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Beast on a budget

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4.8K views 19 replies 7 participants last post by  rick the tank  
R
#1 ·
hi fellas

i bought a navara D40 kingcab 2 months ago to use for building work and off roading. this was my first nissan, unfortunately the chassis was goosed so it's been bought back and scrapped by nissan. not the best start in the world to a new owner but it hasn't put me off, infact i went out the next day and bought a double cab which i have modified this last week.
now i know what "look" i want but don't plan on spending a ton money, with a little bit of ingenuity i reckon i can pull it off.
i started by lifting the body 2" using spacers i fabricated from studding nuts and penny washers, the rear tub was lifted 2 1/2" with some old fence posts and a conveyor belt roller :). whilst the tub was off i welded strengthening plates on the chassis, these were bought from ebay for £80. the chassis was also wax oiled and i plan on doing the inside of the chassis as well. i fitted a suspension lift kit which gave me 50mm on the rear and 35mm on the front again an ebay purchase for £99, i also fitted 25mm wheel spacers which were £70, i'd have liked to have gone wider but was worried about the stress placed on bearings and studs so went for the safest option and although an inch doesnt sound much it did make a big difference :)
i wanted to fit a steel bumper to mount a winch but the cheapest i could find was £600 so i got the mig out and made my own from an old piece of steel channel we'd used for concreting and a bit of RSJ. it sounds like **** but it looks quite good and is 10mm thick (weighs a ton). you'd have to hit something very hard to make a dent in it :)
next week i'll fit the winch £125 off ebay and if it arrives from china the double din touchscreen stereo with reversing camera £64.
i'll put some pics up for your amusement as things take shape.

rick
 

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#2 ·
How stable are those lift spacers? Was it straight forward to lift. Really want to lift mine so I can fit bigger tyres. Like you budget is a key word, But I lack the skills to actually make my own stuff. Is there a concern that lifts put extra strain on the bolts?
 
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R
#3 ·
the lift was very easy and straight forward, the bolts are easily found on the outside of the chassis. i undid all the bolts but did not remove them completely as i was worried about lining it all back up again. i removed one side at a time and put a jack under the side step and jacked up the cab until i had the 2" gap to slide the spacers in. once the bolts were in finger tight i did the same thing on the other side. however i did hit one problem and that was the radiator fan cowl was catching the tip of the fan blades because the rad and cowl is attached to the body but the engine is not. so i removed the lower part of the cowl which was as easy as undoing two screws then cut an inch out of it and refitted it.
the hardest part was finding the right threaded bolts. nissan used a metric fine thread which is quite unusual, you need 8 M12 X 1.25 for the cab and 4 M10 X 1.25 for the tub so get the bolts before you do the lift. i ended up buying two lengths of metric bar and cut it down to size.
that's all there is to it, very easy job to do on the drive. the only downside is the gearstick is now 2" shorter and hits the console when selecting reverse, it only just touches and the gear can be selected but it's annoying and will need sorting.
 
#4 ·
not to be judgemental but those mods look and sound very dangerous, the penny washers bit scares the **** out of me and i for one hope not to be sat in your car when it has an accident out of curiosity what bolts did you use?

have you considered what that great lump of weight up front will do to the handling and braking of your Pick up these things are nose heavy at best have you recalibrated the rear load control valve to compensate for when you have to panic brake?

As i say not being judgemental but there is saving Money and there is well there is what you have done theres more to life than Money
 
R
#5 ·
judge away i don't mind.
i used a mild steel threaded bar for the bolts

i can't see the weight on the front being a huge issue to handling as it's a pick up and as such is made to be able support the extra weight, although the thought of bigger coil springs instead of spacers to lift the front would be preferable.

i hadn't considered the load valve as i don't think the weight would make any difference to it's operation. it's purpose is to prevent the rear wheels locking up under weight transfer when braking if the rear is unloaded. can't see how a heavier front end would do that.

the proof of the pudding is in the eating, if it's bad i will have rectify it but it can't be worse than a defender and i have driven plenty of those in my time.
 
#6 ·
body mount bolts should have some amount of hardening so mild steel is not really the material to use, it will stretch until its elasticity limits have been breached and then it will snap, I would also consider the effect you homebrew bumper will have on you and yours not to mention the other party if you have a front end shunt, particularly with regards insurance and lack of crumple zones, dont get me wrong am all for modding and have done plenty but I do prefer the mods to have some Engineering thought behind them, as you say time will tel;l but mild steel corrodes at an alraming rate when exposed to salt water which wet winter roads have a lot of
 
R
#8 ·
didn't think of corrosion to be honest, i might order some tensile bolts for instead.

i had put some thought to the bumper construction and it's effect on any pedestrians i might hit, in particular kids. i chose not to have a bull bar welded on top as this would strike the head of a child which is why i left it off. also the top couple of inches of plastic bumper and everything above that is standard and although not anywhere near as safe as a stock bumper but in my opinion more pedestrian friendly than most i see advertised on the net.

i'm at the yard tomorrow working on it and will get some pics of the bumper put up when i get back.

i am also a fully qualified vehicle inspector or at least i was many moons ago and as such have some understanding of loadings and other factors involved.

anyway see what you think when i get some pics up, i have some crane scales so will weight the bumper when it's off, the winch will be coming next week and that will add another 41kg so things could get exciting
 
#9 ·
Hi mate, would also recommend beefing up your body lift a bit, you would be surprised on the weight and force when braking hard from speed these may come under.


Do you have a link to the chassis re-enforcements you bought?
 
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#10 ·
Hi rick. Im with you on 'modding on a budget' as i also want a big beefy looking truck. I am a fan of the work so far, but i have to agree with the others that the body lift isnt up to scratch.

Proper body lift spacers are bigger and a wider diameter for a reason, the spacers are alot more sturdy and the weight of the cab is spread out over a larger surface, resulting in less over all weight (per sq cm/inch)

Also, if you have tall skinny spacers vs. Tall fat spacers, imagine when your breaking all the weight of the cab is pushing forward. It is more likley to bend or even snap.

A good example to explain what i mean:
Its eaiser to snap a 5mm diameter pencil, then a 50mm diameter tree trunk.

Im honestly not trying to rip your work, id just like to offer an opinion with somthing to back it up.

Its all about safety man!!

Keep up the work! Will be watching this thread!
Dave
 
R
#11 ·
feel free to raise any points you want to, after all it's a forum and forums are made for discussion.

mark if you go on ebay and type navara chassis plates you'll see the plates i used. i went for the 6 piece kit.

with hindsight i would have used a factory cab lift kit but it was an impulse decision while the tub was off for plating and sealing and i needed it then and there. the funny thing is the studding nuts and threaded bar cost me £66 so no saving over the factory ones, you live and learn.
 
R
#14 ·
i think it was rich that i bought them from on ebay

did a bit more on the truck today. lifted the rear bumper, fitted reversing camera, finished putting the front lift spacers on (right pain in the **** because the captivated studs came loose and started turning, luckily i have a gas axe and got it hot enough to undo) also fitted the light bar over the windscreen. tomorrow the spark will fit the stereo head unit and connect the lights.
it's looking good, just need some 35" tyres to finish it off :)
 
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