Safari Snorkel goes on!
I got a call from my good buddy Doron Strassman. He told me a story about his recent wheeling trips around the Parker and Bill Williams River areas here in AZ. While crossing the Williams with his family, Doron became very concerned as the water rose to the top of his hood. They weren't under long, though long enough for Doron to check the engine out after the crossing. He discovered his air cleaner box was FULL of water!
A few more seconds under and Doron's V8 could of been toast. He freaked. I freaked when I heard this. Knowing we both were planning on running trails for years we figured being safe is better than sorry. I ordered mine ASAP.
Install was pretty tame other than cutting into the vehicle's fender.
The toughest part was deciding what to do about the factory antenna that had to be removed as you can't have it AND the snorkel. We looked around at various vehicles and decided on a OEM antenna from a Dodge truck.
Yes, my Land Cruiser is not 100% "made in Japan" any longer.
The Dodge install went well and is very strong to date.
Here's some completed pics of the install. Speaking of antennas, that's a Firestick mounted to my ARB bumper (new hole drilled into bumper) for my CB radio.
More details can be found at:
http://shottscruisers.smugmug.com/ga...58323#44067441
Conclusion:
Pros:
1. Makes for a water tight seal protecting the motor from hydrolock
2. With the air intake being farther from the ground the motor sucks cleaner air
3. Some say you get horsepower gains due to the ram-air effect. I doubt this is the case.
Cons:
1. Ugly (in my opinion)
2. Not reversable/removable without huge expense (new fender and paint job)
3. The endless looks and questions from spectators and other drivers.
"What's that"
"Is that your exhaust?
"Is that for water"
"Why do you have that in Arizona?
We already know what's next! Doron has been measuring, calculating, and thinking about the front end of the UZJ. Doron's a missile designer. He's a lot smarter than me as I'm just a:
He's gonna do it first and see how it goes. I gotta wait. For what you ask? The next update will tell the tale but for now, here's a clue:
