Pajero iO build; Okinawa Express

[SOFME]

Ok, so I’m gonna start a build thread for anyone who may want pointers on how to turn a compact SUV deemed “Too Hard to Modify” into the perfect compact overlander using hoopty, backwoods logic. I use the term “overlander” very, very loosely. Why? I live in Okinawa Japan. What does this mean? Many many things, but the most importantly one can drive around the Island in less than 24 hours. This means the cliché overland build supporting 2+ people for multiple days away from civilization is waaaay over the top.

Choosing the proper platform, for me, was the easiest task. Toyota Surfs/HiLux (4Runner/Tacoma), Full size Pajeros, Prados/Land Cruisers, and Delicas (4wd van) are plentiful. However, drive on the average Okinawan street and it soon becomes very apparent that these trucks may be too large and impractical for daily use. This along with the annual road tax (the larger the motor, the larger the tax) push me towards a smaller vehicle.

This leaves me with also a large pool; Jimnys, Wild Winds, etc are smaller, very capable vehicles. Most have solid axels up front, a good following in the aftermarket, and of course smaller motors. But they are a bit too small for what I want to do. Then I come across my current truck.

The vehicle; a 1999 Pajero iO w/ super select 4WD. It will seat 4, its not terrible looking, gets good gas mileage, and has a 1.5 liter motor, giving it a 500 series plate (cheaper road tax).
First let me explain, a stock Pajero iO ( with a reasonably capable driver) can handle any trail this island has with-in reason. If the truck/driver find themselves over there head off-roading you probably shouldn’t be there in the first place. So I plan to only enhance the vehicals stock capability and concentrate on tailoring the truck to meet my daily needs.

The truck as I bought it:



The truck as it sits Currently:



First to happen was removal of the ugly spoiler and side steps. Easy problem, easy solution. After the removal Take it out for a bit of off roading to get a baseline on its true capabilities. Thus far I haven’t found much that I want to change; with the exception of taller tires. In stock form the truck is equipped with 205/70/R16 road tires. Currently has the same size, but in a light duty all terrain type tire. After airing down a bit I lose about a ½ inch of ground clearance. This is somewhat critical to me. To off set this I will be going to 205/80/R16 moderately aggressive A/T tire. But this brings the issue of fitment. Yes, I believe the truck can clear at all for corners without a lift, however the McPherson strut style front end limits tire size due to the spring perch location. I’m currently brain storming several solutions. More to come on this, stay tuned.
Some photos from my “Research Outings”

 

[SOFME]

Quick and easy upgrade. Two Pelican boxes for storage. I choose boxes over building drawers (for now as I plan on building a storage solution for scuba gear in the near future) for several reasons: Despite the iO having 4 doors, the actual trunk is small. this makes storage space premium. I also wanted something modular. having the ability to move the boxes around is perfect for this application. In the even i have 4 people they will slide back fitting perfect behind the seat, or for extended trips I will be able to tie them down to a roof rack. And lastly, they are great campsite sitting apparatusi .

For obvious reasons Pelican boxes are the best money can buy. I use them frequently in my line of work, and have never seen one fail. I've seen handles and latches break off but that never seemed to affect the performance of the box. The obvious selling points being water tight, crush proof, lifetime guarantee, lockable, etc... but one that really sticks out in my mind is the automatic pressure venting port (not required if you live at sea level like i do now). If you have ever tried to open a box that has been depressurized you know it can be a pain in the ars due to the vacuum created inside. so if your on the fence about getting some, and live at altitude (New Mexico, Colorado, etc.. just do it. they aren't cheap, but they will be the last set of boxes you'll ever have to buy. and they can double as a suitcase (they have integrated wheels and pull handle.)

 

[SOFME]

So I sourced a rack from Mr Miyagi. Literally. The man even fit the profile (one exception being his mustache). Long story short I happened to drive by his car lot and saw the rack sitting in the back of his car lot. I asked him how much he wanted for it. He told me 10,000 yen (roughly $100usd). I told him that was a bit pricy and I would consider it. A few days later I went back, 10k yen in hand and offered him 7k yen. Well as luck would have it, Mr Miyagi’s son was there, whom he consulted with on the price. He came back and told me he’d give it to me for 5000 yen and through in a free can of black spray paint to “cover the rust” (I’ll get to that in a bit). I thought this story was worth mentioning for two reasons; one, I’ve never been lowball’d by the seller in life. Second; I’m in Okinawa, and current political states is less than desirable which makes the first point even more significant. Mr Miyagi was a great guy.



I digress…

So the rack was heavally rusted, I knew this before I bought it. So I went down to the local hardware store and scooped up all new acid dipped aluminum hardware, 2 rust wheels, and 5 rattle cans “Rust Tough” Rustolleum in satin black. All this set me back another 5000 yen.
The second problem was the actual rack itself. It was designed for a Dihatsu utility van, so I would have to modify it slightly to get it to work. Easy problem, easy solution. I simply bent the support feet at about a 90* angle, and bent the securing latched to conform to the door frame of the Pajero (slightly more rounded).


Car Cancer. This rig will be a 4 year car, I would not normally ever mess with this stuff. but for this build, it is what it is. Some spots were rusted all the way through. lets hope the "Rust Tough" will keep it at bay for a few years.


Test fitting, and bending needed parts before paint. After and Before.


laid out nice and first few coats of paint


Plasti dip on all the parts that contact the car.


Loctite is probably the most important part. don't want your parts rattling free


Assmbly with all new hardware. Decided on the acid dipped bits to prevent even more rusting.

After two days of work (test fitting, sanding, painting) I now have a full length rack. I don’t know how much it will hold, but I’m guessing around 300 pounds if the weight is evenly distributed. This cost me slightly over $100 bucks, and I’m pleased with the outcome. Some of you may say, “you know that sits high above the roof line, aren’t you worried about lift at speed if it loaded?” Well I plan on fabbing up a fold-down ladder which in its stowed position will be under the actual rack. Also, there is enough room to stow our standup paddle boards if the rack is loaded. Also the extra height will help when it come to mounting a DIY awning to the passenger side.

and finish product:

 

[SoCalMonty]

They don't label it "Roctite" out there?

What a cool truck...I wish we had more economical 4WD options in the states. Are you from Japan originally? What brought you out there, and how do you like it?

How does the 1.5L perform...does it get out of its own way well enough? I was considering the Suzuki Sidekick, which I think looks VERY similar to that Pajero iO! It was just too small interior wise with my big dog, but the 1.6L and mid-20's mpg highway made it very tempting!

 

[SOFME]

They don't label it "Roctite" out there?

What a cool truck...I wish we had more economical 4WD options in the states. Are you from Japan originally? What brought you out there, and how do you like it?

How does the 1.5L perform...does it get out of its own way well enough? I was considering the Suzuki Sidekick, which I think looks VERY similar to that Pajero iO! It was just too small interior wise with my big dog, but the 1.6L and mid-20's mpg highway made it very tempting!

I'm over here for work. I love Okinawa, but being overseas gives you an appreciation for America. The Island is small, and vastly different compaired to mainland Japan. I also started a thread here if you would like to follow it:

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/96022-Okinawa

As far as the truck being able to get out of its own way, i must say... not really. However I went from a stage 3 B5S4 with meth and fueling prior to this... So i guess its relative. The mountains here on Oki are sometimes very steep and the truck does a good enough job with overdrive off climbing up. so no hiccups yet.

quick update on the build. went by a junkyard today. found yokohama geolander m/t it the size i wanted, but the grumpy guy told me 20,000 yen (200 usd). i will go back in a few days to see if they are still there, and talk with another person about buying them.

 

[d67u57]

miyagi has and is still kicking ********!!!

good to know you're working on the little beast.

for some reason,on this side of the pond,people think that if you dont have a 3.0 v6 or bigger engine

you can't have fun....this right here proves them wrong to the bone!

 

[ca18_sean]

That's a cool little truck! And beautiful scenery! I had a buddy stationed on Okinawa back in the early 2000's. Used to send me Silvia and 180sx parts for an S13 I had at the time Japan is high on my list of places to visit.

 

[Mudrunner]

I love this little truck, I wish that all the automotive safety and emissions people around the world could figure out a set of rules and regulations that would make it so every car could be driven and sold every where how cool would that be!

 

[TangoBlue]

Nice work!

 

[Imnosaint]

Thanks for the great post. You're good to read and the photos are terrific; great detail in your build projects and great framing in your scenics. More would always be appreciated.

And ditto your opinion on the Pelican cases. Can't go wrong there.

 

[SOFME]

Thank you all for the complements! More to come I promise.

I spied some tires I would like to pick up if the price is right; and the wifey gives me the go ahead. There may be a bit of a write up on getting them to fit, but that is still TBD.
Also, I am currently working up plans and putzing through the local hardware and out-door store for what is available for the awning build. Right now (meaning in my head) I thinking; PVC pipe cut to length of the rack. One end will be sealed. The other end will have a screw-on cap. The pipe itself will have a slit cut to length, making it a “C”. A canvas tarp will be used and two pieces of steel L-beams will be bolted at the vehicle-side forming a “T”. The “T” will slide into the slit of the PVC pipe when the awning is deployed. When slowed the awning will be simply rolled up and stuffed into the PVC pipe. I’m not sure if that makes sense to anyone, but regardless a detailed write-up and pictures will be coming out in the next month or so.

“ca18 sean” mentioned JDM parts for his car. There are quite a few things here in Japan that are standard equipment that some of you may find nice to have. For example power folding side mirrors. If anyone would like something like this feel free to PM me details, and we can work something out.

Again, thank you every one for the positive feedback.

Edit:

SoCalMonty PM'd me with a good idea. Adding a hand crank to one end of the awning, or potentially adding a motor to automate retraction. Blue prints to come soon!

 

[SOFME]

New update. So the other weekend I went back to get the mud terrain tires I found at a local junkyard. Alas, it was not meant to be. As luck would have it, a recent arrival had 4 Dunlop Grandtrek AT2s with reasonable wear. A bit more luck, they had one more already on the shelf with similar wear and the same size for my spare. So after some haggling I got all five tires for 25,000 yen (about $250usd). He never came down on the price, but the set of four tires were mounted to Jimny wheels adding to the cost of the set (40,000 yen for the wheel/tire set). At first he refused to put them on the wheels I wanted to supply…. But my rabbit in the hat, “I apologize that my Japanese is poor” in very broken white-man dialect won him over I think. I find humility goes a long way here.

Earlier I found two Mitsubishi FTO wheels, they have 3mm more offset (+43) over stock. While this doesn’t translate much in the functional category; just a small amount of weight loss over stock. However it does look a lot better; getting the tires flush with the fender. Also I really like the 5 spoke pattern, reminds me of an older Land Rover. I also think they give the truck a much more burly style. Now I just need to keep my eyes peeled for 3 more!
Some quick pictures:



GETTING DAT TIRE SHINE SON! What you know bout showroom quality!:Wow1:



I must say that the he was very precise. Checked the beads and valve stem for leaks, cleaned the rim’s lips with steel wool, and ensured the inner tire surfaces were clean before install. I truly appreciate the attention to customer service as well. Where else would you buy used tires, and when driving off look like you bought brand new ones?

The prerequisite parking lot flex test. I was worries that the right, rear tire would rub the fuel spout (tucked inboard of the fender-well), cleared it by about ¼ inch.






So after going from 215/70/R16 worn-the-******** out Geolander ATs (which were great by the way) to these Grandtrek AT2s sized 205/80/R16, I gained about 2 inches in overall diameter (about 27 to 29 inches) but the weight dropped due to the rims and the narrower tire by about 0.5 lbs. I am happy with that for this truck. I failed to measure fender-to-ground at all 4 corners, before and after but I will post them later as compared to a stock Pajero. And of course I will post up dates following an outing.

 

[off-roader]

Actually I only calculate an extra inch for original tire height which means you gained at least a 1/2 of extra tread from a newer tire...

215x.7x2=301mm (total sidewall height)
205x.8x2=328mm (")
328-301=27mm
27mm=1.063in.

 

[SOFME]

Actually I only calculate an extra inch for original tire height which means you gained at least an inch of tread!

215x.7x2=301mm (total sidewall height)
205x.8x2=328mm (")
328-301=27mm
27mm=1.063in.

you are correct with that, between manufacturing tolerances, and going from 99% worn tires to 75% worn tires it was a c*** hair under 2 inches... if going from 100% tire to 100% tire i'd would be closer to a 1 inch change.

 

[ZMagic97]

Looks good, keep up the good work. Can't wait to see more photos of the area and tyour adventures.