This is a 1982 Toyota Pickup Deluxe 4×4, it comes from a time shortly before Toyota switched the model over to independent front suspension, and many purists prefer the front and rear live axles for off-road work.
This vehicle benefits from a recent repaint in Factory Yellow (541), it has new replacement tri-color graphics, a chrome roll bar with KC HiLites spotlights, and polished 15″ American Racing Baja wheels with new 31×10.50″ Mickey Thompson Baja Legend MTZ tires.
Fast Facts: A 1982 Toyota Pickup Deluxe 4×4
- This recently refreshed 1982 Toyota Pickup Deluxe 4×4 comes from the final solid-front-axle years before Toyota adopted independent front suspension. Repainted in Factory Yellow (541) with new tri-color graphics, a chrome roll bar carrying KC HiLiTES, polished 15″ American Racing Baja wheels, and fresh 31×10.50″ Mickey Thompson Baja Legend MTZ tires.
- Toyota’s light-truck lineage preceded the Hilux with 1950s efforts like the Stout and Briska. The 1968 Hilux, developed with Hino, brought a compact, affordable pickup with a 1.5 liter engine, and car-like road manners. Reliability and thrift won converts after the 1970s fuel crises, then the 1979 introduction of factory 4×4 and the 1983 Xtracab model broadened appeal nationwide.
- The fourth generation launched for 1984 with squared styling, improved cabins, and multiple body choices. Powertrains included the 2.4 liter 22R, later 22R-E fuel injection, and from 1986 the 3.0 liter 3VZ-E V6. Transmissions spanned four or five-speed manuals and a four-speed automatic – and 1986 brought independent front suspension.
- This truck has power steering, manually locking front hubs, and power-assisted front discs with rear drums. Interior was renewed with reupholstered bench, new dash pad, headliner, door panels, carpets, and mats, plus a RetroSound Bluetooth stereo and USB ports. It’s now being offered on Bring a Trailer from Coronado, California with a clean Carfax and clean California title.
History Speedrun: The Origins Of The Toyota Pickup
Toyota’s pickup story didn’t start with the Hilux, though that’s where it truly came into its own. The company had already experimented with light trucks in the 1950s – the Stout and the Briska being the best-known – but these early models were spartan and really aimed at utility and budget-conscious buyers. What Toyota needed was something modern, compact, and versatile enough to win over tradesmen, farmers, and others who were more used to large American pickups.
The first-generation Toyota Hilux was built in partnership with Hino – it was a small hood-type pickup with car-like road manners, a 1.5 liter engine, and enough toughness to handle light commercial duty. Image courtesy of Toyota.
This new Toyota truck arrived in 1968 – and it was initially named the Hilux. The Hilux was built in partnership with Hino – it was a small hood-type pickup with car-like road manners, a 1.5 liter engine, and enough toughness to handle light commercial duty.
The formula was simple but effective – it was inexpensive to run, easy to maintain, cheap to buy, and endlessly reliable. Export markets, especially the US, were slow to warm to it at first, but the fuel crises of the 1970s totally changed the game. Suddenly, Americans who’d once dismissed small pickups began to appreciate Toyota’s little workhorse for its remarkable fuel efficiency.
By the late 1970s Toyota was further refining the recipe. A factory-built 4×4 model arrived in 1979, filling a gap that had been handled by aftermarket conversions, and in 1983 the company introduced the Xtracab – an extended cab that gave buyers much needed storage space behind the seats.
Those two moves put Toyota in direct competition with the domestic brands not just on value, but on lifestyle appeal. That set the stage for the fourth generation, which would become one of Toyota’s most important trucks, if not the most important outright.
The Fourth-Generation Toyota Pickup
The fourth-gen model, launched in 1983 for the 1984 model year, gave the Toyota Pickup its most distinctive identity yet. Styling was sharp and squared-off, interiors were more comfortable, and Toyota offered more variations than ever – regular cabs, long beds, and the now-iconic Xtracab. It was also the first Toyota pickup that really looked at home in suburban driveways as well as on job sites – a harbinger of its future destiny.
The vehicle you see here is a 1982 Toyota Pickup Deluxe 4×4 that has been recently lavished with some restoration work, including a repaint in striking Factory Yellow (541).
Under the hood, buyers got a choice of tough four-cylinder engines or, later, a more powerful V6. The workhorse engine was the 2.4 liter 22R, a carbureted four banger making 97 bhp. Fuel injection arrived with the 22R-E, bumping output to 105 – 108 bhp depending on variant.
For those who wanted more, Toyota rolled out the 3.0 liter 3VZ-E V6 in 1986, good for 145 bhp and 180 lb ft – giving the small truck some real pulling power.
A 2.4 liter turbo-diesel was also on offer in select markets, though US buyers rarely saw it. Transmission options ranged from four and five-speed manuals to a four-speed automatic, with part-time 4×4 available across the range.
Suspension was a tale of two setups. Early trucks kept the solid front axle, which off-road fans still prefer today, but starting in 1986, Toyota moved 4×4 models to independent front suspension. It rode better on pavement and broadened mainstream appeal, though diehards grumbled that it sacrificed ultimate strength off-road.
Payload hovered around 1,500 to 1,900 lbs, while towing capacity ran up to 3,500 lbs depending on spec – numbers that made it practical without pushing into half-ton territory.
Trim levels expanded the truck’s reach. The SR5 package in particular gave the Pickup a sporty edge, with upgraded interiors, striping, and alloys. Pop culture gave it a further boost in 1985 when a black SR5 Xtracab appeared in Back to the Future as Marty McFly’s dream truck. That cameo forever locked in the Toyota Pickup as a cultural touchstone in America – a symbol of attainable cool.
The bench seat was reupholstered in brown cloth with vinyl sides this year, and at the same time the dash pad, headliner, door panels, speakers, carpets, and floor mats were also replaced. It’s also now fitted with a RetroSound Bluetooth stereo and USB charging ports.
By the time this generation wrapped up in 1988, Toyota’s small truck had earned a reputation for being nearly indestructible. It balanced utility with everyday usability, and it bridged the company’s transition from bare-bones commercial vehicles to trucks people genuinely aspired to own – and for this reason it may very well have been the most important generation of Toyota Pickup.
The 1982 Toyota Pickup Deluxe 4×4 Shown Here
The vehicle you see here is a 1982 Toyota Pickup Deluxe 4×4 that has been recently lavished with some restoration work, including a repaint in striking Factory Yellow (541). It also now has replacement tri-color graphics, a chrome roll bar with KC HiLiTES spotlights, and matching chrome bumpers.
It rides on polished 15″ American Racing Baja wheels fitted with 31×10.50″ Mickey Thompson Baja Legend MTZ tires. It has power steering, manually locking front hubs, and power-assisted front disc brakes and with rear drums.
The bench seat was reupholstered in brown cloth with vinyl sides this year, and at the same time the dash pad, headliner, door panels, speakers, carpets, and floor mats were also replaced. It’s also now fitted with a RetroSound Bluetooth stereo and USB charging ports.
Power is provided by a 2.4 liter 22R inline-four mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and a dual-range transfer case which sends power to either the back, or front and back axles.
Power is provided by a 2.4 liter 22R inline-four mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and a dual-range transfer case which sends power to either the back, or front and back axles.
It’s now being offered for sale out of Coronado, California on Bring a Trailer and it comes with a clean Carfax report and a clean California title in the seller’s name. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer + Toyota
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
