a 4x4 project pickup

[Fleckers]

so my eldest who is 20 and at Uni watched the 4x4 is born program at the weekend and has decided WE do our own project with him spanner-ing and me paying and him keeping the 4x4

So far i can see this as a plan for me to buy him a new set of wheels.

He wanted to go the full Mark Evans 4x4 is born route but we have now agreed it will be a Nissan Navara or a M’bishs L200, I have said it must stay road legal and road usable, IE just a few off road-ing bits, the son’s plan is to get a vehicle that’s in good condition, then do a small body lift, a suspension lift, under body protection, bull bars, roll bars, lots of spot lights, big off road tyres and wheel arch extensions etc.

I have said it must go through a 7 foot width restriction and have, air con, leather and SatNav and a rear lockable cover or lid, not a truckman type top.

So we have a plan, I [we] have about £9 - £10k to play with which means £12k

I have done some reading and lots of You tube watching and there seems to be lots of ideas and kits out there for everything from Mild to Iceland monster wild.

Any suggestions on things to do, not do ?.

Anyone have any real life experience on doing something like this ?

Cheers

Stuart

[300bhp/ton]

Sounds like a very cool project. Not sure why you need air con and satnav though??

Also for a budget of £9k-12k I certainly wouldn't be wasting it on modding a fairly low grade Jap truck.

Not that I don't like the Jap trucks, but their off road ability vs what they offer is quite limited.

A Jeep or Land Rover would be a far superior off road machine. And a Yank pick up is just far superior in terms of spec and ability than the pick ups we get in this country.

I guess my main advice would be to plan out what you actually want to use the vehicle for and then spec out every component.

Some vehicles also have much better after market upgrades support. And while R&D'ing your own stuff can be fun, it'll likely be costly and a high chance of failure.

[camel_landy]

If it were me, with my lad... I'd be looking at building up something like a QT Wildcat (but making it a practical daily driver).

M

[JVaughan]

[300bhp/ton]

Going back to my earlier post. I guess things to consider are:

-number of seats
-will it be used for towing
-will it be used for hauling
-will it be used off road, if so what kind of off roading, what type of terrain/location
-what sort of road use will it get
-is mpg likely an issue


For example, your budget could easily get something like this:




Which would have the leather and luxury you might want, practical seating, superb off road ability and even good on road ability.

[diesel piston]

If your set on utilising a jap pickup at least use a Hilux

[300bhp/ton]

diesel piston said:

If your set on utilising a jap pickup at least use a Hilux

+1

And if you plan on proper off roading I'd look for older ones that still have a live front axle.

[bakerstreet]

[quote=Fleckers]so my eldest who is 20 and at Uni watched the 4x4 is born program at the weekend and has decided WE do our own project with him spanner-ing and me paying and him keeping the 4x4

So far i can see this as a plan for me to buy him a new set of wheels.

He wanted to go the full Mark Evans 4x4 is born route but we have now agreed it will be a Nissan Navara or a M’bishs L200, I have said it must stay road legal and road usable, IE just a few off road-ing bits, the son’s plan is to get a vehicle that’s in good condition, then do a small body lift, a suspension lift, under body protection, bull bars, roll bars, lots of spot lights, big off road tyres and wheel arch extensions etc.

I have said it must go through a 7 foot width restriction and have, air con, leather and SatNav and a rear lockable cover or lid, not a truckman type top.

So we have a plan, I [we] have about £9 - £10k to play with which means £12k

I have done some reading and lots of You tube watching and there seems to be lots of ideas and kits out there for everything from Mild to Iceland monster wild.

Any suggestions on things to do, not do ?.

Anyone have any real life experience on doing something like this ?

Cheers

Stuart
[/quot

You say your son has watched the 'a 4x4 is born' series. Do you and your son like Land Rovers in general or is it just the look of a big 4x4 he is after.

There are much more aftermarket kits available for Jeep and Land Rover than the jap 4x4s. However, some of the more specialist stuff for Jeep might have to come from the US.

You say you want satnav and leather. You can probaby get leather, but built in satnav will be harder unless you go for a Discovery 3.

Toyota Hilux Surf would also be worth a look. Lift kits are available along with under body protection and obviously wheels and tyres too.

Its worth a picking up some of the 4x4 magazines and having a read through.

[Fleckers]

Thanks for the replies guys

In response in a sort of order as the replies have come in

Why SatNav, leather and Aircon, cos I am an old Jag driving fart and if I am spending money I want to know its got some creature comforts if I am ever in it

Why not a Yank truck, I would love a F150 Harley or a Raptor or Ram SRT10, but as son is 20, insurance and Right hand drive need to be in the mix, why not a Land Rover, son wants a Pickup and to be honest I can see the benefits of it for lugging about his mates and all the rugby kit that they have

What does he want it for, to look a bit macho, maybe some green laneing or the odd mud pit, nothing too major
QT Wildcat is a bit extreme and I want it to seat 5 for if / when I use it and take the kids out

Towing, well we do have a jetski
Hauling, well de do have a jet ski and the family is rugby mad so lots of kit to lug about

It will be more road use than anything and MPG is not an issue as its not going to be doing many miles, it won’t be a daily driver, if it is he will have to work more to pay for the fuel

I like the lifted Jeep, but want the practicality of a Pickup

I don’t want a hi Lux as I don’t have the funds to do a full on Top Gear Polar Challenge replica, so don’t want it to be too sad, we are thinking a Raging Bull or a Long Way down

Thanks again for the comments so far
Cheers
Stuart

[jaynana]

you don't have to do a Polar Challenge replica but i can tell you by experince that the Hilux has a great offroading platform pre-built in it.

you can improvise on it bit by bit, as you wish, starting from shocks, springs, anti roll bars, snorkels, wheels.. the list just keeps going.

[300bhp/ton]

I seriously wouldn't rule out a Hilux just because you won't be making it look like the TG ones.

Land Rover do offer pick ups too. In fact that'd make a pretty good project taking a 110 of any config and fitting a twin cab to it.

If it's not going to do many road miles I seriously wouldn't get hung up on satnav, leather and air con.

I would however check out available lift kits for different makes and what other supporting mods you'd need. Such as how strong the axles/diffs are, can they be upgraded. If you up tyre, will you need to re-gear, if so can you buy different diff ratios?

[Engineer1]

I'd still go Hilux pick what you want the vehicle to be able to do and then build it for that purpose, if it is off-roading then a tatty body is an advantage as you don't give a st about another scratch or scrape. The Top Gear cars where built for arctic travel, so unless you plan a trip north or a long way south they would be overkill for somethings and inadiquate for others.

A hilux with a full roll cage - internal or external, Work lamps, winch, suspension tweaks then add lifestyle stuff bike rack in the loadbed etc.

[Bill]

Fleckers said:

I don’t want a hi Lux as I don’t have the funds to do a full on Top Gear Polar Challenge replica, so don’t want it to be too sad, we are thinking a Raging Bull or a Long Way down

I'm not sure what a Raging Bull is, but a quick google suggests it's bling rather than anything useful. And as far as Long Way Down goes that's about travel, so comfort and longevity rather than off road ability per se.

Personally I find the crew cab pick ups less macho (which seems to be what you want) unless they're a Hilux. And they're built for load carrying so the ride is pretty atrocious when they're empty.

And how much kit do 5 rugby players need?

You have a pretty substantial budget and could do a lot better than a crew cab. IMO.

[Snowboy]

Has the boy done any off roading before.
It's not to everyone's taste.

From reading your post I get the impression he wants a big road car, not an off road car.
There's nothing wrong with that, but it will change which mods you use and how you set the car.

It's well worth having an honest think about what you'all be doing before you start.
Putting a locker in a diff is a big waste of money if you never use it, and fitting off road shocks is daft if you want a smooth ride on the road.

[Fleckers]

thanks again guys

you are right it is a life style car he wants, big and matcho

not done any off roading unless you mean the odd drive accross a field in a shogun a few years back.

how much kit do 5 rugby players have, well have large kit bag to start with, if I am going as a coach then its lots and lots, kit bags, balls, pads, cones, first aid, team tent etc etc

spoke to son today and we are still in for a L200 or Navara as he does not want a Landrover and I dont really want a Hilux

I can see what people are saying, having purchased every 4x4 mag WH Smiths sell

but I still want SatNav, leather and Aircon, like I said previously, I am an old fart in a Jag

[Bill]

Have you considered a Pathfinder? Looks like a Navarra estate, but with home comforts and a better ride.

[Fleckers]

no noth looked at them

YET

[Snowboy]

When you say you don't like the hilux.
Do you just mean the pickup?
The Hilux surf is a good car - and for your money you could get a late 3rd gen 3l with leather, air con, double-din for satnav and loads of space for kit.

Imo you'll have a hard time getting 5 blokes into a crew cab.
Although if it's a lifestyle thing then I can see why he wants one.

Alternatively look for a RHD dodge Ram sort of thing perhaps.

[tinkertaylor]

So you want a pick up truck, that has sat nav, leather interior and air con.

It needs to be able to carry your sons rugby kit and his friends.

You want giant tyres and raised suspension and loads of lights but it won't be driven that much and won't be driven off road that much.

I wouldn't bother

[Snowboy]

How about one of the new 4 door wranglers.
Plenty of space, lots of modding capability.
Plus the boy can take the roof off if he wants it to look interesting.

Probably just about in your price range.