45Cruiser's Hilux Buildup

[45cruiser]

So I've been hanging around here for a while and I figured I might as well make a build page to record what I've done.
I did the intro page months back and then went quiet, so as a reintroduction: I've just turned 22, live in the Inner West of Sydney, originally from Coffs, work as an Architect and study Construction Management at uni.

I was looking for a Hilux for about 3 months until I found "the one" last July in Melbourne. So I flew down one morning @ 6am, rented a falcon and drove out the dealer. Its an '06, it had a canopy (which I was planning to sell anyway, and i got the dealer to throw in a sports-bar) and bog stock everything else, but only 59'000klms and I got it for a decent price. While I was in Melbourne I saw the new 2012 Hilux at the motor show, and then drove back to Sydney that same night by 11pm. Big day!

So i will unload everything i've done in one post to get up to speed. There'll be plenty more to come!!

Here she is when I woke up the next morning: First mod was take off the canopy.




yep, so thats boring. You all know what they look like....

Anyway i sold the canopy for $1200! With the money i bought BFG KM2 31" muddies and better looking Sunraysias.
I also powdercoated the roll bar, nudgebar, and rear step. It was $260 from Powder Principle in Marrickville i think. I also took off the side steps because they looked gay. and sold them for $250, and alos sold the Bravo radials with the orginal sunraysias for $300.
So stoked!

So by that stage it looked like this:





(The shitty looking spotlights are gone now > dont worry!!)


Alright so now i should introduce my other car. Its a 1977 FJ45 Landcruiser. I bought this when i was 14 as a rusted heap that barely ticked over. Dad and i did it up over the next few years, and it looked pretty snazzy because i lived at home and it was garaged. Now I have my own place with some mates and it sits in our yard rusting.
Anyway i saved some more money and figured i'd give the cruiser a treat and get it some new shoes. It only had steel split rims with Bravo radials and looked lame. I also wanted to go bigger and snazzier on the hilux; so i moved the Sunraysias to the Landcruiser and bought new 16" rims and 265/75/16 muddies for the Lux.
Poor old Cruiser doesnt see much love thanks to it's younger sexier sister...



They are called Balistic Hyjak's from Tempe Tyres.



I also got a 2" lift at the front to help the stance (The tyres also just clipped before the lift)
Its just a basic Pedders extended coil. nothing fancy.




The rest of the mods to date:
-Custom Rockers switchs (not connected to anything yet! haha)



-Sony XNV660BT Head unit for USA (has GPS, iPod, Btooth, Reverse Cam all in-one)
-JL Audio Splits up front
-JL Audio Amp under front passenger seat
-Hardwired iPod classic into console
-The subwoofer is coming very soon. Have to make sure i can fit it with al my tools behind the back seat
-Folding rear seat Mod

The room behind the seat takes so much! I have a set of spanners and socket set under the back seat too.


Other stuff:
-Sprint Boost module. Best money i've spent on the car!!
-Power Window Mod > Very convenient
-Seat-belt beep mod

-Straight-through exhaust. F CK it sounds good now!


-Bash Plate (only Cheap 3" Aluminium for now!)





My nephews car is unfortunately better than mine!




So in the future will be this: (But i will need serious funding, because what feels like all my income goes into the hilux repayments!)

-Hollandia 700 or 900 Sunroof (+/-$2000)
-3" Exhaust with Verex remote muffler ($+/-1000)
-Chip It Module ($+/-900)
-Sahara Bar ($+/-2000) (maybe Xrox now that i've seen quinnys?!?)
-Buds side steps ($+/-800)
-Buds bash plate and other guards
-Cruise Control ($+/-500)
-Upgrade rear speakers
-Fix up my 45 Cruiser! (new tray/bars/paint etc)
-2008+ Hilux steering wheel with Audio controls
-Comfy front seats!
-Black interior (carpets/plastics etc... with leather seats) (inspired by Green/Grey Hilux Guy)
-Suspension of some sort. Not dreaming about that yet, but it will come in time!


Yep. That sums me up i think!
And thanks to all you guys for all the inspiration. My wallet is much lighter!

Cheers,
James.

[Swinny]

Hay mate like the way she comming along. Youll find more things to do and modify beeing a member on this site. Welcome dude

[45cruiser]

Yeah thanks Swinny

Also I have a Billet style chrome nose if anyone wants one? Its chrome with black along the horizontal blades
Its basically brand new. I bought it for $110 a few weeks ago, put it on, and decided it wasnt for me > took it off a few days later. It went against the 'anti-chrome' design i had going. Anyway it looks cool on certain utes with the right trimming, so if anyone wants it....dunno 80 bucks ONO??

If no-one wants it i was thinking of spraying it black one day.

I'll put an ad in the for sale section too.

[KTM525EXC]

The lux is looking good James, well done mate

[will's hilux]

what front seats are u looking at? im thinking of replacing the seats as well

[10 luxxxx]

Your hilux is looking awesome mate are you running the factory strutts with your extended springs.

[Noidea]

Hey mate nice looking rig. Is that widowmaker up at coffs in those pics? Did you try it in your lux?

[45cruiser]

Hey mate nice looking rig. Is that widowmaker up at coffs in those pics? Did you try it in your lux?

Yeah it is and no I didnt haha
We went up a track in Bucca/Nana Glen that day that we thought looked just as challenging. But it was much narrower (truck width) so didnt look as daunting!

Actually I rode my bike down there when I was in high school. But i didnt plan a route when i got to the top and just went for it! I made it half way down on my wheels and then the second half on my face. Since then i've been terrified of it!

[45cruiser]

what front seats are u looking at? im thinking of replacing the seats as well

Not sure havent really looked into it.
I just want something with lumbar support! I was thinking prado or 200 cruiser maybe?

But yeah wont happen until i can get all the interior done in one go. As in get everything reupholstered and hopefully black. Probably years away!

[45cruiser]

Your hilux is looking awesome mate are you running the factory strutts with your extended springs.

Honestly don't know. I just let my mechanic sort it out. I didn't have any money left after buying the rims and tyres so I asked for a cheap lift.

Here's a photo I prepared earlier maybe you can tell?

[Jack S]

Yea thats a positive identification on standard toyota struts

[greysrigging]

Had me a 1978 HJ45 with the 'H' motor Diesel. I bought it in 1999 off a bloke who bought it new. I rebuilt the motor,put in 40 thou oversize pistons.....My God what good reliable old engine those things are !. Used it as a workhorse for 11 years,never missed a beat and mechanically very sound. Drove it to WA in April '99 and the ( non factory ) aircon died 300k into the trip. Jeez it was hot through the Kimberlies and Pilbara.A 2900k trip on those original factory seats....never again ! I found a stolen wrecked Commodore near Onslow and liberated the drivers side bucket seat for the drive home. The seat sat too high, so the drivers head nearly hit the roof, but that seat was still in her when I sold her 2 years ago. Still see the old 'Cruiser tooling around Darwin and Humpty Doo.....cant kill the bloody things !

[45cruiser]

Had me a 1978 HJ45 with the 'H' motor Diesel. I bought it in 1999 off a bloke who bought it new. I rebuilt the motor,put in 40 thou oversize pistons.....My God what good reliable old engine those things are !. Used it as a workhorse for 11 years,never missed a beat and mechanically very sound. Drove it to WA in April '99 and the ( non factory ) aircon died 300k into the trip. Jeez it was hot through the Kimberlies and Pilbara.A 2900k trip on those original factory seats....never again ! I found a stolen wrecked Commodore near Onslow and liberated the drivers side bucket seat for the drive home. The seat sat too high, so the drivers head nearly hit the roof, but that seat was still in her when I sold her 2 years ago. Still see the old 'Cruiser tooling around Darwin and Humpty Doo.....cant kill the bloody things !

Haha yeah I drive my 45 to work maybe once a month when I feel bad for neglecting her. Even on that 10 minute drive I get sick of not having aircon in Sydney summer let alone kimberlies. And to make it worse when I replaced the factory seat I put in a leather Volvo bench seat rather than a material seat because I'm a pompous dickhead! Yeah mines done over 500'000k or so. She turned 35 last month and she has decades left in her.

[greysrigging]

Yeah,my speedo sh#t itself about a year after I bought her and then about 5 years later it started to work again ! Paint job was Bunnings undercoat spraycan grey,applied every year before the rego roadworthy
Bit of a ratmobile but I didnt have to worry too much about the 'Pilbara Pinstriping' like I do now with the new Hilux.
When I bought her, she had 31" muddies on.....used to howl on the tarmac. Then I bought the cheapest ,nastiest crappiest looking Acme tyres to pass a roadworthy one year.....and got 120k out of 'em ! Admittedly they were on the canvas by then ,but still, 120,000klms ! Outstanding !

[45cruiser]

Yeah,my speedo sh#t itself about a year after I bought her and then about 5 years later it started to work again ! Paint job was Bunnings undercoat spraycan grey,applied every year before the rego roadworthy
Bit of a ratmobile but I didnt have to worry too much about the 'Pilbara Pinstriping' like I do now with the new Hilux.
When I bought her, she had 31" muddies on.....used to howl on the tarmac. Then I bought the cheapest ,nastiest crappiest looking Acme tyres to pass a roadworthy one year.....and got 120k out of 'em ! Admittedly they were on the canvas by then ,but still, 120,000klms ! Outstanding !

. Ah yeah I admit the Speedo is its one downfall! Mine shat itself a month after i bought it so I bought a replacement which I mustn't have installed correctly because it gave up a week later. Got another replacement and then that died about 2 years ago - it constantly thinks I'm doing 50. My mechanic obvioisly just ignores it for rego these days!

[pisso01]

Nice truck mate. Good to see another local around. Will have to organise a forum trip soon.

Cheers,

Chris.

[danmcccc]

keep the grill and paint it black mate...lux is coming along nicely!! nice tasteful mods

[45cruiser]

Nice truck mate. Good to see another local around. Will have to organise a forum trip soon.

Cheers,

Chris.

Cheers mate. Yer definately

keep the grill and paint it black mate...lux is coming along nicely!! nice tasteful mods

I sold it...actually just after i sold it i saw someone who had done exactly that (cant remember if it was on here or the real world...) either way, looked pretty cool. ahh well, I'll wait till i get a bull bar and then worry about changing the nose.



ALSO,

I have now convinced myself that i do need better suspension.... What i have was just a quick fix at the time, but never intended on replacing it... Now i have my heart set on a Rekon setup... it was only a matter of time. So i will add it to the list of things to spend all my earning on... Actually if i can get ICON setup fitted that would be super sweet. (I care about looks...it may not be functionally any better, but i dont care!)


I fitted Gas struts to the bonnet the other weekend. It was an impulse purchase. I dont lift the bonnet often enough to make it a benefit!!


And i've purchased the TRD black strips to go between the two side windows. so i will do that next weekend. Looking forward to that.

So Looking forward; the order of things to come has shifted slightly..
1st. I need a Hard lid. I want to go camping in the snow and i dont have a tonneau or anything, and i sold my canopy. D'oh. I'm aiming to find a second hand one, and paint it if needed. Dont want to spend more than $500 so i'll have to look hard. I've found a few actually, and the right colour, but they're all in f'ing melbourne. Whats with that place? Everything seems to be in melbourne! I bought the hilux there because there were 5 down there, and i couldnt find one in sydney that suited.
I just dont want to drill in the tray for the soft tonneau option. and the soft tonneau with the hidden tie downs looks a bit clunky and also around the $500 mark...

2nd. Sunroof. Just a luxury that i've enjoyed from my last car the Cherokee. And although the cruisers roof comes off, its a bitch to do. Actually, it blew off once! i was driving down the Princes Hwy and it started to rattle, so i thought "...hmmm...i'll should pull over in a bit...." and then a gust of wind blew and it took off behind me! lucky there were no cars around at the time!

3rd. Suspension. Rekon or whatever seems enticing at the time

4th. Bullbar. ARB Sahara. and better qlty bash plate

And in between all that big stuff, i need a compressor and maybe a dual battery...

Hopefully tax will be good to me this year.

[45cruiser]

Actually, no i also want a 3" exhaust + chip pretty soon...possibly before bullbar. and sliders before bullbar too.

I HAVE NO IDEA.

Step 1. Save money.
Step 2 Cross bridge

[Lurch]

mate enquiry were did you get the custom rocker switches from