THE WORLD’S COOLEST STOUT
58 classictrucks.com
Peter. On his next trip to the U.S.,
Peter paid a visit to Pure Vision and
started talking with Strope about
building the Stout. The appeal of
the project for both of them was the
fact that it would be something of a
novelty and—unlike the sports cars
in Peter’s corral and the muscle cars
created at Pure Vision—the Stout
was a more achievable, real-world
build. What they didn’t anticipate
was that “achievable” would require
a lot of effort and “real world” would
mean parts collected from around the
world, including a camshaft located
in Turkey, other engine parts found
in the Philippines, and a windshield
from Vietnam. RockAuto on the
Internet was the source for other
Toyota parts.
Toyota redesigned the Stout in
1960, updating the rounded body
lines from the ’50s with angular lines
and four headlights. The second-
generation lines were what originally
appealed to Peter, so they were left
stock—but perfected by Mick Jenkins
of Mick’s Paint in Pomona, California.
On the bed, hooks were shaved from
the exterior sides and new tailgate
cables and brackets were fabricated.
The profile was improved by
extending the bedsides 2 inches at the
bottom to align with the cab. Toyota
painted this Stout light green when
it was new. Jenkins sprayed a close
color, Aston Martin Apple Green, to
add some British sports car flavor to
Peter’s Australian-Japanese classic
truck.
A radically slammed profile
wouldn’t fit the character of the
truck, but a slight rake does, so Pure
Vision left the suspension in its ’62
configuration. The ride is smoothed
by a pair of front shocks from NAPA
Auto Parts. The stock front springs
were cut for the right ride height.
Eaton Detroit Spring provided custom
rear springs with modified perches
and hangers. The mild modifications
plus the Stout’s slightly sloping lines
add that just-right aggression to the
profile.
Strope said that the wheels
were selected for their nondescript
style. That may not be the typical
way to choose a set of rims, but he
explained that the painted 17-inch
Wheel Vintiques Smoothies with
chrome center caps provide the
perfect reserved and timeless look,
even when wrapped in ultrahigh-
performance Pirelli P Zero radials.
The rear brakes are the factory drums.
The front brakes were converted to
discs; Strope took one of the Toyota
spindles to Wilwood to create a hub
for the application, and fabricated
caliper mounting brackets.
Pure Vision teamed up with
Gabe’s Custom Interiors to create
a cab that looks sporty but reflects
the Stout’s work-vehicle origins.
Buckskin leather upholstery with a
slight orange tint is a good-looking
contrast to the paint, and was used
on the seats, door panels, and floating
headliner. Seating was improved
by removing some springs from the
factory bench, trimming it a little
thinner, and repositioning it lowerand slightly back. The stock steering
wheel and column are retained and
restored—and kept on the right, the
way they do it in Australia. The
Stout gauges, rebuilt by Redline
Gauge Works, feature inverted colors
on the panel—black lettering on
cream instead of the original white
on black. The white plastic wiper,
parking light, and headlight push
buttons on the right were restored.
The underdash tray was modified and
hides the Vintage Air A/C system. The
Vintage Air control knobs in these
photos have recently been replaced
with chrome knobs from a Fender
Telecaster guitar. Gabe’s laid black
German weave carpeting on either
side of the trans tunnel to allow easy
service to the transmission.