He’s been in the dirt forever.
Daniel Hill has had a wild career of motorsport and off-road fun.
His latest project, a Triton build, started last year and took five months.
Daniel’s never settled for the run-of-the-mill or conventional in anything automotive. He says he’s loved motorsport and off-roading for years and was a keen follower of the Mitsubishi brand when the company’s two vehicle works-teams dominated both rallying and
the toughest off-road endurance race in the world, the mighty Dakar.
He went rallying. But not in an Impreza or even a BDA Escort. Not even in a Mitsubishi. No, the ride of choice was VW Beetle. A very quick one. Though the days of rear wheel drive beating 4WDs had long gone, spectators would wait to see the mighty VW come through just for the novelty of seeing a Beetle being thrown around back roads with flair.
Then the Mitsubishi obsession returned full-force, and Daniel raced a production-class SWB Pajero in the 2012 off-road racing national championship. At the height of the popularity of the sport’s production category, he finished the championship second in class.
Mitsubishi has massive credibility in off-roading and off-road racing. It’s done and won the toughest and fastest races in the world. As Mitsubishi owners will know, the mechanical underpinnings of the Triton ute and the Pajero SUV are immensely strong, and even now that the full-size Pajero is a fading memory, there are plenty of late model vehicles on the road.
“They have very big and strong running gear, so they perform well and handle off road and 4WD work very well. This is my second Triton. My first one was a non-turbo version that served me well for a few years but when this one came up, I decided to build another one with a turbo and bigger diffs.”
This one was a 2.8-litre GLS manual double-cab, sold new in 2003. It came with a few issues though, and it needed some love – it had been subjected to a hard life.
“I rebuilt the cooling system, replaced the clutch with an Extreme Outback heavy duty one.
“The gearbox was stuffed, but luckily Richard from 4WD and Commercial Parts World in Hamilton had a replacement. The Yokohama tyres were from Tony at Speedy Lube and Tyre in Hamilton.”
Upgrading the clutch on a manual transmission truck with a turbo engine makes sense, especially when the truck is going to be used for off-road adventuring.
There was also the matter of the smashed-up wellside which was beyond saving.
Daniel removed the wellside completely and set about building a flat deck of his own design. The deck carries a battery box, big aluminium tool bog, shovel and high-lift jack. The truck’s bar system wraps over the edge of the flat-deck and is also the mount-point for a light bar.
The highlights of a very comprehensive build list are all items focussed on increasing the Triton’s off-road abilities.
“I do a mix of ‘shiny’ events and relatively tough trips in the truck. I love doing safari-type events.”
The Triton has completed the 2024 Manawatu Safari, and further north has tackled the Maratoto and Wires tracks at the edge of the Coromandel. It has also done the Thames Valley Starship Safari.
“It’s also done a few club trips with my club, the Cozzies 4 wheelers, and there are plenty more to come too.”
The current build includes an Xrox winch bar mounting a Novawinch 12500 Pro that is wired to a dash controller.
A 30mm body lift keeps the panels out of the muck.
To improve vision on night drives, Daniel has added spotlights and a light bar.
Australian-made Tough Dog shock absorbers are used on all four corners and Tough Dog torsion bars are used at the front.
Wheels and tyres are 31” Yokohama Geolandar G003 mud tyres on ROH steel wheels. As most people will know, a steel wheel can be the difference between a completed adventure and a recovery, since they can be beaten straight after a big impact, while an aluminium alloy wheel will simply crack and even shatter.
The truck has an on-board air compressor for airing up before returning to the tarmac.
Is it complete? Is any 4WD build ever really complete? Of course not.
On the list are ARB air lockers, a repaint, ‘a bit more power’ (these trucks make 92kW fresh out of the box and bog standard but there’s plenty of potential for boosting power and torque), and a range of other small tweaks. Oh, and more bar work to protect the panels on narrow bush tracks.
In the meantime, Daniel and family are out and about exploring New Zealand’s remote and special places.
