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?Honouring.
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?I'm Hayden, I'm 19. I live in Perth but I get back to my hometown, Northcliffe, as often as I can. I'm currently studying for diploma in mechanical engineering, though I'm looking to get certified as a non destructive technician. I don't have a job, I'm just on centrelink/youth allowance at the moment. Because I study all day and I've never had a job that wasn't farming or mechanical related it's really difficult to get a job in Perth.
How did you get started in Suzuki's & how many have you owned?I always liked Sierras and I've always been a 2 stroke nut. When I discovered LJ50s I kinda had to have one. Of course that didn't really work out and I've got a bunch of LJ80s. Funnily enough, the LJ50 I do have has a 4 stroke in it.
Now I look at LJs as a vehicle with awesome approach and departure angles, flat bottom, narrow bodies, great maneuverability and high modifiability. They're better suited to technical 4WDing than a lot of other vehicles, as shown by Tanshi and Highway-Star's success in the tough tracks comp and their general reputation.
I've got 6 suzukis, 3 regoed. 2 LJ81ks, LJ80v, soft top 1l Sierra, LJ50v and an LJ80q. I've also got a Suzuki S200 pump engine.
How long did it take you to build your zook to what it is today?I've had the LJ80v about a year. The others, well I'm unfinished project W.A state champion so I'l get back to you in a few years.
Any changes in store for your Suzuki?With the LJ80v I'd like to extend the shock towers so I can remove the bumpstop spacing and run some longer shocks. The engine needs a rebuild, I've got an 1 1/2" SU and ported/shaved head to go on it when I do. I plan to chop the transfer crossmember so I can lift the exhaust out of harms way. I'm slowly turning it into a 1/2" oval exhaust. I'm looking into making some new back windows out of polycarbonate to lower my COG. Other than that, just making it reliable and I'l give it a respray/resto when I can, it's really rough and rusty right now. From there it will be pretty well "done".
If I get the time I'l get my Sierra going again over summer. It makes for an awesome sand car, which the LJ really doesn't. I might fit some LJ80 diff gears to correct the tyres. I really should just sell it though.
Then of course there's the LJ81 which is a project I can't do anything with right now. I need to move to somewhere with a shed and then get a job so I can throw tons of money and time at it.
What has been your best modification?Auto locker, it makes it a bit shit to drive (though no where near as bad as people make out) but is a massive capability boost. I'd have a selectable locker for it if someone would just bloody make them.
An honorable and slightly oddball mention goes to the front disc brake/Sierra swivel hub conversion on the LJ. I went from hardly being able to stop to having all the brakes I can use with bartreads. As an added bonus they got rid of my worn brake spline issues and the silly LJ semifloating hubs.
What has been your worse modification?30s on the Sierra with no gearing. That made it an absolute dog to drive both on and off road. Kicked arse on sand though.
If you could have anybody else's zook, who's would it be and why?Tough one, probably 3cyl's LJ50. I love the idea of vehicle that is virtually indestructible and you never have to worry about the body. Christovers vit would make an awesome tourer too.
What has been your best 4wding trip?It's hard to what was the best. Certainly the most memorable was a trip to the Yaegarup dunes with a friend. We were 14 or 15, we took his paddock basher S2 Landy. No licences, no rego, no doors, no exhaust.
We spent hours trying to get up the first dune, never made it. Probably a good thing really. It was an awesome day.
If you could go to any place in the world to wheel, where would that be?Aside from the usual Moab and Rubican choices, you guys on the east coast have a lot of stuff I'm very jealous of.
Who are you closest to in the auszooker's community?Probably Highway-Star, we talk pretty often on facebook. I've never met him though.
A friend of mine has a profile on here, can't remember what the name is. He only made a few posts. He's got a WT Sierra with 30" STTs, rear locker, 1l transfer and a G16a. Last time I saw him he said he was thinking about swapping all the stuff from his Sierra onto his dads WT styleside Maruti which would be a pretty cool build. He's got a TD42t SWB GQ which is coming along nicely too.
Tell us what the wheeling is like in your area?For Perth, there's some pretty hardcore Bunnings car parks.
Nah, there's actually tons of wheeling around Perth. It's just that most people never actually go anywhere and the ones that do don't tell the internet about it. Within an hour or so of Perth you've got the 2 rocks, Wilbinga and Lancelin dunes to the north. To the east there's technical stuff like the red hill area, the powerlines and the other stuff out the back of Mundaring, Kalamunda ect. There's lots of muddy tracks kicking around like Skeet road and the pines. If you're willing to travel more than an hour then there's heaps of other cool stuff like Dwellingup and the pinnacles.
More or less, the western facing southwest W.A coastline is 5-10kms of vegetated dunes with plenty of swamp thrown in (this is what Perth, Mandurah and Rockingham are built on), then 10 or so KMs of cleared swampyish flat lands then 20kms of hills with lots of granite in them. If you go onto google maps you can see this super clearly. This gives an awesome variety of terrain in a relatively small distance, though most of it is locked up, bulldozed or private property.
For Northcliffe, lots of sand. All the beaches are free to drive on and there's about a bazillion acres of national park to explore. To the east there's the dunes and beaches, to the south there's coastal cliffs and to the east, broke inlet, lots of granite outcrops and the hilly Walpole area. In winter everything goes under water, there's endless mud and water. Lots of tracks become impassible and some are closed.
What other toys/hobbies do you put a lot of time into?I've got some old Peugeots but I know none of you care about those.
I've got some motorbikes (and scooters...) a few go kart projects. Basically I have an iterest in anything mechanical.
What is it about the auszookers that brings you back for more?Mostly my internet addiction.
What about the auszookers forum would you like to see changed?The search function messed with so we can search Sierra, vitara ect and have the search for threads started by x user thing put back up. Other than those, I have no complaints.
Main Vehicle Specs1980 LJ80v Stockman
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37003F10a engine conversion
600x16 bartreads
Lockrite autolocker in the rear
Sierra disc brake/swivel hub conversion with Swift brake lines
2" King springs, drilled for slipper pads, spacer plates, bruces stekky spec bushes. 2 leafs in the front, 3+1 in the rear
Commodore shocks all round
Rock sliders
1981 type 1 Sierra soft top
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3090430x9.5 KM2s on 15x7 -6 sunnies
Long shockies, no lift, mega sagged original springs
Wannabee exocage roof rack thingy
Seats, I have no idea what they're from but they're fucking terrible
+the generic lighting/storage/stereo/uhf mods on both.
Now for the million dollar question, who do you select to be the next Z.O.O.M. & why?It has to go back to 303zuke, I've been trying to get him to make a thread about his vehicles for ages. Hopefully the fires don't give him any issues.
) whilst your much loved suzuki tin box is in heaps of pieces.
