Hilux 4x4 Forum

Hallo all

Its been a while since I have posted here...took some time to finish licking my wounds and nurturing my

I stepped into a "good deal" when I bought a well priced 2010 double cab hilux srx. And while the salesman was doing me in I was dreaming of offroad trips and late night campfires in very remote places.... ...with my new bakkie. Turns out that my winskopie was a rollover that was fixed up and resprayed... he had an excuse for the sprayjoppie that sounded believable for a 4x4 vehicle. After a long back and forth,this guy said he would take it back, sell it and refund me my money...since he used my money already.Well, do me in once, shame on you....So I kept it and forced for some of my money back. The moral of the story is: the world is filled with slimey, lying, moneygrabbing con artists who will try and take your hard earned money. so tread carefully.

But its all cool, I thought about, and decided that this might just be an opportunity to build the bakkie of my dreams

So. This build entails a full strip down to replace the bent chassis, worn suspension bushes (I bought it with a 2 week old rwc :x ), do the bodywork etc. and if budget allows, I will add some nice goodies to round off the project

I am not a scientist, a mechanic or a autolec, so please bear with me if you see me doing something stupid. And expect a lot of questions:

I will post some more pics as work progresses

Looking forward to following this project.

Froll wrote:Looking forward to following this project.

Thankyou Froll,I hope to get it back on the road before end March

The state of the nation as of yesterday..... engine removed

Jammer om te hoor van die slaggat waarin jy getrap het, dis genoeg om n mens baie moerig te maak

Alle sterkte met die herstel en ombouing

First time I've seen a Vigo in the nude, will be following this thread with interest. Congrats on deciding to tackle this job and the happiness once you've completed it will be priceless!


-F_D

Good Luck with the rebuild, you are going about it in the right way...

Hi
Hope it comes out as your biggest dream Know body cab be without a nice Lux.
All the best with your project
Hansman&&Vaaltyn

Thanks All
Ja nee, moerig is die woord. Will keep you posted every step of the way. Ordered some bodylifter pins today from Toyota. Will get it tomorrow.

Jis Youngblood. Jammer om te hoor van die tragedie. Alle sterkte met die werk wat voorle, sien uit om die eindproduk te sien.

Woesman wrote:Jis Youngblood. Jammer om te hoor van die tragedie. Alle sterkte met die werk wat voorle, sien uit om die eindproduk te sien.

Woesman, ek en jy tesame. Ek het n hele paar goedjies om uit te figure op die bakkie. Ek strip weer more verder dan kyk ons hoe lyk die overall skade

Mooi Man. Good to see you never lost heart and threw in the towel after your dissapointing rellevations as to the history of your hilux.I am sure I would possibly have followed your route. I have rebuilt two hiluxes in the past and have also stripped them kaal and I must admit it is lots and lots of work and frustrations ( and bucks) but the end result is priceless.GOOD LUCK

Ok...its been a tough work week with a satisfying end. Got the old chassis off and planted the new one for the rebuild. Bought the new one from Toyota after countless searches and leads for a used one ended up fruitless. They ain't cheap that's for sure

Saturday saw me sweating my a## away in the sun removing parts and addons and basically stripping the whole chassis. Hectic work when you all alone. I was gonna carry the new chassis on my back to the workstation but I realised I am not that young anymore So Kenny my landscaping exec was summoned to put his garden tools down and help drag/carry the chassis.

The old chassis had some damage to one mounting point and also on one of the crossbars. Rust also started to form on it. That new pitch black chassis looks like its worth all the trouble.

The new chassis is put in place, pity it started to get dark....wanted to continue for a while longer. Just in time for the Stormers game though. It's been a while since a cold one or 3 tasted THAT good.... and the Stormers won. An excellent day indeed.
This week is planned for work on the suspension before fitment, would like to have it finished by Friday.

FIRSTGEER wrote:Mooi Man. Good to see you never lost heart and threw in the towel after your dissapointing rellevations as to the history of your hilux.I am sure I would possibly have followed your route. I have rebuilt two hiluxes in the past and have also stripped them kaal and I must admit it is lots and lots of work and frustrations ( and bucks) but the end result is priceless.GOOD LUCK

Thanks FG. This is my most daring attempt at being a Macguyver. Looking forward to finishing in style

Tjomma, you inspire me! I also drive a SRX D/C and it is simply the most awesome bakkie! Good luck, your hard work will be rewarded!

Money well spent I think

Hey there JOF.your'e making great progress.You will see that once the chassis is completely assembled,the rest of the job will fall into place as you go along.Are the body panels okay ?

sjoe you very brave Tjomma all the best with the rebuild .

Thanks guys

I really appreciate the words of encouragement. Reason for posting is so that I don't start to stop - You know, procrastinating....
Anyhow, just contacted Mikem for a suspension quote. My SFA had a Mikem system fitted and it drove superb... so why change the formula. Will let you know as soon as I have it.

FIRSTGEER wrote:Hey there JOF.your'e making great progress.You will see that once the chassis is completely assembled,the rest of the job will fall into place as you go along.Are the body panels okay ?

FG, the body panels are fine, the sprayjob needs a bit of a touchup and at least it was sprayed with the 2010 colourcode. As soon as the mechanical work is done, I will have take care of the niggly bits

Yes..... Friday The 13th was Christmas Got the suspension from Mikem. Picked it up at the George Airport after Darryl went to deliver it personally for couriering at Jozi Airport. Nice 1 Darryl. Like I mentioned before, its my 2nd trokkie that will carry the mikem product, and the 1st time around I was heavily impressed. very soft ride on an SFA which can be tricky to achieve to say the least.

So I got me:
Eibach coil springs on Billstein serviceable shocks in the front
7 pack Mikem leafspring set
greasable shackles

The old and the new next to eachother

Saturday started out well, the plan was to complete the suspension fitment, refit the fueltank and the driveshafts , the front diff and the steeringrack. I had 1 problem.... a visitor for the wknd at least my younger brother can use a spanner so his free labour was abused to give a hand. But since he actually came for some R&R I had to cut down on the work schedule to fit in the Stormers vs Chiefs game and a braaitjie. Should have kept on working, it turns out that the Stormers didn't bring their A game for this match :roll: But at least the braai continued and the beer flowed till late evening
Anyhow, we fitted the rear suspension at least, and I will have to make up for lost time. The plan is to have this part of the project done by the end of the month.
With this suspension setup I should at least get a 50 mm lift and much more flex.

I am not going to blow anyone's horn, but where credit is due, lets not be stingy.... I have yet to come across a company that provides the level of service that Mikem had given, Darryl actually delivered on his promise and on Friday I had the suspension delivered in George... no excuses. So kudos to the Mikem team. And if you are considering a new suspension, consider their packages, the prices are competitive(I checked :wink2: ). Money is supertight on this project and even on the critical upgrades I doublecheck if I am getting the best deal.

Cheers till next time

Tjomma wrote:I am not going to blow anyone's horn, but where credit is due, lets not be stingy.... I have yet to come across a company that provides the level of service that Mikem had given, Darryl actually delivered on his promise and on Friday I had the suspension delivered in George... no excuses. So kudos to the Mikem team. :thumbup: And if you are considering a new suspension, consider their packages, the prices are competitive(I checked :wink2: ). Money is supertight on this project and even on the critical upgrades I doublecheck if I am getting the best deal.

Cheers till next time

Mikem as always

Sjo.... it seems like work just wants to get in the way of lekker things. Anyhow, the build is moving slow this week , but tonight I managed to fit the shiny new front bilstein shocks, fitted the steeringrack and some other stuff on the front that was taken of. Then the darkness came..... :|
Looking forward to this weekend,going to remarry the chassis with the cab

wow, jou gat jeuk seker al om klaar te maak

Lekker!

Never thought of having the chassis galvanised?

Dit lyk baie baie goed....................jy kan seker nie wag om haar te vat vir n spin nie??

Looking good

Ek jik nou nie eens mee nie, ek kan die rash nie mee uitstaan nie maar moet eers geduldig wees, ek hoop dat as ek klaar is vir n lank tyd nie aan hom te krap nie. Ek dink dat die eerste dryfie met die wa n goeie natkol op die seat gan los

ROOFER wrote:Looking good

Thanks Roofer... getting there

Thabogrobler wrote:Lekker!

Never thought of having the chassis galvanised?

Dink jy dis nodig Thabo? het nog nooit dit consider nie.... ek neem maar aan as dit uit die factory kom dan hou verewig. behalwe as jy bote sleep

Toppie4x4 wrote:Dit lyk baie baie goed....................jy kan seker nie wag om haar te vat vir n spin nie??

Dankie Toppie, nee wat eks nou al baie hastig.... sou die chassis netso ry as ek kon

Looking great there Jof.

Well, This was my Saturday.... :razz: Very happy with the result. Finally got the chassis back where it belongs. Note to self: Never ever do this again in a single garage The confined space can get very scary when there's a block and tackle involved.

Moving and loading the engine was the most difficult part. That thing is HEAVY... But got it in

Well, it was a bit gang gam style but it was done with zero breaks and no fatalities. Will start the assembly in the week and hopefully a start up by the end of the week

FIRSTGEER wrote:Looking great there Jof.

Thanks Tony.... I am between a rock and a halfbuilt Hilux Gots to keep moving forward....

It looks a hell of a lot better than it did yesterday

Well done

4x4BEES wrote:It looks a hell of a lot better than it did yesterday

Well done

It does ne... and I feel much better than yesterday . Thanks tjomma, much obliged.

Going along at a great pace!!

I lift my hat for you tjomma.At my age I do not have the guts and patience to do it.
Well done so far. You will always look back at your good work and will never be disappointed.

Tjomma, I'm a teacher and not normally this spirited to tackle the week on a Sunday evening, but you leave me no choice to look forward o the week to see your finished product.
Did you do anything to the engine, how many kilo's done?
Good luck.

Mud Dog wrote:Going along at a great pace!!

Yip MD, thank heavens for Saturdays

Lollie wrote:I lift my hat for you tjomma.At my age I do not have the guts and patience to do it.
Well done so far. You will always look back at your good work and will never be disappointed.

Ag nee Lollie , my friend who turned 54 on Saturday came in to help and believe me, its the best present I could give him. He thoroughly enjoyed it. I do this the same way you eat a elephant

Johan Engelbrecht wrote:Tjomma, I'm a teacher and not normally this spirited to tackle the week on a Sunday evening, but you leave me no choice to look forward o the week to see your finished product.
Did you do anything to the engine, how many kilo's done?
Good luck.

Thanks Johan... Engine is still standard, but I have plans for it First want to get it rolling. Its got about 245k n the clock and ran perfectly. I am myself looking forward to this week, if all goes well I should be able to make a dent in the to do list. But 1st I have to find ALL those bolts and nuts I have misplaced
Goodluck with the kids

Awesome

That looks like a Mikem suspension setup?

raider wrote:Awesome

That looks like a Mikem suspension setup?

Yes it is. 7 Leave pack with bilstein shocks and eibach springs. Should do the trick :wink2:

Now boys and girls...this has been said before, documented and .....said before: KEEP RECORDS, TAKE PHOTOS, WRITE STUFF DOWN!!! But you still get dommies such as yours truly that did not diligently do exactly that. Now I sit in front of my pc writing this when I should be in the garage assembling my vehicle.
So here's 5 golden rules to diying: (mind you, everyone else knew this... )
1:Mark all screws and nuts and bolts and store them TOGETHER IN THE SAME PLACE; Believe me, a week from when removing them, you would have forgotten where you took them out. It helps when you have a little box with all the gearbox screws nuts and bolts together in a box marked"gearbox srews and nuts and bolts". And do not store stuff all over your garage.... make sufficient storage space for your project.
2. Take photos ; not scew , dark and invisible photos - real photos. Especially before you remove stuff. like a before photo....that you can refer back to.It also helps to sequence steps.
3. Keep record of broken stuff; and buy it BEFORE assembly. enough said.
4. Do your research; know what parts do. Its one thing to just be replacing stuff, or putting parts back in place, but knowing what parts do to keep you moving forwards, crawl over rocks and travel to the most remote places you can think of, THAT makes you a boss!!
5. Don't stress; if the wife and kids forgot your name and the dog wants to bite you because you have been in the garage for so long.... GET OUTTA THERE!!!, enjoy precious fam time and dont worry if you cant finish the project on schedule. There are more important things to worry about.

Ahhhh, much better . let me go find those missing misplaced elusive parts. i know I put it somewhere

Goodday all
Hope you had a fantastic season. May 2017 be your best year ever.
Its been a while since I have updated this feature. Between moving house and being broke, Its been tough to wrap up this rebuilt. Although not completely finished, Its back on the road since November last year and doing what Hiluxes do best - get you there…wherever there might be.
Anyhow, I summed it up a bit since my last post, for a quick read.
I spent a lot of time either fixing or replacing bent or damaged parts. And I found most of my lost bolts and parts.

Below some of the mechanical parts replaced and fixed. Mostly on the drivetrain. Once the van was back on its wheels, it was time for the rear to be attended to. I am completely hooked on the Trayback camper idea and decided to build what would my tourer with a trayback /loadbay camper.
I bought this loadbay off an older hilux from a gentleman in East London. It once belonged to a furniture shop delivery vehicle. The loadbay floor covering removed . Tough joppie this. Oy… Loadbay temporary fitted onto Lux. Very wide. I grinded it down to 1800 x 1800 size. Just a bit longer than a normal loadbay with the rear open.

Time to get it to the spraypainters:
Met an extremely good craftsman with a passion for his work. This guy left no nothing to chance.

The van was completely stripped to the bare and cleaned up. It seems like the previous panelbeater worked in the dark on the van. It was in a rollover and the new roof was fitted skew. So we took it off again for a refit. Also had to replace the left a –pillar. The old one all plastered up. One surprise after the other when we really got down to the nitty - gritty With that we ensured that the shoddy work done on this vehicle was a thing of the past.

I did a lot of shopping. New spec lights, bonnet, fenders, fender flares and even a dashboard. The old one had a lot of scratches on it. And by luck while on an unplanned visit to a scrappie, a bonnet scoop. My lucky day. I spent hours trolling Gumtree and bought stuff from all over the country. Seriously, Pretoria, East London, Cape Town, George, Rustenburg, Put Sonder Water etc. Only one deal went sour. R1700 down the drain. Took that punch on the chin and moved on.

Nearly finished. Now for the loadbay;
Sides welded on. Decided on a matt black look. And for my Birthday, new steelies. I love these rims. Had a set on my previous bakkie. Happy happy to me. TADA!!!! Happy days Before After Everything works mechanically and I still managed to make it look like a Hilux. Objective 1 achieved.

Now for the second part , getting the camper finished. The design is completed and I am ready to build. I hope to have it completed by the end of Feb this year. Just sorting the moola issue.
Its been a tough journey this one, but an enjoyable one. Thankyou to all for the positive feedback during this build. Much appreciated.
Will keep you posted on progress of the camper build.

Dis nou netjies, flippen netjies, Jofre

Jy kan trots wees. Baie goeie werk!!!!!

Dankie baie Hennie en David. Dit was n geswoeg maar ons is daar. Groete

Well done Jofre!

That is one sturdy tray you have there. What are you going to put on the frame plain steel sheet or aluminium? Is the frame spray painted? What product did you use?

Plenty of space under the tray for additional fuel tanks or water tanks, or general storage. Those boxes I ended building myself would have cost nearly 30k to manufacture, excluding hinges, locks and paint...

How will you build the camper? Tube frame with sheeting fixed to it? Or sheet metal all around?

One more, I see you haven't fitted lights yet. I can recommend the LED trailer lights, just remember to replace your flasher unit to suit the LED indicators. I hope your wiring is not as messed up as mine was. Spent the better half of a Sunday trying to make heads and tails of the odd 20 or so different cables and was down to exactly 6 cables by the end of the day with everything working as it should...

Hi Gernot

Thanks. Its been fitted with 2mm alu 'vastrap"sheets. The frame was rustproofed and then primed and spray painted. Normal mattblack automotive paint. I am planning an alu tray later in the year for weight reduction , just want to finish the camper.

I am also doing my own thing on the boxes. I have a lot of aluminium sheets and tubing. Believe me just to get the material cut and welded up will cost a pretty penny. . I don't have a welder and alu weld is not my thing. So I am considering those connect its. No welding required.
The camper will be alu tubing with sheets fitted. And on top sleeping quarters. I have a rtt to be modified to fit the camper. A double cab doesn't give you a lot of room to work with on the back if your catering for 4 people. If I get it right, I will have the camper roof height , so no rooftop tent sticking out above the roof. Keep the weight down low.Ill post some pics once I start.

Thanks for the advice on the flasher unit, I couldn't figure out why my indicators were tick ticking so fast I fitted led trailer lights as you mentioned. Works the trick. Luckily I marked my wiring , not that it really worked, still ended up a mess I had to get a lecky to come and sort it out.

PS; Your bakkie looks the part Nice job that..