Today we present a very special and rare example of a travel vehicle, the Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof. Get ready.
Mario’s Galloper is rare, above all because of the pop-top roof. But it is also a very successful travel vehicle in the closed-off-roader category, and a real pleasure to look at. So let us take a closer look at this one.
The Hyundai Galloper is a licensed build of the legendary Pajero L040
The Hyundai Galloper, produced from the early 1990s to the early 2000s, is a licensed build of the legendary Mitsubishi Pajero L040. A good base to start with. After all, the Pajeros are known for their many Paris-Dakar rally wins. The Galloper came with a 6-cylinder 3.0-litre petrol engine with a respectable 141 hp, as well as a 4-cylinder 2.5-litre diesel with an intercooler and turbocharger. That gives the diesel 99 hp. It does not sound like much these days, but you do not need much for travelling. The Galloper, built as a three- and five-door like the Pajero, already had a driver’s airbag and, in some cases, ABS. So it is a step on from the Mitsubishi Pajero L040, but otherwise it still had the classic technology, like the simple part-time four-wheel drive. What also stayed is the tendency to rust. More on that later.
Mario has long been part of the Mitsubishi 4×4 scene
He has had a connection with Pajeros since 1990 and has owned and driven various Mitsubishi 4x4s himself since the late 1990s. In the late 1980s a Pajero L040 already turned up at his father’s forestry business. His brother’s Suzuki Samurai followed, and Mario’s first drive after passing his test was in his father’s L200 K34 pickup. Back then it was clear that his first car would be an L200 too. A Pajero V24 followed after that. Over the years came various Mitsubishi pickups, Pajeros and Gallopers as well. So Mario grew ever deeper into the Mitsubishi 4×4 scene. He has known the related Hyundai Galloper for many years, so it made sense to buy the one this vehicle feature is about relatively cheaply. But one thing at a time.
This Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof has a long backstory
Mario’s Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof was built in 2001. The first owner, a master mechanic, bought the vehicle new back then so that he and his wife would have a tough vehicle to reach the starting points for their shared hikes. In 2004 the Galloper got its pop-top roof from the Metallstation company, which built several roofs for various cars at the time.
Even so, it was not meant to become a motorhome, and the previous owner set up the interior only as a simple retreat; life happened outdoors. Würth system cabinets, a simple two-burner gas stove and Euroboxes for luggage were used for that.
In 2015 the Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof then suffered a major engine failure. Time for a replacement. The original 2.5L diesel had to go, and a much more powerful 2.8-litre diesel from a Pajero moved in. Since the donor vehicle had an automatic gearbox, that was converted at the same time. A good upgrade. Because with it, this Galloper also gained the Super Select four-wheel drive familiar from the newer Pajeros.
For those who do not know the Mitsubishi 4×4 scene so well: Super Select is a permanent four-wheel-drive system in which the front axle can be switched off, so that, for example when manoeuvring with heavy trailers, you can drive in rear-wheel drive alone with the low range engaged. That makes this Galloper one of the few with permanent four-wheel drive.
With its first owner the vehicle already saw many trips
He took it to Iceland, Sweden and Ukraine and up to Mount Elbrus. On these trips the wish for more comfort and space did come up after all. The car found no new owner for a long time and languished in the first owner’s workshop yard. Until the day a customer came in with her broken-down car for repair, and it came up in conversation that she was looking for a travel vehicle. To get the green emissions sticker, a particulate filter was retrofitted back then, and the vehicle changed hands.
With the new owner too, the car saw many lovely trips. It went to Iceland several times, and a big guided tour through Eastern Europe and Russia was among them. On one of the last tours the tank was damaged and repaired improvised. Sadly, a considerable maintenance backlog built up on this fine vehicle bit by bit. In 2023 it came to a head when the tank dripped badly, which brought out the fire brigade. The car was towed to a workshop. The workshop quoted a high sum to fix the faults, and the tow itself cost a fair amount too, so the owner had had enough and wanted to sell the car quickly. She asked the first owner what alternatives there were. Luckily, he suggested advertising the car in the 4x4travel.org forum and already predicted for her: “Then a Mario will call.” This forum was founded in 2001 as a Mitsubishi 4×4 forum, and today off-road travellers of all makes gather here, and Mario has been an active member for years.
Well, it happened to be the Easter holidays, Mario had time and simply used it to buy and collect the Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof.
Mario gets the Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof going again
First his aim was simply to make the car roadworthy again. For that Mario renewed the brakes all round, replaced a broken tailgate handle, renewed the exhaust rear silencer and tidied up the dashboard and centre console.
And of course swapped the dripping 175-litre tank for an original 92-litre tank that he had lying around anyway. And it is not just any tank, but the original tank from this very Galloper, which he had bought years ago as a spare.
Then Mario cleared out the interior build and tidied it up a bit, and so it went on its first tours, among them a few meets and the Adventure Northside. That was 2023. By now the car has gone through a great evolution.
The next winter Mario declared war on the rust
He used the following winter to fight the heavy rust. The rear wheel arches on the left and right are very typical rust spots on the Galloper. On top came a few smaller holes in the sills. Mario even had to rebuild the body at the rear left with parts from another Galloper, as there was no substance left there.
And so the great car would be technically sound and look good, he repainted all the add-on parts and the roof at the same time. New tyres in the correct size 265/75R16, the one entered in the vehicle papers, came on top. And of course endless small jobs. Anyone who has done a project like this themselves knows what all comes at you. That the vehicle, restored like this, passed a fresh TÜV straight away probably does not even need mentioning.
Last winter it was the interior’s turn
Last winter it was time to overhaul and extend the interior. Mario has made it really nice and homely. First the old fit-outs had to go. He built the new one in a combination of aluminium profiles and wood. By now the Galloper has a kitchen inside too. A cool box has found its place within easy reach, right behind the driver’s seat. Handy Euroboxes are used for storage.
Since Mario had already done such a build for his other Galloper, he simply took his lead from that, as this interior had already proven itself. For the first build he first made a 1:1 prototype, then ordered the aluminium profiles cut to size and assembled them at home. Back then that was an alternative to wooden furniture. He went for aluminium profiles because, with wooden furniture, he saw the drawback that changes are harder when it is not yet quite clear where things should go or what works best in handling. So for now he is testing everything with handy Euroboxes first. Once everything sits perfectly, he can still swap the boxes for doors or optimised crates. For this Galloper, Mario chose the same approach. With the difference that by now he knows his way around CAD systems well, so a 1:1 model was no longer needed.
A bit more comfort on long tours should not be missing. So he gave his Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof new seats and cruise control. An air night heater for the interior came on top.
The Galloper also carries plenty of sensible travel gear
Mario took up CB radio as a hobby at a young age. So the Galloper with a pop-top roof got a CB radio too, of course. No travel vehicle should be without a decent high beam. But a light bar does not really suit a car from the 1990s, so Mario gave his Galloper classic halogen spotlights at the front.
Solar was already on the roof when he bought the car. But the controller was broken and was replaced with an MPPT controller. For the water supply the car got a 75-litre water tank inside. The installation is still in progress at the moment. On the outside, Mario fitted a short sand ladder onto the sand-ladder bracket. It simply serves as a universal point to lash things to. At the moment levelling ramps and a 10-litre water can are attached. The water is for washing up and washing hands.
Mario calls himself a spanner-turner and a camper
He is not drawn to the really big trips far away. He enjoys weekend trips, off-road meets with friends, or just going off on his own for a few days to a nature campsite. Otherwise he simply enjoys the car and has a lot of fun driving it, wherever it goes. As it is only a two-seater, tours with the whole family in the car are sadly not possible. But there is still the other Galloper in the yard for family outings.
There are still a few plans for the Galloper with a pop-top roof
In principle Mario is as happy with the car as it is, but his fingers itch to build it “finished”. Whether that is completing the permanent stopgap of the centre console or fitting a gear indicator in the cockpit and a different brake pedal, both really belong to the automatic-gearbox conversion mentioned earlier. A new long-range tank is also already waiting.
The car has also picked up a few battle scars in its long life, so going over the paint again would be a great project. And the odd small thing here and there. As it goes, our vehicles are never really finished. And then there is the improvement of the interior, of course. An emergency bed is still to go in. Maybe a can solution instead of a water tank after all? A new solar panel would be something too. And then a longer tour would be great. A week or two in Sweden and Norway.
The before-and-after comparison is worth seeing
This is a really handsome travel vehicle that, thanks to Mario’s commitment and work, will be around for a long time to come. We wish him many more great tours with it and are curious to see how this Hyundai Galloper with a pop-top roof develops further. If you want to find out more about Mario’s Galloper and his travels with it, take a look at his Instagram profile.
© Photos: Mario Fieger