GQ project.

[haydgq]

Sounds like a cool project and you cant beat the Nissan running gear, Is yours a N/A td42.? A vh45 would look good in that engine bay

How long is the wheelbase of a GQ shorty and are they as short as a swb Hilux chassis.?? Just wondering what sort of tray you will build and how much room you have for one.

Good luck and post heaps of pics once that Lux cab is on

[juz]

why not a navara cab??
http://www.purenissan.com/DSCN0021.JPG

[flyingbrick]

Here are my reasons.

I get to do away with the worst of the safari and the worst of the hilux.

Here are the facts (all IMO)

Hiluxes are expensive to purcase, gutless as shit, have relatively weak gear boxes, diffs and axles.

To get a hilux chassis up with a safari you are changing to coil springs. $$$$$

To get a hilux with diffs as strong a the safari's you are changing to landcruiser axles. $$$$$

To get a motor as capable and reliable as the TD42 you have to either totally forget the hilux and buy a cruiser OR perform an engine transplant....which then means you have to use stronger axles and box as discussed above.

Dont get me wrong. I love the hilux. I love the look at them and always wanted to keep it in the family . The last nissan i owned before this was a total POS and i swore i'd never buy another- but it was simply the best platform I could have purchased.

Now, With this hilux cab I'm gaining a farkload of approach angle- I no longer have to move the front diff, spring perches and panhard rods 50mm forwards as I was before. I'll be modifying my drop boxes so its just +15.

I'm dropping a SHITLOAD of weight. Compare a safari bonnet with a toyota one.

I'm gaining a completely RUST FREE BODY. My safari is full of rust and most of them seem to have the same issues.. The rust came up while i got my wof today. I passed... but only just.

I'm now able to move my perches and shock mounts UPWARDS 2" so my 4" lift springs only give 2" lift but with 2" additional up movement.

I can do this because of the nice FG front guards available for the lux (see jafa's truck) which give the required clearance. This was much uglier to achieve with the nissan.

My Centre of G is going to be FAR FAR FAR lower taking this route (moved perches and hilux cab) than before with the safari cab and 4" lift.

I NEEDED a GQ ute cab rear cut OR a GQ ute cab to convert this thing into a ute. Lots of welding and lots of time needed. Plus there were still going to be issues getting desired clearance out of te front guards without cutting them upwards more than i was comfortable.

The hilux front guards inner guard (the steel on each side of the engine bay) is closer together than on the safari. This means my tires have more room to swing inwards without rubbing.

This hilux cab- with no rust and a fresh paint job was CHEAPER than getting a gq ute cab rear cut.

Its just win win win win win.

Plus its given me a chance to do and learn some really cool shit along with the fact i end up with a really individual vehicle.

It should go pretty well with the turbo and reduction in weight

I also got waynes roll bar- so now have a little (better than nothing) roll protection too. Easy.

[flyingbrick]

Thanks hayden The support is much appreciated.

My motor is non turbo TD42- however i have a brand new TD06 20g with 8cm exhaust housing (built by steve murch) on the way so it should haul arse. Especially wit the lighter weight cab.

Wheelbase of the GQ is less than waynes lux was from the factory- however this will be chaging as im pushing the rear axle back- either by using longer rear factory arms or by going triangulated four link.

[flyingbrick]

why not a navara cab??
http://www.purenissan.com/DSCN0021.JPG

Navara cabs are ugly lol and dont have the parts support that toytas have.

Loved the look of the later ones but they are big beans and impossible to find just as a bare cab, guards etc.

[Andrew1706]

Hilux drivetrains can be made plenty strong when modified properly.

Because they are smaller they get further before bellying therefore don't need to be beaten on so hard.

[flyingbrick]

Hilux drivetrains can be made plenty strong when modified properly.

Because they are smaller they get further before bellying therefore don't need to be beaten on so hard.

then why do so much lux guys change to cruiser gear?

As said before- the only reason i did not buy a hilux in the first place is that I realized the amount of money and work required to make it liveable was HUGE. Maybe i just drove bad ones.

-------------------

I've been trying to work through the list of shit during lunchtime and after work- I cant get started on the bulk of it until Vvega clears a space for me at car tune (buddy- when your cab arrives flick me a phone at work and you know i'll be there with ya every night to help out)

But I do have a fairly comprehensive plan full of jobs and sub-projects i can do until the major stuff gets underway.

As I work through things I'm going to list them here and show what i've done. Hopefully some of these ideas are new and of use to someone else. This is gonna be kinda like a blog.

wiring/interior
I'm going to be using the complete safari loom, steering column and gauges- possibly even the top half of the dash and a cut down middle/plastic centre surround. After all the trouble I have had so far with electrical stuff (winding windows etc) I've decided to keep the wiring and loom as simple as possible- and I'll be working to cut the loom down to the bare essentials. Everything not to do with gauge cluster, head/tail lights and the engine will be removed.

There is not much room inside the lux shell and I need to retain as much space behind the dash and above footwells as possible. I have stuff that needs to fit in there (will get to that later)

SO- I decided to ditch the huge later model lux heater system that's installed in there and started dreaming up smaller more compact custom options. I always try to think of ways to use existing parts- suddenly and after 10 minutes with a 10mm ring spanner and a screw driver had this sitting on the table.

Getting emotional here- but this is definitely the most compact, awesome and fitting heater system I have ever seen. Tiney core, 12v fan (was gutted, thought it was 24 but thats all good) and its all ready to fit. Guess where its from



Next on the list is body mounts. Rather than stuffing around with moving the factory ones I'm just going to take some more accurate measurements of the lux body and the safari chassis tomorrow and get them made up by the profile cutters so that they are ready to weld on and drill on the day.

[DaveM]

Did you get your flywheel in the end?

[flyingbrick]

Nah mate. I've over-extended myself for the next few weeks with this manual conversion/hydraulic winch/ute cab/turbo. If a flywheel comes up for cheap enough I'll grab it though!

[DaveM]

The guy I got my winch from said he would give me his for a box of piss incl. bolts.
He is a few minutes out of Greymouth, so if you are keen, you may be able to find someone on here that can pick it up and use the good ol' ORE couriers to get it up to you.

Let me know and I'll get in tuch with him

[haydgq]

Thanks hayden The support is much appreciated.

My motor is non turbo TD42- however i have a brand new TD06 20g with 8cm exhaust housing (built by steve murch) on the way so it should haul arse. Especially wit the lighter weight cab.

Wheelbase of the GQ is less than waynes lux was from the factory- however this will be chaging as im pushing the rear axle back- either by using longer rear factory arms or by going triangulated four link.

Hey bud no worries and im a huge fan of the Nissan stuff esp the GQ/GU series and i agree the Navara cab's are ugly

But the strength thing is all relevant to the power and weight of the truck and i know a lot of GQ's break cv's with front lockers and more power than stock etc, A Hilux can be made very strong and Cromo cv's are quiet cheap compared to stronger gear for the big Nissan's.

There are a shite load of Hilux's around with gruntier engines that hardly break cv's or diff's and the Trials guys are a good example with heaps still running standard Hilux gear, esp once air lockers and cromo cv's are fitted then there are not many breakages.

But in saying all that i still think what you are doing is going to be a awesome tough club truck and your comments about saving weight are true as i rekon a GQ bonnet weights close to a complete Hilux single cab

When do you think you might have it completed.??

Hey and leave Wayne alone he's got a certain Hilux that somebody wants back as a xmas pressie

[flyingbrick]

Thanks hayden The support is much appreciated.

My motor is non turbo TD42- however i have a brand new TD06 20g with 8cm exhaust housing (built by steve murch) on the way so it should haul arse. Especially wit the lighter weight cab.

Wheelbase of the GQ is less than waynes lux was from the factory- however this will be chaging as im pushing the rear axle back- either by using longer rear factory arms or by going triangulated four link.

Hey bud no worries and im a huge fan of the Nissan stuff esp the GQ/GU series and i agree the Navara cab's are ugly

But the strength thing is all relevant to the power and weight of the truck and i know a lot of GQ's break cv's with front lockers and more power than stock etc, A Hilux can be made very strong and Cromo cv's are quiet cheap compared to stronger gear for the big Nissan's.

There are a shite load of Hilux's around with gruntier engines that hardly break cv's or diff's and the Trials guys are a good example with heaps still running standard Hilux gear, esp once air lockers and cromo cv's are fitted then there are not many breakages.

But in saying all that i still think what you are doing is going to be a awesome tough club truck and your comments about saving weight are true as i rekon a GQ bonnet weights close to a complete Hilux single cab

When do you think you might have it completed.??

Hey and leave Wayne alone he's got a certain Hilux that somebody wants back as a xmas pressie

It'll be completed after wayne does his truck. I have to wait for his truck to move out befor ei can move in (and get his old cab)

Not trying to build a tough truck! I have no interest in competition at all at this stage- though may give some club stuff a go in the future perhaps

wont argue that you can make hilux stuff plenty strong this is just what i had available.
Try to think of it as making a GQ better- not making a Hilux better.

[flyingbrick]

The guy I got my winch from said he would give me his for a box of piss incl. bolts.
He is a few minutes out of Greymouth, so if you are keen, you may be able to find someone on here that can pick it up and use the good ol' ORE couriers to get it up to you.

Let me know and I'll get in tuch with him

DO IT!!!!!

Buy him what he wants and i'll reimburse you + some.

Thanks buddy!!!

-Nathan.

[darinz]

Great idea! It really a cheap way to get a strong well performing truck!
This similar to what I'm doing except all I'm using is the GQ axles and drivetrain so mine will be lighter again with even more HP.
I hear what you are saying about Hilux parts. I have a GQ front axle with 35x11.5 Simex sitting under a D21 cab and the frales are going to be very very big to cover them up!!! However a D21 cab is extremely light as well.

One thing to think about when you do the front suspension mods is up travel. With Waynes help I assume you've already thought about it but the diff head will hit the sump so make sure you set it clear of that, set you bumpstop height then plan you spring mounts and shock hieghts. Still it is smart way of keeping some handling while increasing the travel.

[flyingbrick]

Great idea! It really a cheap way to get a strong well performing truck!
This similar to what I'm doing except all I'm using is the GQ axles and drivetrain so mine will be lighter again with even more HP.
I hear what you are saying about Hilux parts. I have a GQ front axle with 35x11.5 Simex sitting under a D21 cab and the frales are going to be very very big to cover them up!!! However a D21 cab is extremely light as well.

One thing to think about when you do the front suspension mods is up travel. With Waynes help I assume you've already thought about it but the diff head will hit the sump so make sure you set it clear of that, set you bumpstop height then plan you spring mounts and shock hieghts. Still it is smart way of keeping some handling while increasing the travel.

Thanks Darin. Much appreciated.

I took some additional measurements today which has meant i can get the new body mount parts cut out for me at the profile cutters I'll tack them up at work so it should be bloody easy to get that side of it done on the day. Width should be set bang on with the holes 2mm or so larger than required for a little bit of allowance. All thats to do is put body where required and weld mounts to chassis.

Will face the suspension changes later on after the body is on and that sides done. Want to move the perches up 2" but really have no plan to deal with the sump clearance issues- other than maybe a modified sump.

I may have mentioned this in an earlier post but I have drop boxes which are set for a 4" lift and which are set to push the front diff forwards 50(or something) mm.

I wanted to push the diff forwards to increase approach angle AND to give me clearance between back of guard and back of wheel. With the lux body NEITHER of these issues are relevant at all and if I only lift it 2" then I don't even have a reason to use any drop box at all.

Guess I'll sell them!

The front of the lux nose will sit back around 400mm (believe it or not!) further than the safari grille sits- I'll just lop the end of the rails off. You simply cant ask for better. imo.

Another issue i may have mentioned is the coil springs I have. I'm praying 4wd bits will accept them back in exchange for some lighter coils- These will be stiff as anything with the weight reduction. Or MAYBE thats a good thing? Perhaps it'll give me the ability to thrash it a little more without risk of bottoming things out (it wont have hydro stops for a long while)?

The hydo winch is not the fastest in the world- 22ft per min............at max load. According to the data it can pull 24,000lb (double line pull at 11 ft per min) faster than my M8000 pulling 8,000lb (single line pull at 8 ft per minute)

Pretty good imo considering its not a comp winch.

[haydgq]

So what is that Heater unit out of bud.??

And you will be amazed at the height you might gain from using the lighter Lux cab and you might find that almost standard height Safari springs might be sweet or factory 80 series coils will be around 2-3 inch higher than the Nissan ones eh

Have you seen my Grey/Red Hilux at cartune at the mo.? That is on a 130 surf Chassis with a coiled Prado front end and its got standard sagged rear surf springs in the arse and standard Prado 78 series front coils, The cab has had a 50mm Body lift and thats really the only lift its had and its still to high in my opinion but once the winch/bullbar goes on it will settle down a little bit.

Cheers and might even see you around when im picking my truck form Wayne soon.

[darinz]

That is the heater out of the centre console. I used this in my truck and just modified (!) it to mount directly to the windscreen vent and recirculate the air. I only wanted it to keep windscreen clear and provide heat. It worked really really well. The good thing is even though they are from a 24v truck, the motor is 12v and has a built in voltage reducer. All you need to do is remove that and run it 12v. Well that is what I did and it worked sweet. It even has built in tap to trun off blah blah blah.

[flyingbrick]

That is the heater out of the centre console. I used this in my truck and just modified (!) it to mount directly to the windscreen vent and recirculate the air. I only wanted it to keep windscreen clear and provide heat. It worked really really well. The good thing is even though they are from a 24v truck, the motor is 12v and has a built in voltage reducer. All you need to do is remove that and run it 12v. Well that is what I did and it worked sweet. It even has built in tap to trun off blah blah blah.

Whoa- back up. so inside that case is a voltage reducer?

I wanna feed it with 24v

I'm sure one of my posts never went through. Hayden..... I've seen your trucks lots. Bloody inspiring. That cab and color is beautiful.
I keep saying to wayne that i'd be happy if my cab comes out looking that nice with new doors and guards.

BTW ive driven your truck too. I idled it into the workshop a few metres one night when it needed parking

[haydgq]

That is the heater out of the centre console. I used this in my truck and just modified (!) it to mount directly to the windscreen vent and recirculate the air. I only wanted it to keep windscreen clear and provide heat. It worked really really well. The good thing is even though they are from a 24v truck, the motor is 12v and has a built in voltage reducer. All you need to do is remove that and run it 12v. Well that is what I did and it worked sweet. It even has built in tap to trun off blah blah blah.

Whoa- back up. so inside that case is a voltage reducer?

I wanna feed it with 24v

I'm sure one of my posts never went through. Hayden..... I've seen your trucks lots. Bloody inspiring. That cab and color is beautiful.
I keep saying to wayne that i'd be happy if my cab comes out looking that nice with new doors and guards.

BTW ive driven your truck too. I idled it into the workshop a few metres one night when it needed parking

Hey,

Cheers for the comments but please dont call it Beautiful its a man's truck haha,

Yea the paint looks alright from 10 meters away The marks on the guards look shite and are from the air hose and i didnt notice them untill spraying the clear coat and then it was to late It was a mission painting it with a cheap gun and tiny compressor and in a dark and dusty shed but i wasn't that concerned about how it turned out as it's obviously going to get scratched up and dinged etc,
Its funny as the colour is a 1986 Rover colour so ill know what to blame if my truck starts leaking oil

Sweet you have prob driven it more than me haha.

[flyingbrick]

That is the heater out of the centre console. I used this in my truck and just modified (!) it to mount directly to the windscreen vent and recirculate the air. I only wanted it to keep windscreen clear and provide heat. It worked really really well. The good thing is even though they are from a 24v truck, the motor is 12v and has a built in voltage reducer. All you need to do is remove that and run it 12v. Well that is what I did and it worked sweet. It even has built in tap to trun off blah blah blah.

Whoa- back up. so inside that case is a voltage reducer?

I wanna feed it with 24v

I'm sure one of my posts never went through. Hayden..... I've seen your trucks lots. Bloody inspiring. That cab and color is beautiful.
I keep saying to wayne that i'd be happy if my cab comes out looking that nice with new doors and guards.

BTW ive driven your truck too. I idled it into the workshop a few metres one night when it needed parking

Hey,

Cheers for the comments but please dont call it Beautiful its a man's truck haha,

Yea the paint looks alright from 10 meters away The marks on the guards look shite and are from the air hose and i didnt notice them untill spraying the clear coat and then it was to late It was a mission painting it with a cheap gun and tiny compressor and in a dark and dusty shed but i wasn't that concerned about how it turned out as it's obviously going to get scratched up and dinged etc,
Its funny as the colour is a 1986 Rover colour so ill know what to blame if my truck starts leaking oil

Sweet you have prob driven it more than me haha.

You are being bloody modest.

Those flaws are not immediately noticeable unless you really look for them. Overall I think you did a great job!! especially since you say it was done with a cheap gun in your shed!

--------------------------------------------

I rolled past waynes (vvega's) place tonight and had a yarn about the GQ and how things are going to be done. I really do feel privileged to have him and Hamiltons CarTune helping with the build.
Its fantastic and reassuring to talk with someone (wayne) and realize that they do know what they are taking about and that you both are on the same page and know where each others jobs start and end.

[haydgq]

Yea i suppose it did come out ok for a first timer but ill be getting some practice again soon once i get that wellside sprayed.

And Wayne and Kelvin are great guys and allways willing to help, Like my truck went in there to sort out a little (maybe major) wiring issue and right from the start Wayne started helping with other little Issues with i really appreciated so you cant get better service and knowledge than that eh And Kelvin gave me a ride in the Turbo 1UZ 130 series surf and god damm thats impressive.

Wayne is thinking mine might be ready by next sat so i might see you up there.

Cheers Hayden.

[flyingbrick]

Is "next sat" this coming saturday? If so- I may be there. I have been hanging around like a bad smell.

I doubt kelvin is going to let me use their plasma cutter again however after yesterdays chomping of his donor surf

I paid a visit to Steve at 4wd Fibreglass (07 846 7815) in Hamilton after work today. Bloody nice chap and willing to have a good yarn and help out were ever possible If you need glass fibre toyota or safari guards/bonnets/anything 4wd pannel related give him a call.

Here is my new CF hilux bonnet Its a second because the mold was not waxed correctly and some of the gellcoat pulled off- which just means it needs a little filling and cant be left as pure CF finish.
The upside is that the price was right (less than the materials!), its very light, very rigid due to the carbon fibre AND the centre bulge is like 2x larger than normal. I believe its the same as Tims bonnet (madaz i think) here in the forums.

The bulge could be needed (or could still be too small!) due to my straight 6 being much larger than the toyota lump that was in there + because I want to raise it higher than factory. May not be an issue but wont really know till the cabs on.

Its being trimmed before i pickup later in the week.




Also had a good look at the guards i'll be using. VERY happy with the width and amount of space they will give me.

I've never been so confident and thrilled with how this project is going

All it took was an old toyota hilux.

[haydgq]

Yea Wayne thinks this Sat coming but wont be sure untill later in the week eh, Sweet about ya Bonnet and Guard's they will look nice on Wayne's old cab but dont make it to nice or you wont wana drive it hard I was keen on a set of those guards but having the wellside makes it a bit hard to match the body up so wil leave the factory ones on and fit wide flares so hopfully ill get a wof and certed ok

The wrecker doesn't have any mint doors and only has black Grill's left now but if you want really mint parts you might be out of luck with my guy as they just get shitters that get sent to the Middle East/Africa etc

Its funny you said you drove my Lux twice the other day, Now you have driven it more than me so how sad is that Ive forgotten how it even looks and how that V8 sounds haha

Is Wayne making another custom tray to fit the new 106 cab or is he still trying to find a wellside.?

Cheers

[flyingbrick]

I think he's found a wellside. But that could be a secret and i could be wrong I just dont know any longer.

Don't feel bad about me driving your truck. I don't think i have even touched the gas pedal yet. like i said- just an idle.

I love the shit out of the cabin on it though. You might get it back looking white... suspiciously like waynes.

[haydgq]

I think he's found a wellside. But that could be a secret and i could be wrong I just dont know any longer.

Don't feel bad about me driving your truck. I don't think i have even touched the gas pedal yet. like i said- just an idle.

I love the shit out of the cabin on it though. You might get it back looking white... suspiciously like waynes.

Haha sweet i dont feel bad just want to drive it myself one day maybe by next xmas As ive still got lots of other stuff to be done once Wayne has finished.

Yea its going to be a hose out cab as ive lined the complete floor area with rust kill then the spray on Hippo Liner then just sprayed the exterior colour everywere eh, Your keeping the later model dash/interior from wayne's cab.? It all fits the older cab quiet nicely aye.

[flyingbrick]

Thats exactly what i wanted to do- line the cab with bed liner.

Did you spray on the hippo liner yourself or get it done somewhere? expensive? I've had no carpet in my vehicles before and the paint gets worn off fast from your shoes and the sound resonating through the steel panels is nasty. I bet the hippo liner makes it a whole lot nicer!

No idea if I'm going to use the later model dash or not. I'm using my GQ's gauge cluster which obviously will not fit into the lux dash. Would like to use the GQ upper dash pannel and middle part that holds the radio etc but gotta get everything else done before i can even consider that. All depends on what we do with the steering column etc.

Basically- its up to Vvega. I tell him what i want and he tells me whats actually going to happen but he's 99% right anyway so I just go with it.

[Sadam_Husain]

The bulge could be needed (or could still be too small!) due to my straight 6 being much larger than the toyota lump that was in there + because I want to raise it higher than factory. May not be an issue but wont really know till the cabs on.

Thats what I was wondering how well the long tall motor will fit in the engine bay thats designed for a little 4 cylinder engine, have you had a bit of a measure up or are you just going to cut and lift things up a bit as you go to get it to fit?

[flyingbrick]

Its getting the entire GQ trans tunnel so that the floor and firewall will be in the same place as with the factory GQ body. Not expecting hight to be that much of an issue as people fit in 1 and 2j's

Wayne and i discussed this and he was told that the body was going where its going and if te motor sticks out the top we'll deal with that after.

[haydgq]

[quote="flyingbrick"]Thats exactly what i wanted to do- line the cab with bed liner.

Did you spray on the hippo liner yourself or get it done somewhere? expensive? I've had no carpet in my vehicles before and the paint gets worn off fast from your shoes and the sound resonating through the steel panels is nasty. I bet the hippo liner makes it a whole lot nicer!

No idea if I'm going to use the later model dash or not. I'm using my GQ's gauge cluster which obviously will not fit into the lux dash. Would like to use the GQ upper dash pannel and middle part that holds the radio etc but gotta get everything else done before i can even consider that. All depends on what we do with the steering column etc.


Na I just brushed the bed liner in and then used the sponge roller that comes with the kit to make it grippy, Its the Hippo Liner that super cheap have and when they have a good sale its under $100 for the kit, Just make sure you have no rust or any siqn of it under the liner as it will spread under the liner and you wont even know its happening It will help with the deadening of the cab and I also brushed the Bitumen body sealer under the cab to help seal it and keep the noise down.

So are you guys building your whole truck down at cartune.? Lucky to have that workshop and equipment

[flyingbrick]

So damn sexy- even if it is a second.

Giving it a sand and then the glass man is spraying the center with gellcoat to make it glassy and smooth and so i can leave the cf center unpainted and ricey.

Took sme measurements.

I have just 480-490mm of width on each side for my seats. There will be no WRX seats in this truck!