My Jimny Build thread, of course

This thread is long overdue I think!

As part of a general rebuild for an expedition combined with 3 or 4 essential "oh bugger thats broken" work she's had

Headgasket
Head skim
Valves reground + new stem seals + ports cleans + clearances reset
Cam belt
Alternator Belt
Alternator
power steering belt
Radiator
battery (more of a need than a want, it was an on the spot, halfords special)
auxiliary battery tray (JimnyBits)
auxiliary battery (Bosch S4 type 100)
T-max EW-6500 winch
customised ORA stealth winch plate, the winch and fairlead sit behind the grill/flush with the bumper, the numberplate hides it all from view.
25mm silicone welding cable and 200A isolating switches for the charge and winch power supplys via a terminal box.
New rear diff pinion oil seal and diff pinion bearings checked and reset
new front crank oil (aka oil pump) seal and oil pump cleaned and checked
Sump gasket redone.
road wheels powder coated + 5 new tyres
spare set of 4 genuine wheels with 4 new KL-71 mud tires (not remoulds) well balanced with sub 20g per wheel, smooth and stable at 80-90mph no problem.
all 12 radius arm suspension bushes (still have 4 to do actually)
Aluminium roof tray
Genuine Suzuki Chrome/stainless side bars with modified bracket and welded inserts (rather than the rawlplug type as standard) - the rails will now take the weight of the car should they need to, unlike the standard setup.
38mm suspension lift (I would have gone for more but stability and drive-ability are paramount)

I'm on the hunt for an ebay bargain gearbox which I'll be looking to recon and modify the 1st gear syncromesh.

still to do
Clutch to be changed (nothing wrong with it but I'm sure on 2 occasions trying to pull someone heavy of the mud it has slipped a lot more than I'd like in the low ratio box)

transfer box guard to be fabbed or bought if I can find at the right price

ORA HD transfer mounts purchased, not yet fitted as I need bushes

Sounding good, any photos ?. Where you going on the expedition ? Been involved with a few expedition vehicles in the past and always fancied doing it to a jimny.

I'm hoping to get to here late January 2016 to watch some Ice Racing and really to test the Jimny for a further run.

60º 9′ 21.039”N 9º 25′ 25.322”E

Following that maybe later in the year or the following year, or perhaps there and then if I can make time, I'll head another 1500km north to the arctic circle - about here?

66°38'16.65''N 15°23'15.31''E

Just to say, I've been to the Arctic Circle in my Jimny

The fuel costs alone will top over £700 (just for the first leg), I'm planning on shared driving and sleeping with a mate, then sharing a hotel room which will add another few hundred at least. It's going to smash the £1000 mark so it's not a cheap holiday, and it certainly won't be all that relaxing but I'm confident it will be epic fun.

The first leg is 15 hours from the ferry port at Rotterdam not allowing for fuel or comfort breaks (overnight ferry, so plus whatever it takes to get to Hull, not long for me)

The second legs is another 16 hours not allowing for fuel or comfort breaks

It's quite an epic journey for a Jimny, I'm planning for 20mpg and carrying as much fuel as I can safely (3x 20ltr cans?) - even at that, I'll be stopping quite frequently, currently I'm averaging about 24mpg in my jimny round town.

So long as the Jimny behaves, and we have a safe drive, worst case scenario, we get so far in, run out of time, turn around and come back, perhaps via a different area.

Anyone's more than welcome to tag along but it could get messy if people rock up in leaky unreliable vehicles, I wouldn't want to spoil anyone else's journey/adventure with my unreliable car so worth keeping that in mind and being responsible - It's not just a 1700/3000 mile round trip, it's tough conditions and very stressful on any vehicle.

Ohh... and I'll be taking the suspension lift off for the journey, I don't think it's needed, I'd rather have stability and economy (every little helps!)

Hi, try searching for Decalwizards build thread on this forum, might give you some ideas