1992 Toyota HiAce With 1UZ Swap Hauls More Than Family
With a modified V8 underhood, this 1992 Toyota HiAce is now a more enjoyable and versatile utility vehicle.
Most Americans likely aren’t even familiar with the Toyota HiAce, a commercial vehicle produced in a host of body styles and configurations for the Japanese market and select other parts of the world. The HiAce entered production way back in 1967 and is still on sale, decades later, having entered its sixth generation back in 2019. However, as one might imagine, these are utility vehicles that offer little in the way of performance from a variety of four- and six-cylinder engines, along with a diesel or two. Thus, the owner of this wild 1992 Toyota HiAce that’s up for sale on Trademe in Queenstown, New Zealand, decided to make it a more fun family hauler.
It’s unclear what sort of powerplant this 1992 Toyota HiAce originally came with – it could have been a 2.0 or 2.7-liter I-4, or one of five different diesels – but none of them offered more than 200 horsepower, regardless, with many hovering in the low 100 range. But if you pop the hood on this one, you won’t find any of those engines – rather, this van is now equipped with a 4.0-liter Toyota 1UZ-FE V8, which cranks out a respectable 246 horsepower at the wheels.
The tightly-packaged V8 isn’t stock either, having been treated to a Link ECU, a side-exit exhaust with an H pipe crossover, a K&N filter, and a TRD intake manifold. Making this boxy ride even cooler is the fact that it’s also equipped with a five-speed manual gearbox, so the new owner can rip through the gears and take full advantage of the van’s extra juice.
From the outside, the trained eye will notice that this HiAce has also been enhanced visually with a lowered suspension, along with 18-inch Advanti wheels. On the inside, there’s a booming stereo system and a custom-built bed and mattress that can easily be removed, along with curtains and even a bike rack for the more adventurous that might want to spend their weekends camping in the wilderness.
The seller notes that they’ve been driving and enjoying this versatile V8-powered van for the past five years, but now, they’re looking to get something with four-wheel drive. That means that someone will get the chance to enjoy this incredibly cool build moving forward, and if we lived on that side of the planet, we’d certainly be intrigued.
Photos: Trademe
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