(first posted 6/29/2014)
Old Toyota Hi-Lux pickups are one of the most ubiquitous “Eugene-mobiles”; there are scads of them everywhere, like the one that just moved into one of my rentals, and this one, of the very first generation. But I’ve never snagged one of the very rare Lo-Lux versions, something Toyota cooked up and imported only to California during the nasty 1974 recession. I’ve read about them, but this is my first time actually catching one in the wild. They are very rare, as it really didn’t catch on; seems like Toyota went a bit overboard with the minimalist approach.
Yes, the Lolux was stripped down to just the most bare essentials for driving in California’s mild climate. I hear they sold best in the beach communities. Since hand signals were still legal in CA back then, there were no tail lights or brake lights. And the lack of doors made giving hand signals very easy.
This Lolux driver is cheating a bit though, carrying some clip-on tail lights. It probably is a bit safer for night driving that way, but he makes sure to stash them during the day, so as not to destroy the purity of the Lolux minimalist concept.
The passenger compartment follows the theme quite diligently, although a wooden park bench or two milking stools would really have been more suitable yet. It least it has a roof, so as to keep one’s life possessions dry. Live lightly, get rid of all the useless junk! One duffel bag-full is all anyone really needs in this world, or deserves. Maybe Toyota was targeting the nascent “Voluntary Simplicity” movement? That would explain why it’s in Eugene. Or maybe it was targeted at Anarchists, in which case it really would be their official vehicle, if they indulged in such things. Maybe one of them is cheating, like an Amish keeping a car.
Just the essentials here that are necessary to start and keep this truck on the straight and narrow of life. Even the gas pedal has been slimmed down to a bent rod.
Out back, the bed is just a pallet strapped on with…a few wraps of black tape. But be assured, that’s an all-American pallet, so as to make sure the Lu-Lux didn’t get hit with the “Chicken tax”. Now that would have defeated the purpose.
Toyota didn’t skimp in terms of the engine, though. The full 20R engine was included, after experiments with a version missing two of its pistons and connecting rods just didn’t run quite well enough, even for minimalist standards. I hear performance is quite brisk, given how light these are. An air cleaner? A hi-luxury. Hydraulic brake lines? Oh come on; the mechanical hand brake on the rear wheels is quite sufficient, for diligent minimalist drivers in a light vehicle like this. But Toyota saw fit to install the hydraulic brake master cylinder, in case some wuss-ass jurisdictions had a problem with the hand brake. But the lines were strictly optional.
Finding a genuine Lo-Lux was the highlight of my week, and not surprisingly, I found it in Eugene’s very hip Whitaker neighborhood. But just a few days later, I saw it again, quite a ways out north, off River Road…this thing still gets around, hand brake and all. Well, it is a Toyota. And there’s not much to brake, or break.
The roof was not there to keep the occupants dry. The purpose was to prevent a nasty sunburn in the Southern California climate.
Two bungee cords to hold the battery? It looks like they are starting down that slippery slope of luxury.
It’s not two bungee cords, it’s a long one doubled back, because that’s the one he found.
By golly, you are right! A true weight saver as the extra cord weighs less than the extra metal hooks.
Whooo hoooo no safety or emissions testing, take that Japan!!
Looks like the Carburetor is missing, the tags are horribly expired, and I had no idea the rear of the cab could be removed. Wonder what the back story on this truck is because it sure looks like an escaped junkyard car.
It started life as a cutaway. Like a chassis cab, but with no rear bulkhead on the cab so it could be integrated with a box. Ever seen one of the tiny Toyota-based motorhomes?
I have seen those old Toyota Motorhomes, but the yellow paint threw me off since Chassis Cabs are usually never yellow.
Yeah, you googled pics of the U-hauls too… (email gave you away.)
What throws me is the mismatch between the cutaway cab which implies a one-ton chassis, and the light duty rear springs with single-wheel axle. I’m guessing somebody put the cab onto a bare frame.
Early chassis-cabs were offered as SRW. (In fact, I think they were ONLY SRW until the mid-80s.) I have seen a couple of vintage SRW Toy motorhomes.
If they brake hard enough, that pallet will dislodge and hit them in the ass…
with only a parking brake, rapid braking is highly unlikely!
Someone’s been reading John Muir’s ‘How to Keep Your Toyota (Barely) Alive: Part It Out and Still Drive It’. It’s a great read on how to sell the non-essential parts of your car to make back your purchase price, then keep selling the parts for fuel until it basically consumes itself, then salvage the carcass and start anew!
Where’s the gas tank???
Is it actually legal to drive this vehicle in Eugene Oregon.???
The lack of windshield wipers makes this vehicle illegal to be on the road as does the lack of rear lights and front turn signals. The lack of a license plate light is also illegal and do not know if bumpers are required by law. Though it is legal to use hand signals in Oregon as long as they can be seen 500 feet away.
There are no safety inspections in the whole of Oregon plus outside the Medford and Portland area there are no emissions testing.
Surely brakes should be added to the list Teddy?
If I was a police officer there I would be putting this thing off the road as I would not want to read a headline later on and know I let it go. If you can’t afford to maintain your vehicle in a safe condition you should not be on the road.
Theft recovered truck or work in progress?
What’s the deal with the poseur windshield? Is this thing a truck or a 7-Series?
I was on the Naval Base at Guantanamo back in 77. This would have been accepted as a Guam bomb without much thought. Saw several with chains across doors to prevent unintended exits but think they may have needed to have brake lights.
Come to think of it this is in the same vein of thought as the 79 Datsun flatbed that I drove for years.
This is a very poorly-researched article. What we have here (obviously) is a Toyota Stealth Pickup, one of 500 that were built for the U.S. Air Force. This one (obviously) has a malfunctioning Cloak of Invisibility, which was reverse-engineered from a device found in the wreckage of one of the space ships hidden at Area 54.
I dunno, those rims look pretty ostentatious for a Lo-Lux.
I think I’d at least install a cocktail umbrella to protect the carb from the rain.
LOL
I have driven many a mechanically-braked vehicle, and a hand brake will not be sufficient for urban driving, especially in Whitaker. You had to plan in advance where and when you’re stopping. If it was seen somewhere else, I’d bet the farm it was towed. Or owned by a Turner family member.
Must be Canadian. The US version had a speedometer and one windshield wiper and was called the SR Zero.
I think the Canadian model had large drain holes it’s floorboards and had no rocker panels…
I knew this would wind up on CC. I walk by this rig quite often but never with a camera in hand/pocket. Once while walking by he pulled up and parked on the curb just ahead of me. As I walked by I remarked “That looks *#&$ing fun.” He replied: “Oh yeah.”
Toyota Lite lux very low tare weight for maximum loading. Quite rare nowdays good catch.
The style seems to be catching on on the East coast as well.
(Not all that happy to join the trend, though).
this is ripe for conversion to the much sought after and even more rare ‘long range lowluxe’ which had a 55 gallon barrel for a gas tank mounted between the cab and the pallet.
I think Bob has taken this “horsepower to weight ratio” thing a bolt too far…
“So, what’s the problem, Officer?”
“Sir, do you know why I stopped you?”
Looks as though they’ve just watched ‘Goodbye Pork Pie’and thought it was an instructional video. BTW if you haven’t seen it, search it out – it’s well worth the effort. Great road movie!
A great New Zealand road movie – actually a “prequel” to the Lord of the Rings, but with plenty of bad habits, rather than hobbits. Good fun!
Now that’s what I call a true ‘base’ stripper model. All it is missing is having the floorboards cut open so you can drag your feet for improved braking. You could also ‘Fred Flintstone’ it for improved economy and performance.
..this is a stripper?
Someone’s Swedish A-Traktor project went horribly wrong.
Remember this one ?
It is straight-up disturbing how close this is to something I would consider driving. I imagine it’s actually downright fun, with a curb weight of what, 70% of a fully-equipped pickup?
Still though, even if it were equipped to meet all applicable safety standards, it’s driving a license to be pulled over and hassled.
Even without four wheel hydraulic brakes?
By 74 turn signals, back up lights, wipers “and” washers, inside and left review mirror were all fed requirements. In PA all that and more is required for saftey inspection. Including front and rear fenders or mud flaps. The pallet bed is acceptable though!. How ever it could be a “Farm Truck” but that has limits as to where you can go with it.
I don’t really think you can call this a ‘pickup’. It’s missing the ‘up’ part…………
There’s no cup holders.
There’s a passenger seat. The passenger will likely have two hands. So one drink for the driver. And then a refill for the driver.
No Bluetooth? Forget it.
Would you settle for a gold tooth?
Looks like the remains of a chinook. I saw a first gen Tacoma the other day with a chinook back on it with blanked out Windows.
I’d rather forgotten about this rig. I haven’t seen it in a few years now, unlike my above comment when this first ran.
That is the automotive equivalent of punk rock.
At least the Lo-Lux has an engine to move itself, unlike this vehicle.
I love the third world! One of my favorite CC articles ever was the one with pictures of absurdly overloaded vehicles from around the world.
I’m sure this would be in the Australian outback, where there are hundreds of thousands of camels
Colin Chapman would be proud of the owner’s efforts to reduce vehicle weight.
The cross where one would expect to find a speedometer is a sensible addition.
Reminds me of this vehicle…..
Put a manually operated dump bed on the back and have a poor man’s Gator! (Except gas powered, with a roof to boot)
Our ever vigilant Ohio State Highway Patrol would shut this right down if it ever had the temerity to cross over the state line. ;D
Nice flatbed conversion. My ’93 Ranger Sport should be worried.
Wow. Really couldn’t spring for duct tape for the pallet?
Very funny! This just made my top ten all-time favorite CC posts. Oregon must require front license plates or it would have been pulled off years ago.
Vehicle inspection? This is Oregon, we don’t need no stinkin vehicle inspection.
I had two friends in high school do this to cars. One bought a super nice 66 dodge coronet 500 with a 383 with buckets and a console. Each time I saw it, it would be missing something more(seats, doors etc). The last time he had taken out the gas tank and replaced it with a five gallon gas can. Never saw it after that.
Other guy had a 60s fairlane wagon which became a surf mobile. He took all the power steering system off and ended up crashing it.
I bought a new ’73 Hi-Lux, mustard yellow, from Sheaffer & Strominger in Baltimore in early 1973. It did have a HiLux badge. It coughed and bucked upon every cold startup, until after 3 visits to the dealer it was discovered that a bad coil was responsible. It rode hard (it rarely had a load), was noisy when revved up to accelerate decently, and the vinyl interior seemed cheap. Unfortunately it left a bad impression for Japanese vehicles and was traded in after 1 year for a used ’72 Ford F-100, also mustard yellow, with nice striped brown cloth upholstery, which was far more satisfactory. By the ’90s the good reputation of Japanese vehicles was hard to deny and we’ve owned at least one ever since.
“From the town of Bedrock”?
The Hi-Lux was popular in Vermont (an annual motor vehicle inspection state). As the Toyota’s rusted as well as any other vehicle, but the drive train was reliable, the beds were often replaced with plywood, sometimes even pressure treated! Flat beds, pick up beds of all different styles. As the years passed these relics slowly disappeared. 3 months ago, I commented to my motor head brother of their absence. The next day I saw one!