Nathan Thomas’s Hilux is as comfortable on the street as it is offroad.

She’ll be right, mate,” says Nathan Thomas. It’s a phrase he uses often. But it’s not right; there’s no way this vehicle should be doing what it’s doing. We’re sitting in Nathan’s SR5 Hilux and he has just driven off the highway, over a patch of grass and then on to a dirt road. The needle hasn’t budged from 100 clicks.

You wouldn’t dream of doing that in a road car, or even a lightly modified 4WD. Two things make it possible. First, the considerable driving talent of the man behind the wheel. Second, the fact that the vehicle Nathan has built is so well balanced it glides quickly over many terrains.

Nathan has a long history with automobiles. He first got a look into the world of cars when he was a little tyke, watching his father work on a MK1 Escort. But he really became infatuated when he observed his neighbour build up a 1970s Corona and drop a 351 Windsor engine into it. “I guess he is responsible for helping develop the relationship I have with cars and the wanting to do something different, and my liking of the oddball projects,” muses Nathan.

These days Nathan is a highly qualified automotive technician at one of the most prestigious workshops in Wellington. It’s a far cry from when he was in his garage tinkering away on his Toyota Corolla GTs, MK3 Toyota Supra, Mitsubishi VR4s or his much-loved JZX100 Mark II that was based on the bulletproof 2.5-litre 1JZ-GTE motor under the hood.

Nathan has a history in rallying, too, first in 2000 with a Subaru Leone. When he became more competent, he built an early model WRX that netted him a third-place finish in the central regional championship. In 2007 he rallied a Mitsubishi Evolution VII, ruffling a few feathers along the way.

Nathan enjoyed the experience. “It was good fun but hard work at the same time,” he says. However, a lack of funding has put the rallying on hold, despite Nathan selling his beloved Toyota Mark II in an attempt to keep campaigning the Evo.

In 2008 Nathan needed a new car. His requirements were clear: it had to seat four people, it had to be able to transport his quad bike (which meant off-road and towing capabilities), and it had to be quiet and comfortable to travel in.

After some intensive investigation the vehicle that best matched the criteria was a 2005 Toyota Hilux SR5 Extra Cab. The ute was an ex-power company vehicle and in great condition.

After owning it for a few months, Nathan started to get the modifying itch.

He wasn’t happy with size of the wheels, which didn’t quite match the look of the rest of the car. Drawing inspiration from the Arctic trucks used in an episode of Top Gear, Nathan chose some 15-inch steel wheels, no bigger in diameter than stock and, in the case of some factory models, much smaller. The reasons the wheels are so staunch looking are because of their girth and because they are mated to monstrous 35/12.5R15 tyres.

Those tyres caused a couple of problems. First, the diameter of the tyres was greater than the diameter of the arch; and second, the turning circle was hindered because the tyres hit the inner guards.
Nathan could’ve just hacked up the guards and the front bumper, but he still wanted the modified guards and bumper to match the lines of the SR5.

What enables the wheels to fit under the arches is a two-inch body lift using poly-carbon raising blocks. The Hilux is raised just enough so that the suspension and wheel/tyre combination works similarly to the factory suspension geometry, meaning that the vehicle handles well on normal street surfaces. The whole look of the Hilux was altered by the lift, and the wheels give it the appearance of a Tonka truck.

Although the wheel and tyre combination was fitting correctly, the weight of the huge rubber was hampering the ute’s performance. The word ‘slow’ doesn’t really figure in Nathan’s vocabulary. He wanted more power, and the diesel engine couldn’t give him what he needed. A 1JZ could. It would be a tight squeeze but it’d just slot in without need to modify the firewall or the front slam panel.

Nathan got to work right away. He says there were only a few dramas along the way. The first was sorting out the engine mounts. Because this isn’t a common conversion (yet) the mounts had to be custom fabricated, a job given to Sheldon Currington at Motorsport Developments. A second difficulty arose when the 4WD system refused to work with the new engine. This was remedied by pulling out almost all the existing loom and rewiring the Hilux from the headlights back.

When the loom was wired up and the engine turned on for the first time, Nathan was ready for his favourite part of the build process: the first test drive of a new project. The ute performed exactly how Nathan had planned.

It’s not the type of vehicle Nathan has traditionally been associated with, and he’s had to withstand comments from friends along the lines of, “Where’s your gun rack, you hillbilly?” But it’s all in good fun, and Nathan is always ready with a witty comeback.

The ute has been finished for a few months and has been a dream to drive on and off the road. “I’ve basically got a 4WD JZX100 that looks like a Ute.” Nathan’s particularly enjoying his offroad excursions. “I like that you can see parts of the country that not everyone will see,” he says. “It’s amazing what this country has hidden away, and this Ute allows me the ability to go to some of these places.”

But Nathan’s a tinkerer and he’s getting the itch to modify once again; he mentions that we might see a Toyota 2JZ engine thrown into the mix. Nathan sees the doubtful looks on our faces. “She’ll be right, mate,” he says, with a sly smile.

2005 Toyota Hilux Extra Cab SR5 – Specifications

HEART
ENGINE: Toyota 1JZ-GTE straight six cylinder
INTAKE: 300 x 600 x 75 intercooler
TURBO: factory CT 20B
BOV: Mitsubishi Evo I
FUEL SYSTEM: Walbro 500hp in-tank pump
EXHAUST: 3-inch front pipe
ECU: 1JZ-GTE
COOLING:  Double core alloy radiator

DRIVE
GEARBOX: Toyota R151F 5-speed gearbox, Dellows bell housing
CLUTCH:  Exedy 9-inch heavy duty, chromoly flywheel
DIFF: Shimmed factory LSD, Nitro axles 4.5:1 crown wheel and pinions front and rear

SUPPORT
SPRINGS:  Raised front springs, 2-inch body lift
STEERING: Lengthened factory steering shaft
BRAKES: Bendix heavy duty pads

SHOES
WHEELS: 15×8 +0 Speedy Desert Rats
TYRES: Goodyear 35/12.5R15

EXTERIOR
CUSTOM WORK: Bumper and body mounts modified to clear wheels

INTERIOR
INSTRUMENTATION: instrument cluster matched to engine, boost gauge

Nathan Thomas – Driver Profile

Age: 31
Occupation: Automotive technician
Build time: 4 months
Length of ownership: 18 months
Thanks: My wife Rosie, Sheldon @ Motorsport Developments, Nick @ L Alexanders, Sam and Mark

Words: Falgoon Patel Photos: Chinmay Patel