEELER

(Above) The Wolverine conversion facility in Van Nuys,California, features an overhead assembly line. It appears to be a clean, efficient operation.

mikeadd

mikeadd

slacker

iTrader: (1)

still want to see a 79-83 4WD wolverine


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wii_tarded

Is it just me or does that bed look like one off of a same era GM truck?

85gijunk4x4

nope, its not just you!!

i love the old wolverines and trekkers!! remind me of the international scouts i am deeply in love with!!

slacker

iTrader: (1)

back in the day .. that bed was a popular swap .

a NWOR step side bed , no longer avaliable .


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83

Mikeadd, awesome truck.

Do us a favor and post the photos vertically instead of horizontally

94toyota

i would kill to own this truck

sportrunner2001

i dont think they actually made them or if they did it was a very very low number.

sportrunner2001

sadly this one was custom. Also, mikeadd, you can just turn this into your thread if you want or make your own because i want to keep seeing more pictures of your amazing truck!