“It’s a 1993 LN105, like the one Clarkson tried to destroy on Top Gear. I bought it for £2000 in 2018 from Gloucester and despite it being a bit rough around the edges, it was no bother at all on the 280-mile drive home,” enthuses Paul Henderson on his modded Toyota Hilux to Toyota Magazine UK.

The 39-year old father-of-three from Cumbria, England is all about that Hilux life. He lives, eats and breathes Toyota’s indestructible pick-up and unsurprisingly, that adoration has rubbed off on his 3-year old son, Theo who is tightly strapped in his car-seat that’s perched on the passenger seat of the “Monster Truck” as he refers to them.

“I use the Mk3 for green laning and for competing with the North Lakes 4x4 Club,” adds Paul.

If you’re wondering, green laning is technically the mildest form of off-roading. It involves traversing paths or trails that have fallen into disrepair, ranging from countryside roads to old public roads that are no longer covered in tarmac. The “green” bit stems from driving through a lot of vegetation and natural greenery.

“I spent a lot of money and time on it, helped by my friends. We removed some rust and then began to upgrade it. It had already had its original 2.4-litre normally-aspirated engine replaced with a 3.0 litre KZT turbo from a Land Cruiser or perhaps a Surf. It had also been retrofitted with a Surf’s lower-geared and stronger R150 gearbox.”

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“We also installed a Surf power-steering pump to make a ‘high steer conversion’ – to give it modern steering and make it drive true. It had a Spartan locker put in the rear diff so it locks automatically. And we swapped the original limited-slip rear diff to the front axle.

“It was resprayed white, and then finished off with a set of 35-inch Maxxis Creepy Crawlers,” explained Paul on the mods to his White Hilux brute.

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It was brough out for this little family photoshoot on a trailer that was towed by, you guessed it, another Hilux. See what we mean about Paul being obsessed about Hilux(es)?

His newest Hilux is also the current one sold by Toyota. It was bought for the family’s business of agricultural consultation. Being a part-time farmer as well, Paul’s new Hilux Invincible X earns its keep on some tough paths day in and day out.

“The truck is my office. It’s not only for getting me there and back, I deliver grass seed and animal feed to my customers too. And we also use it as a family vehicle. We’ll be taking it on holiday next month, it’s good to keep the paddleboards and stuff in the back so the cab doesn’t stink.”

“I like my trucks to look slightly different and I always customise them one way or another. I bought this one a month ago. It’s the 2.8-litre auto and came with a load-liner and towbar, I need this for trailering my other trucks to green lanes and off-road driving competitions.”

Also Read: Pros and Cons: 2020 Toyota Hilux Rogue - loads of good stuff, but not Triton-level comfort

“As soon as I got it I set about changing it. First was the addition of an Aeroklas canopy and then I fitted some Radar Renegade RT+ tyres as either me or my wife have to get into a field where we look after 55 cows everyday, so off-road grip is really important.”

“I got almost everything else, including hours of help over the phone, from West Coast Off Road. They fitted Rival under-body guards, Terrain Tamer rear parabolic leaf-springs, gave it a two inch lift and added Iron Man foam cell suspension – which helps to give it an even better ride,” detailed Paul on his newest Hilux.

Also Read: New 2020 Toyota Hilux Rogue now in Malaysia - more power than Triton, 204 PS, with ACC

Theo’s already mastered the location of all the controls in the trucks as told by proud father Paul, “Theo worships all my trucks. I’ve got an old Land Cruiser at home too. I can’t leave the house in one without him crying. Every time I go out he has to go with me. We go green-laning together and he talks about the trucks all the time. He’ll happily sit in one all day and help me work on it too.”

“He calls them all ‘Monster Truck’ and also by their colour or age, so this Mk3 is ‘White Monster Truck’ and he doesn’t know the colour silver yet. The Mk9 is ‘New Monster Truck’, and the Land Cruiser ‘Blue Monster Truck’. Even his nursery school report said, ‘Theo likes to talk about monster trucks’ So there was no way he was going to miss-out on today’s photoshoot,” said Paul.

Also Read: 2021 Toyota Hilux GR Sport launched in Japan; will it arrive in Malaysia?

Unfortunately, after all that loving work on the older Hilux, Paul’s friend ended up introducing the roof to the road during a green lane event.

“Shortly after it was finished it, I lent the truck to my friend for a ‘non speed’ event. He phoned me and told me he’d rolled it,” Paul said with a hint of disappointment.

“It was very badly damaged and needed a new cab, new fenders, doors and bonnet. We welded it, resprayed it silver, put in nicer seats, installed a new CB radio for green laning, added a rear locking diff from a Mk5 into the front diff, so it now has front and rear locking diffs, and rebuilt the front axle,” he explained.

The finishing touch was shortening the bed, “We then bob-tailed it by cutting out and shortening it by 14 inches at the back. This reduces the overhang giving it a fantastic departure angle.”

Proving the adage that bigger is always better, Paul and his friend finished off the now silver Hilux with a set of giant 38-inch CST Land Dragon tyres.

With the shoot done, Paul backs up his ‘White Monster Truck’ onto the trailer being hauled by his new Hilux to head home. Tomorrow will be another day of muddy paths and beaten up roads for the Hilux, sure to be driven with nary a complain or a creak.