The V8 Toyota

My understanding is purely to fit in the V8. Maybe the Chev V8 is narrower then the Toyota V8.

Its only 5mm and the chassis width more than the track would define how wide an engine would fit.

Was also done on the 100 ser when went IFS. That chassis was 45 mm approx wider than the solid front end model.

I found out when I bought the wrong model towbar.

Jeff,

The arse end of the utes were left the same and the fronts widened 100mm to accommodate the V8.

Guess they will change it sometime, maybe.

Have a good one.

Gday Jeff,
Yeah, Toyota were under pressure to replace the 1HD-FTE motor by Dec 2006 because of emission requirements.

Because they had the market cornered, their solution was to do as little as possible and shoehorn the V8 into the 78/79series, which meant widening the front of the chassis and keep the rest of the vehicle unchanged. Its not uncommon to have a narrower rear track but 95mm difference is a lot.

I'm still of the opinion that the previous model HDJ78/79 is a better vehicle - a well proven reliable factory TD 6 cyl motor, and no probs with track, oil consumption, common rail injectors etc. Thats why I'm hanging on to mine, when normally I would have upgraded by now.

Hi Jeff

I am currently using a V8 Toyota Trayback from a hire company, and so far I have found it to be rubbish on the soft stuff. I was seriously contemplating buying one, but that will not be happening anymore.

Cheers

The V8 79 series is a vehicle that nearly never happened. As I recall Toyota was going to drop the 79 series 6 cylinder vehicle from the Australian market as it could not meet the Euro IV emission standards that were coming. No replacement was planned. There was a fair bit of coverage of this in the motoring press some years before the V8 was released.

Toyota Australia did some intense lobbying of Toyota and a bits and pieces concoction was done to slot the V8 into the 79 series. It works a lot better than would be expected. Not perfect but pretty good. They could have done a Nissan and slotted in some asthmatic 4 cylinder. Wonder what the gripes would be like if they had done that?

The lack of widening of the rear track is a disappointment but is not really a big deal. The low mounted alternator and vulnerability of the electronic control units to water are more important issues. The poor rear brakes are more of an issue to me than the rear track which I regard as a non problem. The poor rear brakes were also on the previous model.

The sensitivity of the fuel injection system to poor fuel and contamination is a worry. As I understand it, the injection system is a Denso system that Toyota uses as do a lot of other vehicle makers. Hopefully Denso will have more rugged and better systems in future.

Will things improve? Maybe one day a new rear axle will be fitted, maybe not. Maybe one day a new more industrial type motor will be developed and marketed but I could die of old age waiting. Maybe Euro IV will go away and we can get the old 4.2 six back? Unfortunately no. Euro V and VI are on the horizon and Euro V vehicles have been appearing in our market for a while now with even fussier and more complex systems.

If I had bought a couple of years earlier I would have gone for a six in preference to the V8. But in 2009 there was not much choice. Despite looking I did not find any good condition second hand sixes around. As each year goes by the number remaining gets fewer and fewer.

Advantages of the V8 are rarely spoken of. It is more powerful than the six. It appears to use a little less fuel. It has a wider front track and is a little less inclined to roll. You can also buy a new one.

I have one and am happy with it.

Flynnie

I had Snake Racing spacers fitted to my trayback when I had it. They certainly cured the narrow rear track but the thing that worried me the most was that, human nature being what it is, it was inevitable that the nuts holding the spacers on would never get checked because it meant taking the wheel off first.

I took them off.

Here is a small example of modified 70 series and models that are available overseas.

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And, Yes, that's the V8 inside this Shorty..... !!



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Those that drive them sing their praises, & I guess you have to, fancy paying all that cabbage & not liking the thing. I only had my first drive last week & have
to admit that donk is something else, although I felt I had to give it big throttle
to really make it come alive. The rest of the thing left me cold..pathetic drivers
seat is still there. The rear skipped all over the rough gravel road when empty,
but was better with half a ton of masonry aboard. For that $$ I want a decent seat, a safer ride & a vehicle that looks like it was designed this century. I
look forward to trying sons chopped & trayed 200 series..obviously already
available O/S...........oldbaz.