The Car
1997 80 Series Toyota Land Cruiser GXL
This vehicle was acquired in February 2001 through the mate of a mate. It had been his company car since new and was a known reliable vehicle with no problems.
When purchased it was fitted with a TJM T11 Steel Bull Bar, 3/4 steel side rails, TJM Rear wheel carrier, Toyota Towbar and a set of driving lights. Otherwise it was a stock vehicle and had 125,000km on the odometer. The engine was a 1HZ 6 cylinder normally aspirated diesel engine with 5 speed gearbox and full time 4WD transfer case.
With a planned adventure to the Kimberley's in Western Australia I knew the stock suspension would not deliver, especially as one of the rear shocks was showing signs of leakage. Through chance I got to know one of the guys at ARB Brisbane, who I got a great deal on OME suspension. Originally I fitted 851 Front Springs with N73 Shock Absorbers and 863 (+200kg) rear springs with N74E shocks.
Shortly prior to leaving on the Kimberley's Trip I bought a set of GU Nissan Patrol Rims and a set of BF Goodrich 285/75 R16 Mud terrain tyres, a secondhand Milford Cargo Barrier and a Racor Fuel Filter adapter. I also fitted a Codan 8528 HF Radio using the VKS-737 frequencies.
After returning home I knew a set of aftermarket seats would be a priority. The lack of leg room was one issue but the lumbar support (or lack thereof) was far from adequate for anyone of large build. Fortune shone on one of my many visits to ARB where I met a new 100 Series owner who had removed his Flofit seats from his old 80 Series TD prior to selling it. After having a look and realising bargains don't come along every day I scored a pair of seats with arm rests, air lumbar support and more importantly 1.5" extra seat travel for the sum of $400.
About the same time I bought a new set of Lightforce RDML 240 spotlights. Simply the best you can get for the money. 800 metres on a country road and even the oncoming semi trailers dip their lights thinking you are another big rig.
Christmas 2001 saw a great surprise with Marianna buying me a rear ARB Airlocker. So to complete the installation I had to buy an ARB in vehicle mount air compressor. This "accessory" made one of the biggest changes to off road ability of the cruiser. The rear locker can be likened to going from two wheel drive to low range 4 wheel drive.
A few months later and I managed to buy a front air locker that had been bought and never installed (yep another bargain at $750). Installing the front locker was perfectly timed with a rebuild of the front swivel hubs which were suffering from leaking inner axle seals.
The combination of front and rear locking differentials with decent suspension and off-road tyres has made the cruiser into almost unstoppable. It makes tackling obstacles far less stressful on both driver and vehicle as you can let traction do the work rather than needing to "bash" the vehicle over obstacles. It is always impressive to see a locked up vehicle climb over obstacles where one wheel cocks in the air as it crawls up.
After playing down at Levuka Four Wheel Drive Park I realised GU Nissan rims have faults. They fill up with mud and will not self clean on the 80 Series hub, I don't know if this problem exists with them on the Nissans. They are also known to have cracking problems and do not drain water so can rust inside the rim. I have since replaced them with a second set of 80 Series Land Cruiser 16x8" rims.
After problems with the original Toyota (Fujitsu 10) CD Cassette Tuner combo I had the guys at Northfield Car Sound install an Alpine CD Tuner and Alpine component speakers in front custom door panels. These boys do good work and the custom door panels incorporate map pockets and separate inserts for the tweeters.
Prior to leaving on the Simpson Desert adventure a mate and I decided we would install Long Ranger fuel tanks. By replacing the stock 50l rear fuel tank with 170 litre tanks we would have the range to bypass the exorbitantly priced fuel stops and only refuel at major centres. This of course necessitated a change of rear spring to the heaviest OME 80 series spring (864). In the lead up to departure I also manufactured a set of steel cargo draws. These were built on the same principles as the Outback Roller draws, however that companies design did not suit my purposes being in side by side configuration. I made mine in a stack form with the Engel 40 l fridge in a slide at floor height which was much more user friendly for both myself and my less tall wife.
I had the benefit of being able to look at the custom draws made by friends as well as commercial units in ensuring a fairly professional set of draws. The hardest part being sourcing reasonably priced roller bearings (a tip - go to a wholesale auto electrical supplier as the bearings are used in most automotive alternators). These draws got the thumbs up from Marianna who had kept her doubts of my metal working ability to herself.
After returning from the Simpson trip things remained fairly static however the constant bugbear was lack of power on the highway. I had contemplated selling the cruiser and finding a good late model factory turbo diesel, but these versions have help their resale value particularly well and I could see me having to add about $15,000 to my vehicle to get a decent one. Until the following chance came up. The Great Engine Change
The most recent additions have been a new GME TX3400 UHF radio to replace the various other UHF's I have tried. I replaced the TJM T11 with a Toyota (ARB) steel winch bar. I also have on semi permanent loan a set of genuine Toyota mags.
Things to Do
So the Cruiser is almost finished. On the drawing boards are a set of sliders and a dual pivot wheel carrier. Due to the exorbitant price of a Kaymar carrier I can see myself and a couple of mates building something on a similar pattern. They are fairly simple in principle and we have some firm ideas on what we want to do. Sliders are a replacement side step, which is made from steel and attach to the chassis rails. They afford the best protection of the sill area and can support the weight of the vehicle, a must for 4WDing in rocky country.
On the wish list
A Safari Intercooler. Once you have power, you want more. It will of course make the engine more efficient and thermally protect it.
Warn 10000 Winch.
STOP PRESS. Just prior to Xmas 2003 a Safari Intercooler was purchased.