Build Up - 'Gina' the Prado
Hi All,
Long time lurker and follower of Prado 90 forums, thought I should add some content and the build and use of my rig over the last 9 years.
I'm fairly mechanical and technically minded, but without tools or space I haven't done many mods on my own, most were done at shops. Which I'm also fine with, I can afford it and it supports mechanics.
My Prado is called 'Gina,' it's a long term joke with my family and friends.
Overall Build and Story:
- Purchased from Brisbane dealer, second hand, end of 2011, 173,000km
- Had been a soccer-mum car, immaculate.
- Did have basic Maxxis all-terrains which did well.
- Also had landcruiser 16x8 wheels which looked great but rubbed, so I quickly swapped these for the standard Prado 90 16x7 steel wheels.
- Took it back to Sydney where I was living, and had a mate in Wollongong with a Triton.
- While still stock with the Maxxis ATs, I did plenty of off road camping trips. We did camping trips with 5 people, 5 swags, 3 nights, all squeezed in. Tracks around Yalwal and a few trips to Abercrombie River National Park. They go a long way stock for camping trips.
- The only 4x4 accessories at this point were MAXTRAX and ARB air compressor for airing down the Maxxis A/Ts.
- My mate with the Triton had a winch, so this was the backstop (that was used a few times!)
Here she was in Sydney after getting her in Brisbane. Photo from 2012.
In the first 6 months when it was still stock I went camping almost every weekend. Photo above was taken on Stockton Beach, which was an easter camping trip trip also included 4x4 tracks in Barrington Tops NP.
First mod was the 50mm suspension upgrade from The Ultimate Suspension in Sydney. What was surprising was how much better the car handled, because of the stiffer springs and shocks. I'm sure this would be even better again if the car wasn't also lifted (stiffer spings and shocks without also a lift), but anyway, surprising to get lifted AND get a better handling!
Lift, without the upgraded tyres:
Heaps of flex
Photo above was on a trip from Sydney to Darwin via Fraser Island, in the main street of Byron Bay. We had 4 people in the car for an epic cross country camping trip. The only car upgrade was the suspension upgrade, standard sized A/T tyres and Maxtrax/air compressor. Great trips can be had without many modifications.
Next mods were the upgraded 265/75/r16 BFG KM2s. I still remember the 'needle' type feeling on the road compared with the Maxxis ATs. What was great was that we went and did the same tracks around Yalwal with the suspension and tyres mods - and saw how much further the cars could go.
Here is the 2inch lift plus KM2s, how the car stayed for a few years:
Top of Billy Goats Bluff in Alpine National Park / Vic High Country
Melbourne era
Moved to Melbourne for work in 2014 and have been here since then
Found the High Country / Alpine National Park. I rate this the best 4x4 camping in Australia. (And I'm from the NT, having done a lot of that). I also do lots of tracks around Mt Disappointment, as a mate lives in the area.
Snorkel by Guest 4WD
Harrop Rear E Locker and Harrop Breather kit (done by the Harrop shop. Really good and professional guys). Definitely a game changer for traction! Here's a video of the car with the locker in action:
Installed MCC winch bar and full length roof rack. (Something I finally did myself!):
In 2020, finally wore out the BFG KM2s. Got new Coopers
In June 2021, finally got some mods I should have got years ago: Iornman 9500 winch and their biggest 37inch lightbar, fitted by Western 4WD in Footscray.
Gina as of August 2021:
Camping mods?
I've decided quite strategically to not fill the back up with drawers and fridge ect. This is because I use the car when I'm not camping, for bikes in the back, furniture, sometimes I use all 8 seats with friends on highway trips and weekends away in Airbnb's ect. Also, when camping I like to fully unpack and go collect wood! For all the same reasons I'm not interested in roof top tent. I want to set up the base camp and then go exploring.
Here's photos of using the back for wood and general packing, which can't be done with drawers and a fridge permanently fixed:
Stuff that has broken
Snapped the exhaust after the muffler that's in front of the rear diff in the Alpine National Park in 2017. Ended up just securing the final meter of exhaust with some rope to get back to Melbourne. Only cost about $200 to repair including a new muffler (with a bit more of a growl) at a shop in North Melbourne.
Broke a rear suspension link in Alpine National Park. Apparently this was due to the bushings being nylon instead of rubber. Not sure which service this was done but shows the value of mechanics who know what they are doing.
Fuel Relay - doing 4x4 tracks around Mt Disappointment, a stick bullseye'd the fuel relay which switches between tanks and is very exposed underneath. Me and my mate smelt petrol, I had a look underneath and fuel was leaking down! Ironically even though this relay is a clear weak point, I switched the tank that was being used and the fuel stopped leaking onto the ground, and the car got back to Melbourne fine.
Rear shocks broke out of their top mounts completely on Mt Disappointment tracks in ~May 2020. Got new shock absorbers from my local mechanic. Made the car so much stiffer again - so I suspect the rear shocks had needed replacing for some time.
Radiator failed on a high way drive to Yarra Ranges in June 2020. Shut the car down the moment I saw steam, so no damage done. Towed back and new radiator installed!
June 2021 replacements - decent amount of work done. New CV axels, Upper ball joints, and the entire left front hub, which had a crack in it where the upper ball joints sit.
Essentially - stuff breaks! But this is from 8 years of taking the car on pretty hard tracks, especially the last few years in Victoria between the Alpine National Park and Mt Disappointment.
Next:
I cannot stop thinking about a Supercharger! My problem is, I can't do it myself, and it's simply too expensive to get the whole thing done through a shop. A fully installed Bullet system, with 7th injector, new computer, tune, is 12k. That's more than I would probably sell the car for. There does seem to be some commentary that you only need the supercharger without a new computer and 7th injector, but then there is a risk of pinging. So, most likely I will not get a supercharger, but I continue to consider it!