Nigelh's Black 120 D4D

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Hi Guys been a while since ive done a build up but having previously owned a blue 05 KZJ120 that i built up, i now have a 07 D4D so here we go again...oh dear... some things ill do differently, some the same... guess i get my time over again as they say..haha..
The old blue 1KZ was chipped with a DP chip and had a 3 inch exhaust with the 4 speed gear box so this time i get the D4D and 5 speed....i know nothing new but hey, not everyone with 4 kids a business and a dog and mortgage gets to buy a brand spanking new 200 series do they??
here is a before and after pic of my new Black D4D with the camper attached with full stock suspension sag.... only mod was roof racks but we picked it up on a friday and next day we were off camping...happy days! and where its at the moment... so far very happy and very capable..!

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OK first mod done was the oil catch can by HPD diesel herein Adelaide. its a little more expensive but i chose it due to the brackets to mount it in the engine bay up in the drivers side so i can still fitt a duel battery plus the billet alloy finish and it has cool things like a dip stick and easy un screw bottom to empty the oil out. plus i had one in a previous Patrol 3'0 so i know the importance of these things and also its fully legal and is pretty straight forward rather than the effort involved in blanking the EGR,

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finished product,, nice and neat

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next step was the part where it turns from soccer mum car to looking for like an off road rig... booked her into ARB here to fit a Deluxe bullbar, colour coded in black mica and also a safari snorkel... last Prado i was running a Sov bar and Ironman Snorkel. good gear but the Safari snorkel is pretty good...was a toss up between Air tec which hugs the pillar but seeing though the bar is ARB made sense to just get the Safari one. No spotties as theyre too bloody expensive from ARB ($900 fitted for LED).. also put on my old awning from my 80 series cruiser i just sold.

Just got back from a trip to Marion Bay in the Yorke Penninsular here in SA hence why shes all dusty... no better feeling than getting back from a good trip with a dusty wagon!

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took her down for a run to the murray mouth not long after with the family... looking at it, it definately needs new suspension....plus the shocks feel soft and harsh..my suspicions are they're shagged

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next thing on the list is some LED lights. I got a cree one from Ebay, 144w and 6500K lumens for $79 and a rear work light for $35. being 35w is pretty good for seeing in those late night/ early mornings at the boat ramp.. nothing worse than trying to back, launch and load in the dark... i just fitted a 12V plug to the rear light so i can just plug it into the rear 12v socket in the rear which runs off the starter battery. its pretty simple that it works when the cars on and was pretty uncomplicated to set up. I just fitted it to the Rhino nanna basket on the roof so its nice and high plus its cheaper than the $380 Kaymar set up!
The front light bar i got a Toyota switch type loom from ebay so the switch on/of switch looked factory... nice touch and easy to install.

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just for shits and gigs i grabbed an Osram 240w light bar off ebay for $128.. being fisheye lenses and 5w lights and 100w more than the Cree i thought it would be a massive improvement over the 144W Cree.......but much to my surprise its not as good.... the spot has a little but not that much more distance than the Cree AND nowhere near as much didtance as a set of proper HID or LED round spotties.AND no where near as much spread as the 144W Cree...which pretty much defeats the purpose of having a light bar.so back on goes the Cree 144W.... well... lesson learned that even though it has a more powerful output rating, doesnt make it better!

pic 1 is the Osram 240W pic 2 is the Cree 140W

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next mod on the list is the suspension.... this time i chose OME for the lift with 400kg extra load in the rear and 100kg extra load in the front. OME state that the front lift is 25mm and the rear is 40mm lift. last time in the old KZ i had 50mm front and rear but it looked a little high in the front and i had pretty radical CV angles which never really settled much. This time round i thought it out and went with OME for much more modest angles.....it was a toss up between them and EFS which are 40mm all round and an awesome product but OME was a little cheaper too....

in the end it came up exactly 50mm front and rear? go figure....but see how it settles.... love the stone guard on the shocks too...

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loaded it up with the Camper and the kids for a trip to beautiful Moonta Bay... really no sag at all with 100lts of fuel, 3 of the kids, dog, gear and 1300kg of loaded camper on the rear.......

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heres a before and after pic with the camper attached. no sag anymore!

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Moonta Bay is a pretty beautiful place..... like a post card and great squid fishing too!

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ok so after a few trips minus a duel battery set up and no fridge it was time.... i contemplated a portable 12v battery like the Baintech type but for roughly the same price if i install the kit myself its better to have the set up in your car 24/7 to keep the battery topped up and running a current through the deep cycle battery..(they dont like going flat).... i got a 90amp/hr battery plus the Smart Charger from Red Arc and the BOSS battery tray/ kit from FNB 4WD in Mt Barker. they have a web site plus sell on Ebay too.... excellent tray and solid as a rock. neat install if i dont say so myself....but ive done a few now,,,,,haha
*note that dodgey white wire is from the LED light bar soon to be relocated to the deep cycle...

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another great mod is the TJM wet seats.. neoprene and water proof.....which means sand proof and kid proof...great if you spend time in and around water like us..!

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Time for some new rubber.... going up to the 265/70 size and wanted good quality...after having nearly ever good tire on the market from BGF KO to Dueler 697LT, Mickey T ATZ 4 ribs, goodyear wranglers, Cooper ATR, i decided on BFG KO2. had them on my 80 series which i just sold so know them well. Tough tire with a better design than the last... look great too and pretty quiet on road.
think they look great... had to fit spacer on the rear door which was the dog bone type from TJM for $26... bargain.

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was tossing up going 275/65 but ended up going 265/70.....both look good but i guess 265/70 is more common?? dunno they dont look too big but are slightly over whats allowed here in SA maybe? dunno i figured taller profile allows a bigger footprint length ways when running lower tire pressures and gives more lift too so functionality over fattness wins!