1993 LandCruiser 80 Series
1993 80 Series
LandCruiser
Engine - 4.2L 1HDT Turbo Diesel
Transmission - 4 Speed Auto
Suspension - 2inch Tough Dog Lift
Tyres - BF Goodrich KO2 AT
Equipped For - Touring
The Sunday Garage 80 has been on tour for the past few months, living it up in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. It has received some exciting modifications to gear up for the trip, that we wanted to share with the Sunday Garage community.
We hope you enjoy the happy snaps and update on the old girl.
To get to know the Sunday Garage 80 Series, it’s a 1993 1HDT Sahara. With all of the perks that would have been the bees knees back in the early 90s, including a sunroof, fridge with ice maker and a 6-stacker CD player. Nonetheless, the Sahara extra we love the most are the factory lockers, which have been used to get out of a few sticky situations.
The 80 has been the Sunday Garage car for the last 6 years and a lot of work has gone into keeping it purring on the highway, including an engine rebuild 80,000kms ago. It has been set up and modified to comfortably tour for long kilometers and in remote locations. Keeping the engine stock apart from the 3-inch exhaust.
The 80 Series greatest mod yet has been the addition of the iTechworld 120x amp lithium battery in the engine bay, which powers the 12-volt system. This is new technology that allows you to mount a deep cycle lithium battery under the hood, with 5-year Australian warranty.
This is a game changer for our classic 4WD community, as the older four-wheel drives are always tight for cab space (especially the 80, 60 and 40 Series). Having gone from a deep cycle led acid to a lithium deep cycle battery, its off-grid capabilities have completely changed for the better.
The battery is also IP67 waterproof, only weighs 10kg, is a true drop-in replacement (don’t need to change chargers or equipment), and is Australian designed and developed. The battery is also paired with an ITECHBM500 500 amp battery monitor with a shunt, which is great at showing high-precision voltage measurements.
The rest of the 12-volt system includes a BC to DC charger with an inverter. As well as a 200-watt solar blanket to keep its power topped up when there’s sun around.
The interior of the 80 Series is quite sparse, running 3 draws and a 55L fridge that manages to store the majority of the gear needed. As well as a custom built box to hold recovery gear and any other miscellaneous goods.
While it’s not a fancy interior set-up, it definitely gets the job done.
The 80 Series exterior includes a bull bar, snorkel, UHF and spot lights, which we refer to as the essentials for a touring vehicle. The amount of weight on its roof was kept as low as possible, choosing a rack, tent and awning that fit the bill.
For water storage, the 80 has a 55L bladder that fits across the passenger foot well. As well as a 20L jerry can on the rear. The rear bar also includes a fuel jerry, spare tyre, gas bottle holder, and storage bag.
The 80 Series set-up has been ideal to get us to remote 4WD-only locations and is comfortable to live out of when the weather is good. Which thankfully is most of the time in northern Australia. Nonetheless, we are always looking at ways to improve the set-up, especially when the weather is not on our side.
For the next few months, the Sunday Garage 80 Series will continue to tour around Aus, still to explore South Australia and Tasmania over the Summer of 23/24. If you see the old girl on the road, make sure you give her a wave and feel free to say g’day!
Use code SUNDAYGARAGE for 5% off at itechworld.com.au
iTechworld gifted Sunday Garage the 120x lithium battery to use for our travels.
Photos and words by Sunday Garage