Offroad-Express

How close are the body mount locations between models?

Could i fit a GQ or GU ute cab to my GQ SWB chassis without major chassis work?

I would think finding one would be the hardest part, why not give the existing one the chop?

Cant really be bothered with trying to seal in the rear.

Were patrol utes never very common here?

to put it in perspective. I have only ever seen one in the flesh in Gisborne. and that one is loaded up with spraying equipment.

flyingbrick wrote:Were patrol utes never very common here?

Nup, think theres only one or two in Wellington, some guys got one for sale on TM down south somewhere for $24k

and there one in auckland and it weights 3.5 tonnes belongs to downers engingeering

theres a few of them in aucks . theres a chopped down cab on trademe for sale

As others have said, hardest part is finding a cab to use, plus a single cab on SWB chassis without a wheelbase stretch will look gay!

Anyway, a GU cab needs the trans tunnel modifying to fit the GQ gearbox, as it sticks up higher. Most of the GQ single cabs are leaf-spring vehicles, so look for one of them. You can get the single cab rear-wall and window cut-out from a few Nissan branches in Aussie, but you've still got to stitch it into place.

i think youl be searching for one for quite a while. its getting hard to find a good nick safari/patrol body now. a ute cab would be even harder to find in good nick

why not buy a hummer replica kit> Short wheel base, Aus $$12,995. The leaf sprung ones were built on MQ's, coils, GQ's

also just saw this on trade me>
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 295665.htm

Those kit cars are extremely gay

that utes cool.. may go take a look later today if possible.

GQTROL wrote: You can get the single cab rear-wall and window cut-out from a few Nissan branches in Aussie, but you've still got to stitch it into place.

Do you have any more info on this? I assume you have seen it discussed before in a forum? This would probably be the most cost effective option for something factory looking I imagine.

SWB and with a single cab ute body couldnt look that bad... surely

I wonder how much weight it would save too

flyingbrick wrote:

GQTROL wrote: You can get the single cab rear-wall and window cut-out from a few Nissan branches in Aussie, but you've still got to stitch it into place.

Do you have any more info on this? I assume you have seen it discussed before in a forum? This would probably be the most cost effective option for something factory looking I imagine.

SWB and with a single cab ute body couldnt look that bad... surely

I wonder how much weight it would save too

Mates in Melbourne say they're available from some of the Nissan branches, presumably they mean ones (or one) in Melbourne. You're looking at about $1k for the rear wall, plus freight to get it over here. I would think it would be easier to get a wall folded up for you here, few guys with comp trucks have done the conversion.

Mate in Bris put a GU ute cab on a SWB GQ chassis and it looked aweful until he went MWB. Also had a problem with the lower rear control arm fouling on the underside of the back of the cab because of the amount of overhang it has behind the rear body mount.

I think i might put a hilux body on.

Loose some weight and might not have the mount cracking issues.

just kidding.

When I chopped my Suzuki SJ410 into a cab\chassis I welded the back door into the back body and then sliced out the whole middle section of the body I didnt want so I could then move the whole back section forward to weld onto the front part of cab. I then nipped and bent the lower section forward just to give it some nicer lines and clearance for the back wheels. Worked a treat.
By using the original back section it means you keep the original lines of the body but because the safari has a split back door it would mean welding it up vertically as well as around the edges plus replacing the 2 part back window with one piece of glass.
Will try to get some pics up later

Cheers

It isn't that hard to cut them down. I did mine and basically it was a matter of cutting the 'C' pillar off ad sliding it foward. I then filled in the hole with 1.6mm electro galv sheet with a couple of barces. Then a bit of bog and it all looks good.

I'm with Mitch on the ute /SWB thing. Mine was like that to start with and it looks like you've shorten it! Seriously they look totally out of wack! Not to mention the performance improve ments you get with a MWB conversion.

I thought MWB were all leaf spring rear?

flyingbrick wrote:I thought MWB were all leaf spring rear?

just extend the wheelbase (longer arms, move coil/shock mounts etc) as a ute conversion looks much better, and the handling is greatly improved on and off road (from what I've heard from those who have done this)

i think a swb ute would look cool with a flatdeck. wellside chops look good aswell

I agree with Darin that a total cab cut and flatdeck does look a bit out of whack on a SWB and a wellside chop would be easier to do and look better balanced. Plenty of pics around of both mods but I gather from your original query that you were wanting a cab/chassis and that leaves the problem of a big hole to fill without that straight cutoff look. Thats why I welded in the back door and cut the whole back section off to move forward. You can adjust the angle of the back of the cab depending on what angle the cuts are made.





Don't laugh at my little "Barbie" truck.
It does its job well but I just have to get around to finishing it next Winter. The spray tank slides of and a flatdeck slides on in its place.

Cheers

Thats awesome!!!

Can those tires be used on the road?

flyingbrick wrote:I thought MWB were all leaf spring rear?

MWB wasn't a factory option.

darinz wrote:

flyingbrick wrote:I thought MWB were all leaf spring rear?

MWB wasn't a factory option.

So what were the utes? LWB or SWB?

flyingbrick wrote:

darinz wrote:

flyingbrick wrote:I thought MWB were all leaf spring rear?

MWB wasn't a factory option.

So what were the utes? LWB or SWB?

LWB only

flyingbrick wrote:Thats awesome!!!
Can those tires be used on the road?

No !
They are only cheappies but you can get speed rated tractor tyres which are legal for the road. My mate has 6 ( rear duals ) of them on his spray truck which he finds works better for his needs than Simex's 90% of the time, mind you he is over 4 tonne's when loaded up. Compared to the Simex he finds they hang onto a hillside better, drive better on the road and don't wear nearly as fast. They are about 33x13.5's ?? and it looks really impressive comming down the road because it is over 8 feet wide.
He runs the worn sets of tractor tyres on his SWB GQ in the Winter and they are real fun to play on.





These pics were taken when he was building it. It was professionally modified and the custom built spray tank tucks under the cab extension.
Must get some more because it is a really nice and impressive looking rig.
4.2 TD turbo - Auto with crawler gears - Front and Rear ARB diff locks - Howett Engineered axles and housings - etc etc3

[quote="flyingbrick"]Those kit cars are extremely gay [quote]


I dont know, the camo one looks okay. If you squint and looks lightly to one side with the lights dimmed.

Seriously if you wanted something different it would be cool, But I think owning a smart car and pimping it out with race gear would look cool (I have a warped sense of humour - the more rediculous it looks the cooler it gets because it is so different) Have you seen the kits you can get for smart cars, Mini porsche, lambo, cobra, ferarri, etc - a real hoot and kind of cool in a f##ked up sort of way.

I guess if we think of the top gear cool wall once something has gone beyond crap it sort of becomes cool because its so radical. Look at the other end of the scale with the sub zero cars (okay there is only one) but if it became too much cooler it would be considered crass and there fore uncool. Everything works in cycles, the universe is curved, that sort of thing

Heath

If you want a genuine ute cab, you'll have more luck finding on on Aussie EBay or Outerlimits site and then freighting it over. I know of a few going for $2-2.5k. Anything under $2k and its a bargin!