Spike's 120GXL Build Up

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Looks good spike I have one on order at the moment

Highly recommended Dakbow, you won't be disappointed.

[KIMBOPRADO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close KIMBOPRADO]

Spike as a fellow "bean counter/desk jockey" glad you got the PP Bug , and done some great mods to the Prado - she looking great. Hope you have many more enjoyable Sundays tinkering around the Prado and get the Cub CT out and about

Reckon you'll surprise the wife what can be achieved in a 120 - now to go get bogged with my wife so I can get an eaton locker

Enjoy Kim ( Cub CT owner as well )

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Spike as a fellow "bean counter/desk jockey" glad you got the PP Bug , and done some great mods to the Prado - she looking great. Hope you have many more enjoyable Sundays tinkering around the Prado and get the Cub CT out and about

Reckon you'll surprise the wife what can be achieved in a 120 - now to go get bogged with my wife so I can get an eaton locker

Enjoy Kim ( Cub CT owner as well )

Cheers Kim, yes I'm itching to see what out of the way places we can go now and get off the beaten track. So many trips, so little time.....

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Lunchtime's addition! Courtesy of Wozclean....

[MUMSRIG Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MUMSRIG]

Coming along quite nicely Spike!

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Coming along quite nicely Spike!

Thanks Mitch! I'm at the stage now where I'm keen to get travelling. I think the bus has got enough capacity now to get me out of some sticky spots if necessary so time to test it out I've got a couple more little jobs lined up for the next couple of weekends (AMTS recovery points and wheel spacer on the way!), then bring on the holidays!

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Recovery points added

I hate it when work gets too busy and interferes with play! Anyway with a couple of hours spare over the last 2 Saturdays I managed to get some recovery points on, courtesy of the "AMTS shop" . Attaching the first one took 3 hours, especially fiddly was the exercise in trying to recover the existing nut on a plate that fell into the chassis rail when removing the old bolt. With some instructions from AMTS and some trolling through PradoPoint I had a few tips on a workable way to retrieve it and finally got it out with a coat hanger, a pair of long nose pliers and a lot of swearing. Before doing the second one last weekend I thought there had to be an easier way, and went down to the local Supercheap Auto to invest in a flexible magnetic pickup tool. Best $15 ever spent! The job took 5 minutes this time and a hundred less expletives. No photos of the first side unfortunately (too busy ranting at the nut!) but this is side 2...

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

And this is the other side already on


Still need some recovery gear, so some more research to do there.

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Well I should have learned from the experience AJ120 had with his ARB bull bar. After only 3 months of a brand new PREMIUM (ha) winch bar, I have significant rusting coming though what appears to be an extremely sub-standard paint job.

[img=http://s26.postimg.org/f8m6a1b3p/IMG_0889.jpg] [img=http://s26.postimg.org/i1fdu2bg5/IMG_0890.jpg] [img=http://s26.postimg.org/xbkaydd9x/IMG_0891.jpg]

I’m leaving it with the dealer to sort it out with his ARB rep but I don’t think I’ll be chancing the colour coded 2pack paint job again. In the absence of compelling persuasion I think I’ll have to go for the powder coated black bar. Such a shame as the white colour coding looked the goods….

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Meanwhile it’s holding up my latest additions, which all require attachment to the bar!

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Next bit

Got the car back a couple of days ago with the new bar fitted. Same colour-coded paint, so fingers crossed I don't get the same problem. At the risk of sounding like a whinger, the paint job is not great - some paint wave ridges where there was excess paint and it has semi oozed down the cross tube with gravity, but not enough to kick up a fuss. Just pedantic I guess.....

Anyway I took the opportunity to get the new winch fitted at the same time. I went for a Tigerz MkII Grande 12,000lb, which I picked up online for $395! Bargain!

As soon as I got it home it was time to put the new Fyrlyt spotties on, which I've had for a month now From all my research I think they'll be great. I'm heading down to Wombeyan caves this afternoon for the weekend, so I'll be able to test a few things out then.

Some pics below...

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

UHF

I also added the UHF radio yesterday - GME TX3120 from Prestige Communications. I liked it due to its small size and it came with a bonus additional mobile handset, which should come in useful when away from the car. I bought an aerial combo pack - RFI CD900 Explorist 6.5dbi and Gencom 3dbi. Smaller attached at present.

I haven't used as much ingenuity as others in the placement of the unit. Being so small I've simply screwed it to the drivers side of the centre console. So far it really doesn't get in the way of anything.

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Conforts

And something to appease SWMBO.....lambswool seat covers!



Not sure of the practicality of this, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valour with these negotiations. Greasing the wheels of progress.....

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Relocation of e-Locker switch

I decided to relocate the e-Locker rocker switch. The installer had originally located it on the far right side of the dash board, using a spare blank closest to the driver side door. On several occasions I have climbed into the car and accidentally knocked the switch on (presumably with with my knee) without realising it. Luckily it lights up when the ignition is switched on, but I don't fancy the thought of what would happen if I didn't realise it was on one day and kept driving. I would advise anyone with the switch positioned here on installation to consider relocating it.

Anyway it's now moved back to the centre console......

Old position



New position

[spike69 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close spike69]

Been a while since I updated this so I'll put a few more additions up over the coming days...albeit a little out of chronological sync.....

These were done a couple of days ago.... I "borrowed" the idea from AJ120's build thread (which I hope never disappears!)






Measurements for the boxes:

Top Height 95mm, Width 190mm, Depth 215mm
Middle Height 95mm, Width 190mm, Depth 200mm
Bottom Height 75mm, Width 180mm, Depth 138mm

NB Depth is front to back of the storage compartment, not vertical depth, in case that’s not obvious