Celia's SAS Vit

[antt]

well celia barry's vit was at woodpecker over the weekend and did bloody well. unforutunatly i didn't get ot speak to her, but i did get a few pics of the suspension setup that is on her vitara that i though some people might be interested in

single link on drivers side that was mounted inside the chassis


2 links on the passenger side mounted inside the chassis


axle seemed to be inline with standard location, and was running 34in simex jungle trekker II's


i know celia is a member of the forum, so it'd be great if she could speak up and give us some more details on the suspension and drivetrain package that is in her vitara currently
the rear seemed to use the standard lower control arms and triangulated uppers instead of the a frame setup thats standard

[A12]

Celias vehicle runs Hilux running gear front and rear, 3.8l Commodore engine. I'll find the article I did on her vehicle for the club magazine and post it up somewhere.

Greg

[cebarry]

Hey Antt,

Eugene is the mastermind behind all the changes that have been done to my Vit over the years. As you can imagine we've learnt the hard way with no one else really to copy or get advice from, but I think we've finally got it right and yeah the car went well on Sunday I was chuffed.
He will be more than happy to answer any questions and help out with any advice and will be answering your email directly asap.
His latest idea was to re engineering the Pittman arm to improve a v. poor turning ability. Woodpecker was the first time I had an opportunity to try it out and found it much improved. Not nearly as much back & filling as I had to do at Willowglen and Ateco.

Thanks for the kind words...
Celia

[roc box]

the vit looks great in its new guise , keep drivin it like its stolen best wishes from the zuk boys in nowra

[RUFF]

Great Drive on the weekend Celia. I was actually surprised how easy you and Det got through that water. when i droped the mog in i thought i was about to get shown up by 2 zooks. You guys must have been able to straddle the ruts.

I notice in the pics it has 2 links on each side at the front but dont see a Panhard rod in the pics. How is the axle located side to side? Sorry i didnt think to look under it while i was down there.

[antt]

tony it has a panhard rod, i've circled the upper mount in this pic

[cebarry]

Hey, Zuk Nowra boys and Tony.......thanks for the recognition.
Pity we were right in front of your monster "mog" Tony, as we didn't get to see your drive at all, except the last bit when the team was on that strap at the end/top........their jubilation was something else to see. Good for you coming over the border and stealing our NSW drivers thunder....maybe a battle of the states should happen again, like the old days at Emu Creek...

Yeah the Vit has a panhard rod alright and the year we went back to the Outback Challenge with the changed front, I expeienced the phr bolt sheer off soon after leaving Denian Station at like 4am in the morning on a transit stage. It went just as I'd driven over a cattle grid.......and we ended up flying straight into the bush....then spent 4 hrs limping to Menindee, @ 20K'sph, with frequent stops to rebind it together. On arrival they had a power cut but the local welder tried his best with a petrol driven one....and with temporary repair we then had to reach Broken Hill for it to be done properly by Dennis at Silvercity $WD before being able to rejoin our team....all part of the 'challenge' and why we keep returning each year for more!
Eugene by the way would be more than happy to take any pix of the works for you Antt.
Also keep a lookout for the updated story on Survivor Chick in the 4WD Monthly Feb issue,76, that'll be out in Jan.

Cheers,
Celia & Eugene

[pleiades]

Saw your bit in the Sunday paper too.

[antt]

Hey, Zuk Nowra boys and Tony.......thanks for the recognition.
Pity we were right in front of your monster "mog" Tony, as we didn't get to see your drive at all, except the last bit when the team was on that strap at the end/top........their jubilation was something else to see. Good for you coming over the border and stealing our NSW drivers thunder....maybe a battle of the states should happen again, like the old days at Emu Creek...

Yeah the Vit has a panhard rod alright and the year we went back to the Outback Challenge with the changed front, I expeienced the phr bolt sheer off soon after leaving Denian Station at like 4am in the morning on a transit stage. It went just as I'd driven over a cattle grid.......and we ended up flying straight into the bush....then spent 4 hrs limping to Menindee, @ 20K'sph, with frequent stops to rebind it together. On arrival they had a power cut but the local welder tried his best with a petrol driven one....and with temporary repair we then had to reach Broken Hill for it to be done properly by Dennis at Silvercity $WD before being able to rejoin our team....all part of the 'challenge' and why we keep returning each year for more!
Eugene by the way would be more than happy to take any pix of the works for you Antt.
Also keep a lookout for the updated story on Survivor Chick in the 4WD Monthly Feb issue,76, that'll be out in Jan.

Cheers,
Celia & Eugene

thanks very much Celia and Eugene. i've got a chassis sitting here that i got from a halfcut i bought that i'm going to set it up on first, then transfer it to my vit once i know everything works, has clearance etc.

now to find a cheap lux axle......

[cebarry]

Not a bad writeup was it plerades, the pic was taken at Dobroyd Point above the Harbour opposite Sydney Heads, pity there wasn't more of the backdrop...it couldn't of been further away from any action, but it was v. hot like 38 that day.

Good luck Antt.....you are in for some frustrating fun times.....I don't know if you are aware that Eugene is 'not' a mechanic or anything, so I'm extremely proud of what he has achieved. He also undertook the swop on his own using a shipping container as his garage and a forklift to get the engine in and out at te Tempe Container Depot where he works.
We won't mention how the transfer case almost went in upside down will we! and then to end up with her weighing too much....
That is one v. important factor when changing to heavier running gear and a Commod. engine............be very careful of that 'cos the GVM is v. low on a Vit. That's why we ended up cutting her rear off, otherwise we wouldn't have got her passed/engineered!
It may interest u to learn also that since I've changed to Hi-Lux running gear, which is 2 yrs now, I haven't broken a CV or axle......but then I've only run 32 and now 34" tyres.
What a pity we didn't get to meet as we could have saved all this blah blah!

Congrats again to the Logan boys...particularly Tony in is mighty Mog.

See ya,
Celia