3rd Gen Montero Initial Impressions/Build Thread

[kchristian]

This is gonna happen over the next 4 months. Please be patient with me...

I picked up a 2002 Montero Limited after months of looking for the perfect expo vehicle. I've gotta say, for our needs, I think we found it. And to think its mostly by accident that we ended up here. I had been looking at the usual suspects (60, 80, and 100 series LC) as well of a few other similar trucks (4th gen 4runner and GX470). Then my Montero popped up on CL and my first thought was 'I could buy 3 of these for a comprable Land Cruiser.' I did some quick research here as well as on the Aussie forums and that weekend I drove from Houston to Austin to pick up my Monty.

I took some Walmart parking lot flex shots. (Clearly, I am joking.)
monteroflex.jpg


On the drive back, my initial impressions were mostly favorable. It took some getting used to. It's been a while since I've owned anything truckish. In fact most of my cars in recent years have been buttoned down sports cars or at least sporty cars. It felt pretty floaty for the first couple days but I'm used to it now. As far as power goes, it pulls away from a stoplight or onto the freeway just fine. The passing power leaves something to be desired. And by something I mean 50-60 hp. It rides great. But again, I'm comparing to my cars which have suspensions ranging from full on adjustable Tein coilovers to some seriously cut springs. Like bump stop bouncing cut springs. So pretty much anything is going to feel smooth after all that.

Okay okay, I'll show you some pictures of my other rides. It's my thread. I can do that, right?
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This is just a small sample of my auto history. If you're interested in the others: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...9158363&type=3 It's not quite up to date. I still need to add the S2000 (RIP) and now the Montero.

Aaannnyway, back to the Montero. We plan for it to take us South. We still aren't sure how far or for how long, but that's the idea. We wanted something that we could sleep comfortably inside. That's where the Montero really shines. It's HUGE inside. And with the basement storage, we can have a fridge and a decent amount of headroom for reading sitting up in bed and what have you. We also wanted a vehicle that is comfortable on road and yet moderately capable off road.

With those goals in mind, this is a short list of the planned modifications with pictures or links:

DIY Dual Battery setup. I decided to go a bit heavier duty than the original poster recommended (200amp vs 80amp). I figured t'd be better to overbuild now than rebuild later. All the parts are sourced and on my kitchen table. I just need to find a couple hours.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...y-setup-for-50

Fridge mounted in trunk. This is the unit I purchased. It's identical to Indel B and Iron Man fridges for literally hundreds less. Customer service has thus far been phenomenal.
http://www.truckfridge.com/tf51.html

Sleeping platform. This plan is constantly evolving. Input is welcome.
Montero rear storage with fridge.jpg

1.5-2" lift from OME. Anyone have any experience with Rocky Road?
http://www.rocky-road.com/monterosus.html

265/75 16 Warden tires from Treadwright
60_1_.jpg
https://www.treadwright.com/p-60-265...den-a-t-d.aspx

DIY roofrack made from an ATV ramp
rackweb03.jpg
http://www.wildyoats.com/the_j-rack.htm

If the budget allows, I'd love an ARB bullbar as well. 'Cause they look awesome.
http://www.quadratec.com/showcases/a...mitsubishi.php

I'll update as progress is made. Thanks in advance for any input and advice!

[RU55ELL]

Very excited to see it progress!

[pajombre03]

How do you plan to mount your rack to the roof? The land cruisers have that rain gutter, which make it a lot easier to do so. Other wise, the plans sound good. Excited to see it come along!

[kchristian]

I've been kicking that around. I could pull the original rack and fab some custom feet but I am also considering mounting it directly to the thule cross bars. I'm going for a low profile look so the latter may not be a good option.

[vanisl4runner]

Two volvo's....a 242 and an amazon sedan. Good taste. I am impressed

[off-roader]

Nice cars (do I spy a CF hood in the 1st Infinity picture?) and very nice Gen III. Not sure how racks are mounted on a gen III since they don't like like there are any rain gutters.

As for that rack, I wonder what the long term results are for that build? If the screws have held ok since aluminum is known for fatiguing in those areas with wear although hopefully with a 4x4's solid chassis frame it hasn't flexed much and done that. I also wonder how well the paint has held up through the years. The builder doesn't have any email contact info on his site or I would have asked directly.

My $.02 on the sleeping platform/storage area... I'm a big fan of using either built in drawers with locking drawer slides or in my case a removable covered storage bins. I especially like that bins can easily be taken out to load/unload at my home/camp site. They're also very easily replaceable should they wear out or break down. Plus since they're not on sliders, I don't have to worry about them sliding out when I'm on an incline and I have to open the rear door.

Also you may find the height of the fridge to be too tall to fit under a sleeping platform w/out it resulting in a very low ceiling. You can see what I did in Post 71 of my build thread which is linked in my signature.

HTH!

[Sabre]

On my Gen III the stock load bars were used to mount the roof rack; I didn't want the higher profile/COG of the Yakima cross bars that I use for other purposes.

I used stock gutter mounts turned upside down and modified with a little work to clamp onto the Montero's roof bars. Since the OEM bars curve, each of three mounts was attached to the rack at a slightly different height.



After our Moab trip we came up with some definite ideas on which way to go with modding the Montero; I'm looking forward to following your progress!

[vgreen]

Love the 242, I had a 78 in metallic brown about 10 years ago. Still regret selling that one, would have been a blast with an GM LS in there. Glad to see somebody else saw the potential in the ATV racks, I was bit hesitant to pull the trigger without somebody else doing some R&D!

[off-roader]

Two volvo's....a 242 and an amazon sedan. Good taste. I am impressed

Speaking of Volvo safety... http://jalopnik.com/5936571/plane-cr...lvo-volvo-wins

[kchristian]

Who knew there would be so much Volvo love here! I found both of those over on turbobricks and I just don't think I'll be able to part with either of them. I'm pretty sure they're not as safe as the one in the link above (the Amazon didn't come with stock seat belts) but they have tons of character. That's always a top priority for me.

Nice cars (do I spy a CF hood in the 1st Infinity picture?) and very nice Gen III.
...
you may find the height of the fridge to be too tall to fit under a sleeping platform w/out it resulting in a very low ceiling. You can see what I did in Post 71 of my build thread which is linked in my signature.

HTH!

Yes that's a carbon fiber hood. I had a moment of inattention and was ::ahem:: compelled to replace my hood, bumper and headlights. The CF hood was cheaper than an OEM hood.

Your platform design was inspiring to me when I was shopping around. I was completely sold on the drawers but now I'm not so sure. The 3rd gen's have a storage space underneath the rear floor which gives us about 10 inches of depth. The fridge will only be about 8 inches above what would normally be the rear floor. That was a big selling point for me as I could see myself getting pretty sick of moving the fridge every night before bed. I assume thats what you do?? Store the fridge on top of the platform and move it at night?