Toyota Surf KZN185 - Fishing & Hunting Wagon + Daily Driver

[Wild_South]

Welcome all,

A few months ago I was offered some crazy-good money for my KZN130 Surf. Sure, it was very tidy, had some good things done to it like aftermarket Old Man Emu suspension, Cooper 33's, spotties etc - but they were the very basic mods. However, it was enough to convince somebody to offer me some very good money for it - so there is still a huge market out there for them! This offer was far too good to say no to, so off she went.

Within a few days (if not, less) I was missing having a truck. Standard cars are just so limiting, aren't they? So after a couple of weeks of researching I find a nice tidy 1996 Toyota Surf KZN185. It had all new gear on it such as shocks, springs, no rust, ran nicely and so on. So I made sure it was good, then bought it. I have had it for a couple of weeks and absolutely love it!


1996 Toyota Surf KZN185

- 2.5" free flowing exhaust (sounds like a tractor!)
- Satin black (fresh coat)
- Professionally tinted windows all round
- 16x8 black steelies
- 33" Silverstone M/T's all round, including spare
- Rancho 9000XL Adjustable shocks on the front
- Raw Nitro shocks on the rear
- Dobinson springs
- 2x Hella spotties on front bar (needs some bar-work)

[Wild_South]

After only a couple of days on owning it I thought i'd take it on a nice open-road run for an early morning fly fishing trip up to Lake Lyndon.

It absolutely purred. Compared to the KZN130's I was really surprised just how much nicer they are to drive on the road - especially on the 33's. In my 130 it was always a bit of a battle to drive at 100km/h; not hard, as such, just a bit of a challenge.

The 185 just sat on the road nicely and purred along until we arrived at first light at Lyndon.

As for the fishing: nothing. The lines and rods kept freezing up as we wound in. It was a bloody frigid morning! But, as usual, a pleasure to be up there and out of the city.

[J_Dub]

Bloody nice mate.
Digging the color scheme.

[Wild_South]

Bloody nice mate.
Digging the color scheme.

Thanks J-Dub! Yeah, it seems to have come out nicely

Cheers

[vvilly]

They are a far superior ride.
Youl love it

[Wild_South]

During the fishing trip last weekend I had a bit of time to think about the truck and what my immediate, as well as future, plans for it were. Running through my head was a constant stream of diff lockers, light bars, cargo racks, air compressors, and so on....

Oh if only we won Lotto, huh!?

I have to keep things in perspective. I want it to be my daily driver: so that means comfort and ease of use. From my first couple of weeks of owning and driving my truck, it definitely ticks the daily driver box with ease. The steering feels 'lighter' than the old 130. There is no tyre rub, even on full lock. The suspension and ride is comfortable. It really is great!

At the same time as being my daily driver, the truck will also be my weekend go-to vehicle for fly fishing and hunting in the Canterbury and South Island High Country. The places I go do require a 4x4, but nothing overly serious. So with this in mind, there is really no need to go all out and chuck lockers and the like in, at this stage. Again, from what I have seen so far, it is set up just about perfectly in terms on running gear for what I intend to use it for.

From owning the KZN130, I know about the need to maintain the cooling system in Surfs very well - this will eventually pay off, hopefully avoiding the potential of cracking a head (not starting a debate here!). So with the custom free-flowing 2.5" exhaust system already on it when I bought it was a huge bonus, as this was something I was certainly going to do.


My next "ideas" or "mods" that I am toying with for the truck are as follows:

- Auberins EGT Gauge (ordered and in transit to me)
- Clean and flush current radiator, OR, install a new Silverdale radiator (opinions wanted!)
- Davies Craig external trans cooler (just a thought at this stage)
- Potentially move the spotties that are on the front bar as I imagine they are blocking a lot of airflow?


Also, whenever I buy a new truck I like to 'start from fresh' and replace fluids and filters. So I headed down to BNT to buy a couple of FRAM Filters to put in. I also bought some fresh new 15w40 Diesel Oil and replace the current engine oil - it didn't actually look too old at all, but you never know.

At the same time I installed my Uniden CB radio. I took off all the dash surrounds and made sure it was done properly - I fitted it where this ash tray normally goes and so far so good. It seems very sturdy and is out of the way. I also got a custom made aerial from Hi-Tec aerials in Christchurch. Took them one day - great service and great guys.

Please excuse the quality of the night shots as it was a howling Sou' Wester and have got no skill with the GoPro yet!!

[Wild_South]

Here are a couple of shots of the radio after it was installed. I stupidly forgot to take out the 'holder' for the microphone, so at the moment it sits next to the low-range shifter. Not an ideal place for it so that's my next wee thing to tidy up.

Today I installed a fire extinguisher in the passenger foot-well. $19 from Bunnings for essentially contents and life insurance in one. Not bad, I would say. It came with the bracket so it was literally a one minute installation.

I have also included a couple of pics of the aerial (hopefully you can see it well enough), and also a couple of cheeky decals that were a few cheap cents on Ebay

Enjoy

[benorange]

nice truck. ive got one to but the intercooled one. does yours have a body lift to fit the 33''. I tried to put 33s on mine and they rubbed so bad I could not turn. I have a 2'' suspension lift.

[Wild_South]

nice truck. ive got one to but the intercooled one. does yours have a body lift to fit the 33''. I tried to put 33s on mine and they rubbed so bad I could not turn. I have a 2'' suspension lift.

Thanks for the reply benorange. Nope. not body lift and absolutely no rub at all which is very strange (but in a good way!). The guards have been trimmed slightly, so maybe that has made all the difference.

If you are in Chch you are welcome to come check it out and see how it is set up in terms of the lift combined with the 33's

[philux]

think i saw you the other day out by the airport round abouts. Is this the same truck that was for sale down Marshlands road. It looked real nice!!!

[Wild_South]

think i saw you the other day out by the airport round abouts. Is this the same truck that was for sale down Marshlands road. It looked real nice!!!

Hey mate, yep that would have been me! And yes, I believe it was down Marshlands Road for sale at some point

Cheers!

[Wild_South]

So a few more cheeky decals arrived today from Ebay, and I went for a bit of a play with the truck - hence why there is a temporary shovel holder on the rear tyre haha

I am planning the following over the next couple of weeks, and will need some help from some more "mechanically minded" people than myself.

- I have an intercooler kit for a 1KZ-TE sitting in a box in my garage that, as far as I know, as all the parts for fitting; I just require somebody to fit it. Can anybody do this, or know anyone who can?
- Block off EGR - again, can anybody do this for a cashy?
- Take out radiator, inspect and refit if clean, replace if gunked up.

____________________________________________

Here are some shots of the decals that arrived today:

[Wild_South]

Can anybody recommend a good radiator to put in? Silverdale?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-par ... 446414.htm


Also a transcooler. I think I'll go for this -

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-par ... 494396.htm

Sound about right?

[benorange]

odd about tires im on 265 75 16 on the standard rims and that seams about as big as I could fit.

for your rad from what I can tell you would be ok to use the one you got and take it in get bottom tank taken off and remove the oil cooler and get them to flush it. I did this with my old 130 and made a big difference. I will be doing it to mine for summer.

does yours have a larger dump pipe from turbo and does it have any muffler at all? is it loud inside? this is next thing I going to do to mine

im in Invercargill so bit far to come to look.

[MSTA57]

Now that is a nice looking ride.
How's it coming along?

[bob_or_jim]

Has this thing been on dirty south for sale?

[Wild_South]

Has this thing been on dirty south for sale?

Hey mate, yes had it up there briefly to see if anyone was interested. Was offered some seriously good money but it's just such a great truck I think it'd be too hard to part with it.

[Wild_South]

Now that is a nice looking ride.
How's it coming along?

Thanks mate. Had a great summer in it - update to come plus a few mods with pics etc.

Cheers

[Danmcnab]

Did u end up putting intercooler on it? I'm in the same vote

[OffroaderGuy]

impressive looks. any new updates about it?

[floatingkiwi]

Wish I was close to chch - also got an intercooled 185 that I've been building up for a while... Should do a build thread really....