What to buy?

[LIF71T]

I,m thinking of buying a Sierra for the twenty minute drive to work and as a do up project for my son.
Don,t know much about the model so here come the question. What year did they go coil sprung and is it a better option to leafs with regards to suspension mods considering the extra price?
Are ther any inherit problems to look out for?
What the best tyre size and suspension lift size to go for so it,s not a pig on road but good off and of course it has to look good.??
Any info would be greatly appreciated
Cheers Glenn

[nicbeer]

Bible has lots of info and search wll.

Basically work out what terrain u want to drive and how wild u want to get with the mods.

Coilies were 95mid onwards i think.
Leafies are easier to get modded parts for and can warrant better results.
Problems are mostly to do with the below

engine - can drop piston skirts or do head gaskets
body - rust can be the killer round any edge (windows, bonnet etc) and on the WT's (mid 88 onwards (2" wider track)) can gain a bit of rust under the sill covers easyily.

Lift - easy and not too bad on pocket and zook ride etc.
2" suspension lift and a set of 235 or 30x9's then u can go up from there with gearing etc

I am sure many will agree and dissagree but its up 2 you to decide.

Btw search around and look in members rigs.

Nic

[LIF71T]

Thanks for the info. I,ve found it,s better to ask the people who know rather then a salesman.
Any more advise would be welcome.

[skez]

i have a 87 nt leaf sprung and a 98 coil sprung and i have found that leaf springs ride like shit compared to the coil ones and coil spring ones go allot further if u dont have lockers as they are less rigid and dont pick wheels off the ground as easy, and they coilys have better interior etc

[sierrajim]

I,m thinking of buying a Sierra for the twenty minute drive to work and as a do up project for my son.
Don,t know much about the model so here come the question. What year did they go coil sprung and is it a better option to leafs with regards to suspension mods considering the extra price?
Are ther any inherit problems to look out for?
What the best tyre size and suspension lift size to go for so it,s not a pig on road but good off and of course it has to look good.??
Any info would be greatly appreciated
Cheers Glenn

How much money have you got???? Do you have a budget to work to? are there any "must haves" for the vehicle?

[LIF71T]

I want to spend upto $7k on the car and the mods will come as funds arrive but some suspension mods and bigger wheels will be first with about $4k for that.
I,ve got a SWB GQ with a five link, 4" lift & lockers on 35 mtrs, It goes most places ,I was team sub at last Nissan Trials and ran on Sunday. So I want the Zuk to be reasonably capable without it being stupid, or cost heaps .
I want it to be a daily driver and my son will use it when he gets his P,s.
Had ideas about Hilux diffs etc so it,sa matter for working out what to do and when.
I,m open to advise

[... rick]

Dont buy a Zook ya Dudelux, get him a Scat!! And get rid of that horrible avatar while your at it. And no more lawn jibes either!!

[nicbeer]

Start with the legals of where u are. find out what u can or get done first. then go for it.

[LIF71T]

Dont buy a Zook ya ., get him a Scat!! And get rid of that horrible avatar while your at it. And no more lawn jibes either!!

Ithought you where moving ??
Are you trying to sell a Scat (slightly used never been offroad,one careful
At least with a three car garage you,ll have room for a lawn mower

[CWBYUP]

If your going hilux diffs dont waste your money on a coily.

I would say buy a OK one and let the young fella help you rebuild / mod it so he can learn what he's doing.

If you want a DD straight away buy a coily and throw some lockers and gears in it.

Cheers Nick ( hope your getting better )

[LIF71T]

Thanks Nick
I need a DD first By the time Boof can drive there,s plenty of time to sort out diffs etc.
I prefer the look and layout of a coily, interior looks better and not so old,
it,s really a matter of whats got more readly available stuff such as lift kits etc. I,ll have to talk to my favorite BBM salesperson, although he,s probably going to try and talk me into a Scat.
And the foot is getting better, thanks, bored shitless though!

[cjdeane10]

Hey! I am in a similar situation: i want a swb zuk as a DD and i have a budget (thanks to the 'war office' ).

I am looking for a widetrack leafy, (88.5 - 94???)
Must haves:
- fibreglass removable top
- winch bull bar
- towbar
- 2" suspension lift
- 2" body lift
- 30" tyres (dont wanna go bigger just yet, gunna use standard gearing)

Any information would be great (especially about how much it would all cost!)!

p.s.

Wish list:
- G13b gti motor
- rockhopper gears
- locked diffs
- bigger tyres
but i am kidding myself a bit here (gotta save my pennies )

[vicelore]

Hey! I am in a similar situation: i want a swb zuk as a DD and i have a budget (thanks to the 'war office' ).

I am looking for a widetrack leafy, (88.5 - 94???)
Must haves:
- fibreglass removable top
- winch bull bar
- towbar
- 2" suspension lift
- 2" body lift
- 30" tyres (dont wanna go bigger just yet, gunna use standard gearing)

Any information would be great (especially about how much it would all cost!)!

p.s.

Wish list:
- G13b gti motor
- rockhopper gears
- locked diffs
- bigger tyres
but i am kidding myself a bit here (gotta save my pennies )

Hey

i baught mine 91 swb for 5400 kinda expensive but was perfect and had 100k on the clock

2 inch OME lift bout a grand i think

2inch BL 350

and my 32s cost around the 1200 mark.

winches are a rip

and im pretty sure the fibre glass tops are very exy too if it didnt come with it.

[cjdeane10]

Thanks for the info!

i am looking for one already with the fibreglass roof, if possible.

There is a 90 SWB zuk in the local paper for 4500... pretty stock, but with about 170k on the clock, and a fibreglass roof. Back seats were pretty wrecked, and the dash had been hacked apart for a CB and CD player at some stage of its life.

At least with a ball park figure for the mods (thanks again) i can figure out what the hip pocket should be getting slugged for.

[vicelore]

the big hitters are still to come.

if u go over 30s most people want reduction gears. depending on how handy u are will be anwhere from 1200- 1500

then lockers

auto lockers about around 600 - 750 each front and back

or you can go air which are around 1200 each front and back.

so yea i would defently factor them in.

Cheers

[cjdeane10]

Hence why the lockers, etc were on my wish list!

The zuk should be capable enough with the 2" BL, 2" OME lift and 30's ...

Fibreglass roof to keep the rain off, but can remove when wanna get some sun...

Tow bar to tow all the stuff that wouldnt fit in the 'boot' or roof rack...

BRILLIANT!

Winch capable bull bar was all i was after (just so i have the capability of fitting winch sometime in the future)... actually buying the winch would be in the 'wish list' catergory...

thanks again for the info.

[abundance84]

If you want to save heaps and heaps of $$$$$$ on mods and save heaps of time, buy a sierra that already has the basics done to it, they only go for a marginally higher price on the market than a non modded one.
Ideally pick something that knocks out the main expensive essential mods i.e. bigger engine, lifted, big tyres, bullbar. there are a fair few of these around and a few with a bugger load more mods with not much of a difference in the sale price. If its not a backyard job and the invoices are there to prove it, then you will have definitely saved money even if something does go seriously wrong (short of the car exploding).

[lay80n]

Hence why the lockers, etc were on my wish list!

The zuk should be capable enough with the 2" BL, 2" OME lift and 30's ...

Fibreglass roof to keep the rain off, but can remove when wanna get some sun...

Tow bar to tow all the stuff that wouldnt fit in the 'boot' or roof rack...

BRILLIANT!

Winch capable bull bar was all i was after (just so i have the capability of fitting winch sometime in the future)... actually buying the winch would be in the 'wish list' catergory...

thanks again for the info.

Be warned, zooks have a legal towing capacity of 450 KG, so dont plan on towing anything larger than a suit case

Layto....

[Gwagensteve]

i have a 87 nt leaf sprung and a 98 coil sprung and i have found that leaf springs ride like shit compared to the coil ones and coil spring ones go allot further if u dont have lockers as they are less rigid and dont pick wheels off the ground as easy, and they coilys have better interior etc

sorry for the late catch up -

This is interesting - both cars have about the same wheel travel. The coil cars seem to behave a bit oddly offroad IMHO until the swaybar is removed - this helps a lot.

They are not as weight capable as leaf cars - the compression valving blows through on the coilers and tends to make the bottom hard - coilers tend to have trashed fuel tanks very quickly if used off road!

The coilers I have been in don't really ride better than a basic suspension kitted leaf car in my experience, and nowhere near as well as a RUF leaf car.

I agree though, the coil interior is lovely and they are much quieter on the road with the stiffer shell and all the soundproofing work they did with the coiler.

Just my observations.

Steve.

[Nev]

Hey! I am in a similar situation: i want a swb zuk as a DD and i have a budget (thanks to the 'war office' ).

I am looking for a widetrack leafy, (88.5 - 94???)
Must haves:
- fibreglass removable top - $500?
- winch bull bar - bout $900 new for arb or $500 2nd hand
- towbar - $250 new? $100-150 2nd hand
- 2" suspension lift - bout $700-900 for good quality new + fitting
- 2" body lift - $200 from "just cruisin" + fitting
- 30" tyres (dont wanna go bigger just yet, gunna use standard gearing) - vary a lot but my MT/R's (highly recommend) were $880 fitted

Any information would be great (especially about how much it would all cost!)!

p.s.

Wish list:
- G13b gti motor - $1500-2500 + fitting?
- rockhopper gears - series 1 $900ish new $400-500 2nd hand + fitting, series 3 $1200ish new $800-1000 2nd hand + fitting
- locked diffs - air locker 1200 each end + fitting new, auto lockers $400-600 new, welded bout $50-150 depending who you know
- bigger tyres
but i am kidding myself a bit here (gotta save my pennies )

Added what I reckon most parts are worth but not sure on a few items like the motor and canopy. If people disagree feel free to change as this is merely my opinion and experience on what things have cost me/are worth.

[Zute]

I got a winch bar as it was only $80 bucks more. Later was offered an electric winch for $260 .
Its old and slow, but works a treat.
Gets more work recovering other 4bies. Hey Mad_zook.

[cjdeane10]

Thanks guys! Excellent information.

I will continue to trawl the auto classifieds for a zuk that fits most, if not all of the main mods i want...

The more money i save the better.

Thanks again.

Towing a suitcase-sized trailer might be all i need - i dont think the zuks are laid out to carry a party of 4, with baggage!

[cjdeane10]

What i meant was - Zuks are made for fun 4wding, not carting heaps of equipment (get your mate with the personnel carrier to take your extra baggage!)

Just if it had a towbar, then i could use it to pick up small trailer stuff (mulch for the garden, etc)

Still looking thru the classifieds - let me know if anything good comes up!