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. 2015?
I feel loved, haha. To be honest I was a bit surprised being that she's been finished, relatively speaking, for some time.
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 name's Paul and my user name speaks for itself in regard to its meaning. I grew up in Sydney's South West and moved to Brisbane when I was 20, I love Brisbane and make the most of the sand islands but miss the rocky wheeling around Sydney.. I'm a graphic designer and have been since I was 18… a bloody long time ago
How did you get started in Suzuki's & how many have you owned?
Funny story, the previous boyfriend of my girlfriend when I was 18 had a Sierra 1L tin top and she raved about how capable it was off road, I'd been thinking about getting into 4x4 and I'd always liked the LJs and early Sierras so I bought a 1985 1.3 NT with 42,000 kms, it was a very tidy unit and a heap of fun but as a typical young bloke I flogged it to death. A year later I traded it for a '85 Drover with 15,000 kms, chucked a soft canopy on the back and used it for sleeping in.
After the Drover I stepped away from Suzukis for three years only to get drawn back into them.
My girlfriend at the time, now wife's family were regular beach drivers and I wanted to be able to take advantage of what South East Qld had to offer so I bought another soft top, this time an '89 and again with only 15,000 kms, I drove it for eight years and well over 200,000 kms until the rust had just gotten ridiculous. The rust was so bad that the handbrake lever pulled out one day, also the wheel tubs were no longer joined to the arches making for a pretty wet and gritty drive up the beach… nothing a bit of fibreglass didn't fix
We agreed that the time had come to retire the Sierra, I'd been eyeing Jimnys since before they had been released and in early 2001 we upgraded to a 2000 plated Jimny. Those early days of the Jimny were difficult, nobody had mod stuff and most aftermarket shops had an attitude of "Why would you bother". All I could get was a 40mm coil lift, it was all trial and error and apart from adding 20mm spacers which I had made to help clear a set of 235s that's how it stayed for years. Eventually a set of 50mm spacers were fitted and that's when the modding bug bit me. Shortly after that I discovered AusZookers and I became one of the two, maybe three Jimny owners here, shit has certainly changed since then. I drove that Jimny for about 8 years and during that period bought the misses a 2006 with the intention of me swapping to that when she was ready to upgrade. Turned out that her upgrade came sooner than expected… enter the silver Jimny.
So far the mods are as follows; • Liana VVT 1.8 engine swap • Sierra 1.3 transfer • Mark II gearbox • Diff, gearbox and transfer breathers • Super light alloys • BFG KM2 - 30x9.5s • A small lift of about 100mm • 4.5" Off Road Armoury front control arms • Rancho shocks • Steering dampener • Adjustable panhards • Rear shock extension/pivots • Dual battery with Rotronics isolator • Oricom CB • 7" LED spot lights • LED light bar • Fog lights • LED rock lights (just for the hell of it) • Tail gate spoiler • Custom front and rear bar trimming • Snorkel • Rear storage/shelf/bed • Control arm skids • Hayman Reece towbar • Spare tyre has been raised by 80mm • Customised Rola vortex basket, clamps directly to the roof rails • Window tint
In total I've now done over 500,000km in Suzukis during the last 25 years, not allowing for bigger tyres, and enjoyed every minute of it. SUZUKI ... Way of life!
How long did it take you to build your zook to what it is today?
This Jimny is really a combination of the two as most of the parts were transferred between the two Jimnys so in reality the build is quite long, altogether it's been 14 years on and off.
Any changes in store for your Suzuki?
I've just been enjoying driving it for a while with just little creature comforts being added, at some point when I get time I'll be making a rear tyre carrier to take the load off the tailgate. Other future mods may include lowering it by 20mm but still on the fence over that one.
What has been your best modification?
Best mod is the 1.8L engine swap. I always felt that Jimny should have been at least a 1.5, so the 1.8 is awesome. Everything is so easy now and driving is cruisy. I had to gear it up a bit via a swap back to a Jimny transfer from the Sierra case as the engine was making 2nd and forth gear a bit of a waste of time.
Bonnet struts were a great addition too
Notable mention as well is the camper trailer
What has been your worse modification?
Worst mod was the 24% reduction gears in the black Jimny, highway driving was massively compromised, not good for a daily driver. Low gearing was great in the bush though.
If you could have anybody else's zook, who's would it be and why?
That's a really tough question but I like mine because I built it. If I could afford two cars I’d have a nicely thought out LWB Sierra.
What has been your best 4wding trip?
I used to love heading into the Blue Mountains for a wheel when I was down south, also had a great power line trail back then on Sydney’s north side but it was closed off a long time ago. The Jimny day and longer trips have all been fun, Fraser Island is always great and I think I’d have to say it’s my fav destination, especially after storms when the sand washes away to expose the coffee rock.
If you could go to any place in the world to wheel, where would that be?
I wouldn’t mind a “green laning” trip in the UK just for the fun of it but there’s still so much to see right here and time is ticking away.
Who are you closest to in the auszooker's community?
I’ve made a few good friends but if I have to pick just one it’s Scales, he and I get on great. We just caught up recently when he was down from Townsville. Sadly he’s just sold his very well thought out Jimny.
Tell us what the wheeling is like in your area?
Crap! There’s hard stuff but just not the same as Sydney’s offerings in my opinion.
What other toys/hobbies do you put a lot of time into?
I go through stages, lately it’s mainly been landscaping and the motorbike. Overseas travel takes most of our spare coin though, we aim for at least two weeks per year, hence my lean projects budget.
What is it about the auszookers that brings you back for more?
Lately I’ve not been very regular due to other interests. I enjoy the misc chat and the fab thread, and of course AZ is a great source of Suzuki knowledge. There’s been so many users over the years who’ve gone out of their way with advice and I like to share the bit of knowledge I have too.
What about the auszookers forum would you like to see changed?
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