Congratulations on being selected for Auszookers Zook Owner of the Month!
How does it feel being honoured with the nomination for Z.O.O.M. 2013?
Shocked, but made my day cheers Hooki
So tell us about yourself. Who are you, What's the meaning to your username, Where do you live, and what do you do for a living?My names Bevan and I’m 39 years old. I have lived in Perth all my life in fact born and bred in Gosnells and have never moved more then 10 k’s from the home I grew up in which is pretty shameful. I drive semi trailers for a living, 50/50 local and country running, early starts but I’m home every night which is a bonus. My username is based on my Sierra.
How did you get started in Suzuki's & how many have you owned?I have only ever owned one Suzuki but I have owned an 87 dual cab Navara, an 85 SWB Jackeroo, a 91 RV6 Forerunner and my most favourite an 89 red Suzuki SWB Sierra FRP top. The Forerunner was a nice comfortable car but also a money pit, and as a DD I got sick of wheeling on the weekends and then having to spend Sunday night fixing it before work on Monday. I decided I needed a toy so after reading about Otis in 4WDMonthly I decided on the Sierra, luckily I did some research first and after reading up on threads by Nicbeer, Bazooked etc and seeing Aliens original build on Outers I decided I would give this modding stuff a crack.
How long did it take you to build your zook to what it is today?I bought the Sierra in ’04 completely stock for $3000. Like I said I got sucked in by 4WDMonthly and a while later fitted a 3 inch Calmini kit which was average at best. It stayed on 3 inch and 31’s till ’07, which is when I put the custom spring packs on all four corners and 33’ Simex’s and it became trailered everywhere. It stayed that way till late 2010 when I had pretty much driven almost everything I wanted with it so I figured if I was going to put Lux diffs under it I might as well go all out and that’s how it stands today.
Any changes in store for your Suzuki?It never ends lol. I was waiting to kill the original 1.3 but gave up on that ever happening so I picked up a Vit G16B earlier on in the year from Macca and a 3 spd auto from 93Zook. I ripped the front uppers out of the chassis at the last 4WD Show so I have decided whilst I have the body off repairing the chassis I may as well fit the motor and auto too.
What has been your best modification?If there is one thing Calmini does make right it is their gear sets, I bought my 5.14’s back in ’06 when they were the only US company making them ( I paid $1000 for them back then ) and haven’t even looked at them since the install, not even for bearings. They have copped a flogging, been drowned in water and mud, I have broken the front stock output shaft and bent both mounts several times but the gear set is holding up just fine.
What has been your worse modification?3 inch springs.
If you could have anybody else's zook, who's would it be and why?31zook’s, it is very capable but the best part is it can be driven to and from the trails. If I was to build another zook it would be a roadie, I miss jumping in the car driving to the trails wheeling all day then driving it back home. Plus I’ve got some different ideas about custom leaf packs that I would love to test out.
What has been your best 4wding trip?Best comp would be a toss up between Coastals Rocks the Paddock in 2010 ( Rock Crawling ) were I took out 1st in Class and 1st overall out of 50 cars and West Oz Challenge 2010 ( Speed based cross terrain ) were I got 4th out of 20 cars. I absolutely loved having a car that everyone overlooked or dismissed as not having a chance, it made it sooo much sweeter.
Best trip would have to be my last run on 33’s doing a couple of the harder tracks down around Collie/Brunswick, was also my first run up Bobs Hill too that weekend. Tough tracks, great company, good times and the end of an era for my car as it was.
If you could go to any place in the world to wheel, where would that be?All the usual, Lions Back, Rubicon and the Hammers but would also love to do a Rain Forrest Challenge too.
Who are you closest to in the auszooker's community?I wheel mostly with S1mon, 93Zook, Shandy92, Troopy and Macca when hes in town, I have also had a lot of chats with Appsie over the years as our builds are very similar and we are both working through all the complications that come with building a buggy.
Tell us what the wheeling is like in your area?The Powerlines is good for a quickie, but is often crowded with a lot of over enthusiastic people. My favourite stuff that is local would have to be Harvey, Collie and Brunswick, the tracks mostly consist of heavily rutted and rock trails and the scenery is awesome. With it being a couple hours south of Perth means they can be done in a day but it’s a good excuse to do an overnighter with mates around the campfire. MOA is good for rutted tracks but the 6 hour trip to get there puts most people off. Other then that its beaches or outback trails.
What other toys/hobbies do you put a lot of time into?I have got a small boat that doesn’t get used nearly often enough, but I do like feeding fish as often as I can. I have started up a business with a couple mates running and promoting comps which takes up a lot of my time these days though.
What is it about the auszookers that brings you back for more?It would have to be the best source of local knowledge on Suzukis on the net.
What about the auszookers forum would you like to see changed?It runs pretty well out of all the forums I have been a member on. The only change isn’t really AZ specific but it would be good if people could understand that just because they couldn’t get something to work doesn’t mean that someone else isn’t going to be able to get it to work. Having a thread that is 10 pages worth or 'your wrong' or 'it'll never work' with only 2 pages of actual content gets pretty boring to read after a while.
Now for the million dollar question, who do you select to be the next Z.O.O.M. & why?Shandy92, its good to see someone willing to go further then his backyard for a chance at some decent/challenging wheeling.
Stock.
3 inch lift and 31's
Custom 3 inch lift and 33's
4 link F & R, Redback Hybrid Airshocks and 38's
Current setup :
38" Maxxis Creepy Crawlers
Lux Diffs
Stock Lux axles and CV's disc rear
Nitro 5.29 R&P
Full spool rear Lockright front
16" RedBack Hybrid Airshocks
4 Link F&R with 1.25" Hiems
Stock carbied 1.3
5.14 TC gears
Landcruiser/Falcon Powersteer
Rear Disconnect and cutting brakes
