Drews Build. For Sale !!

[Drew]

Well im finaly pulling out the finger and posting my build now thats its almost done.
Picked it up oct 08 one of the new face lift models, manual sr5 D4D Extra cab. Delivery went well and was very happy with the dealer the only problem being that it didnt get the factory cruise that toyota promised but you can read my other posts on that lol I got an after market one fitted so its all good lol

Fresh on the showroom floor.

[Drew]

The only things i got put on when i bought it was the cruise, black duck canvas seat covers, slimline weather shields, bonnet protector and rubber floor mats.
The first mod came right away and was a good tint on the windows, darker in the rear and a gme tx3440 UHF which i threw in myself.
Then came the ARB winch bar wich i fitted myself and put in the warn xd9000 winch i took out of my last hilux. I wouldnt recomend fitting the bull bar yourself due to the airbags its not like the old ones, there wer heaps of parts and was abit of a prick to do.
I bought a new type of soleniod, a single one which controls the lot and wont burnout, apparently its what the comp guys run so i thought id give it a go. I had the old control box in a sealed box i put in the engine bay but couldnt find a good spot for it in the new truck so that was another reason i went with the new compact one. And you run the switch into the cab and control it from there which i liked.







Found a good little spot in behind the air filter where not much else would fit, just put a bit of rubber behind it to help insulate it, more for peice of mind than functional i spose lol

[Drew]

Next was the factory wiring for the trailer lights wich was quiet involved. Fitted myself.


A whole new relay and fuse box and runs from the battery thru the cab right down to the tail lights and trailer plug.

[Drew]

Next was an ARB rear step towbar, brush rails and side steps and some flyscreen infront of the radiator to stop it filling up with bugs. All Fitted myself.
And a safari snorkle wich i had ARB fit. The towbar and steps wer easy to fit, just used some hose clamps to hold the brush rails inplace to drill them.

[Drew]

Now comes the fun part... After much deliberation, sussing out the options and permission from the cook I decided to go with a lift kit from Wizard Performance on the goldcoast. As most of you would know its a front end kit from total chaos in the states with a king springs custom leaf for the rear made for wizard performance, I also went with fabtech remote canister shocks for the rear also from the states.

I cant say enough good things about this kit and Brent from wizard was great before and after the purchace. After trying to get info out of some other companys it was great to talk to someone who knew our trucks in and out and knew his products so well and most of all was willing to share this info. As I installed the kit myself he gave me all the hints and tips i needed to get it in, and it was all bolt in and quiet easy.

I started with the front end kit as i had to wait for some springs to be made.


Prety simple to pull appart.


The shock and upper control arm is in. Just set at a bit over standard height untill the rear is in.




The sway bar relocation bracket installed.


The diff drop spacer / rotation to stop those pesky cv's from popping out.


And with the standard rim back on sitting just over standard height.

[Drew]

Now the rear has arrived, the new springs, standard size greasable shackles, u bolts, new bushes and the shocks. Again easy to fit.


All pulled apart... the pesky diff fell off the jack lol


Springs are in !!!


Done!!! springs, shocks but still standard wheels and tyres


The shocks

[Drew]

Now for some light on the subject lol some Lightforce 240 XGT's. My valentines day presie from the mrs so i must be doing something right lol But i had to put em in of course but i can handle that

[Bull]

Nice build up Drew. Hope mine goes as straight forward as yours.

[Drew]

Now the wheels and tyres hehehe
I went with some micky thompson dc-1's in black ( I was told these wer the wheels i was to get lol and once again she made a good choice) with micky t mtz tyres. Now heres the thing on my last hilux i had 33x12.5 and it was no worries, so i bit the bullet and went with 305/70R16. The tyre shop refused to fit them to the truck lol but got em anyway. They look great and once i do some mods so i can actualy turn i'll let you know how they drive lol
The front axle seems to be alot further back in the front wheel arch than the last model and rub when turning.
The -12 offset on the rim makes things worse but that was the only offset they came in in 16x8's but it gices it a nice wide stance.

[H20PRF]

Well Done mate , good too see guys do their own stuff ! , i like the FC II's as well very nice

Cheers

Daz

[9W6VX]

Very nice..... drooling ......

[biglux]

Well done mate, love the wheels. What did they cost, if you don't mind me asking?

[Drew]

Mate the wheels wer $370 ea which i thought was very reasonable as the csa magnums i had on my last truck wer the same price.

[Smithyworld]

That suspension kit looks very cool. What does that set one back? Have you resolved the rubbing problem? Do they rub heavily? If you remove the front mudflats and use a heat gun you can actually reshape the wheel arch liner with minimal cutting. By reshaping the wheel arch liner you can gain an inch or so of room.

Cheers

[Drew]

I just put the wheels on yesterday arvo so i will be attacking it today. The heat gun is a great idear i will definatly give that a go before i start cutting. It does rub pretty hard but the plastic inner is a long way off the metal arch so i shouls be able to gain all the clearance i need. With the fabtech rear shocks and a few other bits and pieces it all ended up about $4800 but would change all the time with the exchange rate.

[Hilux Max]

Nice rig drew.....have fun making room to turn the wheel,

if you do offroad this rig, as looking by the way its setup you do, I can guarantee you that you will need to trim that body mount with those tyres.

I was and still am considering those size tyres, the benefit with the MTZ's is that the 305/70x16 is a 12inch wide tyre which my Silverstone MT117's are very very close to in a 285/75x16.

Difference thou is my wheels are a 16x8 with a zero offset rim. so they are pulled inwards 12mm more than your wheels are.

I have had to remove the mud flap, bash the pinchweld halfway back, trim the bottom rear corner of the flare and quarter panel behind it, and cut and pin back the inner guard liner at the rear guards.

I have about 5mm clearance when fully stuff inside the guards, unless your front suspension is very stiff, you will need to cut and replate the bodymount, not a big deal, but if you run big and/or wide tyres its something that will need to be done.

I see you didnt mount up the factory bracket that goes from thecrossmember below the radiator to the one just below the engine.....how good is it without it huh? i did the same on mine to suss things out and the extra amount of clearance you get is awesome......I gather a custom bashplate is on the cards.

last question, your rear springs seem to sit nice and high.....what increase did the springs you put on the rear give ya? a full 3 inch ?

cheers mate, when you get it sorted, would love to see some offroad shots...

[Hilux Max]

Drew, one more mention mate.

With the suspension kit you have on now, because of the benefit of the arftermarket Upper Control Arms and the extra clearance you have with them, did you know that with some minor trimming you will be able to run 285/75x17 Muddies on 17x8 rims with a +20 offset? Thats 34" by 11.3".....that would really make you rig different. Cant wait to get some UCA's meself to give that a try.

[Drew]

Yeh it definately does go off road. Some tjm bash plates are on the cards or i might make some myself yet. I am thinking about puting the standard ones back on for now though due to the number of roos arround where i live the bottom of the radiator needs a bit of protection.

Yeh the rim offset buggered me a bit on the tyres, i will have to modify the bottom of the front flares and inner guards, it does hit the front body mounts but not by much so im hoping i wont have to cut and shut but it might be the easiest option.

Not sure exactly sure how much height i got out of the kit as i didnt measure it before i was just too keen to put it in. but i did measure it after so i will go down to the local dealer and measure one of theirs lol

[Hilux Max]

TJM bashplate will not fit onto your vehicle now because of the 1" diff drop spacer you fitted to the front. also, the bracket that fit between the 2 front crossmembers are missing, which is where the TJM bashplate screw into....you'll have to go custom.

re: bodymount wise, no good if it touches when its sitting in the driveway, you need clearance when the tyres is fulled stuffed and turning the wheel.

Remove the bottom bolt off the bodymount, then the rubber bushing, draw a line where you need to cut, then grinder it off, and reweld a piece back with more clearance, ensure you can still fit the rubber bush and screw thebolt back on.

Heres some pics of what an owner did with his FJ Cruiser in the US-
BEFORE


DURING






AFTER




Personally, I think he could have taken abit more off the outer edge but you get the picture.

By doing this with 3" lifts, they are magaing to fit 35" tyres on their Tacoma's...thou how much accetable rubbing is everyones opnion of acceptable is what varies.

Mind you the Tacoma rear guards are more vertical than the hilux's which are more arced/curved which limits tyre diameter somewhat.

hope that helps.

[KTM525EXC]

looks gr8 how much more down travel do ya get with those new UCAs?
cheers Troy