Is an MQ patrol worth building into a serious offroader??

[Andrew_C]

Hi everyone,
I'm after a bit of an opinion on some ideas I have?
- I have a mate who is selling his old MQ patrol wagon cheap, Its has the SD33 motor and 4 speed. The body is not real flash and has some minor rust. Wants about $1200 for it but I can probably knock it down a bit more.
- My ideas are to cut it down to an extra cab, put some fibreglass GQ guards and grill on it, and then slowly work it up to a five link front and a frame rear or oversprung- something that will fit 36's on easily and I can use for mostly driving in places like Toolangi, gembrook and Wesburn, Possibly a locker or two at some later stage and just drive without worrying about the body too much.

- What are the 3.3 litre diesels like, can they be turboed from standard, are they expensive to fix, or rebuild and do they make any reasonable power, Would it be capable of comfortable highway speeds. Also the gearbox and transfer, How are the prices for fixing running gear issues??
- I'm looking at a budget of about $5000 without the lockers and tyres, will this make a reasonably capable play machine out of an MQ??

Thanks
Andrew

[Big Red Toy]

If you have a budget of $5000 take up sewing
4wding is expensive

Nah really, get one you can put a V8 into without having to swap gearboxes...etc, i've found that power would be nice if i had it , you can run 36's with a 2" body & small spring lift, one of the guys MKPATROLGUY runs this setup so talk to him.

If you are going to go to the hassle of major suspension mods i would suggest wider axles such as gq's as after comparing on the weekend the gq's look a bit wider and that would make wheelin easier, also stronger axles etc...

[hottiemonster]

get a GQ

bid red toy (Andrew) loved driving mine on the weekend, he got very jealous

[A1]

Andrew have alook in the bible under the members rigs n check out shortyMQ 's rig have to say its the knarliest MQ ive seen woth oooodles of flex for a leafy rig ......................he clears 37"s with sum guard clearancin ...........



im sure it will answer ya Question whether they can be built into a capable rig

ya 5g limit may be stretched unless your handy with tools such as a welder and atleast a grinder and can do most of the work ya self






Dan

[Screwy]

You can get more than enough flex outa an MQ by just reducing leaves.
If you want to convert to a 5 link front........ Get a GQ.

screwy

[Mark2]

Saw a guy with a very capable MQ LWB wagon at Landcruiser Mountain Park in May. It had the following mods: 2" body lift, home made sliders, reset leaves with some removed, welded rear diff. Cost of these mods if DIY is about $200. It was running 35's which were probably worth more than the rest of the vehicle. BUT, it went more places than most of the coil sprung vehicles there, cost a fraction of the price (owed him $1500 excluding the tyres) and because of this he wasnt afraid to bend it = much more fun. He did all the extreme rated trails with no problems.

Put a set of GQ front guards on and you'll have most people fooled.

The SD33 is reliable if a little underpowered with a solid commercial heritage and IMHO second only to the SD33T as far as leaf sprung engine options go. The 2.8 petrol is a car engine and works hard while the 4.2 petrol has good power and torque but is thirsty. Much stronger diffs with the SD33 versus the 2.8 petrol as well. $1200 seems pretty reasonable, you'd probably get $1000 for a decent SD33 engine alone if you parted it out. If it were me, I'd buy it. In fact, I've almost talked myself into selling the GQ, pocketing the extra cash and starting a new low budget project myself!

[moose]

for those that dont know ....
Andrew-C already has a very cabable GQ wagon !!!
(when it,s getting towed up c0ckpit track , by a ZOOK !!)

[V8Patrol]

when it,s getting towed up c0ckpit track , by a ZOOK !!

PICS !!!

Andrew, there isnt a lot of "off the shelf" mods availiable for the MQ/MK compared to later models so if your not into doing it your self then more dollars would be required to pay others for the work......

I cant understand the arguments in the "for & against coils " on going sagas, I still keep asking the same question and its never been answered to this day satisfactrly.....
"If coils are so shyte hot will some-one please explain to me why a large number of the top rock rigs still run leaf suspension ...IE Bj on Roids ?"
Armed with the right understanding of leaf suspension there really isnt any where a coil rig could go that a leaf sprung rig couldnt follow, but I gather the "ease" of conversion is so much easier and thats why so many rave about coils.

The SD33 motor is a strong motor that does take a fair amount of abuse to kill it of, marked performance can be acheived by fitting a more "open exhaust" & major power increases are availiable after a few hundred dollars are spent on head work. I have seen a non turboed unit absolutely blow away a turboed unit after only $400 was spent on the head, opening it up in the ports etc as one does for petrol motors will see major power increases. Admittidly the same rule would apply to a turboed motor.

To turbo a non turboed SD33 one has to fit new pistons to suit the turbo,...... crank, rods, heads, etc are IDENTICLE between the two engines .....its the pistons that are differant.
Obviously you could fit an after market waste gate that can be adjusted to relive the unwanted pressures/strain that a turbo would have on a non turboed motor........ IE: decrease the boost level !

Other options are also availiable such as V8 conversions, again it comes down to one's ability in his own w/shop, a full V8 conversion could be done for around the $2000 mark by a mechanicly minded person....... forget it if you cant service your own car !

SOA's (spring over axle ) will gain a lot more clearance off of the ground as well allowing more tyre clearance, there are quite a few companys specillising in this type of work but again much can be done by the mechanicly minded person.

Body lifts are childs play....... minimul cost and time is required and it allows for more tyre clearance for thoes big chunky mudders !

Perhaps the most benificial thing is availibility of MQ/MK stuff and its cost, with that in mind it wont kill ones wallet when it ends up on its roof and because its a cheaper rig to build up one tends to use the throttle much more aggresivly and hence more fun is to be had....

Kingy

[Gwagensteve]

Have you heard this one:

Q:How do you make a capable MQ?














A:Pull the diffs out and put them under a zook.

[Screwy]

Have you heard this one:

Q:How do you make a capable MQ?














A:Pull the diffs out and put them under a zook.

That doesnt make a capable MQ, makes a capable Zook
Goes to Show, MQ diffs are TOPS

[V8Patrol]

Q:How to get a capable Zook?



















A: trade it in on a MQ

[Justin_M]

Im pretty sure the SD33T has oil cooled pistons aswell, while the non turbo does not? Something i would definatly scratch my head over before i turbo'd a n/a sd33.

[Camshaft1]

Oil cooled pistons? whats the go there shaggy?

[Justin_M]

I havent actually seen an SD33T block apart, but ive been told they have oil squirters in the lower portion of the bore, they squirt oil up onto the bottom of the piston, lubes the gudgeon pin and cools the piston in 1 go. The n/a version apparently does not have this.

[Screwy]

I havent actually seen an SD33T block apart, but ive been told they have oil squirters in the lower portion of the bore, they squirt oil up onto the bottom of the piston, lubes the gudgeon pin and cools the piston in 1 go. The n/a version apparently does not have this.

I havnt heard this.....
Ive had a non turbo models, sump off and didnt see anything unsual though i want exactly looking for something like that.....
i really should have looked
all i was doing was re-tensioning the rod bolts, they were a little rattly...

screwy