[Gib009]

Hi guys new to forum been spending a few hours every night and thought i should go ahead and ask some questions

I currently have a new navara with a 3inch lift and 33's but want something more hardcore for off roading. I want a dedicated rig but still want to keep it in the boundries of drivable on road. The sierra seems to be the best choice i was considering a toy fj40 but seems a bit more complicated than the old zooks.

Pretty set on a leafie wide track 1.3 SWB either soft or hard top i like both. now for the important questions

How much lift would i get with a spring over, extd shackles and longer shocks setup and what sorta rubber could i fit under the guards. 33's?

Ive heard going 35's adds all sorts of problems so i wont go into that. Not for now anyway

How would the 1.3 cope with 33's and whats the ball park figure for reduced gears?
Will be looking into a engine swap but suspension and tyres would be first.
Any other neccecities for this sort of setup?

In everyones experience would you say get a stock low km sierra with little signs of abuse for reliability or should i wait around for someone elses project to be put up for sale? Considering it will be 95% used off road. What do you guys and girls think?
What do you think a good price is to pay for either examples as i am new to this market.
PS im in perth if that makes a difference
Thanks in advance

[steve]

Welcome to the site Gib009!

How did you find your way here? (just out of interest)

I think a few people will be away for easter so you may not get a lot of response for a few days. I'm just about to head off too, so i'll have to get on when i get back and rave crap

Good choice with the Sierra, they're heaps of fun. Try find one with no rust or very little if you can, you can always replace motors and diffs, in your case with bigger motors and lockers

Crawler gears will cost you around $1300 new or as cheap as $700 second hand.

Spring over might give you about 4 inches lift, so you might not need extended shackles to fit 33s. If you're going to go bigger tyres, you might want to get a long wheel base as 35s on a swb will be a flipper too short for the height, so hill climbs will be scary!

Mart on here has 35s and a 1.3, but with mods to it, and Series 4 crawler gears. He has extended his wheel base out to 90 or 91 inches i think. Mine is about 90 inches, and feels very stable on climbs. Ofcourse once you go bigger tyres you might want to upgrade your diffs, hilux, MQ etc. Some people run 33s on stock diffs, but if you are rockcrawling they wont work out too well. Probably ok for forest tracks and mud.

Lots of people do similiar mods and end up with different results.

oh look i've been raving crap already, i better go pack the camping gear!

[Gib009]

hey steve thanks for the help
Ive been searching zooks probably for 5hours a night up all hours in the morning for the past few days so i guess i just stumbled across this forum. The whole AUSzookers grabbed my attention becuase i am a member of clubfrontier.org and i have to sift through lots of american info to find info on navaras. Is this the same deal with the american samurais? I mean can you buy stuff from the likes of rocky road and it will fit on a aussie sierra? I bought my lift from america for the nav and it all went on fine but i was always awaiting something to not fit!

Anyway back to topic, yeah i guess your right a lwb would be better for what im after but i dont know i think i still prefer a shorty! This will be a long term project so if i do feel the need i can extend the wheelbase.

So what your saying is i can buy a rust free sierra and whack the leafs over the axles and slap on some 33's and change the gear ratio? That simple? Then i might as well just get a old shopping trolley with low k's for piece of mind. Eventually i want to go all out but my short term plans are just the spring over and some bigger tyres and most importantly have some fun with it!

Have a good easter break

[cj_zuki]

steve wrote:

Crawler gears will cost you around $1300 new or as cheap as $700 second hand.

New gears should cost under $700.

[sp1086]

Carl on in our Club is selling his fully modded Sierra.. Might be just what your looking for..

http://nbs4x4club.com/forum/index.php?topic=8717.0

It has Hilux Diffs and has been extended. Is on 34's I think. Has external roll cage ect.. Looks mean too.

[Gib009]

wow yeah that is sorta what im looking for. But would prefer it not to be a trailor rig. Seems to be a good price too. for 3500 that would just cover lift tyres and gears on a stock truck. Ill have to think about it.

[waxhead]

I drive a Navara too and just sold my dedicated off road rig.
Tojo can work you a deal on a trailer too, travel to the track in comfort, drive hard and no stress about getting home.
Good Luck.
A sierra will do you well.

[steve]

cj_zuki wrote:

steve wrote:

Crawler gears will cost you around $1300 new or as cheap as $700 second hand.

New gears should cost under $700.

I didn't beleive you there, but was on OL and saw the thread, gees they're getting pretty cheap eh.

[Pubic]

gear me up scotty!

[steve]

yeah, maybe i could make up a spare case with S4s