Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Ok, so I'm not a mechanic by any means so most of the mods to my 95 series have been done by professionals

Here's how it looked when I bought it.
Pool fence was already on it ops:


First to go in was the UHF, GME TX 3200


First major mod was the 2" lift.
Lovells shocks and struts
Lovells MD springs in the front
Lovells HD springs in the back



On a trip to LCMP I unintentionally modded the passenger side, sidestep due to extreme lack of traction from the extremely worn tyres.
So... time came to put some new shoes on the ol' girl.
Before.


Cooper ST's. 265/75r16


I bought a 2nd hand Cargo barrier a while back... it had been sitting in the garage for almost a year while I bashed my head against a brick wall trying to get it installed.
Goes to show it's not the company you might have a problem with... it's the person who works there.
I was dealing with one particular guy at Caddy Storage and was getting nowhere fast... 12 months go by and I finally complain to head office... word gets back to Caddy Storage... turns out that bloke has since been fired and the cargo barrier is installed within the week :shock: They did a nice job of it too




Somewhere around here I bought a pair of Rhino roof racks to hold the Maxtrax and the shovel. Also up there will be the Oztent, 30 sec tent when we get one.
Also had a Hayman Reese tow bar fitted to attach all those 120's that get stuck :twisted:

Picked up a Waeco 32UP Unplugged fridge by way of an ExploreOz.com competition so I have made a false floor for the cargo area and picked up an ARB fridge slide to make life a little easier.



Latest... but definitely not last mod is a Safari Snorkel...
Fitted on 13/11/2008 by Pitstop4x4 at Wynnum


I'll put some dates next to mods when I remember when they were done :?
Some measurements wouldn't go astray either

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Cargo barrier was installed by Caddy Storage.
I bought the barrier 2nd hand off an Overlander forum member but before the purchase I made sure there was someone to supply the fitting kit and install the barrier.

Well, that took a bit of effort to get sorted but was installed in the end...

[Crammy Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Crammy]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Looking the goods snaga, you really do need to upgrade the pool fence!! haha what a classic! I pi$$ed myself when I read that!!

Whats happening in this pic? It looks like the back end's got a jack under it? Does it still sit like this?


Crammy

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

The Waeco needed a fixing point that didn't stretch across the full width of the cargo area so I started work on a false floor.

First step was basic measurements and some rough cuts.


Made most measurements from the centre line to start with.


After cutting, but before fine tuning.


To get the angles for rounding the corners I used a piece of A4 printer paper and just slid it under the panels and traced it out... then transferred that onto the timber.


Next was the fridge slide attachment but I can't seem to find those pics just now. :?

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Whats happening in this pic? It looks like the back end's got a jack under it? Does it still sit like this?

Crammy

:lol: :lol: Same thing was asked over at Overlander ops:

It's not as bad as it looks in that pic.
The rear has HD springs due to the loads I usually carry for work (and to handle the boat... if we ever manage to buy one :evil: ) but the front only has MD springs so it isn't
level but it looks worse in that pic than it actually is. (the drive way has a slope to it... right down to left)
When I eventually get a bull bar on i'll swap the MD's in the front to HD's so it matches the back.

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Dual Battery set up

Before Xmas I decided the fridge needed a battery to help it over longer trips.
The fridge battery lasts about 17 - 24 hrs depending on the amount of driving which is fine for an overnight trip but nothing longer.

So, on Dec 17th 2008 Mike from Pitstop4x4 installed my dual battery set up for me.

The starter battery was moved to the space the charcoal canister used to occupy. (we tried for two deep/starter batteries but the space was about 10mm to small )


The front cradle was replaced to take the deep cycle battery. Allrounder MRV70L 105AH.




The cable on the left runs directly to the fridge in the cargo area. I'll take a pic where it is in the back when I get the car back (oh, and don't worry that the wing nuts loose... these shots were so I knew where to put everything after I took the deep cycle out to charge ops: )


Baintech Voltage Control Relay is mounted to the charcoal canisters previous mount.


The charcoal canister needed to be moved so we could get as big a deep cycle in as possible. It's mounted on the back of the fan guard.


[edit to add]
The reason for the dual battery was to run the Waeco for longer than an overnight stay and here's where the fridge connects up at the back.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

I reckon it needs a real bullbar to make it look tough??

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

I reckon it needs a real bullbar to make it look tough??

Tell my wife that...
Mind you... after the amount I have spent on this vehicle in the last few months I reckon I'd have better chance of getting blood from a stone than approval from the finance dept for more toys :shock:



... it is on the cards though... and a winch 8)

[jcas24 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close jcas24]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Good to see you got the DBs setup Leon. Looks good.

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Good to see you got the DBs setup Leon. Looks good.

Yeah, much tighter fit than the diesel's engine bay

[jcas24 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close jcas24]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Only one more post till you have a 1000, what else do you have to say??

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Only one more post till you have a 1000, what else do you have to say??

Ummmmm.... hopefully I'll have my car back on Monday or Tuesday, with rear locker :twisted:

I tells ya...
Those last 27 posts (from when I noticed how close 1000 was) take FOREVER!!!!

[pythonkeeper Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pythonkeeper]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Nice rig Leon, i wish i could have found a grande when i was looking for mine, still happy with the GXL though. Which brand diff locker did you end up going for ?

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Nice rig Leon, i wish i could have found a grande when i was looking for mine, still happy with the GXL though. Which brand diff locker did you end up going for ?

Thanks PK

ARB's Air Locker... I like the fact that I choose when it's on or not unlike the auto lockers. Didn't really have ANY time to research lockers so just went on the advise of a few people.

We specifically wanted the Grande as it was the only model (in the age group) that had dual airbags as it's my daily driver.

[jcas24 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close jcas24]

Re: Snaga's Ride, '98 V6 VX Grande

Awwwesome, I didnt know you were getting a locker. That should get about the tracks much easier.

Its funny cause when we bought ours I didn't want airbags. touch wood we don't ever need them.