1996 Vitara Fatboy Minitruck - Saved from the blade

Seen this round Leeds, didn't realise it was yours, I had a purple Vit a few years ago, good fun.

Looks great!

Yeah i'm on OG Minitruckin, some awesome stuff on there.

I had loads of carpet left over from the sub box so i've done the front footwells. Couple of curse word ups but i'm pleased for my first attempt. I used a layer of bubblewrap type stuff on the floor, then ran all the wiring over then a layer of Renault Clio foam, then the carpet. It's very comfy.





And that's it. On Monday I ship out to Germany for 3-4 months and the car is staying in the garage so gonna be a quiet summer.

It's outside where I live. It's sold hopefully so won't be there for much longer, onwards and upwards.

Long time no update. Last post I made I mentioned it was sold. However it was ebay "sold", which as we all know means absolutely nothing so I still had it.

First I added more speakers and a amp because it wasn't loud enough









After getting back from Germany I started working on my mates Christmas Tree Farm. Was a amazing place for photos.

























The off road driving really took its toll on the car and unfortunately it sustained some damage when it slid down a banking whilst park due to the ground been saturated.







And then to top it off, came out one morning and found the car like this. Hit and run, no details left.











It was at this point I decided to sell the car so I boshed it on ebay and got messed around. However I knew what car had crashed into me from the debris left at the scene, and by chance spotted a matching car a few streets away a month later. Left a note on the windscreen and Ta Da!! Got a text of him admitting it was him. After a bit of standard insurance faffing I got paid out. The car was written off but I bought it back as salvage so now it's onto round 2. The car is never going to be nicely finished. Plan is B road hooner.

First call - suspension. The car as it was rode on the bump stops all round. It really was the most horrific car to drive. This needed to be remedied so in time honoured fashion I made the suspension out of scrap so it now has adapted ride height adjustable coilovers off a Corsa, Honda CRX coilover springs on the rear and Mustang 2 or Camaro shocks. Cost - the grand total of £15.

















And then I dragged/hammered/beat the damage into something like the right shape. It's very Bernie and Leepu but at least the lights fit.



















And thats it for now, hopefully more exciting updates will be coming thick and fast after the weekend when I pick the donor car up.

Hahaha!
Bernie and Leepu.
Green green, I pink up thee phoone and say yellow!

Make it LOW!

Cheers from Finland.

Hurrah, I love this.

Oh. Bumhats.

Hurrah again. Glad to see it back, love this little truck.

When I heard you were selling, I was like

Then I was like

Then I was like

Then I was like

Hooked

Fair play on the commitment to keeping something on the road. Assume no issues with reinsuring post remodelling?

I was looking for a donor car and by chance JamesP of banded wheels fame mentioned he had a suitable vehicle for sale. With the Essex swapmeet coming up a cunning plan was hatched with KFW, which as usual went completely tits up. Therefore at 4am last Saturday morning a Iveco recovery truck that had only just passed it's MOT rumbled (because the exhaust had snapped off at the downpipe - manifold joint) into the village carrying a E36 Touring full of tat. My tat was quickly chucked in and we were on our way to Essex. In a 2.5 non-turbo Iveco with a exhaust louder than a jet fighter, which did 60mph flat out this was a bit of a epic journey and we eventually arrrived about 8.30am ish.



Arriving at Essex we removed the BMW from the truck, drove into the swapmeet in that and had a good day buying and selling. That done, we got as much tat into the BMW as possible, loaded the rest on the truck, had a quick Chavvy D's then bid farewell and KFW set off up the road to Wales. I on the other hand hit the M25 with the pace of a 3 legged crackhead horse, aiming for the West Side, exactly opposite where I was. Despite the traffic been a bit shizz I made decent time. Got to Jamesy's, loaded up and off into the night I went. And then the alternator light came on. Having about 6 hours driving to go I called KFW and huzzah - he was in Luton services having a nap. Pulled in there, laughed at the wiring and wiggled some things and the light went off. Off we go again with KFW tailing me and all was good, so bid another farewell at Watford Gap and off we went again. Managed a sneaky pic of the donor car though



And some (a lot) of time later outside the house ruining the property values.



So - it's a early import spec MX5. Basic plan is to lob the engine and box in the Vitara then add a turbo. Always worth a cheeky measure to see how the MX5 suspension would fit though isn't it, especially the rear end. Anyway as of today donor looks like this.



More updates as I go.