Aussie 4th Gen Micro-Tourer Build

So the Micro-tourer build has finally begun!

After a painful 8 month wait for the car direct from the Land of the Rising Sun, the car is finally on Aussie soil. Turns out I got lucky, as most who put the $1000 deposit down for the new JB74 Jimny are waiting longer than 12 months. A close mate of mine who picked up his piece of Japanese SWB perfection on the same day as me has had to wait an eye watering 15 months for delivery.

So far the list of goodies includes:

Ironman Bullbar
When it comes to bars, I'm usually an ARB man. But the Ironman bar is the lightest of the hooped bars and wait time for the ARB (2 to 3 months to manufacture) was too long for me. Plus the Ironman was significantly cheaper, has a better approach angle and as for safety? Well I hope I don't have to find out. Another reason is I'm trying to steer clear of ARB products for this build. As much as I like their products, I have been severely burned more than once by their less than satisfactory customer service locally.

Maxxis MT762 [235/75r15] on Dynamic Sunraysia steelies [15x7]

TJM airtec snorkel (just in time for the hectic wet season we get here)

Ironman rated recovery points

Currently waiting on Tough Dog 60mm lift. This was supposed to be the first modification to the car, but due to delivery delays in my part of the world, its looking like it's going to be the last mod lol.

Next major mod besides the suspension will be the 80L long range replacement tank by a company by the name of "The Long Ranger"

Oh and no doubt the fishing rod holders will be a topic of discussion. Just to clarify. These are legal in the Northern Territory when in use but technically should be removed when not in use.



Magnetic Termite Mounds along the Reynolds River Track. These are unique to the Darwin Region of the Top End and make for a surreal sight.



TJM airtec snorkel fitted along with recovery points.

Hello and welcome, a good start with your Jimny. Do you have any plans for inside as in storage/micro camper?

Welcome to the forum!

You've got a cracking little vehicle there, very impressive. Looking forward to some more pictures of your scenic adventures down under

Currently the TJM snorkel is the only 'readily available' snorkel kit in the UK to my knowledge. It'd be great if you could share a few more photo's of it's interface with the standard intake etc? Maybe a long-term review once you've been able to test it in anger!

Welcome to the forum. That's cool, perfect for a good night under the stars!

I like the idea of a long range tank but the company you mentioned don't have the Jimny listed on their web site. Do you have more info. please.

Roger

It hasn't been released just yet. If you go to their facebook page, they have been posting progress pictures and have now finalised the design. Will be available for purchase soon. They tell me $1200aud fitted. The kit includes an exhaust reroute.

An inside source also tells me Ironman 4x4 are also about to release a long range tank.

Well, A strange turn of events almost put a sudden end to the Suzuki adventure...
On Friday morning the Suzuki was stolen. Yes, that's right, My brand new 2 month old vehicle was stolen as I slept.

I awoke Friday morning to find my house torn apart, every cupboard, draw and dresser opened and emptied. I assumed our cars were safe as I keep my car keys hidden in the draw besides my bed as I am rather paranoid about break-ins (a very common occurrence in the Northern Territory of Australia, we're averaging one every few months at this rate). Surely no one is ballsy enough to try and attempt to steal keys next to their sleeping owner. But lo and behold, I walk outside and my heart sank, the Jimny was gone.

I think I uttered every expletive known to man in under 10 seconds. As Every Territorian knows, once your car has been stolen it's almost guaranteed you are not getting it back. 99.9% of stolen vehicles in the NT are thrashed out to to some remote indigenous community and burnt out within a few hours of being stolen. A sad but very common reality of life here in the NT.
"But not to worry, I have insurance", I uttered to myself. And then I remembered the long waiting list on the new Jimny, I'd theoretically be waiting well over a year to see a replacement vehicle. And then I also remembered the countless hours I've spent over the last couple months waiting for and working on parts/accessories which just fueled my anger (time and money I would never see again).

I immediately called the cops and started posting in every local FB group I knew of. The FB posts almost went viral locally. I suppose social media is good for something because within an hour of posting, a few users had found the Jimny held up in some housing commission complex parking lot (of course lol). The police arrived at my place quite readily and assured me the vehicle appeared undamaged cosmetically and that I could pick it up once forensics was done with it. I was in disbelief, I was almost certain I would never be seeing that car again.

We're not sure how the thief/s managed to get inside the house as most houses in Darwin are mini Fort Knoxs (6 foot high fences, CCTV, the lot). Forensics figured out the thief was most likely skinny enough to squeeze through the dog door.

Ah well, a surprisingly happy ending this time. I hope they didn't thrash the engine too hard (I'm still running it in after all lol).

Sad what world has become.
Good luck.

Sent from my SM-A505F using Tapatalk

Fortunately the quality of engine building - especially cylinder bore honeing - is far superior to what it was just a few years and computer controlled engines have a rev limiter so engine damage is unlikely.

I agree though that the greed of certain sub human specimens knows no barriers.

Bring back flogging.

Roger

My last spare Jimny was nicked in broad daylight when only my old dad was in the buildings at the time. That turned up months later. I'm only glad they didn't knock him over to get it. I guess that's what matters is that they found the keys before they decided to inflict pain and violence on you and yours as you slept.

I am glad you got it back, at least it shows that the unique shape and rarity of the car makes it very difficult to hide..

I enjoy looking at what you are doing from uk Keep posting now thankfully you have it back.