With so many different models out there, it can be hard to remember what cars were available with a manual transmission. Some are obvious, like the original Toyota RAV4, while others like the second-generation Kia Sorento often go undetected in regular traffic. Here’s another obscure one: For seven model years, Toyota put a manual transmission in its Tundra half-ton pickup truck, and one recently came up for auction on Bring A Trailer.
From the launch of the Tundra for the 2000 model year through 2004, the base model borrowed the first-generation Tacoma’s 3.4-liter 5VZ-FE V6. Cranking out an adequate 190 horsepower and 220 lb.-ft. of torque, it came standard with a five-speed manual transmission, and was the absolute entry point into the Tundra range. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was also a powertrain carried over from the T100, Toyota’s weird half-step into the full-size pickup truck market. When an automaker has a reputation for being evolutionary and generally conservative with technology, this is the sort of product planning play that makes sense.
For 2005, Toyota upped the ante with a new standard V6. Shared with the second-generation Tacoma, the four-liter 1GR-FE is known for cranking out 236 horsepower and 266 lb.-ft. of torque until the vehicle it’s in simply returns to the elements. Mated to a six-speed manual transmission and offered exclusively with two-wheel-drive in the Tundra, this is one combination I’d put my money on for longevity, and it’s exactly what’s under the hood of the Tundra you see here.
With an entirely reasonable 74,000 miles on the clock, this 2006 Tundra looks remarkably nice considering its residence in New Jersey. Sure, there’s a bit of surface corrosion going on underneath, but the rocker panels and cab corners look straight, and the frame looks remarkably good for a nearly 20-year-old Toyota truck that’s spent its life in the northeast.
Although this might be the definition of a fleet-spec truck with hubcaps, crank windows, and the conspicuous absence of a tachometer, both the paint and the interior look to be in remarkably good shape. The driver’s side seat bolster still looks fresh, the urethane steering wheel still looks gnaw-worthy, the pedal pads aren’t worn smooth, and even the composite headlights don’t look terribly oxidized. It doesn’t look like you’d need any more than spit and polish to make this rare stick-shift Tundra really shine, and that condition combined with the Toyota truck tax makes a hammer price of $16,000 seem high but not exorbitantly so given the market.
While the limitation of V6 power may sound like a kneecapping, there’s another way to look at it. Sure, we’re essentially talking about the same powertrains you could get in equivalent Tacomas, but you couldn’t get a Tacoma with an eight-foot bed. If you’re looking for the simplicity of a manual transmission in a Toyota truck with the mission of maximum plywood haulage, the stick-shift Tundra is the one to have. A rated payload capacity of 1,565 pounds is nothing to sneeze at either, although a towing capacity of 5,000 pounds has since been eclipsed by newer trucks.
So there we are, a reminder that the stick-shift Toyota Tundra was a thing that existed. You might be more likely to see a bear wearing a party hat in the wild than one of these oddly equipped half-tons, but that doesn’t mean interesting beasts aren’t out there.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)
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An ex-wife and I bought a used Tundra of that era, but it had the 4.7L “I-Force” V8 and an automatic. Before her and all that, I had a pre-Tacoma V6 Toyota with a stick, and it was the most disappointing vehicular experience of my life.
The Tundra was very nice and when it had some stuff in the bed, rode like a Buick. It easily outlived our marriage and is probably still on the road today, somewhere.
Personally I’m enjoying the implication of “an ex-wife”
“Wives? I’ve had a few”
Family member had a 4.0 stick shift Tundra. Was a great work truck till a distracted driver crossed the double yellow and took out the truck. Luckily no serious injuries to the family member.
I’ve got a base model 2002 extended cad 4wd with the3.4 V6 and a 5 speed manual transmission.
New frame in 2012, 155,000 miles.
I might be an old fart, but I think it’s the best pickup ever made.
I had a coworker a few years ago with one of these. It was a completely rusted out Shitbox. Wasn’t much left of the frame. The gas tank was held in by ratchet straps. He kept his bicycle in the bed and periodically had to ride it home.
I knew, back when I fixed stuff for money, I did a clutch for a guy in a super base model with the 3.4, but it was 4wd. Extended cab, regular box. Was pretty sweet. Was really easy to work on, as the engine and trans seemed pretty small in the mostly full size truck, loads of room to work.
When I had a need for hauling loads of plywood for making cabinets, I went searching for and found a regular small Toyota with an 8 foot bed. Worked great.
Yes I did, because a friend of mine has TWO of them for his contracting business.
He’d never pay that much for one though. And his are seriously beat.
So you could actually get the previous V6 you mentioned in a Tundra, with a manual WITH 4×4.
Which means that you could actually get a TRD supercharged, manual, 4×4, Tundra.
No, I don’t think you could get the stick shift and 4×4 at the same time in the Tundra. Though I’ve heard of at least one that did a manual swap with Tacoma transmission and transfer case (where you could get a 4×4 stick shift at the time) and (I believe) Tundra front drive parts.
A 4×4/MT combo does show on the EPA site and in brochures, on Access Cabs only, for most of the run of the 3.4. But – it seems like after they switched to the 4.0 in 2005, any 4×4/V6 combo disappeared altogether. Could still get a V6/MT, just RWD only.
That makes sense. I could be recollecting 4.0L specifics. I never looked seriously at pre-2005 Tundras.
I have nothing to say about the truck, my attention was on the photo shoot location.
I recognized the logo for Paris Baguette on the background building but it didn’t look like a bakery/restaurant. It looks more like a decades-old office building. Since this truck was in New Jersey I searched for Paris Baguette locations in the state and found a corporate office at 137 W Commercial Ave, Moonachie, NJ.
So this was a Japanese truck for sale in New Jersey, USA photographed in front of an office building for a South Korean restaurant chain specializing in French (inspired) cuisine. Cool.
Anyway, we now resume regularly scheduled programming…
I am so glad I’m not the only person who researched the photo location. Us Autopians are a strange lot.
Same! I’m not sure i could even explain what compelled me to do it.
We are attentive! Many Shitbox Showdown posts include comments about something interesting in the background of listing pictures. Pictures of Autopian staff activities out and about also frequently have comments regarding something other than the primary topic.
We don’t just see the picture… we see the WHOLE picture.
On a related note I didn’t know Nissan made a regular cab second generation Titan until I saw one on the street
A few months ago there was one for sale on AutoTrader from a dealer in South Carolina. Regular Cab,2WD,gasoline V8 .
I think it only had 24K miles on it. Blue exterior with grey interior.
Not surprisingly,it was sold in a matter of weeks.
Wasn’t this the generation of full frame Toyota’s that the frame rusted from the inside out? Which ended with a what billon dollar lawsuit?
That was mostly over by 2006; I don’t think that year qualified for the recall. My 2000 Tundra got a brand new frame in 2019 under that recall, though.
It’s about 2x what I’d be willing to pay for it.
I think it’d be boring to drive, too. I had a Frontier with a V6 and the 5-speed manual, and it was fine, I guess. Better than an automatic, but it wasn’t exactly engaging.
5,000 pounds might be eclipsed by newer trucks, but not all trucks. I remember building Ram 1500 Classics on Ram’s website and the tow rating was like 4,500 pounds with the 3.6 & 3.21 rear gear.
5,000 pounds with that 4 liter and 6 speed doesn’t sound concerning. It’d be great as a spare pick-up. $16,000 though is definitely Toyota-taxed. I could see for like 6 grand less, it’d be a great deal.
The Ram Classic isn’t really much newer than this 2006 truck, since it went on sale in 2009.
Maybe not the chassis, but the 3.6 is more powerful, and it has the 8 speed. That should account for a bit more, I think.
If only it had the silky 4.7L DOHC V-8 like my 2003.
Not feeling $16,000 of value here, unless you really like Toyota manual transmission, single-cab, rear-drive trucks.
Truck manual transmissions are generally pretty industrial in operation, so aside the novelty factor, not much joy to be had versus an automatic.
It’s probably pricier than an equivalent automatic V6/small V8 Detroit option if you want a single-cab light-duty hauler, with the bonus of having more issues finding parts due to relative rarity. Sixteen thousand dollars gets one a more capable Detroit rig if you want more capability or passenger capacity.
The engine may run until the end of time, but the salt bath has started chewing it up underneath.
Too rough to preserve as a unicorn, too expensive (IMO) for the light-duty jobs it will end up tasked with, too light-duty for the money relative to other options.
I mean, someone bought it, so I guess there’s a happy purchaser. It has to be a small niche though.
I’ve been pricing trucks for a few months now.
For $16k, you can easily find a 2015-2018 F150 single cab with the V8 and never have to worry about steel body panels rusting out. Ford V6 options are just as capable and often even cheaper. And any of those will be much more capable, much safer, cheaper and easier to fix, have modern convenience features, and nearly as reliable.
Shop carefully and you can find a crew cab at that price, if that’s your jam.
This Toyota is carrying a huge markup for its uniqueness. I love a chonky manual in a truck, but maybe I’ll get my fix from a farm tractor rather than pay silly money for a truck that’s so close to qualifying for antique vehicle plates.
It is amazing how much of a 10th gen F-150 knock off that first gen Tundra is, outside and inside.
It’s likely not just me, but I feel like the only one who doesn’t get wanting a manual utility-type vehicle. An offroader, sure, but I can’t imagine wanting a stick pickup for any reason other than it being significantly cheaper in some way
Maybe if the A/T was a known failure point, but I don’t think that is the case with Toyota trucks.
Honestly manuals are generally not good for off-roading either. Off roading with a manual is basically just constant clutch slipping and the occasional stall. The only time manuals have a slight advantage is you have an obscenely low crawl ratio, like >200:1. Because with that much reduction, the brakes can have trouble holding an automatic transmission back.
I borrowed a ~1990 Ranger once, with the V6 and a manual. It had a Hurst short-throw shifter, and was lowered on nice summer tires. It was a deep sky-blue metallic with clear turn signal lenses, and looked the absolute business.
It was honestly a blast- it felt like driving a big go cart, and the manual really let you wring out the motor as you pleased. Those trucks didn’t make a ton of power, but they were light- That truck seemed to scoot along quite promptly.
TLdR: It makes sense if the truck is a toy. I wouldn’t spend real money on a manual pickup at this point in time.
Nice, but not desirable enough for that coin.
Now there’s an honest work truck.
WANT.
..but not for $16k
That center seat cushion cutout for the manual is actually pretty funny. Why even bother, just have bucket seats.
As for the truck, 2wd and V6 only is a killer. No wonder these never sold.
I see plenty of RWD V6 Tundras still being used as work trucks in Southern California, but the standard cab is admittedly a rare sight.
Places with no winter might be an exception, but even there I’ve heard that the resale advantage of 4wd makes it worthwhile to order.
Up here 99% of pickups are 4×4.. It’s just the only way. Even the penny-pinching phone companies are switching over to AWD Ford Transits- The peace of mind not having your employees get stuck on wet grass is probably worth the price of admission.
Our business’ current jobsite is accessed by a long, steep road. We had to pass over a subcontractor recently because they didn’t own a 4×4 vehicle.
I always chuckle at these articles idealizing the regular cab/stick shift/2wd/long box as the ultimate in righteous workaday practicality. Nobody spending new truck money in 2024 wants that, unless it’s a toy.
I don’t get it either unless everyone pining for the regular cab is a bitter old man who lives alone (quite possible, actually).
The crew cab 4×4 pickup is the best all around family vehicle invented, and I say this as a minivan owner.
You have to remember that back when that Tundra was built it was common to see regular cab pickup trucks used in utilitarian work,and most of them were 2WD which helped keep the price more affordable.
Nowadays just about every truck on the market is a 4×4 crew cab with a short bed,which not only takes away part of the capacity and carrying capability of the truck,but also the prices of said trucks are through the roof. Ford and GM are only full-size truck manufacturers that still offer a regular cab pickup option but you’ll be paying north of $38K to start.
Is the article title also the name of the next Lana Del Rey album?
Yes I did know. But what I just recently learned, and this article confirms, is that the manual trans Tundras had a hand brake instead of a foot activated parking brake. The space where the handbrake goes is the perfect spot to install a trailer brake controller, which is what I did in my Sequoia which shares the same dashboard.
I am the definition of mouth-frothing manual Toyota truck nut. And you’d have to be mental to spend $16000 on that
It’s generally rare for me to pick a domestic over an import, but this case would be an exception. I’d take a GMT800 with the 4.3 Vortec over this Tundra.
A late 11th gen F150 reg cab with the 4.2 V6 and stick shift would be my jam. Those rear half (or quarter?) doors were particularly handy and the overall proportions seemed just right.
Those are pretty simple to work on too.