Featured Build: The Purpose-Built Toyota Oddball

The 80s called. They said we could keep it. Whatever ‘it’ is. Jokes aside, this mint green beast defies explanation in the same manner that it demands it, but here goes. What began life as a 1986 Toyota Hilux pickup has been transformed into something more, and, well, less. Whereas most people might view a 35-year-old Toyota pickup as a functional, unassuming workhorse, current owner Jason Denney (aka @TacoDust on Instagram) saw the potential for a unique project vehicle.

A Mad Little Mint

Originally known as “Junior Mint,” this truck has undergone quite the transformation since Denney purchased it. Back then, the vehicle was exactly what you’d expect when you imagine an 80s vintage Toyota pickup truck. Whereas most old-school truck shoppers are searching for something durable and reliable (attributes which a Toyota Hilux of any year has in spades), Denney had grander plans for this rugged rig.

The Purpose-Built Oddball

As you can tell by these images, this is not your average truck by any stretch (or, rather, any way you slice it, as I’ll discuss in a bit). That being said, it is built to fulfill a particular purpose. You see, Denney is a co-founder of Rigd Supply, a company known as the creator of the UltraSwing™, which, as their website states, is “the only hitch-mounted tire carrier designed to swing out a spare tire and bikes.” The versatility of this product has earned many fans among the overlanding, off-roading, camping and other related communities, where the ability to bring so much extra equipment without needing to haul a trailer is a boon which simply cannot be understated.

In this context, the funky green Toyota project evolved from an exercise in personal expression into a showcase for the company’s latest product. The new product in question is the UltraTable™, which provides a sturdy, collapsible, cooking-safe surface that tucks away neatly into the aforementioned UltraSwing™ when not in use.

From Junior Mint to Senior Mint

But how, you say, did this now-Senior Mint get its unique profile? Well, that’s largely thanks to Denney bobbing the bed of the truck to extend the original regular-sized cabin. The sturdy, stock 2.2L turbocharged powerplant has been mostly left alone for the time being, although Denney plans to install a standalone engine management system down the line. Other notable modifications include a chunky set of off-road tires wrapped around KMC Wheels, and of course an UltraSwing™/ UltraTable™ setup connected to the rear hitch receiver.

Being a friend and partner of MagnaFlow, Denney and Rigd Supply brought the truck to our Tech Center so that we could work our magic on the minty little monster. Given the cut-down nature of the pickup, a custom exhaust system was in order. Denney made it clear to us that the vehicle in the state he brought it to us was just too loud. He wanted something that sounded great but wasn’t downright deafening.

Our solution was to create a one-off system using our 3” custom builder parts kit (part #10703) connected to a 4” x 14” straight-through universal muffler with a 3” inlet/outlet layout. This upgrade turned out to be one of utter necessity, as baffles in the old muffler caused ludicrous amounts of heat to build up, to the point where the excess temperature was starting to melt the floorboard and resulted in blowing the head gasket.

Being an older truck with a ventilated gas tank, fumes and the fire risk that goes with them were a primary concern of ours when it came to designing the replacement exhaust system. To keep these dangerous vapors away from any potential source of ignition, we devised a unique exhaust exit for the rig. Exhaust gases now exit upward away from the vehicle, thanks to a pipe that is swept backward at a 45-degree angle for an extra level of safety.

Feast Your Eyes on Senior Mint

The team here at MagnaFlow is eager for the public to have a chance to get up close and personal with Senior Mint at this weekend’s Outside Adventure Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. This peculiar project turned out to be a great exercise in pushing the boundaries of what can be done with an off-roading truck exhaust. At MagnaFlow, we’re always looking to better understand the communities that gravitate to and rely on the performance of our products, and any chance to shake things up and learn by experimentation is welcome in our book.

Thanks to Jason Denney and Rigd Supply offering us the opportunity to collaborate, we have been able to deepen our understanding of the adventurous off-roading and overlanding scenes to inform the design of future off-road focused performance exhaust systems.

Interested in upgrading your rig with the dyno-proven performance and deep signature sound that MagnaFlow is known for? All the products used in this project and more can be found at MagnaFlow.com, where you can search by year, make, model, trim level and more to find the exact performance exhaust system or replacement catalytic converter for your vehicle.

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