Vitara Wagon as a plaything

[kimclive]

We own a Hyundai Terracan as our primary family vehicle. Our main use for it is to tow our caravan, family holidays, trips to the supermarket, kids soccer training, etc, etc, etc. Since owning it (12 months) I have been bitten by the 4WD bug and love taking it bush. However, everytime I take a corner a little too fast, bottom out or enjoy the view from the middle of a river, my sphincter tightens and "It's worth $40k you fool" jumps into my head.

To over come this feeling I am considering buying a plaything to bushbash in. So I am considering selling my Holden Barina (cheap runabout car) and buying a Suzuki Sierra/Vitara. (Full chassis, H/L range, etc)

Well, I've found a 1991 Suzuki Vitara JLX Wagon at the right price and its decision time. Its fairly high kms (250K) with a straight body and good engine. Its an auto (4sp) that changes smoothly and the transfer case feels good/works well. The a/c isnt working, a few switches etc are broken, the tyres are RS and the suspension's a bit loose. Suspension upgrades and AT tyres would be on the agenda anyway.

The change over from the Barina to the Vitara would be virtually cost neutral.

What do you think?
Am I an idiot with too much time on my hands?

I would appreciate your views.

Cheers

Clive

[-Mick-]

sierra as a play toy mate... especially if you're not a great fabricator of custom parts as bolt on gear is plentiful for sierras

[SiKiD_01]

well, not sure what you actually want to do, as in, go fully hardcore and hit the mud and rocks head on, or take it a bit more slower and tamer.

ok, you said you looked at a vitara wagon, assuming its a 5 door lwb. this should be good if you want to take your family on outings too, as in, see the sights and get to those trickier places you wouldn't take your hyundai. if room is what you have in mind, a sierra is on the other end of the scale. with a lwb vit, you have room for 4 or 5 people, and space for overnight camps and stuff, or day trip picnics.

with the vit, a tough-ish tourer is about where the money starts to run out, get some good all terrains, $1000 give or take, and a full suspension kit. Old man emu does a very good kit, about $1500 ish, not sure, also lifts about 30mm-40mm with better shocks and struts. good on road, and off. in this form, it should be more capable than the hyundai, and a lot cheaper too.

if you want to go exploring by yourself (not recommended), and actually want something that resembles a toy, then sierra is good. a lot of options, and cheap as well. also very easy and simple to work on and modify.

it really depends on what you want to use the vit/sierra for. i think it might be easier for us to help you out this way. everyone is different.

hope this helps
Steve

[SiKiD_01]

i had one more pic to post, and it wouldn't let me post it.

i think this is probably more of what you have in mind. a good capable tourer of sorts, snorkel, muddies, rack, lifted.

and i forgot to mention winch, which wouldn't go astray too much.

[kimclive]

Steve,

Yes!!!!! That is exactly what I want. A capable reliable daily driver that, within reason, will go antwhere I want to take it.

It appears that wheels. tyres and suspension parts are cheap and easy to find.

Are engines, transmissions and general mechanical parts cheap and easy to find?

Cheers

Clive

[cj]

What you want it for will determine what to get. I have a '93 lwb auto Vit. The pluses are comfort, power steering, engine, auto, wheelbase and space. The weak points are alloy font diff/axle housing (can be replaced with cast iron from a manual V6 GV or XL-7), CV operating angles if you're looking at a big lift and cost on some accessories. If you really want a bushbasher then I would say look for a lwb Sierra but the lwb Vit with an OME lift, 30x9.5 muddies and a rear locker will get you a lot of places if you drive it smart and within it's limits. After that I would look at a front locker as it makes up a lot for the IFS. If you go bigger than that in tyre size you'll probably want to look at gearing and that's where the $$$ start to enter the equation. At this point I would say a SAS becomes an option or a Sierra may be better if you want to drive it hard.

[alien]

yeah to sum it up:

Sierra - Small, Rough, Little Comfort, Only really a 2 seater, Easily Modded, Easy to obtain parts.

Vitara - Large(r), Softer, Heaps More Comfort, 5 Seater, More Expensive To Mod, Easy to obtain parts.

I drive a sierra and find it to be far superior to a vit due to its lighter weight (just), ease of modding, and general toughness. Flatter side panels also means that if the front of the car fits, so does the rear - where the vit bulges outwards more on the sides, not an issue if you're not doing huge ruts etc though. Comfort isnt really an issue cos the longest drive i do is out to the tracks (1hr max). Seating not an issue as its either the g/f or a mate riding shotgun. no need to bring a car full of mates, peer pressure prolly cause an accident anyways! =)

But if you need the space to store gear and people, then go the vit and mod the hell out of it so it can keep up with a sierra =D

[Beastmavster]

There's a few threads on this at present. A streetable vitara is probably good enough to challenge any terrain that you'd prepare to have your family in the car during.


As in - if it's likely to make you think I dont wanna hurt the kids, you're probably at the point at which the vitara is gonna get hurt anyway.


Nothing is impossible, but there are better options if it's gonna get a lot of hardcore use. It sounds like it'll be car first and toy second. If you approach it that way I think you'll find that the Vitara will be able to do everything you want and more.


The option of upgrading the crap stock suspension in the Hyundai is there too - but no question it's probably gonna struggle to do anything much offroad anyway.

[antt]

What you want it for will determine what to get. I have a '93 lwb auto Vit. The pluses are comfort, power steering, engine, auto, wheelbase and space. The weak points are alloy font diff/axle housing (can be replaced with cast iron from a manual V6 GV or XL-7), CV operating angles if you're looking at a big lift and cost on some accessories. If you really want a bushbasher then I would say look for a lwb Sierra but the lwb Vit with an OME lift, 30x9.5 muddies and a rear locker will get you a lot of places if you drive it smart and within it's limits. After that I would look at a front locker as it makes up a lot for the IFS. If you go bigger than that in tyre size you'll probably want to look at gearing and that's where the $$$ start to enter the equation. At this point I would say a SAS becomes an option or a Sierra may be better if you want to drive it hard.

this is the state of mods that mine was in for approximately a year, and it proved to be a reliable pretty capable rig. then i started driving harder stuff and running bigger tires, which lead to lots of breakages. i'd recommend a lwb efi vit, 30x9.5's and an airlocker for the rear and it'll be a good rig

[Beastmavster]

My recommendations match antt's exactly - I had no issues running 30"s and it was clear when i jumped to 31"s it was a mistake and I was expecting more than reasonable out of the car.

At 30"s the Vitara was a really great combo, and I would hesitate to recommend any larger rubber on a vitara for a range of reasons.



Refer also to http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=44895

[SiKiD_01]

in my opinion, improving the terracan may be another option, but not really worth it. even though it has a 5 link rear with coil, and torsion bar front (which may be a problem sourcing aftermaket ones), AND with a low range gear ratio of 2.48:1, which is lower than the vits 1.8:1, it still is bulky, plasticky, and has a huge rear overhang. this will get caught up on a lot of big rocks or drops or ditches. ramp over on a lwb is only good when lifted.

swap the barina for the vit, spend some money on the OME sus kit, drive it and see how much better it is over the terracan. get some new tyres, 30"s seem to be the bearable limit, and go visit those places you've never been. then save for the rear airlocker, and make everything else. (cargo barrier, roof rack, front and rear end protection, rock sliders etc etc)

good luck

[A1]

Yep goin down the same route now with the VITARA option ............ the only real reason but, that im goin the vit as it was at an exceptional price as I had (still do ) another zook project to start LWB Sierra..................


I took possesion a week or so ago its a 94" LWB,estate, efi auto, front n rear ARB"S and rockhopper transfer case gearing ... 2" ome lift ..came wif roadys and 30" muddies

Will eventually get the 60 series diffs that i already had for the sierra ....so any1 wanting front arb for a vit or even a complete rear end wif arb keep an eye out in 4sale as these will be posted in about a month or so away (hopefully ) .......as the same with the transfer case as i will most prob run a sierra case to get the high reduction or maybe dual vit/sammy case but either way the transfer will go .


body chop to extra cab uterus ............



Dan

[antt]

awesome shit dan, there's gonna be some nice vits getting around by the end of the year me thinks

[SiKiD_01]

....so any1 wanting front arb for a vit or even a complete rear end wif arb keep an eye out in 4sale as these will be posted in about a month or so away (hopefully ) .......as the same with the transfer case as i will most prob run a sierra case to get the high reduction or maybe dual vit/sammy case but either way the transfer will go .

Dan

can ya make me first dibs on the rock crawler gears? (when the time comes?) i will be running 33"s by the end of the month.

i wonder if the front arb is for s 22 spline or a 26 spline?

anyway, like antt said, some fully sik vits by the end of the year!

[cj]

SiKiD, It doesn't matter if it's 22 or 26 spline if you're getting the whole lot with the drivers side cv.

Clive if you decide to buy it and are interested I have OME front and rear springs and rear shocks available, you'd just need to pick up the front struts.

[antt]

and i'll have OME front struts for sale in a matter of weeks

[SiKiD_01]

Clive mate, you're all set.

[kimclive]

Thanks guys.

The wife is keen now too. She tells me today for the first time that after owning the Terracan for 12 months she no longer feels safe in the Barina. Too small, too light, 110km/h is a struggle, etc.

Cheers

Clive

[kimclive]

Bought it!!!!!!!!

Anyone want to buy a cheap Barina

Cheers

Clive

[kimclive]

Here she is!

[alien]

as mentioned above - get steel mega offset rims and 31's or 30's under it - will be a beast indeed!!! looks nice =)

[cj]

Thanks guys.

The wife is keen now too.

Mmmm, now she watch in surprise as it grows in front of her

[SiKiD_01]

looks to be in pretty good condition. now the fun starts.

about a million crazy ideas just popped into my head when i looked at the pics, man, so much potential, yet, so little money. (in my case anyway)

you said the swap from barina to vitara is pretty much neutral, so how much you selling the barina for? (not really wanting to buy it)

let us know how it goes. (start a members thread on it maybe?)

[kimclive]

Hoping for $3500 but am realistic.

Cheers

Clive

[SiKiD_01]

http://www.zuwharrie.com/content/view/11/27/

check it out, will give you ideas.

[Beastmavster]

As the plan is to keep the thing streetable - stick with 30" rubber on 15x7" rims. Any off the shelf rims you can buy will probably have better offset than you have now. Vitara is + heaps as stock :(

Something around -10mm/-13mm would probably be the best combo. That would push you out about 5" wider than standard when you include the extra width of the rubber - thats quite a jump in width on what's still a pretty narrow car.

I think at 0mm offset you'll just get by without flares, but more than that will need some flares added for legality which helps it look a lot tougher

Keep some money on the side for when you break the front diff so you can get a steel one.

Set up a members thread so we can watch the progress.

[nickw86au]

Sorry to hijack...

Yep goin down the same route now with the VITARA option ............ the only real reason but, that im goin the vit as it was at an exceptional price as I had (still do ) another zook project to start LWB Sierra..................

But I was wondering if you still had the lwb sierra?!? Or knew of any around newy?!?

Nick

[A1]

Hey Nick (got ya Pm aswell but I will answer here ) I still have the longy at the moment but it has currently changed hands to my father and from there (as he found a 85 zook ute) it has now moved onto Hypozook .....he has big plans (like those GH.EY iroks in a small 39.5" size ( JOKING )


So sorry dude , but I will keep an eye out for ya around the newy area .



Dan

[kimclive]

Great to see this thread again. My first post here!

Great trip down memory lane.

She's had a fair bit of body tidy up work done, bullbar, 50mm suspension lift, OME shocks and now rides like a dream.

A bit more mechanical TLC and she will be perfect.

Cheers

Clive

[SiKiD_01]

Great to see this thread again. My first post here!

Great trip down memory lane.

She's had a fair bit of body tidy up work done, bullbar, 50mm suspension lift, OME shocks and now rides like a dream.

A bit more mechanical TLC and she will be perfect.

Cheers

Clive

post up some more pics when you can