Wild_South's KZN185 Surf (Quick) Adventure Rig Build

[Wild_South]

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Wild_South's Toyota Surf KZN185 Adventure Rig Build


Hi all, welcome to my build thread!

I have been lucky enough to own a few modified trucks in the past, but they have all been bought with some bits and pieces on them: some good, some bad. Therefore, I decided it was time to build what I wanted from a clean start; so I have recently bought a blank canvas to work with - it's a 1997 Toyota Surf KZN185 Intercooled Version, in silver/grey. It is absolutely stock-as-a-rock, owned by an older couple (in their 60's) since it was imported in 2004. With it came records of all servicing and any mechanical work they did during their time of ownership. It has done 215,000kms, and is very straight, with tidy paint work - bar a few stone chips as expected for the age of the truck.

I have waited for a couple of years now to find this sort of truck: a tidy intercooled one for the right price. Having owned a 185 non-intercooled, I was sure to be purchasing the intercooled one next; and this is it. The non-intercooled versions seem to suffer from head cracking issues and overheating (if not serviced regularly) slightly more often (I'm not trying to start a debate!), whereas the intercooled versions seem to be far more reliable and a extremely sort-after; to the point where when one is up for sale it is generally snapped up in a whizz. Therefore, I was just lucky when I spotted mine for sale for a great price - it has been on the market for no more than 4 hours when I bought it (they had already received 3 offers in that time).

My plans for my rig are to build it up into a comfortable but capable weekend wagon, but also friendly enough to use as a daily driver. I do a bit of fly fishing and hunting, plus the odd day trip into the High Country with family and friends, so having something with a bit of storage space as well as a place to sleep should the weather turn, is a big point for me.

My planned list of modifications is as follows:

- 2" suspension lift - ✓
- MCC front winch bar - ✓
- Custom exhaust system (to let the engine breather easier)
- Custom dump pipe
- Limb risers - ✓
- EGR blank
- 285/75r16 (33") tires
- 16x8 black steel rims
- Auberins EGT and Water Temp gauges
- Genuine Toyota roof cage - ✓
- 240 watt LED light bar - ✓
- Rhino Rack Sunseeker awning (2mx2m) - ✓
- Aftermarket stereo system - ✓
- RAM iPad mount
- Garmin GPS mount
- LED cabin lights
- Daytime running lamps - ✓
- LED strip lights under bonnet (hood), tailgate and side doors
- Genuine Toyota roof racks - ✓
- Remove factory running boards - ✓
- Fab up Rock sliders
- Tinted windows - ✓
- Narva Plus 120 headlights
- General accesories: 1st Aid Kit, shovel, fire extinguisher etc - ✓





photo uploading websites

[Wild_South]

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UPDATE #2: THE WALLET IS EMPTYING...


Since taking ownership of the truck about five days ago, I must say I am very impressed. It is just so clean and tidy, both cosmetically and mechanically. With my old car finally sold I now have a bit more disposable income to "invest" in my wagon, in line with the modifications I listed in the first post.

So after a few days of researching and calling around for various quotes on different parts, I decided to sit down with this morning and do a bit of online shopping; and this is what I bought:

2" Suspension Lift and new Shocks

I was always anticipating lifting the truck up a bit - approximately 2" (50mm). For obvous reasons: better performance on and off road, will prevent the "Surf Sag" over time, and makes the truck look pretty darn good. As a daily driver I was wanting something with a bit of quality (ie: made by somebody reputible), and I also wanted a fall-back option incase they didn't turn out as I wanted. I came away with the following parts:

Front

Cobra CTFR-73 Coils (2" Raised)
Monroe Adventure Series Struts

Rear

Cobra CTRR-74 Coils (2" Raised)
Monroe Adventure Series Shocks


JVC Head Unit

So this was an immediate mod. The truck still had the original factory head unit which meant it didn't receive all radio bands here in New Zealand. I quickly grew sick of this (I'm talking about 15 minutes), so I stopped by Repco and bought a new JVC KD-R461 head unit. I had one in my old truck and was very impressed with it for the relatively cheap price, and I am impressed still.


New Thicker Core Radiator (KZJ95 Prado Radiator)

After inspecting the currently radiator and the colour of the coolant currently sitting in it I have decided to replace both. I decided to go for a thicker core (42mm) radiator that is meant for the 95 series Prados. It still has exactly the same inlet/outlet and mounting points as the KZN185 but will cool much more efficiently.


Auberins EGT (Exhaust Gas Temperature) and Water Temperature Gauges

This is essnetial. The 1KZ-TE are known to have head cracking issues, however if you can monitor your temperatures and drive religiously to them, chances are you'll never have an issue. The gauges will be set to limits (EGT - 650 degrees Celsius; Water Temp 95 degrees Celsius), and will alert me via an Auberins Buzzer. Many Surfs that crack heads are because of over stressing/overheating issues over a long period of time. Needless to say, by driving to the gauges, I will prevent any undue stress and therefore damage to my 1KZ-TE engine.


Genuine Toyota Roof Cage

This was on my old truck (along with the Awning and LED Light Bar mentioned below), and I was fortunate enough to be able to keep it - I am stoked about this as they are so hard to come by down here and very expensive. This robust piece of kit is actually used mostly just for mounting accessories, however on trips away I will use it for light objects. I read a very good article the other day talking about the dangers and stupidity of carrying the likes of tyres, fuel etc on roof cages, and agree. This will be used to tie down tents, tarps etc.


MCC Winch Bar

I decided the truck was in need of some front-end protection, and in my opinion there is no better bang for your buck than the MCC winch bar. The MCC bars are essentially the same as an ARB or aTJM bar but for nearly half the cost. They'll offer the Surf some decent front end protection along with a good mounting point for various accessories such as radio antennas, aerials, spotlights, light bars etc. This is currently in transit and should arrive soon!

[Wild_South]

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SHE'S BEEN LIFTED


Yesterday I managed to get the truck lifted with the supposed 50mm (2") lifted suspension kit I bought. After fitting it, the measurements from before and after actually indicate that it's more of a 60mm (2.36") lift - however I assume after a week or more driving it will begin to settle to a 40-50mm (1.5"-2").

I am quite impressed with the new coils and shocks - they seem to ride a lot nicer on the road than the factory ones and have certainly levelled the truck out a lot more. I must admit, given that the truck currently has it's Highway Terrain 265/70/16's still on it, it does look a bit ridiculous. I am sure she'll come up looking quite aggressive in a few days time once the black MCC Bull Bar and black rims are on.

My plan is to have a contrasting theme with the silver/grey against black features such as the bull bar, roof cage (which I am getting powder coated black), black wing mirrors, black door handles, black snorkel, black rims/tyres etc.

[Wild_South]

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TRANSFORMATION INTO AN ADVENTURE RIG


RADIATOR INSTALLED

After fitting the suspension kit last week which has raised the truck about 50mm, next on the list was getting the new Radiator fitted. This was bought from the team at Silverdale Radiators in Auckland and was on my doorstep just one day after ordering - excellent service! The thicker core (42mm) rad virtually slotted straight in. A few new hoses were needed as some of the old ones had begun to perish slightly. I went down to Ilam Toyota and picked up some Genuine Long Life Coolant (the good red stuff!) - this wasn't overly cheap, but as a key aspect of the cooling system (which is known to sometimes be a bit temperamental on these 1KZ-TE engines) I thought it was best to do it once, do it right.

The radiator is now in and having driven it for a couple of days there is nothing to report (because I am still waiting on my Auber gauges to get an accurate reading of my water temp!) - with this in mind, no news is good news so the radiator must be doing it's job!


ROOF CAGE POWDER COATED BLACK AND INSTALLED (ALONG WITH AWNING AND LED LIGHT BAR)

Up next was to powder coat my roof cage off my old truck (see in pics up the thread) black. The powder coat should give a long lasting and heavy duty surface to work with, particularly when loading the cage with any gear required for a trip away. The coat came up great, and I can't believe I didn't do this earlier - it's so much nicer and cleaner looking in black, rather than aluminium.

Once installed on the roof, I mounted the accessories. Firstly was the Rhino Rack Sunseeker 2x2m awning, then the 42" LED Lightbar.


MCC WINCH BAR INSTALLED


My MCC Winch Bar finally arrived a couple of days ago, so last night a mate and I got stuck in and fitted it. I was actually quite impressed as the job was pretty straightforward; almost just bolt on. However it was a bit time consuming as I wanted to get it right, and also the old bolts holding on the factory nudge bar and corroded and almost fused to the chassis - nothing a good long soak in WD-40 didn't fix though!

The bar is great - it is very solid, airbag compatible, includes LED daytime running lamps, fog-lights, indicators, as well as looking the part!


LIMB RISERS MADE UP AND FITTED

I wanted a bit of windscreen protection when going bush, but I also wanted the ability to "clip on, clip off" at the drop of a hat. I decided the best method was to use some cable and carabiners - obviously the way I have done this is not as serious as making up limb risers for the likes of the Camel Trophy, but these will just give me the protection I'm after on weekend trips.

[derk]

they should be sweet but for piece of mind did you cycle the lifted suspension to make sure any of the brake hoses aren't being pulled tight

[Wild_South]

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NEARLY THERE!


It has been a good three months now since I have owned my 1997 Toyota Surf. I have managed to transform her almost "To the T", of what I want in a truck. These characteristics from the start were: a reliable daily driver (i.e. Not a big brut that was laborious to drive around), but also a rig that would get me to the places that I want to go with friends and family.

My modification list thus far (and I doubt it will ever cease) is:

- 2" suspension lift (Dobinson coils and Monroe shocks all round)
- 16x8 ROH Black Series rims with a -22 Offset (just some minor trimming of the guards was req'd to stop rub when flexing and at full-lock)
- 285/75/r16 Hercules Terra Trac D/T tires
- Tait TM9100 Series radio unit
- Silverdale thicker core radiator
- New fluids/filters
- MCC winch bar
- Limb risers
- Genuine Toyota Roof Cage (powder-coated satin black)
- Fire extinguisher
- Fishing rod holder
- Jerry can
- Water can
- Outdoor 1st Aid kit
- Rhino Rack 2m x 2m Sunseeker Awning
- 42" LED light bar
- JVC head unit
- Coated entire underbody in fish oil spray to prevent corrosion/rusting
- Various GoPro mounts

[Wild_South]

they should be sweet but for piece of mind did you cycle the lifted suspension to make sure any of the brake hoses aren't being pulled tight

Hey Derk, yep sure did! Cheers for the heads up though mate

[KIWI_TERRANO]

The "day running" lights in bar would have actually been ment for park light, as when you gonfor wof there is certain rules about where you the park light must be visable and most bars blocl them

[drive it ...]

I see your latest list has dobinson springs, earlier you fitted cobras. Why'd you change? Nice looking truck BTW.

[Surf4x4]

Nice Rig mate, good to see another tough looking Surf around. Here's a pic of mine, taken a while but finally got there.
Looking forward to seeing some more progress on yours.

[ashleygt]

Just out of interest what sort of effect has all this work had on your fuel consumption?

[OffroaderGuy]

Very detailed build thread you got here. By the way, nice photos. impressive rig build.

[floatingkiwi]

I see your latest list has dobinson springs, earlier you fitted cobras. Why'd you change? Nice looking truck BTW.

I'm keen on the answer too - I've got EFS stuff but the rear left is no longer quite captive and need a spring with a longer free length.