The 1980s Toyota Hilux, badged in the United States as the Toyota Pickup, rightfully representing its honest and straightforward nature, will always be known throughout the history of the automotive industry as one the most rigid production truck ever built.

On a quite memorable episode of Top Gear, this legendary truck was featured, and they gave it all they had. They set it on fire, hit it with a wrecking ball, drowned it, and wrecked an entire building with the truck in it, and it still ran.

People who have owned a Toyota Pickup will surely tell you all about its versatility and durability at some point in their lives. And we intend to take a look at the reasons why it earned the reputation it did.

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The Simplicity

1985 Toyota Pickup Hilux Red Front Side
Via Flickr

The philosophy behind the truck's design was that the simpler it is, the smaller the chance of it breaking. Toyota Hilux's goal was to be a functional, utilitarian workhorse, and it succeeded at doing exactly that. To the point that they did not even bother giving the United States model a name.

Most versions did not include power locks, power seats, airbags, or even an air-conditioning system. It’s a simple equation; if you don’t have many parts in your truck, less stuff will break.

Toyota made a reliable bare-boned machine, yet this was not the only factor for it being as mighty as it was. The bone played a huge role too.

The Boxed Frame

1990 Toyota Pickup 4x4 Side Red
Via Toyota Forum

There are commonly two types of structural designs for the steel channels regarding a truck’s frame. The C-channel, which is more common, and the boxed frame design used in the Toyota Pickup.

The C-channel design is cheaper and easier to mass-manufacture. It takes less effort to bolt different parts because one of its sides is open and accessible. However, one of the most critical characteristics of the C-channel design is its flexibility. This might sound like a very advantageous feature, but it has its unique flaws as well.

The frame flexing makes it a part of the suspension, which could be beneficial. Still, it also makes the design a bit more unpredictable and uncontrollable. The superior frame design is still a massive debate among automotive enthusiasts, but the pros and cons of each are well-known.

On the other hand, the boxed design is more structurally rigid. It does not flex and twist as much. This made the Toyota a better truck in terms of both off-roading and weight capacity. Another notable attribute of the boxed frame is weight reduction. When you close the C-shaped channel into a box, making it more rigid, you can use less material.

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The Engine

Toyota Hilux Pickup Offroad Grey Front Side
Via BaT

The Toyota Pickup and the Hilux were offered with a wide variety of both gas and diesel engines. We will specifically be looking at the most common one, the 2.4-liter 22 RE gas engine. This reliable and truly overbuilt engine was used in various models of the Toyota lineup. Models such as the 4runner, the Celica, and the Corona. It was put in vehicles until 1997.

The 22 RE single-overhead-cam engine was made surprisingly durable and easy to fix. Toyota perfected the engine design throughout their making of the reputable R-series engines. The 22 RE motor made use of a forged crankshaft and high-nickel-content block, which made it approximately 125% stronger than the pure iron block.

Yet another quality of this legendary engine was the long stroke, accompanied by domed pistons and fuel injectors, which offered a higher low to mid-range torque number.

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The Fatal Flaw

Toyota Hilux Pickup Side Red
Via Wikimedia Commons

One major downside came with the Toyota Hilux’s design, one that they noticed when it was too late. And that flaw was rust. Because of its boxed frame design, the steel channels on the Pickup could not wholly be drained of the water that entered. Causing the frame to rust and fall apart.

This problem single-handedly forced Toyota to spend billions of dollars replacing the rusted frames in their old pickups because of the multiple lawsuits they were involved in.

The lesson Toyota learned is why they do not use the boxed frame design anymore in their modern Tacoma and Tundra models. Toyota later offered a semi-boxed design which meant some of the channels used in the frame were boxed, and the others were not.

You might be wondering why this truck is deemed so reliable and so durable if it has such a massive flaw. Well, the rust takes a lot of time to happen, and until then, this mighty Pickup will give you no problems whatsoever.

The Pickup model was later badged as Tacoma, and it started to differ from the Hilux model. Nowadays, those two are entirely different vehicles. Yet, Toyota still makes exceptional automobiles, but few hold the characteristics that the Pickup once did.