Sweet new truck. Looks mean.
Got to say though I was looking forward to seeing you complete the project...
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Sweet new truck. Looks mean.
Got to say though I was looking forward to seeing you complete the project...
Yeah, but I will keep upgrading this wagon there's still stuff I want to do to it.... fitted some spotties today :cool:
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I reckon you should hold on to the project truck, you might find one day once you have finished adding to the new one you want to keep building it. It looked like it was at a good stage for a full link suspension setup with coil overs ;)
Your experience of costs doing up a truck from the chassis up vs someone else's capable truck mirrors mine from 30 years ago. I built a landy from a new chassis up, starting with the spider gears in the diffs up. Repowered, rewired, rebuilt trans etc etc etc. Kept a notebook anytime I purchased anything for the project. Turned into a great truck, but at the end of it when I tallied up the little notebook I almost dropped dead with fright. 18 grand in 1997 would have bought me a very low mileage Nissan Patrol that would have required almost zero spanner swinging and comfort light years ahead of the Landy and not required two years of late nights and long weekends in the garage.
I think you have made the right decision. Sell or part out the project and get out and take that rifle for a walk:thumbsup:
There is a year 2000 troopy for sale over here. Looks really tidy and its the first one I have seen for sale,guy wants close to 50K for it,made me think it would make a mean ute if I chopped it.
1992 I brought 86 Nissan patrol lwb from turners at a car auction,not 4x4 auction.Was only $11500 x cops wagon from Hamner springs.The kurow cop wagon86model sold in Dunedin at turners 4x4 auction for $15500 3 month earlyer.Both wagons had the 2.8 litr Nissen petrol moter,9000 lb warn winch,automatic,both had lsd.Both had about 120ks on the clock.
I got second hand lpg unit fitted with twin tanks in the back.Had that wagon for 14yrs,only replaced the motor after about 7yrs.Got a second hand motor from Blairs at Geraldine$750 plus fitting.Nissen laurel motor bolted straight in.Sold wagon after 14yrs for 3k while it was still running.Did very little else to wagon,gearbox and diffs fine.
Today's mission fit FG XR6 falcon seats using huracan engineering adaptor kit....what a massive improvement in comfort fully adjustable lumber support :D
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Well it seems the romance of building a 40 year old truck was far more attractive then actually wheeling it.i took the 60 ute for a couple of shakedown runs and it just wasn't what I dreamed it would be, vague steering on the road, jarring suspension off road, about the only thing I liked about it was the noise that came from the mighty 4L 12ht.
I ended up being somewhat meh about it, I felt like I was left wanting, so in true Dannyb fashion I sold up both trucks and all my spares and picked up a tidyish 80 series. Truth be told I've wanted one since my first proper 4wd trip up the Wilberforce where I wheeled my trusty kzj78 with 2 mates both in 80 series wagons.
I remembered them sitting in aircon comfort, whilst I sweated away with my windows open. I remembered that whilst my kzj78 was very capable off-road it was a wallowing whale on the road.
Having driven a few 80s on road and off I knew they were much better behaved on road even lifted with big muddies.
I settled on a 92 fj80, yup she's a petrol drinker, about 50% cheaper than any diesel to buy and we all know that cost difference will buy a lot of petrol. She's well appointed with cruise control, android auto double din head unit with reverse camera, center consol fridge, 7 seats, rear ducted aircon, winch bar, winch, snorkel, rated recovery points front and back, new drilled and slotted rotors, near new 33"muds on steelies, part time 4wd conversion with manual hubs and a towbar.
She needs a little love, but so much nicer and more comfortable and definitely very capable.
She's a center diff lock only but no doubt I'll be fitting lockers to both axles at some point.
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14 pages and you sold out I can forgive BUT ditching the .308. .....You're going to HELL, sorry not much we can do about that sort of Blasphemy. Mods will be along soon ....sorry
I feel like ute chopped 60s, while they look mean, have probably got weight and balance all fucked up
Dunno about the balance it went OK off road and seemed capable enough, but fuck me the leafs need to be a lot softer, even with new shocks I'm sure I could feel every pebble in the riverbed and any decent bumps just jarred the hell out of me.
A new set of parabolic leaf springs will run you $4k plus and still may not be a lot better.