With all that I'd like to do with my truck it was difficult because of the down time involved. I always have to time things just right or I'd end up having to borrow a car or hitch a ride. This is what happens when you only have one vehicle. To solve this I embraced my new found love for the Toyota wagons (Thanks, again, SHONUFF) and picked up a 78' Corona Wagon w/ simulated wood. Cool ride. Totally different, and it gave me the luxury to start taking apart the truck, as well as not rack up the miles on her young motor. Anyhow, last Tuesday this is how my day went: 4:15am Woke up. 5:00am Started work. 4:30pm Off of work. 5:00pm Got home. 5:10pm Saw an add on Craigslist - Los Angeles. (I'm from Northern California) 1972 Toyota Mark II Wagon. Runs strong. 103k miles. Minor surface rust. Recently tuned. Rebuilt carb. New alternator. New water pump. New front/rear brakes. My daily driver. 2nd owner. In need of a truck. $1,000 5: 15pm Called the seller. His ad had been up since 11am. I was the first caller! 5:30pm Booked a flight to L.A. $144 one way, Southwest. 7:05pm Flew out of Oakland, California 8:10pm Arrived in Los Angeles. Seller met me at the airport. 9:30pm Negotiated him down to $600 because of some missing and/or damaged parts; headliner, rear passenger-side quarter panel glass, busted reverse light lens, a bent rear bumper. All of which in the back of my mind I already had a line on. Weeks prior I had found a 70' Mark II in our local salvage yard. I actually took the mirror off that wagon, not knowing I'd ever find one like her to buy and drive home. Seller said he spent a year trying to find parts with no luck whatsoever. 9:45pm But the motor seemed strong, clean, and free of any leaks. I paid. He signed over the pink and let me use his restroom. His girlfriend actually invited me to have dinner with them before I left. Cool as hell. I declined. 10:00pm I was on the road all by myself. The seller was nice enough to give me a flashlight, starter fluid, and a quart of oil - just in case. Assured me there were no leaks and ran like a champ even in 105 degree weather. Check this out, he had even filled the tank prior to meeting me at the airport! Highway 5 from L.A. back to the Bay Area (350+ miles) is not the place you really want to break down. It was one helluva gamble on my part. But it was a Mark II, and there was no way I was going to let it slip thru my fingers. 4:30am My new baby and I make it home. The drive was simply amazing. Surreal. Something in my gut just trusted that little 18rc to do it's thing. It's funny because at normal street speeds it sounds like a sewing machine. But on the freeway at 70-75mph.....purrrrs like a wicked alley cat! The only incident I really had on the road was when I pulled over to fuel up. It wouldn't start back up! After ten minutes of thinking the worst, then finally settling down, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong, having already driven 175 miles out of L.A.........I finally figured out that I forgot to put her in PARK. Duh! I was so jacked up on REDBULLS that I didn't even go to bed that morning. Awake more than 24-hours! I waited for the salvage yard to open up and snatched up all the parts off that 70' Mark II - before (by **** luck) someone else pulled them. She's not a truck. But she's so much fun to drive and she is so preeeeedy! ShoNuff, you're right....four lights are just SEXY!
dude i ran into the same incident as you! i forgot to put my truck into park... lol freaked out like non other! nice ride, glad to hear you came home safe and clear
Way kewl find & story! Seems like you guys are starting a trend here - I like - Cant wait to see more of it !
love me some wagons. glad i could help. the old wagons are really a old low 4rnr, or 4rnr's are just lifted wagons. cant wait ta see what ya do with em.
Nice find. Really hardcore what you did to get that in your possesion. Now get started on that truck!!!
Nice Wagon! Found an even older one for somebody in Washington, wish I could pick it up. 1967 Toyota Crown Station Wagon - $500 http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/1007562306.html
72' Mark II Wagon - update Please note: This posting was done in the "Off Topic" section of this forum. Off Topic meaning, non-truck related discussions. As someone has already suggested these wagons are like early versions of the 4Runner. To me, what's important is that they all share the same heartbeat. Meaning, for the most part the drivetrain and suspensions are the same as their truck counterparts of the same year. But I do respect the fact that this is a "mini-truck" forum, which, again, is why I decided to use the "off topic" section to share my story. Just the other day I decided to use the new wagon to run some errands, just to keep her gaskets in good condition, and started to feel a vibration with the suspension. The previous owner had mentioned that stomping on it from a dead stop caused the worn Center Support Bearing on the two-piece driveshaft to vibrate a bit, but after that all was smooth sailing. Not once on the long drive (Los Angeles to S.F. Bay Area) home did it act up. It finally gave out. I couldn't take it past 40mph without it shaking the whole car. The 70' Mark II wagon I found at the local PNP had a bearing that was in great condition. The driveshaft had markings on it like it had been removed sometime during it's lifetime, so I suspect that at some point the bearing was replaced. Note: They are now an obsolete part. These bearings are tough to pull off the shaft considering they use a press to put them on there, so I decided to just purchase the one half of the shaft that the bearing was on. $36 ($20 without the shaft) Unfortunately when I got home I noticed the shaft had a bad U-joint! The U-joint had "Made in the USA" stamped on it, so further proof this shaft had been removed before. The U-joint on my original shaft had original Toyota markings. Ironically when the previous owner started to hear "noise" down there he assumed it was a U-joint problem and without even physically inspecting anything he purchased a new one. So, I had a new one in a box and figured I'd just throw that on the shaft from the yard. Tools I needed but did not own to perform the U-joint swap. $30 All in all, between coffee breaks, phone calls, and lightly repainting the shaft from the yard with Rustoleum Rust Converter, the whole swap took me half a day. I was kinda debating whether or not to have the shafts re-balanced, but I was getting $100+ quotes no matter where I called, so I decided to gamble and just throw it on there with the original rear shaft. Anyhow, bolted everything back up and took it for a spin around town. No problems. Smooth. When I felt comfortable enough I took her onto the freeway, gradually taking her up to 80mph and gradually bringing her back down to 65. Smooth. I can tell a difference. Power delivery from the motor to the rear wheels was a lot smoother and the suspension was quieter. Today I'll go underneath and re-check all the bolts and tighten everything up one more time.
man that was alot to read! but still worth it yes i like seein old toyotas being saved, even if its not a pickup. Keep up the good work!
LOL. Actually these are the Toyota coveralls I got for Xmas from my step-father who works at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California. I used to go through jeans and t-shirts working on the cars like there was no tomorrow. Not anymore.
