1978 Toyota Wolverine: Craigslist Find of the Week
Vintage Toyota truck has hefty $26,000 price tag. Here’s why…
What’s a super-clean, ultra-rare 1978 Toyota four-wheel-drive pickup worth? Considering that Toyota didn’t offer a 4WD pickup until ’79, it should bring a pretty penny. This CraigsList seller in Missouri has a ‘78 Wolverine, one of a few 1978 Toyotas converted to 4WD. The asking price is a hefty $26,000, but with these classic trucks becoming collectible, this may now be the starting price for such a vintage rarity.
The ad contains very few details aside from the fact that it comes with the original dealership paperwork and that the truck underwent a full off-frame restoration. The restoration claim certainly looks true, too. Everything sparkles both inside and outside the Toyota. The interior is immaculate and the paint job is perfect. We suspect this will never see trails or serious off-roading, but something this cool gets a pass. Very few of these were built and no one seems to have an exact number at hand. We expect it’s considerably fewer than 100. Most were probably knackered, repainted, fell apart, or ended up in The Crusher.
More than anything, we love the paint-and-tape package on this Yota. From the magazine cover shown in the ad, the restoration put the tape stripes back in order. The colors look like those used by Toyota Motorsports throughout the 1980s. The IMSA GTP and GTO race cars used those colors for most of the decade. The sans-serif “TOYOTA” across the black hood adds a nice touch, as well.
As we were obsessing over this prize Yota truck, we started to think it looked somewhat familiar. Then we began to suspect that it is this exact truck that we noticed a little while back in this posting on David’s Classic Cars. A price is not included in the Classic Cars ad, but the owner mentions that the truck “was $9,200 dollars new and when I drive into Toyota dealerships everyone is running outside to take a look.” We believe him when he says that this gem turns heads, and we find a lot to like here, even if the price of this truck is out of our range.
Then again, perhaps we shouldn’t be looking at something so unique as just another must-have toy. It is more of a rolling investment, because Hagerty, too, thinks these trucks are about to shoot up in value. The tough question is whether $26,000 represents the next pricing paradigm or the peak of the bubble’s parabolic path.