Green Laning Jimny from The Netherlands

Hello everyone,

Registered here because I’ve bought a Jimny as a hobby project and would like to share the progress in a topic, and hopefully will get some tips and pointers along the way.

I am from The Netherlands, and live in the top north with my girl and daughter.

I’ve bought my Jimny as a hobby car to tinker with and it wil mostly be used for green laning (which in The Netherlands is basically flat laning) with my family and the occasional weekend trip to Fürsten Forrest in Germany etc.

The Jimny is from 1999 and is basically standard with the optional rust package (front headlights, fenders and floor). I’ve bought it with 190.000km’s on it (118.000mi), I wont be adding al lot of additional miles to it I guess.

The day of purchase:



A few days after I’ve installed a Twingo sunroof:









And made a start at the steel front bumper (first welding project):







Also painted the plastic pieces and bonnet with bedliner:








And took it for a spin (which is awesome on sunny days with the sunroof open!):

Made some progress on the front bumper:








The bumper will be fitted with a Ledbar and coated with black bedliner. Hopefully i can finish it next week.

A JIMNY WELCOME FROM N/WALES, UK .

Welcome to the forum. Absolutely love the roof, how have you managed to seal it against the corrugated section of the roof panel?

Thanks for the welcome.

I’ve sealed the roof with an expanding sealant which comes on a roll, we use it in The Netherlands to seal windows in houses (don’t know the English terminology). The rest of the roof is sealed with a flexible car sealant, should be over redundant because these Webasto sunroofs come with build in rubber seals.

I love to drive with the big roof open, gives a convertible feel to the car but keeps the hardtop look.

Only costs €80,- for the second hand Renault Twingo roof

Welcome and what a cool looking Jim that is! Love the roof idea.

Was a bit unsure about your bumper design but now you posted some more pictures I'm more convinced!! Very cool.

Hello and welcome.

Nice sunroof, best of both worlds

Nice design on the bumper is it your own idea or copied something you'd seen? Nice and simple though with over complicating it.

When the Coronavirus pandemic is under control - Come to England on holiday with your Jimny and try a few green lanes at a higher altitude than you will find in The Netherlands. We could also benefit from you spending your cash in the UK, as the economy needs an injection of foreign investment! You could have a lot of fun - especially in the North of England or Wales. Scotland is a bit dull as they don't have Green Lanes as such - so going off the tarmac is a bit problematic.

There were always a good number of Dutch Suzukis that would drive over to Suzuki's Rhino Rallies.
Beefy bumper. Looks like some Chinese ones... Only stronger.
As for the roof, I hope some members here copy the idea. I would, if I didn't have a "Jimny" logoed roof rack.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

The bumper design is my own but inspired on the raptor style Chinese made winch bumpers, most of my stuff I make and design along the way. I’ve made it from scraps of metal from my friends workshop. Indeed it’s nice and simple, but the main reason for that is it’s my very first welding project
It is very sturdy but it also adds a lot of extra weight (I will weigh it but 50kg is my first guess), so I’m looking on ways te reduce the weight elsewhere. I’m thinking of replacing the complete tailgate by a Pronet and making some tube doors. I really like the “open to the elements feeling” in a bikini top Samurai, so by doing these mods to my Jimny I’m hoping to get the same experience.

I’d love to come to the north of UK and Scotland, it is on my destination list since some time. Also Norway and Sweden are place I would like to visit with a 4WD.
I’m a recent dad so maybe in a few years it will be possible.

Thanks for the Rhino Rally tip, I’ll look into that.

Installation of the sunroof is very simple and basic, just make sure you buy a sunroof with a piece of the old Twingo roof attached, in this way you have the perfect tool to trace a copy on your roof.

Like this:





Here you can see the inside mounting system before finishing:

JimnyNL wrote:
The bumper design is my own but inspired on the raptor style Chinese made winch bumpers, most of my stuff I make and design along the way.

I did think it was similar looking to mine... same outward facing bits...