Show off your vehicle

Discussion in 'Overlanding / Off-Road' started by Strigidae, Sep 7, 2017.

  1. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    And the new seat arrived on the doorstep tonight :D :D

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  2. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Just home from the workshop $1700 lighter :D :D Most of the recent goodies I ordered are fitted and some of the electrical work I wanted is done :D Primed him for the next round of gear to order !!!!

    I admit to grinning like a teenage idiot seeing this lit up in the dash ... :D

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  3. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Please keep us posted with all the upgrades! Im living through you.
     
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  4. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Yes I will take some pics during daylight today :D
     
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  5. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    So today....

    So early in the week I dropped the truck off to my favourite workshop and handed him a list….got the call yesterday to come collect it but only if I was happy with the seat after a drive. The bulk of the jobs were done by Thursday, but the seat adaptor bracket held it up. So I shall start at the seat…


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    ….it will take just a little getting use to but it has a bit extra rear travel on the runners (along with being about 200% more comfortable then the OEM one) and given my height and that the 70s are known to be a little short on leg room for some (for me with the seat fully rearward it was fine, but only just). Have a set of custom canvas seat covers on the way from the guy I got the seat from. They normally come as a set of two for specific vehicles but the maker did one for those seats he was selling so he ordered up a set with one to suit the OEM passenger side and one for the new drivers side.

    As sad a fact as it is, a phone is a part of my life and I was sick to death of the suction attached one I had in the old truck detaching regularly, so I ordered a purpose built one for this vehicle and phone. I have used the same brand and design products in my work cars for the last 5yrs and have been happy with them so it was an easy choice..


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    One of the smallest mods with the greatest return so far was the arm rest mounted on the drivers door !!!! Saw them in South Africa and have been meaning to get one since I got home (they made them for my old 80 Series as well as they were big in South Africa too), the maker there would not ship to me here but I found a local guy who specialises in 70 Series trucks who did an almost identical (better executed I think) product in stainless steel and with a pad that match my interior….


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    Sorry about the badly focused pic, should have used a smaller aperture setting but was being lazy. That is the iDrive throttle controller head unit…


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    …..It does not increase power !! What it does is allow you to custom tune the throttle response, there is Off (which leaves the truck as OEM) an Auto Economy mode and Ultimate (settings 1-9). Ultimate 9 means the right peddle causes an immediate response !!!!!!! It was an astonishing change when I drove away from home after fitting it (set to Ultimate 9 of course … !!! ) After a bit I found U4 was to my liking here in the city. My reading tells me the Economy settings are best for either fuel savings or on rough tracks where you don’t want lots of jerk from too quick of a peddle response, this will need some experimentation..!!


    In the Cargo Bay..


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    …..a couple of things here, the old sockets were replaced just to be safe and they were swapped around, the lower was on heavier wire with a relay and the top a simple 12v lighter type wiring. Simply swapped the heavier line up high and added a switch for it on the dash, this is to run my fridge, my guy made me a short adaptor cable for my particular fridge. I think the socket style and adaptor will need to change but I will give it a run. Swapped these two around as I will build a split deck/false floor in this one like I had in the other, it will basically cover ½ of that rear speaker height wise so I wanted the switched fridge outlet high. What is also visible here is the cargo bay flooring, I removed the carpet and replaced it with a made to order vinyl floor with a sound and waterproof underlay. I wasn’t going to do the wheel arches but probably will now. I was disappointed with the underlay as I assumed (mistake one) that it would be cut to shape of the bay but it wasn’t. one long piece I had to cut it in at the font when I was making the incisions for the rear seat bases. I need to add a little more each side at the back to level it. I will express my displeasure about this to them Monday.


    Talking of switches….


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    ….custom fridge and driving light (Zombie) switches in the dash. They only illuminate when on. I do laugh at myself every time I look at the Zombie Light one…!!!


    Talking of lights…


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    …..installed the pair of Koala cooking LED driving lights, the winch and controller and he hooked up he LED fog lights while he had it.


    Toying with the winch…


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    …it has both a cable and wireless controller, I need to test if the hand unit will work on cable with a flat batter, I suspect the battery is just for the wireless function but need to find out, I forgot to do so today. That hook will be gone the moment the Factor 55 flat link shows up !!


    And under the bonnet…


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    ….hard to tell the differences here but there is an oil catch can added (with a tapped drain line routed down under the vehicle) and a heavy duty power cut-off switch for the winch. I was going to go with an illuminated one like the others but I was advised against it. Also can’t see the return to centre steering damper.


    I think that is it so far, he was going to fit up the cargo barrier but didn’t have a specific tool required and a mobile guy gave a ridiculous quote, my local Toyota place is doing the job for less than I ever expected, but they do lots (it’s done in pre-delivery Department so they don’t charge normal workshop rates and as they do so many they have it all templated up and it’s over in an hour).


    Still here is the vinyl floor overlay for the front and rear floors, I have not felt like doing that yet as I have to pull the seats and floor console out entirely then make the cuts to suit. Still feeling like **** post-surgery so that is on hold for the time being. I can’t start on the deck till the cargo barrier is in (16 July) and my credit card went into hiding when it overheard me listing the next parts on order (Kaymar rear bar with twin wheel carriers and a long range fuel tank – at around $5K they will be the biggest expense !!!!!!) beyond those I will add the side rails and sliders and a custom floor console that will also hold my UHF radio. The console will be my Christmas gift to myself I suspect !! I have also been giving my old ARB roof rack a bit of a mid-life refurb, nearly took it in for a new powder coating but snapped to my senses when I realised it was about 1/3 the replacement cost of a new more modern rack and a rattle can would get me out of trouble. Replaces all the bolts and washers while I was at it. I will need at least two large able bodied assistants when time comes to get it adjusted and mounted.


    My next few weekends will be occupied with a job application I have to pull together so I can’t see much more getting done for a bit.
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2019
  6. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    That beast is so purpose built its insane. I cant think of any vehicle built here that even comes close to that. Amazing.
     
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  7. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Compared to may of the 70 Series builds out here (particularly on the 79 series dual cabs) mine is quite tame !!! But it suits my needs (which are specifically long drives through remote country to get to places where I want to camp/hunt/fish - as opposed to finding the worst/hardest 4x4 track to crawl over just for the sake of doing so).
     
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  8. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Did some experimenting with the winch today. It has both wireless and cabled control and I noticed the hand controller required a battery. Happy to figure out today the battery is only required if operating wireless. Cabled it draws power from the winch so one less thing to worry about !!!
     
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  9. Bushman5

    Bushman5 Member

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    I sure could have used dual batteries today!

    wicked rig Andy!
     
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  10. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    ....... I have not owned a 4x4 without a dual batter setup of some description since early 1991 !! That was my first Landcruiser (a BJ42) and I just never got around to adding it before I got my first HJ60.
     
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  11. Mudman

    Mudman Member

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    That's a sweet cruiser Andy!
     
  12. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    ...Thanks :D So far so good !!
     
  13. Bozho

    Bozho Member

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    Wow! Awesome Cruiser, Andy. The Cruiser is my favorite car, it is just perfect for what I want a car to do.
    I really like the J90 models, their prices are low currently and have a nice 3.4 liter petrol engine, however I think that the running costs will kill me slowly :D
     
  14. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Thanks mate, I am liking it.... ! The J90s (Prado out here) are popular as well.....but you are right, that petrol engine is thirsty !!!!!
     
  15. Bozho

    Bozho Member

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    The engine can be converted to LPG - with a LPG bottle in the main tank and the auxiliary tank being used for petrol (to start the engine). My bigger concern is with the price of the spare parts, as these cars are getting 20+ years old and they have been driven hard for sure.
     
  16. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    LPG conversions are common here as well, both partial and full. The biggest issue here is in remote areas LPG is not available (think hand pumping diesel from 44gal drums). And as I know all too well, any Toyota parts (I have owned 5 motor car in my entire life, all have been white diesel Landcruisers) are expensive. Don't be afraid to look overseas for parts either. There is a huge industry here around parts for old Tojos now. The OEM suppliers contracts for those parts with Toyota have long expired and they now supply the OEM part under other brand names (here Terrain Tamer we one of the first companies to start selling correct or improved OEM type parts for older trucks, particularly the 40 Series Landcruisers). Food for thought mate !!
     
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  17. Bozho

    Bozho Member

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    Australia is the land of Land Cruisers - here the older ones, especially with any off road modifications are quite a rare sight. Most of LCs here are newer Prados or 200 used by shady businessmen :D
     
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  18. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Added the Factor55 Flatlink when I had a spare 10mins over the weekend. What a great idea!!!!

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  19. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    Just got the truck back from Toyota having had the cargo barrier fitted.

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    .....I had all but decided on my replacemnt tank and rear bar options but just as I was about to order Brown and Davis (one of the best long range tank makers here) have come out with a new option that will be available in a month or so, this one means I don't have to to the rear bar and tank together (as it will be a second tank not a single larger tank) so I will order up the bar alone next week... :D
     
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  20. IW17

    IW17 Member

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