Will be taking ownership of this dually soon and will be sharing the restoration as I have seen very few factory duallies. It was an oil rig truck up here for the last 30 years, i will be the third owner.

Lots of work to do but I am gonna love this. Runs and drives, lots of custom work already done.





Thanks,
Randy

 

Cool truck but that truck is not a 1979. That is a 72-78..

 

Wasn't 79 first year of 4wd

 

for the "toyota pick up" yes. but for the hilux? no.

 

That isn't 4x4 anyways.. It's 6x6 yes?

 

79 was the first year of factory 4x4 Toyota mini trucks(FJ45's way earlier). A lot of trucks were converted prior to 79 by assorted vendors. Several used 5 bolt Dana 25's (or something like that) for the front axles.


What part of Alaska are you in? I was stationed at Ft. Richardson for 4 years. One of the best times of my life

 

Yep, definitely not a "factory" truck, or "factory" dually.

And definitely pre-79. Very cool, though.

 

Is that a one ton truck? Still with a 20R motor?

I wonder what the axle gear ratio is.

I like those 4 headlight models like that.

 

Could be, but it didn't come from the factory that way. I know because I have a 78 built into an RV. Toyota didn't make true 1 ton chassis until...86? There was a recall on Toyota axles for trucks which had RVs built onto them in the 80s. They replaced the axles with true 1 ton, full floating dually axles. Only motorhomes built on Toyota chassis after 86 (give or take a year) were built from the factory with 1 ton axles.

So if he's lucky he's got aftermarket, true duallys on there, and not a rigged setup where someone welded two rims together to make a "fake" dually, which is arguably more dangerous than a single tire for carrying heavier weight, due to extra stress on the axle bearings. Sucks to lose a tire while you're driving...

1978 Toyota Pickup, Chinook RV conversion, long bed, NOT a one ton.

 

Randy, if you find out more, let us know. Or if you have regular access to it, or already own it, take some photos of the rear differential and axle and dually set up.

I can't tell from the photos but it doesn't look like a stock Toyota rear differential to me. Which in this case is probably a good thing.

 

I will try to get more info and pics posted up, I am an outreach worker and am away from town at the moment. The story I got is its a 1979 factory dually 4x4 with custom bed installed. Big changes that I noticed were custom skids underneath that are masterfully welded. The front axle has some beefy leaf springs on it.

It was recently converter to a 22r w/ 5 speed but still has the 20r and 4 speed with it.

I will get the vin and post it as I know little about older toyotas. I have focused on old VW's and Jeeps and just don't know the history. Guy swears up and down though that is was a 1979 factory dually 4x4.

 

I know that in 1978 Toyota dealers sold a Wolverine conversion 4x4..I wanted one in the worst way.. A friend of my father was a dealer at the time..He said to wait on Toyota to offer thier own model....Damn I'm old....

 

Yeah, I'll be interested to see what the tag in the truck says. If it ends up being a 79 with a factory 4x4 dually, all that I thought I knew about Toyota trucks will be shattered.



It's definitely not a 79, though...

Maybe, just maybe, it's a 1978, with dealership 4x4 dually conversion, sold brand new in 1979. That's the only possible way it could be confused for "factory".

Still not a 1979 truck, though.

 

Looks cool. Factory or not id like to have one

 

Yep. Whatever the history, it's a really cool truck.

Half the fun of these old things is figuring out the history, and how they came to be in their current state.

 

that thing is soo cool! a guy down the street from me had a '78 wolverine that looked just like it but no a dually.

 

I like seeing things be restored and then something different at that. Will be looking forward to your progress. Looks like you have a nice project to start on.

 

Well I was wrong, it's a 78. Wolverine conversion 4x4. I got in touch with the previous owner. Apparently it started life as an RN23L or something- 2wd dually long bed. Waiting to get the VIN to confirm all that.

Can't wait to tear into her and see what I have to work with. But my first step is to get a good title and get it registered so I can drive it home.

 

Great! Good luck. I'll be interested to see more photos and get more info.

 

Forget title and driving it.. Get the PICS!