Pajero Mk1 Tourer build-up

[Cruisn]

Well, after sitting and thinking for quite sometime I have decided to keep my Pajero and modify it to be a self sufficient long range tourer. I chose to keep the pajero due to its reliability and ease to fix.


A few goals I have so far are:
-1500km Range between fuel stops
-enough battery power for 48 hours rest stop with out starting wagon
-comfy to drive a/c must be maintained

The work not pictured to date is standard maintenance that would be needed. repack the bearing, brakes. overall good clean.

Mod 1 - 2"/50mm lift - allowing to still be reliable yet give me that little extra clearance.

Well I got my lift installed today, 50mm toughdog kit.

50mm medium duty springs - good for 300kgs of weight in the rear.
41mm foam cell shocks on all corners

It started off great installing springs and shocks in the rear....

then it took a turn for the worst, I get underneath to crank up the torsion bars and find that 1 side is already cranked to the max... but no achieving anylift..

Run to the wreckers and get a spare for 110. auz dollars

start installing new bar.... removing the front bolts caused them to all strip..

Walk to bolt shop in blazing heat with no clouds in the sky..

get 2 dollar bolt and return. finish lift.
45mm front lift so far, will turn it up another 10mm max to level it out a bit
the rear is at 70mm lift right now till it settles. I am very happy with it.

The rear:

And then I noticed....

Junk bar.. could be used as a beating stick or extra long paper weight

All done, with exception of settling and 10mm front raise to go.

All leveled out:
Fixed the front end lift issue, got it as level as I can safely do with torsion bar fronts. the back should sag about 10mm still.

For the Inside:

Went online today and found an 80L Waeco fridge for sale for 900.00 so I went for a drive to check it out and ended up taking it home. WOOT WOOT.

Roof Top Tent
Got my roof top tent today. got it installed on the new roof rack I built. the rack is not finished as we had to be able to live out of the tent in about 6 hours since we are out of a place to live till wednesday.

looks good all installed. will have opened photos tomorrow. after opening it up already I was to aggrivated to take photos.. LOL. there was a lot of guess work.

a little closer:

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Nice rig man!!!

 

[Ozarker]

Very nice! How do you plan to get 1500 km range, would'nt that be about a 50 gal. tank? Or with cans? And what's your electrical plan? Wished my 89 was a LWB, the extra room would be nice.

 

[Cruisn]

Very nice! How do you plan to get 1500 km range, would'nt that be about a 50 gal. tank? Or with cans? And what's your electrical plan? Wished my 89 was a LWB, the extra room would be nice.

146L long range tank. then add a few jerrys to the roof if needed.
For electrical I will have a deepcell in the engine compartment with a fuse box in the back area. then run all wires form there.

Roof top tent setup:

There is a lot of room inside. very comfy to sleep in.

 

[fangars]

What did you use for the roof rack mounts?

 

[Cruisn]

I used the gutter, like most people use..

 

[Storz]

Great looking truck!

 

[bitoy]

Very nice ! Keep us posted on the build. Good luck in your adventures.

 

[Cruisn]

Well, we had to test the tent out along with awning, so lets go camping!! went to wedge. caught the brunt of a cyclone whilst out there. that was sure intersting. but a great time. everything performed top notch.

next mod to do will be getting a deep cycle battery mounted with dual battery system.

From this weather-
notice beach width:

To this less than half an hour later:

notice how the storm surge almost wiped the whole beach away

 

[Cruisn]

Well, I figure the key to easy wiring is mostly plug and play, and keeping all options added seperate of the stock harness for a power source. so I was given this awesome fuse box setup by a good friend here in perth. lots of options for current output, and is plug and play at each end. keeping it as simple as possible.

Fuses are
4 x 7.5amp
4 x 10amp
4 x 15 amp
4 x 20amp
4 x 25 amp

 

[Cruisn]

Detailed yesterday, still have to finish the interior. its been a long time since it was waxed I figure. made one hell of a difference.

Still needs a few touch ups on the body and underneath. will redo the wheel wells with rock gaurd and redo the mud flaps.

After:

Before:

After:

Full body shot:

 

[Cruisn]

Well, it seems the diesel is to fuel of choice for long range touring, let alone dealing with water. I ended up picking up a 2.5L turbo diesel wagon this weekend to swap motors with. 500 bucks needs a head gasket and a new clutch. easy enough.

pulled hte head off yesterday, in great condition.

donor pajero:

 

[Cruisn]

A little more progress in the engine.

Got the parts cleaned at work in the robowash. did a great job.

The underside of the head is still a mess. but when I get it planed that will all be gone.

 

[Cruisn]

Got A cb radio, going to redo the headliner and then build a roof console for it today. enthusiastic for progress, but we all know how south thing can turn. LOL

 

[Cruisn]

Well, got a bit more done to the Pajero today. mounted the fuse box for power, and redid the roofliner, well a partial anyways, might jsut go the rest of the way now, I like the new colour better. its easy enough to install. I wil touch up the sides, that was my fault for not making sure it was 100% centered upon install... oops

Fuse box isntall: