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. 2014?It’s always nice to have other people take an interest in your car. I’m not sure if I have enough of a presence on AZ to warrant ZOOM nomination, but I’m certainly associated with several of the vic Suzuki club members on here.
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 is Greg. I’m 34 and I live in Melbourne. I’ve been a member of the Suzuki 4wd Club of Victoria since 2001 and I’m about to finish my third year as President.
Work-wise I’m a mainframe CICS/COBOL/DB2 programmer working in the insurance industry.
My username is gregc because someone beat me to ‘greg’ on the AZ forum.
How did you get started in Suzuki's & how many have you owned?Growing up my folks owned a 1984-ish Nissan Patrol – mainly just for towing a caravan, but we also made it to Frasier Island, the Flinders Ranges, Kings Canyon and a very occasional drive up into the forests of Gippsland. I guess that was my inspiration for wanting a 4wd for my first car. Suzuki’s became my focus after my dad’s uncle passed away in 1999 and left behind an immaculate 1980-ish sierra with 6,000kms on it. That one slipped past me, but soon after I found a 1990 hard top that I had to have.
1990 Hardtop JX – The Grey Car - $5,900 in 2000I did the usual mods that every sierra needs: cd player, speakers, alarm, central locking. I had this car for about 12 months until the share house I lived in was broken into and all my cds, half my clothes and my car keys and car disappeared. The police found the car a few days later smashed into a tree in The Basin. I don’t have any photos of this car.
1991 Hardtop – The White Car / The Green Car - $4,300 in 2001After my insurance money came in I found a 1991 Hardtop with vinyl seats and no carpet. I set about trying to turn it into a JX by adding carpet and the mandatory cd player, speakers, alarm and central locking again. I also picked up an ARB front bar, a warn 6000lb winch and a set of 235/75/15 bfgoodrich mud terrains.
Somewhere around this time I joined the Suzuki Club, met Gwagensteve and quickly got excited about upgrading the car for off road use. From a 4:1 rockhopper to arb suspension setups and airlockers, bodylift – all the standard stuff, to later a 6:1 rockhopper, RUF, 34x9.5 swampers, bead locks and later a body swap for a soft top drover body, Cappuccino 660cc Motor and Gearbox and a 6-point cage.
Here are some early photos of my hardtop with 235/75/15 mud terrains.
Here are some shots with the RUF and Swampers
(Keen eyes will spot Christover, Mock, Gwagensteve and even Grimbo in this one)
This was the car after a one day body swap club technical day – it was followed immediately by a night drive up into Toolangi. Thanks to Droopy Pete for the themed gaffer tape
Straight after the night drive, the car was parked at Steve’s house and the following weeks were spent installing the Cappuccino engine.
This was the car getting ready to leave for its first ever trip with the new engine and paint – up to the snow (that makes sense – soft top + snow).
First trip – snow – Mt Skene.
And a couple of other shots in the green car doing what it did best – attempting every hard line we could find with little regard for the body panels.
1989 Softtop – The Black Car - $1,800 in 2004Initially I picked up this Sierra purely for spare parts. It had 250,000 kms on it, but it was tidy enough that I decided to get it registered. For a couple of months I drove it around completely stock (minus the doors and roof of course).
After I tried to engineer my green car with the cappuccino engine and found it unfeasible due to emissions issues, Stevie and I started planning the ultimate, engineered, no compromises swb sierra.
(thanks Mickos!)
There is a pretty decent write-up on my black car here:
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=28386And there is plenty more coverage of it in various club trip threads like this one:
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=28660How long did it take you to build your zook to what it is today?2 Years and 3 Months from the day the car was parked and dismantled to the day it debuted on Adventure Tour 2006.
Any changes in store for your Suzuki?The little black car is currently parked in my shed will plans to get it back on the road shortly.
Once up and running again, it will come back off the road for a 1.6l Baleno engine upgrade and an overly complicated internal/external cage. I also have the winch from the green car sitting around that I should get around to installing one day and I will even add a uhf radio. Dual ARB compressors or a new 10 cfm endless air are also on the cards – who doesn’t want more air?
What has been your best modification?The automatic gearbox and the bucket loads of exhaust – suddenly you have all the time in the world for decision making when you are tackling an obstacle and you can also sit there quietly and discuss your next move with your spotter. Quiet cars are awesome.
I’m also really happy with the lifted transfer case. By bringing the case up above the bottom of the chassis, I very rarely sit the case on a rock or log – so it never jumps out of gear.
Lastly I had better mention the high flow Nitto Coupla air fittings shown here:
http://www.auszookers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35084Spending 30 minutes airing up is 30 minutes you didn't get to spend driving that last track.
What has been your worse modification?Alarm / Immobilizer in the white hardtop. I remember being out in the forest and having the whole car cut out and being unable to work out why. The issue ended up being a loose plug on the immobilizer, but it was definitely not a comforting feeling bouncing on a rock and losing all power.
If you could have anybody else's zook, who's would it be and why?I probably wish I had bits of other people’s cars on my car more than their actual cars:
Greyghost – I wish my car was as low as his hard top. Lbzook has now matched this level of low too. The black car always looks 2 – 3 inches too tall now.
Gwagensteve – I don’t crave coils, but I love that the front is solid and the scrub radius is completely locked down with its travel path. Again – this is about keeping the car low. Steve’s car also has every spare part or tool anyone on a club trip ever needs on a trip.
Mika – an extremely light weight build that climbs well because it weighs nothing.
Dank – let’s face it – there is always going to be a situation where you just want more go!
Droopypete – this was the car that converted me from hard top to soft top. Such a simple setup and heaps of fun.
What has been your best 4wding trip?Yarra State Forest – 2001 This was my first ever club trip. I remember turning up at the first climb on Cemetery track and just being in awe at how steep it was and then being amazed when the cars all drove up it. Being my first ever club trip, I also made the mistake of thinking we would stop somewhere for lunch – this was not the case – so I only had a few muesli bars that i found under my seat to eat (we didn’t air up until about 8:30pm). We finished the day with a team bonding fish and chips in Yarra Junction, and then on my way home I pulled over and had the racv come and fix my car when it started making loud roaring noises (it turned out i had hit my muffler on a rock during the day and had pulled apart the exhaust flex joint).
Adventure Tours – Various Years – 2002 to CurrentThe Vic Suzuki Club Adventure Tours are always a highlight on my wheeling calendar. Every year brings something new – a new track, a new setup, a new member – there’s always something that makes it both interesting and fun. 3 hard day trips and 2 social nights crammed into a single weekend – what’s not to like?
Club Trips – Spotting – Various YearsOnce you get your car and driving ability up to a certain level, trips stop being about just getting yourself up a track and start being about getting the convoy up the track. I really enjoy taking new members out on trips and spotting their cars way beyond where they ever thought possible.
If you could go to any place in the world to wheel, where would that be?I like to keep my wheeling within 90 minutes of home – so anything from Toolangi around to Walhalla is typically on my list.
I also quite enjoy driving my car on the road. With no roof and no doors, it’s actually really great for sightseeing. I have this silly dream of driving it down the Great Ocean Road one day, or even into the Melbourne CBD on a ‘Bring your Junk to Work’ day perhaps.
I’m another one of those guys that reads and dreams about magazine trips like Ultimate Adventure and Top Truck etc so I would have to say something like UA or the Rubicon, with a little visit down to the rock bouncing events which just look like they would even more amazing when seen in person.
Can I even go so far as to say that I wouldn't mind a bit of Hot Rod Power Tour?
Who are you closest to in the auszooker's community?Gwagensteve and I have been friends basically since my first ever Suzuki Club Trip back in 2001. We share a lot of common ideas about cars and he’s good value for bouncing around ideas.
There are lots of other club members on here that I am in regular contact with too. For such a small club, there are lots of members on AZ.
Tell us what the wheeling is like in your area? We have a good mix within my 90 minutes of Melbourne travel radius with steep hills, rocky sections, slippery mud and shaly slopes. My favourite tracks are mild inclines with deep rutted sections with plenty of climbing in and out of the ruts and plenty of angles to play on.
What other toys/hobbies do you put a lot of time into?I have a push bike that I like to pedal around – both as a commuter and road bike. I have had a racing licence on and off for the past few years. I run a Kennedy custom aluminium frame with a full Campagnolo Chorus 10-Speed groupset. My commute is about 10,000km per year base, plus any training rides I get motivated to do.
What is it about the auszookers that brings you back for more?It’s a great resource for technical discussions with other forum members that have similar vehicles and are also modifying them to work and drive in similar conditions. i.e. similar terrain and similar road rules for build guidelines etc.
What about the auszookers forum would you like to see changed?I always think that the tech sections are setup a bit weird with many threads fitting just as logically into more than one section.
Now for the million dollar question, who do you select to be the next Z.O.O.M. & why? SierraDan - If there is one member that clearly has too much time on thier hands, it's SierraDan - it would be great to hear his story of too many toy cars.
