Hot or not? Monster 1983 HiLux

By Dean Mellor 3 Min Read

Needs more damping? Not this Monster 1983 HiLux the Unsealed 4X4 team spotted on Carsales the other day!

Check out the suspension on this old rock-crawling beast! We counted 10 dampers on the rear-end alone, and four up front… as well as two steering dampers!

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The vendor of this ’83 Lux describes it as “sporty in design” and reckons the “monster suspension” cost in excess of $16k! With that many shockies, we don’t doubt the claim.

Hot Or Not Hilux Front

Nothing on this HiLux is what you’d describe as understated… I mean check out that sports bar, with three transverse tubes and four (yes, count ’em, four) longitudinal tubes. And there are five period rectangular halogen driving lights across the top for good measure. There’s also a couple of old-school rectangular fog lights hanging under the aluminium bull bar, and some rock lights beneath the front guards. And how about flood light attached to the rear diff?!

The tailpipe outlets in the rear bumper are a nice touch too, as are those big black wheel-arch flares over the Dick Cepek Fun Country muddies? There’s no doubt this Lux means business.

Hot Or Not Hilux Front Dampers

And it’s in seriously great condition – just look at that interior! It’s surprising to find an example this old with just 106,000km on the odo. The vinyl floor looks mint, the vinyl seats looks mint, and the old-school Lux is also running a tape deck with an aftermarket equaliser bolted under the dash and six door-mounted speakers. Dig out your old cassettes to crank the tunes in this baby… and make sure you have a pencil on hand in case the tape gets caught when you hit ‘eject’. Yep, there’s no doubt about it… this thing has 1980s written all over it.

Hot Or Not Hilux Dash

Despite the extensive suspension modifications, there’s no mention of engine mods, and the Lux runs Toyota’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated diesel donk that, when new, mustered only a modest 46kW of power and 126Nm of torque. Sure, it ain’t gonna be fast, but the old oiler has a bulletproof reputation, so you know it’ll get you there, wherever there is… eventually.

The asking price? A very reasonable $17k. Not bad when you consider the $16k suspension package!

Check out the Monster 1983 HiLux for yourself on Carsales. Here’s the link.

Hot Or Not Hilux Sports Bar


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