Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hello,
I apologise in advance if these questions have been asked before, but I've been through a fair few pages and can't see any similar subject line.

I am looking at buying a cheap 4WD that will also be cheap to run and modify. I've previously owned a Subaru Sportswagon (never got off road), a Lada Niva (amazing offroad but a pig onroad), a Feroza (which I pretty good on and off but got bellied up a bit through lack of wheel travel) and sold that and bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee (amazing on and off road but bloody expensive to run). We've now sold the Jeep and we bought a regular road car and I'm now looking for a second car to be used primarily for bashing off road.

I don't want to spend any more than about AUD5000 initially and have been thinking about a cheap, old Shorty Cruiser, another Feroza, another Lada or a Suzuki Sierra or Vitara.

I really like the modification ability of the Sierra and the utilitarian feel about them, but I'm not sure whether some of the modifications I see in 4WD Monthly and in this forum would be allowed in Western Australia. The Police keep a pretty close eye on wheels protruding from the arches and also on vehicle height and other mods.

Can anyone tell me whether to go for a Sierra or Vitara (or Jimny?) and what mods to be careful of in WA? How do these cars compare to the other mentioned (I know you'll all be impartial ).

Thanks,
Whistler
Dampier WA

Hey mate,

If you're going to be driving the car primarily onroad, the Vitara is much more frendly and has a much better road feel and speed.

Offroad, well, I was skeptical when I bought my Sierra, but I've never looked back. It's only minorly modified (2 inch lift, 30 inch retread muddies) but goes harder and further than I ever thought it would. Not that it's the first and last word in go anywhere-ness but it's capable enough for my needs. I've never ever had a problem with the police, neither has nicbeer who has a similarly modified Sierra, and Dewse was driving his to work everyday on 33s on massively offset rims and he never got done for anything either.

A Sierra will always be noisy and spartan but you get over it pretty quick. I wouldn't recomend a sierra to everyone, but if you want to go 4WDing it's the gun imho. But if you want to drive to work, drive to the shops, and go 4WDing now and again, maybe go for the Vitara.

If you want off road go a sierra.
Vitaras are nice to drive but wheres the fun in that? They are fairly capable little fourbys but are a lot harder to modify due to the dreaded IFS.
Plus with a budget of around 5 Gs you will get a nice Sierra or a fairly crumby Vitara.
I got my wifes Sierra (ie mine ) for under 3 grand.
89 model (widetrack) with -
Freshly reconned motor
New springs and shocks (which arnt so new now )
New radiator

About a week or two after I bought it I fitted 30" Goodyear MTRs, pounded the firewall a little and fitted about 1 inch longer shackles.
I have a second hand ARB airlocker for the rear going in soon.

So it would have come in under the 5 grand limit and is a beast.
Although I will be fitting transfer case gears, barwork and different springs and shocks shortly.
Paul.

get a widetrack sierra, hardtops are generally a bit cheaper. widetracks have the big colour coded flares, narrow tracks have the slimmer black plastic flares. avoid anything with carpet unless its mint all round. carpet holds water, hides rust.
as you stated that it was primarily a basher, id pass on the vit, only because as ausyota pointed out, you can get a rough vit for 5k or a good sierra for 5k.
i paid 1k for a narrow track 1lt sierra tintop with 31s bullbar + spotties. ive spent about a grand on it, and now have new muddies, front locker and rego. i get 9-10l/100km (needs a carby overhaul), and all my camping gear fits in the back.

Buy a seirra, get some retread mudders and wheel the hell out of it. You will know what to do next.

If the tires hang out cover them with rubber from "clarke rubber"

Old gold has a picture of mine with this on it... (oldgold can you attach pic, i don't have it at work.)

The WA zooks.

I don't have a pic of OLD Golds on here. These prob look least illeagl

There is more here but no pics.

cheers

Oh how fun that was!

I drove it around like that for age's! I even used to drive it into the city and I only ever got pulled over once, when I cop thought I was cutting up a paddock (I was crawling some rocks in it). They looked it over and didn't care.

Dewse - 1lt ute in the quokka for a grand, get your dollars and your act together mate! No rust either, I gave him a ring.

go the zook

me and sum of the zook boys....

I was wondering where that pic went.

cheers

bazooked wrote:me and sum of the zook boys....

That dude in the orange shirt,did he compete in the gymkana with his brother?

Yup. Badooky and brother in the tripod zook.



cheers

thats his brothers isn't it.

yup, don;t have a pic of his here.

whats this tripod stuff?

Badooky's zook.

i have about 1000 pics on my pc from Gymkana.found a few of those two zooks.and i found another one that i don't know who it is but it looks good.

Name these ppl

Got any pics of my extra cab Hilux from the gymkana?
Its the white one with the rusty tray and Outerlimits stickers.

PS sorry for the thread hijack
Paul.

The silver zook belongs to Todd Stabben hes a member of Nightowl club.

is this yours

we didn't hijack the thread we proved that all those 4bs going hard are sierra's not vitara's.

the top pic and bottom pic are me not the middle one:)

i have the dvd to so i might have to watch it later.

of 04 or 05?
I didnt think the 05 one was out yet.

the grey one is mine
sorry don't know how to add pic's
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ausyota wrote:of 04 or 05?
I didnt think the 05 one was out yet.

04

What is this gymkana you speak of?

http://www.4wdgymkhana.com.au/
One of the very few WA 4wd events.