Toyota BX
File:1951 Toyota Model BX Truck 01.jpg]]
The Toyota BX is a 4,000 kg truck built by Toyota from 1951.{{cite web | url = http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/1950-1959.html | title = History of Toyota: 1950-1959 | publisher = Toyota Motor Co }} It is {{convert|6.6|m|ft|0}} long, and has a close resemblance to Ford's 1948 trucks. The engines owed much to Chevrolet's inline-sixes of the period. The BX replaced the BM truck, which was introduced in 1947.{{cite web | url = http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/1940-1949.html | title = History of Toyota: 1940-1949 | publisher = Toyota Motor Co }} Compared to the BM, the BX was considerably easier to build and the cabin could seat three rather than two.
History
The BX prototype entered production in June 1951 after the prototype had undergone extensive testing in 1950.{{cite journal | editor-first = Jonathan | editor-last = Barr | title = Working Classics: 1951 Toyota BX Truck | journal = The Japanese Restorer in Australia |date=July–September 2003 | issue = 4 | location = Bald Hills, Queensland, Australia | page = 23}} The truck had been meant for introduction in August 1950, but a two-month strike beginning in April 1950 combined with Toyota's production commitments for the Korean War efforts meant a sizable delay.{{cite web | url = http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/taking_on_the_automotive_business/chapter2/section8/item2_a.html | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171216211915/http://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/text/taking_on_the_automotive_business/chapter2/section8/item2_a.html | archivedate = 2017-12-16 | title = Section 8. Debut of the Toyopet Crown, a Full-Fledged Passenger Car: Item 2. Development of Large Trucks, Four-wheel-drive Vehicles, and Diesel Engines (a) | publisher = Toyota Motor Corporation | work = 75-Year History }} The BX was built at the Toyota Honsha plant.
=Mechanicals=
The BX originally used the 3,386 cc Type B 6-cylinder engine that was first introduced in the 1938 Toyota GB truck. It produced {{Convert|82|PS|kW|0|abbr=on}} at 3,000 rpm. Top speed was {{convert|72|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}. In September 1951, this was joined by the bigger 3.9 litre F-engined FX, which offered {{convert|95|PS|kW|0|abbr=on}} at the same engine speed. At the same time, the 2.5-ton BZ and FZ models on a shorter wheelbase were also added. In June 1953, output of the Type B engine increased to {{convert|85|PS|kW|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web | url = https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/car/id70000008/index.html | archivedate = 2016-07-05 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20160705104931/https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/car/id70000008/index.html | title = Toyota Model BX Truck: Description | work = Vehicle Lineage | publisher = Toyota Motor Corporation }}
The BX/FX did see some exports, mainly to countries without their own car industries. A left-hand-drive model had been planned from the beginning, and the range was marketed in Taiwan, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
The BX and FX were re-designed in February 1954, becoming the BA and FA models. On the outside, changes were largely limited to a new grille, but the Type F engine was also upgraded and now produced {{convert|105|PS|kW|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite web | url = https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/car/id70000014/index.html | archivedate = 2017-11-16 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20171116021805/https://www.toyota-global.com/company/history_of_toyota/75years/vehicle_lineage/car/id70000014/index.html | title = Toyota Model BA Truck: Description | work = Vehicle Lineage | publisher = Toyota Motor Corporation }} Through a series of upgrades these trucks were kept in production until 1964, although the BA was discontinued in 1956. The FA (and diesel-engined DA) names were kept on a new generation of trucks that were kept in production in Japan until 1978 and elsewhere in the world into the 2000s.
