This article is part of #Future, a new UPROXX section that covers where the world is headed and how things have changed since 1989. Powered by Toyota.
In the original Back to the Future, a custom Toyota SR5 4X4 was Marty’s dream car. From the first –“check out that 4X4!“– moment he saw it.
Marty longed for the truck — but it existed only in his fantasy world. That is, until he reached the end of his time-traveling adventure and found that same 4X4 parked in his garage.
Marty wasn’t the only one who was smitten. Earlier, we profiled Toyota’s James George and Craig Taguchi’s quest to recreate the iconic 1985 Toyota SR5 4X4 from Back to the Future with the help of vehicle modification specialist Scott Kanemura, but now let’s take a closer look at the painstaking detail and loving care they put into the project.
Light Bar
Craig: You pull the pins and the whole light bar folds down and it becomes a functional ladder or surfboard rack. We took advantage of the stock Tacoma bedrails to make it a little bit more modern. This light bar now slides back. So if you had a kayak or a canoe, you could slide [the light bar] back and throw the kayak on top of the truck.
Tail Gate Logo/Tail Lights
Craig: One of the cool features of the new 2016 Tacoma is that we took the Tacoma logo and we actually pressed it into the sheet metal [of the tailgate]…We love that as a design, but to make this unique to the Back to the Future truck, we had to shave that [logo] section off and fill it in. And then we went back with the old school, throwback Toyota block letters…On the tail lights, we kept the existing shape [of the lights on the Toyota Tacoma] but we custom colored them to look like the 80s amber, white, and red coloring. If you look back at the [1985 SR5] that’s how it was on those vehicles.
KC Lights
Craig: We tried to take the truck and put a modern spin on a classic. Although we went with KC who has been making lights since [the original SR5 4X4], we talked to them and we got their latest lights. So behind these [light covers] instead of old halogens, there are state-of-the-art LEDs.
The Placard
Craig: This badge right here, if you look at the photos, this used to say Toyota 4WD EFI, which is electronic fuel injection. The 2016 features a unique injection system to Toyota called D-4S that basically allows us to have two fuel injectors per cylinder. This is a nod to modern technology, but the placard itself is very iconic to the 80s. Because it used to be electronic fuel injection which was the latest thing back then. Now the latest thing is D-4S. [With D-4S you get] more power and better fuel economy. It’s all about efficiency.
Wheels/Suspension
Craig: We tried to put as much TRD parts as possible into the truck, which is [Toyota’s] high performance accessory division. So we went with their TRD beadlock style wheel, BFG tires, and the suspension we’re running on this is a new Fox suspension.
The Finished Product
In the end, Craig and James didn’t make a replica of their childhood dream truck, they made something better. Because this modified Toyota Tacoma is a safer, more powerful and environmentally friendly vehicle than the 1985 SR5 4X4. But James and Craig never set out to make an exact copy of the 4X4 from Back to the Future; they just wanted to recreate the feeling of excitement they had when they first saw that iconic truck in the theater.
Nailed it.
