[russmuss]

Hey guys,
thought i might finally put up my ute i have had it since april 2010 after selling my shorty

Its a 2000 st gu ute coil cab
it came with some good mods
-dual batterys
-full 4in tjm lift kit
-33 coopers
-canvas canopy over lockable steel cage
-3' exhuast and some other stuff
-arb bull bar

since i bought it i have started decking it out with
-uniden uhf
-pryo gauge
-sarfai snorkel
-sliders
-rear lower arms
-coil brace (superior eng. bolt on)
-water tank
-hot water exchanger
-tigerz winch 12000
-air lockers front & rear
-35's mtz
-superior eng. steering arm

and many more too come the idea of this car is my daily driver but still able too tackle hard track & touring

 

[EagleBay]

Nice ute! Lucky to fine one with those mods already done

 

[pmturnbull]

nice truck

 

[russmuss]

how its sitting now

 

[russmuss]

the first mod i made was in the way of rock sliders due to sill damage on my first outing
i used 50mb 4.5mm thick & 4 90 degree bends

8mm x 75mm flat for all mounting brackets & some bracing

holding into place to weld up the b

All weld up & painted

ready to bolt on

 

[russmuss]

second mod i made was in the way of a water tank brought it from tjm & made up a frame too suit.
53LT poly tank

frame all welded up & painted ready to bolt under the tray

water pump mounted behide the tap panel

all bolted up

fitted some wirng plugs & switch for the led lights in the canopy

thought i better sort the rear coil brackets while the tray was off as we all know how prone they are to cracking out

overall i was very happy with the finshed result having water on tap pressure when ever i needed & taking up no storage space, more room for beers

 

[STUMPY/GU]

The utes looking real good russmuss.
Cheers.

 

[russmuss]

next mod on the listed was some rear arms so i set up a jig using a set of old arms to get the right postion
steel rod 38mm solid

i chopped off the old ends and cleaned them up and machined the ends down to 33mm on the rod

all welded & ready to paint

all painted & ready too fit just needed some new bushes

been fitted for over 6months and took some hard hits with no movement or bending

more build pics too come

 

[EagleBay]

some nice mods you have built your self, any pics with the sliders mounted on the vehicle?

 

[russmuss]

second post you can see them mounted, i have done a few more mods just trying to find photos atm

 

[hackisack]

38mm solid tube!! shouldn't worry bout them bending.

 

[russmuss]

I recently fitted a hot water exchange unit a mate made for me its just plumbed in from the heater outlet. the water inlet comes from either my tank or with a turn of a valve, suck it in from a fitting next too my tap (grey colour), the water then comes out the other fitting (brass) which i just drop into a bucket. With in 5-10minutes you have a 15-20l bucket full of hot water (keeps the girlfriend happy)

 

[russmuss]

couple of pics of the canopy setup tell me what yous think??

steel lockable cage under canvas

inside cage

the best thing is its only held on with 10 bolts so easy to fit or remove, nice and light two men lift.

 

[STUMPY/GU]

Your hot water setup is pretty good russmuss & the canopy setup is real secure.
Very neat indeed, nice work.
Cheers.

 

[russmuss]

thanks buddy it works really


well before selling my shorty i pulled out the front arb locker & fitted too the ute along with a new arb high output comprssor. it kept me happy for a few months until i got feed up with the lsd & forked over some hard savings for a rear tjm locker,

i must say i forgot how much difference it makes with a rear locker, i went all tjm switches so it would fit in such i tight spot. the arb compressor is a great thing very happy with it over there old one

 

[Smokescreen]

Great build mate i wish i had half your know how i could have saved a fortune on my old clunker.

 

[jrad]

i want it!
very nice rig. well set up

 

[gqredute]

hey what was wrong with your rear lsd to end up putting a locker in , might be a silly question with a air locker intalled is the diff centre just like an open wheeler(when its not turned on) therefore most offroad driving you would want the locker in . i was thinking of putting a front air locker in along with diff gears and just shimming up the rear lsd to make it tighter . let me know what you think

 

[russmuss]

hey guys thanks im pretty happy with how it is coming along

gqredute to be completely honesty the lsd worked very well and with the front locker it went almost all places i wanted but coming from an air locked rear back to a lsd i was finding it not what i wanted. for example on big rutted climbs or creek beds when it would run out of travel the lsd would start going one. Yes you are spot one mate it is an open diff with the locker off you ll be surpised how far you can go with a open rear but when i need it i know it s always going to spin two. If i had never had a locked rear before i would still have a lsd it just me being spoilt i guess

 

[gqredute]

thanks for that i think ill just run a front locker and diff gears for now i can always put a rear in down the track .
nice job with the canopy im a fan of the lockable cage