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Tell me about the Toyota T100

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#21 ·
Air and water do mix said:
Yeah, it should be perfect for his needs. Well, he could use 4WD so it’d get around on his property, but otherwise it’s indeed perfect.

I want to pull the bedliner, lubricate everything that moves, and make sure he changes that timing belt. He needs to get his beater Civic back on the road first, but after that it’s timing belt time!
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Be sure to buy an Aisin timing belt and water pump kit. If it has an automatic transmission, replace the radiator as well or add an external transmission cooler. These are known to develop "pink milkshake" and a radiator is cheap insurance compared to the cost of a ruined transmission.
 
#22 ·
I didnt know the 3.4 was non interference. Thats cool. Thats was attracted me to the mk1 platform initially. A friend told me to start with a mk1 if I wanted a car to turn wrenches on. He said worst case it wont run or will run like crap. Keep wrenching and get it right. I know that is a bit of fast and loose philosophy, but it gave me some confidence to try it knowing i wouldn’t grenade the car tinkering
 
#23 ·
3.4 is a great motor. Sister is still driving dad's old 2001 Tundra (ironically he had a T100 before that). The Tundra has around 600,000 miles on it now, it's on its second clutch. Otherwise it's had a few oil leaks fixed, spark plugs, batteries, and the truck has needed some suspension refreshing and bushings. Normal things, anyways, point being the 3.4L will go for a very long time. It also asks for conventional oil so the fact it holds up like it does is fantastic.
 
#24 ·
They're all 6 bolt IIRC... maybe the 4 bangers were 5. I had one for a couple months. The front end is Toyota "Pickup" (pre-Tacoma) with stretched lower control arms, longer CVs. I think early long travel kits for those IFS trucks used T100 arms. Mine was V6 4WD auto.. it got 22-23 MPG highway easily. Probably the same around town. I LOVED it. I drove it home 2 hours and about 100 miles in NYC traffic with half of the frame falling off and it still tracked straight at 70 mph. To that note... RUST. These things rust like flies are attracted to ****. I patched the frame and used it for a few months... bombed around the snow and the beach in it, and moved out of my apartment to my house with it. Sold it for $200 more than I bought it for. As someone said the 3.4 is non interference so it won't break if you neglect the timing belt. The A340 auto trans is bulletproof as is the 3.4. The whole driveline is just solid. I should have used it as a drivetrain donor for my Discovery which puked it's head gasket right before I bought the T100.

Image
 
#27 ·
^ "When it was introduced, the T100 had one cab configuration, a regular cab, and one available engine, a 3.0 L V6 with 150 hp (112 kW) and 180 lb⋅ft (244 N⋅m) of torque. In 1993, a 2.7 L inline-four engine with 150 hp (112 kW) - same as for the 3.0 V6 - and 177 lb⋅ft (240 N⋅m) of torque was added in the hopes new buyers would be drawn in with promises of greater fuel economy and a lower price than on the initial offerings."

The later 3.4 is great but the 3.0 isn't anything to write home about. Lots of Toyota people prefer the simpler "truck" 22R/3RZ/2TR engines to the V6s for the easier servicing/longevity/etc. I
It's kind of like how a bunch of Ford folks preferred the 300-6 to the other engines.

The dimensions of these are very similar to my access cab which is an easy size to live with.

Image
 
#28 · (Edited)
We live in the mountains so I decided I needed a pickup for carrying things and dealing with heavy snow. I'm a 50 year VW owner and driver, but VW doesn't make pickups so I bought a 1997 T100 back in 2019. They are the last of the Japanese pickups sold in America and maybe the best ever made. The are nicer than Toyota pickups because they are mid-size. A guy on YouTube (Ratchets and Wrenches) once said that when the world is destroyed the only thing that will be left are Toyota 3.4 liter engines. Their main flaw is since they are only 6 cylinders they only have a 3500 lb towing capacity, but that gives them acceptable mpg (I get 20). Here is mine:
Image


Last year I was looking at craigslist and someone was selling a T100 that had been T-boned and destroyed. They were selling it as a parts vehicle, but it still looked good except for that damage. I saved a photo of its odometer.
Image
 
#29 ·
adrew said:
^ "When it was introduced, the T100 had one cab configuration, a regular cab, and one available engine, a 3.0 L V6 with 150 hp (112 kW) and 180 lb⋅ft (244 N⋅m) of torque. In 1993, a 2.7 L inline-four engine with 150 hp (112 kW) - same as for the 3.0 V6 - and 177 lb⋅ft (240 N⋅m) of torque was added in the hopes new buyers would be drawn in with promises of greater fuel economy and a lower price than on the initial offerings."

The later 3.4 is great but the 3.0 isn't anything to write home about. Lots of Toyota people prefer the simpler "truck" 22R/3RZ/2TR engines to the V6s for the easier servicing/longevity/etc. I
It's kind of like how a bunch of Ford folks preferred the 300-6 to the other engines.

The dimensions of these are very similar to my access cab which is an easy size to live with.

View attachment 452217
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It's amazing how much better Toyota trucks look when lifted to the proper height.
 
#30 ·
Air and water do mix said:
How do you know if it’s a 1-ton model? His has 6 bolt wheels, is that a tell?
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Let me teach you about truck naming. F-150 means it is 1.5 tons, F-250 means 2.5 tons, and T100 means 1 ton. The number in the name is the carrying capacity. It does have 6 bolts but that doesn't matter. Toyota used the same wheels on virtually every one of their trucks and 4Runners until they changed the newer Tundras and Land Cruisers to 5 bolts.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Since VW vortex readers love modifications, these are the mods I made to my T100. I got a topper off a wrecked T100 (see above comment for photo) at a local junkyard for $100. I got a dozen stock wheels in multiple purchases off craigslist for around $500. Why a dozen? Because the last set I bought I was really buying the studded snow tires and they came with the wheels ($180). I replaced the driver's seat with a Recaro I had because the driver's seat had sagged ($120 for the bracket). I installed a Bluetooth hands-free stereo ($99).

T100s have a low operational cost. Registration is $75/year and I get liability only insurance for $25/month because the insurance company considers it worthless so wouldn't pay me anything if it got wrecked. I bought six OEM spark plugs at the Toyota dealership parts counter and it was $12!
 
Discussion starter · #33 · (Edited)
lschw1 said:
Let me teach you about truck naming. F-150 means it is 1.5 tons, F-250 means 2.5 tons, and T100 means 1 ton. The number in the name is the carrying capacity. It does have 6 bolts but that doesn't matter. Toyota used the same wheels on virtually every one of their trucks and 4Runners until they changed the newer Tundras and Land Cruisers to 5 bolts.
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They’re called that, yes. There seems to be no nomenclature change between the regular version and the 1 ton. Toyota also semi-famously had a 1 ton model of their pickup back in the ‘80s. If memory serves it had 6 bolt wheels and the standard model 5, hence the question. 🍺
 
#34 · (Edited)
Iroczgirl said:
They're great trucks, but at the time were not competitive with the domestics.
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Toyota intentionally made them that way imo.
Anti-Japanese import vehicles was still a thing in the late 80s/early 90s.
You would see some silly event where people would destroy some (low value) import.. I guess like a totem?
IDK.. it was an odd time.
The fullsize truck market was the last owned segment of the US Domestic car market, and Toyota was treading lightly on purpose.
-
I actually looked at a new T-100... but they were typical Toyota of the time.
Well made but base model had NOTHING.. everything was an extra cost option.
Domestic 6 cylinder fullsize trucks were cheaper in base form than the base 4 banger T-100.
They were not really a good value imo.
I think the lack of sales when new and Toyota name on a truck gives them value now.
They are a rare Toyota truck... but that's about it.
The slightly bigger interior is much nicer than the old Hilux trucks.
But the Dodge Dakota did exist.
 
#36 · (Edited)

John Davis mentions the 2nd gen T-100 being made in the USA.
That means the T-100 was made too expensive by the Chicken Tax... which does explain it.
 
#37 · (Edited)
adrew said:
^Reg cab, (actual) long bed, 4-cyl, 5-speed, 2wd, no A/C, no rear bumper, no tach, vinyl bench, crank windows

Click to expand...
Image


What an amazing pickup truck. Simple, reliable, durable & affordable. Made during different times where manufacturers cared about quality.

What a shame that simple cars & trucks are a thing of the past.

I just wonder if we are going to talk about 2024 vehicles in year 2054. Prob not.
 
#38 ·
BRealistic said:
Toyota intentionally made them that way imo.
Anti-Japanese import vehicles was still a thing in the late 80s/early 90s.
You would see some silly event where people would destroy some (low value) import.. I guess like a totem?
IDK.. it was an odd time.
The fullsize truck market was the last owned segment of the US Domestic car market, and Toyota was treading lightly on purpose.
-
I actually looked at a new T-100... but they were typical Toyota of the time.
Well made but base model had NOTHING.. everything was an extra cost option.
Domestic 6 cylinder fullsize trucks were cheaper in base form than the base 4 banger T-100.
They were not really a good value imo.
I think the lack of sales when new and Toyota name on a truck gives them value now.
They are a rare Toyota truck... but that's about it.
The slightly bigger interior is much nicer than the old Hilux trucks.
But the Dodge Dakota did exist.
Click to expand...
I agree. Toyota did not try to compete in the fullsize truck segment until they developed the Tundra.
 
#39 ·
Toyota North America saw these as a marketing disaster. The engineers in Japan did their calculations and said, “all the necessary power can be produced by a V6 engine.” They didn’t think a V8 was necessary. The US folks knew a V8 was necessary to compete with the domestics in the large truck game. When they replaced it with the Tundra, the NA team got their wish and a V8 was offered, complete with lots of badges all over the truck proclaiming as much.
 
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