Boris - LS VX Sahara build (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Dec 12, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
158
Location
Blue Mountains, Sydney
G'day all. Been lurking here for years and figure now is an exciting enough time for Boris to get a thread! Lot's going on but all happening slowly, another car build has taken priority to be finished by Christmas as a gift for the old man, but little bits of this build are still happening every weekend.

Started out life as a 95 HZJ80 DX, base model with bugger all kit, barn doors and an ever reliable 1HZ w. turbo, the Aussie poverty pack 80. Had the plate 80SRIS which turned into Boris. I was happy without electronics to go wrong, I didn't actually need AC in 45c weather really, there was nothing wrong with a slow, torquey diesel, and going from these photos one headlight was more than enough for me.

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Fast forward a few years and I think I'm getting older. I miss power windows, I miss AC, I miss central locking and I want an auto. Boris is a good car, but I get bored with things that work perfectly well. After the handbrake decided to take a break and waking up to a cruiser parked in a retaining wall I found a donor shell with straight panels. Turns out it was a Sahara with all the sunroof and rear AC goodies I could want, so I brought the whole thing home for about the same price as some folk are asking for a set of doors, cheering on that one. It was missing most of the interior but it looks cool, and that's good enough for me. I love American stuff, so towing it home with a 6BT powered F150 was a treat, not much like that getting about over here. Quick wash and it's in bloody good shape save a hit to the rear lower tailgate. Also has a factory white grille. Never seen one before, can't find pictures of one anywhere, if anyone knows anything about em please do share.

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Thank you for sharing, looking forward to seeing where this build goes.
 
Body swapping is reasonably easy, if you've got a crane handy. Slap together a frame and lift everything off, nothing to it. Was a good opportunity to give the chassis a refresh and some new body mounts as well, the original mounts had done their time it looks like.

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A quick ride in this thing convinced me on the LS swap. 45 cab on a worked 80 chassis with a 6.0L LS, good fun.

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I know it's blasphemy to swap a diesel for a petrol, but it does mean there'll be a complete 1HZ manual conversion kit for sale on here soon enough that someone will enjoy. I drive the 80 a few days a month and work from home, so I figure with all the fuel I'm saving I'll need a big enough motor to make up for that come the weekend.

Not too much has happened since the swap, mostly just cleaning it out and checking what needs to be fixed/replaced/swapped. Interior is all insulated, waiting on a fresh vinyl floor to arrive, gotta have a little bit of the DX stuff stay with it. Will post more as it comes, I'll be sure to be asking many questions of you all as this build progresses!

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Here's that white grille. I'm not a huge fan, but I've also never seen another one. Paint is perfect finish inside and out, definitely factory. Anyone seen one of these before? LS is only a single cam, so grille has to go...

With the black quads and frames it looks even worse in person. It'll be getting the single piece lights, but I've got some trick lighting solutions going in the next few days. The quads surrounds aren't in amazing condition and need a paint, but if anyone wants a set cheap, they'll be for sale here soon. It still has the headlight washer setup, but the nozzles were taken with the headlights when it was stripped. Will have to source a set so that I can never use them while I brag about having a Sahaaara.

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Dodgy photo from mid process, but the floor insulation is all down, ~70kg of the stuff. Hopefully it helps with the noise and heat. Luckily it still had all of the trim panels to suit the rear AC. Rear ac fan and controls work, but PO took all of the AC lines from under the cab, and the climate control switch in the dash. Has a 3 button auto antenna switch, will figure out something cool to use that for eventually, winches all come with remotes now anyway.

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Looks awesome and I love the fodge!!!!!
 

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