[MickM]

Hi all, just joined up. I've got myself a SWB Vitara as a hunting rig project.
Just after some info, brands, ect....

Looking at suspension lift, tyres/wheels, front and rear winch, turn it into a soft top, bash plates, roll cage...... And custom bar work.

Apparently the front diff is blown, can I get a locker and strengthen diff??
I will be doing all fabrication and upgrades myself, any ideas on where to start would be great...

[SierraDan]

*Vitara

[DarkHorse]

Year model, which motor... Budget, ambition...

Turn it into a soft top? Why didn't you buy a soft top?

There are heaps of options for suspension, wheel and tyres either off the shelf or involving customisation depending on what you are trying to achieve and how much you've got to spend.

As a starting point - most aftermarket suspension companies (ARB, Dobinsons, Ironman, Bilstien, etc) will make a kit with shocks, struts and springs that will give you a 40mm-ish lift. Add a 2" body lift (if legality isn't an issue) and some light panel work and you can fit 31" tyres on something close to -13 offset rims. Any more than that starts requiring exponentially more work.

Bash plates, roll cages and barwork are pretty much custom jobs, so again options are determined by your budget and goals.

All early Vitaras came with alloy diffs which are made of a combination of cheese and hope. The easy upgrade is a steel diff from an early model manual V6 Grand Vitara (98-03ish from memory.) You just have to transplant the gears if they're still OK.

Lockers are available - air from ARB or China, autolockers as well if you're masochistic.

[atari4x4]

there was some other newb wanting to chop a tin top vitara the other week... take one look at the B pillar & tell me if you think it's a good idea?