1994 Toyota 80 Series Landcruiser
1994 Toyota 80 Series
Engine - 1HDT 4.2L Turbo Diesel
Transmission - 4 Speed Billet Auto Wholesale Auto
Suspension - 2.5 Inch Superior Engineering
Tyres - 315/75r16 Maxxis Razr
Equipped For - Touring & Four Wheel Driving
Hey Alex, thanks for sharing your 80 Series with us. What’s the background story of you getting your hands on this 80?
So I had a 70 Series Prado I had imported from Japan that I was using as my daily and for getting away on weekends. However, when it was fully loaded up it was struggling with the 4cylinder diesel and it was lacking on the tougher tracks we were doing to get to our remote camp spots. I decided I was going to upgrade to an 80 and intended to import one from Japan originally. This 80 popped up in QLD and it had an extensive list of really good quality mods that I was going to need to add to an import so I bit the bullet and bought this.
There's been some extensive work done on this car since it rolled off the factory floor. Can you explain what work has been done?
The car came with a lot of the mods already on it, some were requirements for me and some were nice to haves. The main mods are as follows: full rebuild including bigger turbo, bigger fuel pump, front mount intercooler, stainless airbox and snorkel which all runs through a 3” exhaust. On a safe tune it makes around 200hp and 700nm of torque. That runs through a wholesale automatics billet auto with a comp shift keeping the shifts within peak power.
It has a 2.5” Superior Engineering lift with all the arms underneath upgraded, diffs braced, remote res shocks and an Eaton E-locker up back. I have a set of Black Widow drawers up back with a fridge drop slide and a basic 12v via Anderson plug in the wing. I swapped a late model dash in and painted it all black and put ford pro seats up front to modernize the feel inside. The steering wheel is a personal “homologated” and I have a JRP gauge that shows all of my important temps on one screen. Finally, it has a Rhino platform rack, PSR front bar with a winch, custom sliders and rear bar made by “MHM” in QLD. I painted the car myself in a custom tinted “Porsche slate grey” I chose a non-metallic as it makes it a lot easier to paint panels should it get scratched off road.
You’ve got a very noticeable JDM vibe going on, can you tell us about that?
I have always had an obsession with my JDM cars, I have a small community (JDMPIRE) where I bring in hard to find car parts from Japan as well as create and sell JDM inspired apparel and stickers. I love how strong the JDM community is in Australia so am always looking for ways to keep that going! I originally intended to import an 80 series from Japan but as I found a great deal here in Aus I wanted to pay homage to the Japanese roots of the car and give it that JDM style look. I think it’s created a unique looking vehicle that stands out without being over the top.
Do you have any future plans for the 80?
My plans are mostly to enjoy it now. I have put countless hours and dollars into this car making it something I can be proud of that I look back at smile at every time I get out of it. I will be putting a better 12 volt system in it for some longer trips and eventually a front locker but my main goal is to get out on the tracks and use it
Car Owner - Alex