Current picture as of April 19, 2002

My current truck is a 1985 Toyota SR5 Xtra-Cab pick-up, with a 22RE motor and a 5-speed manual transmission. Its previous owner was drinking and driving on a highway, passed out, and drove it into an unmoving telephone pole. The owner decided he no longer wanted it, and abandoned it at the tow yard I used to work for. I bought the wreck for $500.00, with 80000 km on the odometer.

I had to do a lot of work to make it roadworthy again, such as straighten the frame and install a new front clip. Basically, everything forward of the firewall is new, including the engine and steering column. The nice thing is that now I know exactly what was done to the truck, and I know that it is done the way I want it.

I did not bother installing a carpet on the floor, electing instead to spray on rubberized black rockguard. This way I don't have to worry about getting mud on the carpet, or getting the carpet soaked when water comes pouring in through the door seals.

In my opinion, 1984 and 1985 are the best years for a Canadian-model Toyota 4x4, as they are the only years with both solid front axle (for strength, articulation, and wheel travel) and electronic fuel injection (EFI, for quicker starts, better fuel economy, and no problems with different altitudes or with carburetor floats on excessive angles). Solid-axle trucks also have the added benefit of being much less expensive to lift than independent front suspension (IFS) equipped trucks. In addition, the '84-'85 trucks have a stronger front axle-housing than the earlier trucks, due to a full-length truss welded beneath the long (driver's side) tube.

Of course, once everything was running properly, I started modifying and upgrading things (never-ending story!), to make the vehicle more capable, reliable, and tougher. This vehicle is my daily-driver, and I take it four-wheeling as often as I am able (which isn't nearly often enough!).

My friend Sarah, who owns a near-stock '87 long box named "Tiny Tim" (the runt of our Toyota litter, lol), wanted me to name my truck. So one day, as I was taking a highway off-ramp at 80 km/h with the rear 9012's set to "1", I suddenly thought of the perfect name... Eileen. :)

I'd like to thank my friend Richard for the many late nights he spent working on the truck with me to get it to running condition, my friend Hank for his help with the electrical system and the alarm installation, my friend Ray for his extensive knowledge of Toyota 4x4's, my friend Doug for his welding, fabricating, mechanical, and fibreglassing skills, and my friend Wil for introducing me to the sport of rock crawling.

For more photos of the truck, check out the trip reports.

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