My latest mitsu build-up...

[off-roader]

1996 Mitsubishi Montero SR
Purchased $1350.


1st Upgrade: 2" Body Lift from 4crawler.com
2nd Upgrade: 35x12.5x15 BFG MT KM2 tires
3rd Upgrade: Safari Snorkle
4th Upgrade: Jeep TJ aftermarket front & rear bumpers modified to fit
5th Upgrade: BVG Roof Rack
6th Upgrade: Stay tuned... more to come shortly.

Current condition...

[kcowyo]

Very nice! Factory locker?

.

[off-roader]

Very nice! Factory locker?
.

Yes. 94-96 SR's all came with a factory locker.

[kcowyo]

You off-roader on the Wire too?

Are we under invasion?


Welcome to ExPo -


- KC
.

[off-roader]

You off-roader on the Wire too?

Are we under invasion?


Welcome to ExPo -


- KC
.

LOL, not invasion... integration!

[DavidG]

How close are the mounting points on the TJ bumpers to matching up with the Montero frame horns?

[off-roader]

How close are the mounting points on the TJ bumpers to matching up with the Montero frame horns?

FRONT BUMPER
Not really close. The front bumper mounts completely differently with the mounting bolts running front to back into the Jeep frame while the monty mounts left to right into the frame.

My fabricator modified the front frame horns to beef them up and make them so I didn't need to modify the bumper to mount it. Since I also have a 2" body lift, he raised the mounts higher so the bumper doesn't rub on too much off road.

Here's a pic of the mount on one side...


You can see the bumper is bolted to the frame from the front. There are a total of 8 Grade 8.8 (metric) / 5 (SAE) 1/2" diameter bolts & corresponding nuts/washers attaching it. There are also four 5/8" bolts mounting the modified mount adapter to the frame rail.

REAR BUMPER
The rear bumper on a TJ mounts more like a Montero (bolts running left to right into the frame rails) however the rails on a Jeep are much wider. Again, with the body lift he simply made an adapter (w/out having to re-inforce the rear frame rail ends) to adapt the wider bumper mounts to the narrower frame rails. There are 4 grade 5 bolts (2 on each side) attaching the bumper to each adapter and 2 more grade 8.8 (metric) bolts attaching the adapters to the frame rails.

He also cut off ~4" off the end of the frame rail. This 4" is used for nothing more than supports for some bumpers however with US models the supports aren't even used for that so they are truly not needed (so we cut them off).

Here's a pic of the right rear adapter (black) mounted to the frame rail and bumper (in Mitsu Sudan Beige which looks kinda gold in the flash) attached to that adapter.

[DavidG]

Thanks for the pics and info. It looks great with those bumpers. I can't believe how cool your low-buck rig build is! Are you happy with the 35's and 4.63's? What are your impressions of the KM2?

[Momrocks]

I luva cool build on the cheap! Most of the classic, historic expeditions I'm interested in were accomplished using tried and true mods...most were relativily affordable. It's too easy to get lured by fashion & flash and think it takes buckets of money to explore or camp. Well done, I anticipate the next installments.

[off-roader]

Thanks for the pics and info. It looks great with those bumpers. I can't believe how cool your low-buck rig build is! Are you happy with the 35's and 4.63's? What are your impressions of the KM2?

Thanks for the compliments. Yes I really like the bumpers although I will be modifying them to allow me to mount a hilift up front.

I like the 35's. With 15x8 rims (3.75" offset) they fit perfectly with almost no rubbing but I'll let you know more on that after my initial trail run this weekend. I'll probably have to trim the rear inner part of the plastic fender extensions.

I'll also let you know how good the KM2's are in the dirt. I won't know about the rocks though since I'm still waiting on rocker panel protection and won't be doing any crawling on this trip.

As for 4.63's, I do notice the loss in power and will be upgrading to 4.90's but to be honest it's not that bad if you don't expect your montero to perform like a sedan. I do wish 5.29' were available but I don't think anyone has found a source for those at this point. Hopefully they exist somewhere. I'll also be upgrading the xcase to the 3:1 gears from australia.

I luva cool build on the cheap! Most of the classic, historic expeditions I'm interested in were accomplished using tried and true mods...most were relativily affordable. It's too easy to get lured by fashion & flash and think it takes buckets of money to explore or camp. Well done, I anticipate the next installments.

Thanks. Yes this will not be a 'bling' mobile. I have never really been interested in those kinds of upgrades. It's part of my personality I guess.
Also you have to consider this is the 3rd Montero I've built up and I know at this point what's required to do the kind of wheeling I do.