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?Very shocked actually, never thought I would be chosen. Thanks for reading
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 Mitch and i'm 21, meaning of my username is nothing exciting. Its just my last name/ nick name and my yr of birth. I recently finished my apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic at Cummins engine company, been doing that for a bit over 3 yrs now. Live in Perth, have always lived in Perth. Recently bought a place in Pearsall (25km north of Perth city) so thats where most of my money is now.
How did you get started in Suzuki's & how many have you owned?I bought my 1st vit for my first car at age 16, bought it with 235's and 7" sunnys, it was a soft top with highish ks but I rolled that about 12 months later. I then bought my current hardtop vit with 150thou and currently has over 255thou.
How long did it take you to build your zook to what it is today?I bought it stock and in pretty neat condition, soon after getting it home I put on the 235's that I got from my first vit, after that I got some bfg muddies from Joe and then came a body lift from just cruizin. I then found a lockrite locker for cheap and got that thrown in the rear and is still going strong 50k later. At some stage between here and then I put in some dobinson front springs and struts along with some Nissan 180sx rear springs and commo shocks.
I found some near new 31" bighorns on gumtree, so they went on. After that I needed to address the gearing so I purchased a set of 4.24:1 transfer gears, they truely are awesome but just a bit annoying having to swap from low to hi so often. I also put in a steel front diff in there before the 31's went on.
At about 220thou I thought it was about time to do something about my pressurized cooling system issue, I pulled the head off to find that the block was cracked between cyl 1-2 and 3-4. So had a new engine fitted, had a few warranty issues at the start but got them all sorted in the end. Fitted an engine watchdog temp gauge to the rear of the head to prevent any further issue happening
From pretty early on I had a habit of denting my door sills, so about 12 months ago Monley took a grinder to my car and cut out the dents and welded in some 100x50x3mm box section. They have held up very well till the other day when I landed a little bit to hard on them and cracked the weld underneath
Any changes in store for your Suzuki?yeah, ill eventually get a front locker and rear disk brakes. I did some panel damage on a recent trip so that will need to be done before anything else
What has been your best modification?hmmmm, its hard to say but it probably would be the reduction gear's.
What has been your worse modification?Cant say that I have a worse mod, there isnt anything that I wouldnt do again.
If you could have anybody else's zook, who's would it be and why? It would have to be maccas crawler vit, its awesome to be around and very well built.
What has been your best 4wding trip?Not really sure, ive had a lot of decent trips but prob one of my earlier trips down south to brunswick with the WA camping crew
(denzyl, dan, chris & Dave ect) other than that I love going to harvey and collie with the crawler boys and attempting to keep up with them.
If you could go to any place in the world to wheel, where would that be?It would be the same as most people.....Rubicon and the Hammers. Would love to head over to vic tho and be able to drive some of there trails. (like on the adventure tour's)
Who are you closest to in the auszooker's community?Would have to be Alien, good friends with a lot of the other WA fellas tho but there are to many to name.
Tell us what the wheeling is like in your area?Same as the previous 5 AZROM winners from WA
, all the really decent stuff is south of perth in places like, Collie- Harvey- Brunswick and Northcliff for those that like the sandy stuff. I mainly head out to Mundaring and to red hill off toodyay rd, but every now and then head south for a weekend run.
What other toys/hobbies do you put a lot of time into?I used to be into RC planes and hope to get back in to them eventually, just more time and money.
I also ride a motorbike when i get a chance.
What is it about the auszookers that brings you back for more?Its a awesome community and most things have been asked before so the info is never hard to find. I enjoy being able to help out those who are just starting out in the 4wd world. There are people on here who have incredible skills and its somewhere where we can all come together and share our opinions and experiences.
What about the auszookers forum would you like to see changed? Nothing, happy with how it is now. Its just a pity that some people get banned over silly things
Pictures
Body lifted and 235's
WA camping crew
Cracks in the block.
Recent pic of the newer bullbar and the treps.
Build threads
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10488 Main vehicle specs1995 Suzuki vitara SE416 SWB g16b,
Factory spec rebuilt engine 25,000old
2" body lift
Front40mm dobinson springs and shocks
GV steel diff housing with 5.12:1, open diff center
Rear Nissan 180sx rear springs, 15mm coil spacer and Commo shocks and shock relocation brackets
lockrite locker
4.24 reduction gears
31" maxxis Trepadores
ARB bullbar
Ralley 4000 compact spotties
ARB air comp
Custom body mount sliders
Now for the million dollar question, who do you select to be the next Z.O.O.M. & why?Monley, He has done a lot for his age in terms of building zooks. He is a great bloke and builds great cars. Keep it up Andy
and "other hobbies" (same story as me with the planes and motorbikes)