Offroad-Express

dazza85 wrote:This is an OPEN forum where people are allowed to voice their own personal opinion or belief.
If your personal opinion / belief differs form theirs, thats fine.
You are entitled to your opinion just as they are entitled to theirs.
Post your opinion... we all love a decent discussion.

Sorry I forgot to add that my previous post was only based on my opinion

Lets just get back to the thread at hand, how this awesome truck has a Isuzu bit on it!!!!!

Bulletproof wrote:I am a very critical and analytical person who is always looking for ways to improve the truck. I went against the common belief that a real 4 wheel drive is a short wheelbase and bought a hilux when most people had short wheelbase cruisers and landrovers.

I was told the Hilux won't last . It is not strong enough, but have since proved them wrong. Over the years I have looked for ways to make it go better and have made mistakes but they only result in improvement and I haven't finished yet because there is nothing that can't be improved.
The Hilux to date owes me roughly $50,000 but there is more to come, because it still needs improving and I dont claim it to be the best and I dont claim to be the best 4 wheel driver.

given the amount of time and money you have spent on your hilux, if you were to start again from scratch would you still use a hilux as a base? or is there something else that may have been a better option?

i was thinking that if someone was prepared to modify a 4wd to the extent that you have, then it almost wouldnt matter what you started with.

It's a shame to see yet again a top guy full of useful information to young and new 4x4ers having to defend himself.
So many full of lifes experiences have left ORE recently, or just plain old "watch" instead of contributing.....

I'm with Tim on this one, as I'm sure are all others that have been on a trip or gleaned 4WD information from Richard. As for his Balls--------- I've never seen them nor want to but I can assure you all the way he drives his vehicle and defies the limits of gravity , I am yet to check his seat out but I would say It would have to be specially manufactured to accommodate his------( hiccup;) big Appendages.
It's probably the same reason why SKID has to have a special PINK HAT manufactured to accommodate his---------( no now is not the time to have a go at SKID )

MY TIME WILL COME,

FITZY.

Ditto to the above posts.
Why bother posting anything useful here, when some c**k head is just going to express their opinion (which is generally total BS).
It is a shame for the guys who are genuinely getting something useful from ORE, that any decent information is now very hard to dig up.
Rant over, and sorry Richard for the thread jack, but this sh*t has been going for far too long.

I have to be different and say "Thank you Richard" I own a lwb hilux and have read this thread twice (along with others on here from times gone by I have also had the opportunity to meet you and be co-pilot not for the faint hearted!

All this information you give freely along with others from here helps me not make the same mistakes and take shortcuts avoiding issues and costs you and others have found. I hope you keep posting , the one bit of advice i am ignoring is the coil frontend I will stay with leaf springs (I can't afford it for the driving I do and don't have the technical ability to build a 5 link like Rokhound even with all the reading).

Apart from protection what have you been able to do to improve the headlights? one very weak point in a hilux or with the lift is it better already.

Other question's I have is what was how do you keep your gear dry and how do you tie it down? I am forever breaking the boxes I have in the tray and they never stay under the straps and slide easily I just want a better cost effective option the plastic bins and drums are getting too thin now days.

Thanks and see you out there driving and encouraging others to do the same again some time.

Where was this original statement of skids made, and how did it come about?

Oh, and the way my post was written may or may not have come across as an attack, it was not meant as one.
I am always keen to learn, but hold back on going on a lot of trips as I have a lack of experience, and don't want to be the one holding people up, and slowing trips down.
I am weary of the new hippo, and would like to keep it fairly straight, but hopefully, this isn't a "lack of balls", I just can't afford the repairs

I have always wanted to buy another vehicle as a bush truck, and the more I see of Richards hilux on here, the more I'm tempted to try one

where is skids post's it was starting to get entertaining

Chopper01 wrote:where is skids post's it was starting to get entertaining

Hi chopper.
It was under " What's this Hilux worth ?

A guy like skid needs a project like you and me to work on and he wouldn't have the time to talk such shit that means nothing at all.
If he went out and did a bit of real 4 wheel driving more he would see how a real long wheelbase works on the track.

I have never tried to promote myself and are only passing on whats works for me. You guys into the rock crawling need a totally different set up.

Thanks guys for all the positive comments and I will carry on with more posts.

Cheers Richard

Good on ya Richard

nstg8a wrote:
given the amount of time and money you have spent on your hilux, if you were to start again from scratch would you still use a hilux as a base? or is there something else that may have been a better option?

i was thinking that if someone was prepared to modify a 4wd to the extent that you have, then it almost wouldnt matter what you started with.

Using a Hlux has many advantages but a Surf is also OK. The reason a hilux suits me over a surf is because I can throw all the dirty gear on the back and dont have petrol smells inside from chainsaws etc. Also because the deck of the hilux is separate from the body it can be lifted separately to give a better departure angle and also reduce floatation in deep rivers. Mine is 1100mm off the ground.
Probably the single most important thing to make a truck capable is ground clearance and Hilux is miles better than a Landcruiser or Safari ,on the 35s I have 300mm under the diffs and 700mm under the chasis.

I know this will put me off side with many of the modified surf people, but I wouldn't have anything but a diesel and a manual one as well. I wouldn't have an EFI .
For what I do petrols are not reliable enough and are tempermental. I Have seen too many petrols die in deep rivers and I have had to back in to rescue them.
As I have already stated I like the long wheelbase even though a D/C hilux is slightly too long probably. Apart from tight manoeuvering in every other aspect they have the advantage as long as you have the height to give a good approach and departure angle. My approach angle is nearly 70 degrees and departure over 45degrees.

The other advantage of a Hilux or a surf is the choice of options regarding engines , Gearboxs and diff ratios etc and if you have a breakdown can usually get a part without too much trouble.

The only other truck I considered was a range rover but this was only for the suspension and you would need to throw all the running gear away and still use hilux parts.

Cheers Richard

Did your turning circle improve with the prado diff, Its the one thing that gets me about my lux, it sux even with 50mm wheel spacers on

I'm not hardcore (I like to keep my truck straight) but I admire those with the desire to thrash their vehicles and show us what breaks.

So yeah, back to Bulletproof and his modified hilux.

Bulletproof wrote:

nstg8a wrote:
given the amount of time and money you have spent on your hilux, if you were to start again from scratch would you still use a hilux as a base? or is there something else that may have been a better option?

i was thinking that if someone was prepared to modify a 4wd to the extent that you have, then it almost wouldnt matter what you started with.

Using a Hlux has many advantages but a Surf is also OK. The reason a hilux suits me over a surf is because I can throw all the dirty gear on the back and dont have petrol smells inside from chainsaws etc. Also because the deck of the hilux is separate from the body it can be lifted separately to give a better departure angle and also reduce floatation in deep rivers. Mine is 1100mm off the ground.
Probably the single most important thing to make a truck capable is ground clearance and Hilux is miles better than a Landcruiser or Safari ,on the 35s I have 300mm under the diffs and 700mm under the chasis.

I know this will put me off side with many of the modified surf people, but I wouldn't have anything but a diesel and a manual one as well. I wouldn't have an EFI .
For what I do petrols are not reliable enough and are tempermental. I Have seen too many petrols die in deep rivers and I have had to back in to rescue them.
As I have already stated I like the long wheelbase even though a D/C hilux is slightly too long probably. Apart from tight manoeuvering in every other aspect they have the advantage as long as you have the height to give a good approach and departure angle. My approach angle is nearly 70 degrees and departure over 45degrees.

The other advantage of a Hilux or a surf is the choice of options regarding engines , Gearboxs and diff ratios etc and if you have a breakdown can usually get a part without too much trouble.

The only other truck I considered was a range rover but this was only for the suspension and you would need to throw all the running gear away and still use hilux parts.

Cheers Richard

cheers for that, that answered the questions that have been rolling around in my head..., even though i loved my old patrol and it was surprisingly capable for a standard truck, i dont think i would buy another one, parts were too expensive, and the interior room was crap considering the width of the thing.
so i guess when i get back from oz the hunt will be on for a modded solid front surf i think.

smurf, dont sell yours till i get back lol.

haynzy wrote:Did your turning circle improve with the prado diff, Its the one thing that gets me about my lux, it sux even with 50mm wheel spacers on

My turning circle sucked badly with the 35x12.5s while I had the leaf springs. Since I fitted the Nissan Suspension and moved the diff an inch forward my turning circle is good even without spacers but could be improved with 25mm spacers.

The diff is a 70 series landcruiser high pinion 8 inch.which has the same wheel track as a hilux.

Cheers Richard

beam axles are great etc but for the money a shitty old beam axle surf is going for and considering that you will prob rip it all out and go rears in the front or some other setup you might as well start with a cheap as chips dime a dozen ifs surf and start cutting. That's obviously assuming you want a surf. As i have said before noting is perfect everything needs improvement so start with something you like and suits you and work from there.

Oh and yea, cheers Richard your info and experience is super valuable and highly appreciated and respected.

Off topic is one thing, there is alot of shit talked on this site but lets try and keep it out of useful threads like this one.

nstg8a wrote:so i guess when i get back from oz the hunt will be on for a modded solid front surf i think.

smurf, dont sell yours till i get back lol.

By the time you get back from Oz mine might almost be finished, maybe. But your not having it.
Buy Lurch's one and store it with the Coon til you come home

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 504199.htm

Bulletproof wrote:I know this will put me off side with many of the modified surf people, but I wouldn't have anything but a diesel and a manual one as well. I wouldn't have an EFI .
For what I do petrols are not reliable enough and are tempermental. I Have seen too many petrols die in deep rivers and I have had to back in to rescue them.

I agree with you Richard, given my time over, and it may still happen yet, a 1KZ DT would be sat in the hole where the Supra resides, they are definately less tepremental around water, a good solid power, and now days fairly reasonably priced.
5 years ago when I did my repower I bought a whole Supra car for $400 and at that time a 1KZ was $6000, with a young family the Supra was the best bang for buck as even the Commodore engines were around $2000 at that satge.

Apart from getting a little old, what are the down sides of the older surf like the one for sale above/hosehustlers?
I see that the falcon spring conversion is popular with these, can this not be done on Hiluxs?

rangimotors wrote:beam axles are great etc but for the money a shitty old beam axle surf is going for and considering that you will prob rip it all out and go rears in the front or some other setup you might as well start with a cheap as chips dime a dozen ifs surf and start cutting. That's obviously assuming you want a surf. As i have said before noting is perfect everything needs improvement so start with something you like and suits you and work from there.

Oh and yea, cheers Richard your info and experience is super valuable and highly appreciated and respected.

Off topic is one thing, there is a lot of shit talked on this site but lets try and keep it out of useful threads like this one.

Ditto ... there are a few threads I would love to clean the chatter and rubbish out of and like this one there is so much useful information for all to learn from. Even guys like me that don't go hard cause it's my daily driver.
I have to admit that I really enjoy watching what people can do with a well set up truck

i would like to hope that at some stage when Richard decides, he will ask a moderator to remove all junk out of it and lock the thread or put it in the tech section or something.
Just an idea, keep up the good work.
oh and yes you can do coon springs on both hilux's and surfs.
And just from another point of view, i got rid of my 1kz surf and choose to extensively mod a double cab with a supra engine. I loved my 1kz engine and have yet to drive the supra but i believe that the upside of petrol is being able to replace a shagged supra engine for 500 or less compared to the thousands a good diesel costs. I think it is worth the dick around trying to seal them up and keep the reliable. For all that i still haven't driven my supra only a 1kz and a 2lte so time will tell no doubt..

hosehustler wrote:

Bulletproof wrote:I know this will put me off side with many of the modified surf people, but I wouldn't have anything but a diesel and a manual one as well. I wouldn't have an EFI .
For what I do petrols are not reliable enough and are tempermental. I Have seen too many petrols die in deep rivers and I have had to back in to rescue them.

I agree with you Richard, given my time over, and it may still happen yet, a 1KZ DT would be sat in the hole where the Supra resides, they are definately less tepremental around water, a good solid power, and now days fairly reasonably priced.
5 years ago when I did my repower I bought a whole Supra car for $400 and at that time a 1KZ was $6000, with a young family the Supra was the best bang for buck as even the Commodore engines were around $2000 at that satge.

There is no comprimise in my eyes petrol power but then Im not drivin in water much, I love my 7m hilux as soon as you lose traction ya light it up and away it goes, and for 800 bucks I can get a full rebuild kit. One thing with thwm though is the sump but the hilux guru Jafa is gonna rear sump it and put baffels in it

haynzy wrote:but the hilux guru Jafa

is that why he owns a zuki

he will learn one day aye grasshopper

Chopper01 wrote:

haynzy wrote:but the hilux guru Jafa

is that why he owns a zuki

he will learn one day aye grasshopper

Yeah that damn suzi and its welded diff. on the ups though he has made progress on the lux, just didnt like the little rust garden he had in the 1uz

There is no comprimise in my eyes petrol power but then Im not drivin in water much, I love my 7m hilux as soon as you lose traction ya light it up and away it goes, [/quote]


Hi
You are right that you need something to light up when needed.

My 3000cc supercharged diesel lights up quick enough and generally the 1KZ motors light up as well and there are many diesels that do the same. The supra motors in my observation seem to produce a lot of power around 7000 revs but I dont think that is where you want it. I like to have torque around 1000 rpm and with supercharger will quickly go to 3000 rpm which triples wheel speed.

A lot of the need for power is in our minds. In nelson we have big long steep firebrecks and they look intimidating. The natural reaction is to have the foot flat to the floor to make sure you make it. Generally the wheels are spinning quickly. As you get near the top you get more confidence and start shutting off and thats when you feel the wheels grip.

Thats why my father told me if a tractor spins change up another gear. He didnt say increase revs.

Thats why gear ratios are just as important as torque and power and generally if one gear is wrong all are wrong

Cheers Richard

Torque is what gets traction, horse power is good for clearing the tyres and chuking mud at your mates. My 1KZ can spin up 36" Simexs but its also happy ideling around crawling through mud or up rutted tracks keeping traction. And I just bought a spare 1KZ last night for $1300.

still rather have the 2jz , when I get the wiring sorted out

with low enough gearing you should be able to build lots of torque at high rev's

rangimotors wrote:with low enough gearing you should be able to build lots of torque at high rev's

I don't believe that is right. For most 4 wheel driving you want torque at 1000rpm and then you have complete control because you still increase the revs.
Because in a lot of situations you need momentum from a higher gear.

Cheers Richard