Since the EL has the uprated chassis member in front of the sump, and still has a metal sump which dents rather than holes like aluminium, i haven't bothered to do anything there.

The trans also has a metal sump which would likely dent rather than puncture. What tends to be an issue on 4wd's is the transfer case, which often sits lower and in a more vulnerable location than the transmission. But of course i don't have one of those to scrape! What i have scraped is the resonator, both on my old XG and on my current car, in both cases i had to replace it due to damage with a piece of straight pipe. They both seemed to cruise easier without the resonator anyway.

Since the rear tyres are basically 4wd size the rear diff is as high as on a 4wd, so it's in a similar boat to other 4wd's in terms of risk of damage. Unless you are doing extreme offroad tracks, tracks that are in many cases about being tough rather than really getting you anywhere, you don't need diff guards, and even then generally only on the front.

I did seriously consider building a bullbar out of thin wall tube, maybe even exhaust tube, to give more approach angle, etc, without adding weight over the front which would reduce traction amongst other negative side effects. But i kind of like the std look and features, and the car is so old and battered i don't care about giving the std bumper a hard time. If i do wreck it i can do a bullbar then.

I did a tough track the other day, called the "Razorback Trail" in the Wadbilliga National Park. It would badly damage an AWD due to lack of ground clearance. An average 4wd would do the track okay, but people wouldn't tend to do it unless they had a nissan patrol kind of car.

I ended up with a significant load of rocks in the back for traction, but the downside is less ground clearance, and i scraped and hit a few times. Considering how much traction i had i could have driven a bit slower and would have hit less. I wish i had raised the suspension another 5 to 10mm.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Last edited by relaxed_diplomacy on Wed Jan 27, 2010 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

There was actually a fair amount of damage. The main exhaust muffler looked worse than before, and was leaking some air and making some noise. I tried to weld it up on the car but the material is so thin i kept burning holes. So i took it off, and even then it was hard. I made a hole that i could not plug, so i put a small patch over it. I found that i got best results when i constantly moved the tip around in small movements, stitching across the materials to be welded. I was mostly on minimum power setting on the mig.

A problem is i don't want to buy another muffler because i would just wreck that too. So i decided to add some plate to strengthen things up. A bit of a mad max, or ned kelly effect.

After that i decided to modify the mounting bracket for a bit more clearance. This will help in many cases, although in extreme cases the muffler had hit the underside of the car anyway, the top was dented from hitting the heat shield attached to the underside of the car.

You will notice in the pics where the original resonator has been replaced by a piece of straight pipe. Can't do that with the main muffler though, unfortunately.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Last edited by relaxed_diplomacy on Wed Jan 27, 2010 9:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The trans on the EL has been playing up a bit since i got it, so i've been thinking about my next car. The EL is my fifth car with big wheels.

One option for my sixth is a BA wagon. I would like to take it a bit further than the EL, although the cost could skyrocket. I would like to fit wheels up to a 265/65 R17x9. The rims would probably need to be pre-au for clearance sake. I would then need to cut back the body and fit flares, maybe the flares off an adventra would be suitable, plus other body mods would need to be done. I would need to upgrade braking pressure, probably by reducing the size of the master cylinder.

The wagon having a longer wheelbase and more overhang at the rear would need to be lifted more overall than the sedan. Perhaps a 35mm suspension lift, which combined with the extra height from the even bigger wheels might be about right. I would really like a locking diff, perhaps an e-locker from an rtv could be fitted, by either swapping the whole axle assembly or just the innards. A 6spd auto would be excellent, with first gear acting as a low range. If not a 6spd then the diff ratio would need to be lower than 3.45, even for everyday driving.

Another car i would like is a volvo xc70 AT. It was just a show car though. I could make my own version but to achieve my minimum standard could require a significant budget.

Or maybe i'll end up with a grand cherokee wagon.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Last edited by relaxed_diplomacy on Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

someone, some time ago put a whole RTV driveline and RTV flares etc onto a BA wagon, it looked awesome! but cost a fair bit as you said.

Maybe he fitted the rtv front suspension too? I thought about this but my problem is the pissy size of the rtv wheels. I could be mistaken but i don't think i would want rtv front suspension. Same goes for the flares, as they are too small for the wheels i would fit, shame.

Maybe the rear leaves though, they could be downrated and fitted to the wagon to lift the rear, i hadn't thought about that before.

I guess the driveline would be much the same except for the rear axle? Or does the gearbox have different ratio's? What diff ratio do they run? I figure if i couldn't easily adapt the e-locker's electronic controls i could just put a straight on/off switch on it?

Hey,

Good on you for taking one of my ideas...lol

Though i was gonna go the whole hog and get a GQ LWB chassis and shorten it to suit, then throw everything from my SWB into it.

Decided it was to much work......

Good job on yours though....

Cheers

Daz

A falcon body (wagon) on a nissan patrol chassis? There would certainly be some good points to that. The width and wheelbase wouldn't be far off. But could you be happy with a nissan truck motor, even though it's a straight six? Turbo? Or swap in a crate V8? Hmm.

One problem though is it would probably be extra heavy, because in effect you end up with two chassis. I recall a bloke once telling me his holden overlander copy, an HX wagon body on a landcruiser chassis with a 350chev motor, was over 2400kg, which is significantly heavier than the landcruiser it was based on. And that wasn't due to the motor, the lancruiser six is a truck motor. Although 2400kg isn't actually so much compared to modern 4wd's.

If you want light, i once saw a suzuki mighty boy body atop a suzuki sierra chassis. It looked a bit like a bug, a wasp. Not really the kind of car i would be interested in though.

Grand Cherokee for sure

ive recently found how cheap they are, although no-one seems to follow the market values

10-11k will get one of these

Last edited by FordFairmont on Fri Jan 29, 2010 10:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Some more of the earlier pics . . .

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Yeah, definitely worth considering, i think you've posted a WJ model.

I considered getting an XJ model many years ago, the earlier one, they have a large motor, low body and light weight. But they have a reputation for being crap, like most american cars. I travelled in one of them a few years ago and could hear the door seals creaking very noticeably as the vehicle travelled over a moderately undulating dirt road. Chassis torsional rigidity was very very low, which translates into poor handling on road and higher NVH.

But i think they got better with each model. After the XJ was the ZJ, then the WJ. And the 4.7L V8 supposedly uses less fuel than the 4L I6 in some circumstances, but even better for many is if you can afford the rocket and miserly turbo diesels.

yeah WJ

from late '97 onwards models became more rigid, but the reason for me why im saving like crazy for the WJ over the earlier models is the interior & exterior makeover. The earlier Jeeps still looked nice on the exterior, but EA falcon spec on the inside

Last edited by FordFairmont on Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mate that Falcon is nice, if the budget was there live axle from a 4X4 in the front and a Hilux transfer and you would have a one of a kind. enjoy it and stick it to them large 4X4s

I think the XJ was first released in america in 1978, and the models sold in australia up to about 1997 were hardly upgraded. In particular i noticed the ignition barrel, looked like the one my old HQ had, very archaic on a late nineties vehicle.

I looked at the interiors recently on the internet and i agree with you, the ZJ is better, and then the WJ is heaps better again, and same for the exteriors.

Last edited by relaxed_diplomacy on Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

How about a territory driveline and front suspension grafted on?

Or prado/hilux driveline including rear diff and front suspension? Front and rear lockers anyone? Maybe even slot the diesel in and turn up the wick on the turbo/intercooler . . . if oil prices change?

Another idea i haven't mentioned is an airbag conversion, allowing for low road height then high offroad height. But the cost/complexity/weight factors against it.