1986 YN67 Toyota Hilux
1986 YN67 Toyota Hilux
Engine - 3.8L V6 Buick
Transmission - GM 4 speed Automatic
Suspension - 2” liftleaf springs heavy-duty shocks
Equipped For - Fulltime Tourer
I originally purchased the old Hilux back in 2012. Like most Hilux of this vintage, it was full of rust from beach runs, there was close to 400,000kms on the clock, and it had been neglected in a paddock. With extremely limited funds, work began to get it ready for registration. After some hasty rust repairs, a closed-door re-spray in its original dark blue, head gasket repair and general service of the 4Y-C 2.2L petrol, the ute was back on the road.
Fast forward to 2017, age was finally starting to catch up to the original 4Y motor, gearbox, and suspension, and some of the rust repairs had relapsed. Once again, the ute was taken off the road, this time to the farm to see out its days building fences and hauling ridiculously large loads (akin to the mindset of bringing the groceries inside from the car - “if it can’t be done in one trip, it can’t be done”).
Miraculously, the ute survived its stint on the farm, and in late 2018 I pulled it back into the shed and began the daunting task of a ground-up rebuild. After close to 4 years’ worth of weekends and late nights after work, the old Hilux became what you see today. Aesthetically I have tried to keep it as original as possible, and the chassis/suspension setup has been kept OEM to maintain what has given these cars ‘unbreakable’ status.
Nonetheless, with the intention to undertake extended trips around Australia in the back of my mind, some upgrades have been completed to make the car just a little more comfortable.
The difficult decision was made to convert the motor and gearbox from original over to a commodore V6 and automatic. This is a very common conversion in Australia, with a lot of people undertaking the conversion from near new due to the underperformance of the N/A diesel variants on-road. In my case, the three main reasons for the conversion were as follows:
1) Cost to repair & parts availability - Old Toyotas have seen a drastic increase in price with even extremely worn-out motors/spares becoming harder to find and very expensive. The original 4Y motor was tired and in need of a costly rebuild. Commodore motors are worth a carton of beer at best (the entire donor car, a 1993 VR with 150,000km on the clock was around $300) and there are several in every town across the country. Not to mention parts stores still hold stock on the shelf for commodores and falcons. It should also be noted that this was still very much a ‘budget build’ and other engine conversion options (1KZ, 1KD, 1UZ, LS1, to name a few) were out of budget at this time.
2) Reliability and comfort – Buick v6s have been mistreated ever since they were transported to Australia for use in commodores - although very few of these motors ever got the luxury if you keep them under 3500rpm and they will last forever. They also provide the ability to run power steering and air-conditioning without having to salvage extremely rare parts from the flash Hilux’s of the era. In this ute, I’m using the commodore power steering pump and aircon compression mated to an LN106 power steering box and Vintage air aftermarket aircon system, respectively.
3) EFI …. No more points or a carby. Fuel economy with the slide-on camper and towing a boat sits at 16L/100km on 91 octane which would be comparable to the original 4Y-C under that much load.
Once completed, the ute was driven daily for a couple of years until we decided in early 2023 to take it around Australia. So began the process of designing and building a custom canopy/camper to suit both the car and our needs. The canopy took around 5 months to complete including finishing off a few jobs on the ute which were needed after a 2-year shakedown. Everything was done in the shed at home except the canvas work for the pop-top.
Which brings us to today - we are currently 5 months into our lap of Australia, and have driven nearly 10,000km down the east coast, around country Victoria and zigzagging through Tasmania, after leaving home on the Sunshine Coast. Recently, as we drove through the picturesque mountain roads and dirt tracks of Tasmania, I found it incredible to reflect how a car, once abandoned in a paddock with rust and inhabited by rats, bound for the scrapyard, can, with some elbow grease and a relatively modest budget, take you anywhere.
Photos & Words Wildest Stretch