Info on 4x4 Chinook

[aussie]

I am in the process of purchasing a 1978 4X4 Chinook poptop

i have been unable to find anything out about them

my understanding is that it was a factory conversion

was it Toyota or Chinook ?

it has a "Wolverine" badge on the truck

but the info on this seems incomplete - the wolverine was a early 4runner built by a coach company, but

they don't say who ?

front axle looks like a jeep or something and is mounted on leaf springs and has free wheeling hubs

and has custom steering linkage to use the stock steering box

no PS and the steering is VERY heavy

the front wheels have a larger 5 hole stud pattern while the rear axle is the standard

toyota 5 hole pattern (there is an adapter so you only need 1 spare)

i would like to know anything about this vehicle

i think you have a great site - very good resource

thanks

[nolan]

Ryan, Aussie, Howdy, Hopefully I can answer a few questions to both of you on one post. Aussie, you must be looking at buying Larry in Idaho? Toyota never built any factory 4x4's until 1979 and the newer body style than the Chinooks were built on, neither did Chinook, they were a conversion done either by a dealer at the time or a new buyer, most of the Toyota conversions were built by Tolsdorf Industries, and called the Wolverine, several companies were doing conversions in those days prior to the factory built units that came along later, Chevy LUV being the first. The Wolverine conversion was one of the better units of the time also.

Anyrate the conversion got you a Dana 20, 2 speed transfer case, 4.11 axle ratio in the rear, 4.10 in the front, a Dana 30 front axle assembly with H78/15 tires and Selectro locking hubs, mounted on leaf springs with a stabilizer bar in the front and the stock rear axle with the mounting pads flipped in the rear.

All this added up to 2500. on top of the original vehicle cost, which at the time was a bit spendy, so you don't see a lot of them running around even in the pickup form.

Have no idea as to how many Chinooks were converted but over the years I have seen a few around, so I would consider them some what of a rarity, the Chinook poptops only numbered about 15,000 total in the 6 year production, so they could be considered a rarity also compared to normal vehicle numbers.

The old trucks were built pretty tough, typical toyota quality with no real problems to speak of other than age and abuse nowadays, parts are drying up also for these old trucks. The Chinook section being built of fiberglass held up pretty well, they did build them to sell not survive so 30 years later they have some issues but nothing major that a person with a little mechanical ability and a desire to fix one up couldn't handle, although parts for the camper section are almost non existent when you get into major componenets.

What to look for when buying??? normal used car stuff on the truck I suppose, mileage, condition, rust, problem rust areas are under the hood in the upper corners by the hood hinges, around the bottom of the front winshield, and the lower front fenders and rocker panels.

The camper has a few things to look at, rear door handle/lock assembly, very hard to find if broken, the roof lift scissors, they have ball bearing sliders that wear out, no replacements other than build new ones, where the poptop sits on the main body shell, if the rubber seal is gone, it can and does wear through from the vibration and can cause some major water leakage inside the camper.

Other things would be the normal RV buying stuff, water damage to floors, appliances, condition and operation, ect. ect.

Price on a Chinook varies, see them for a few hundred to upwards of 4 thousand, depending on condition, year, and how many people on Ebay think they want it and find out later it wasn't the deal of the century when they see it in person.

Can one be converted to 4x4 ? Yes I think so, but thats a whole nutter story, look on the front page of this web site, Greg was nice enough to showcase 2 Chinook 4x4's that I built and own, so it is possible depending on what you want to achieve. Good luck and hope this helps you in the Chinookin.