Builds VDJ76L-RKMNYV - Cleopatra (1 Viewer)

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What you guys do to mount your spare 35" ... ?

Check it last weekend and between 2.5" - 3" was needed to clear the door and bumper .. my rear door will not be happy for sure with the extra weight and extra leverage ..
 
Cheers Tap
The price , for a South African , is a bit " Bend over" ish, but they were kind enough to provide dimentions.
Watch this space.

Strange how such a big vehicle (in 76 guise) does not have a lot of storage room.

G
 
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What you guys do to mount your spare 35" ... ?

Check it last weekend and between 2.5" - 3" was needed to clear the door and bumper .. my rear door will not be happy for sure with the extra weight and extra leverage ..

Instal a rear Kaymar bumper , I can still get my hands on a few that where intended for HZJ76 with dual swing outs , I can ship it to you direct from Europe.
 
You can try flipping the tire carrier over, it works for a 33” but I kind of doubt it works for a 35”.

I have a spacer from an FJ Cruiser that will work but that moves the leverage out.

Cheers
 
You can try flipping the tire carrier over, it works for a 33” but I kind of doubt it works for a 35”.

I have a spacer from an FJ Cruiser that will work but that moves the leverage out.

Cheers

will check that flip option as " temp " solution

The spacers route .. mmm not sure .. I have the spacers and didn't make me happy ..
 
Instal a rear Kaymar bumper , I can still get my hands on a few that where intended for HZJ76 with dual swing outs , I can ship it to you direct from Europe.

Let's chat !
 
Hello,

It is better to have that wheel lip machined.

Regarding the spare tire, flipping the carrier is an option. The inner structure on the rear door is sturdier than it looks. However, it is better to get a Kaymar rear bumper, complete with tire carrier.





Juan
 
Well overdue upgrade ( well upgrade in my books )

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I can confirm that our guess / investigation ( yours ? ) @cruiseroutfit was correct, new spindle was required in order to upgrade .. stock spindle it's too short ..

Swap it's pretty much straight forward .. open, replace spindle, and assemble it all again. I use the trail-gear nut-lock washer setup instead of the factory star washer setup. Adjutst it to 28lb-in.

I did this as a peace of mind project since I don't trust in the auto hubs and in the hope to clear my new tire/wheel combo ..

:cool:

With the right hubs and spindles I didn’t have much hesitation shipping them to Panama knowing they would fit. Still I always appreciate hearing when things go as planned :D

There is ongoing debate on the stud orientation. If putting the long thread into the wheel hub will help clear the wheels, do it. Otherwise I’d get the wheel openings machined.
 
There is ongoing debate on the stud orientation. If putting the long thread into the wheel hub will help clear the wheels, do it. Otherwise I’d get the wheel openings machined.

It would not .. still will hit the nuts ..

About the stud orientation, there is enough " deep " on the hub usually to put the longer thread in ..?

It is better to have that wheel lip machined.

That's what I'm gonna do .. thanks for the input.

Regarding the spare tire, flipping the carrier is an option. The inner structure on the rear door is sturdier than it looks. However, it is better to get a Kaymar rear bumper, complete with tire carrier.

Looks like rear bumper it's the way to go ..
 
Time has gone between long office hours and life ..

I got the Superior Engineering 4" lift kit and my first advice to you it's " be very careful which what you get " or might end like this ..

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With SE Australia ( I got to deal with Mitchell Dillon which it's I guess the only one in charge to deal with international orders .? ) the process it's slow .. almost like they are doing a favor selling you their stuff ... or at least this it's how I feel it ..

They answer the phone, but slow for everything else .. Mitchell said, 4" lift kit .. no problem I we got ya .. and !

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hot rod style ! ( nothing I can hate more than sting bug style ) despite thousand times I ask for a leveled kit for a 76 with nothing out of the stock in the rear ..
 
Your only choices right are to pull some leaves or add some weight to the rear. That or use a different spring in the back. Looks like maybe you got an extended shackle in back so you could swap that out too.

Cruiser suspension can be a real pita to get just right but I am sure you know this well.

Cheers
 
Long story short .. they send me a 300 kg spring pack set ( got a Dobinson Sticker on it .. but it's not listed on their site ) which was a 8 leaves spring pack .. crazy. Call them Sunday night ( morning for them ) and Mitchell said, fresh, remove 4th leave.

I got to admit I'm used to the spectacular customer service I usually get in USA - OffRoad world .. maybe I'm used to deal with awesome folks around this forum / community and outside here it's not so good .?

I promise a short story. End with a rear OME med that give me a more leveled stance which it's my target ..

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Other components of the kit are great like control arms ( super flex ), extended shackles, lower plate for U bolts etc ..

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not yet try flex on it .. but well see how it goes when the rear bar arrive and I had the chance to put the 100 pound ( or more ) spare tire plus jerry cans ..
 
Long story short .. they send me a 300 kg spring pack set ( got a Dobinson Sticker on it .. but it's not listed on their site ) which was a 8 leaves spring pack .. crazy. Call them Sunday night ( morning for them ) and Mitchell said, fresh, remove 4th leave.

I got to admit I'm used to the spectacular customer service I usually get in USA - OffRoad world .. maybe I'm used to deal with awesome folks around this forum / community and outside here it's not so good .?

I promise a short story. End with a rear OME med that give me a more leveled stance which it's my target ..

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Looks really sexy there!! Man you got the best color hands down, I really like it!

It’s a real beauty man, enjoying your build so far.

Cheers
 
congrats on the 76!

I also stay away from FB. How have you found LCOOL? I imagine that would be the best for VDJ7* info. I used to be there most of the time, but the 70 series forum of what used to be mostly HZ and HDers got overrun with VDers, so it is no longer that useful to me. it also lost many people to FB.

Little help here .. I'm looking to do electrical add on as clean as possible and what I have in mind it's something like this no more fuses here and relays everywhere ..
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appreciate your thoughts about this ..
I use these (the 5 and 10 relay types) and a few of the different littlefuse boxes and think they are a great system, practically the best if you like wiring it yourself. For even greater space savings you see those relay-less box and 'one-wire' fancy multi-button displays things now becoming popular, but I still prefer building my own system with switches in different places i can feel in the dark without looking.

I got to admit I'm used to the spectacular customer service I usually get in USA - OffRoad world .. maybe I'm used to deal with awesome folks around this forum / community and outside here it's not so good .?
one thing to bear in mind when dealing with oz from our part of the world, be very conscious of the time you send your emails. try to aim for around 9-10 am their time (6-7 pm our time), otherwise your email gets overtaken at the top of the list overnight and may be never read in busy inboxes. The time difference is an issue, but yes, in general, aussies really aren't big on customer service compared to the USofA... very laid back is another way of saying it. :)
 
Awesome 76!

On your flex, the coil 70 series are notorious for bad flex in the front. Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done about it. We tend to find that even some of the old leaf sprung trucks have better flex.

Sorry to hear about your problems with superior engineering, they aren't really known for great customer service. However, i wouldn't say that is the case with all aus companies.
 
Initial very lame flex ..

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I think the best way to improve flex is to remove Sway bards/fabricate sway bar disconnects. Not the safest for city/highway driving but can be compensated with good 2.5" adjustable shocks (King, Fox)

Use parabolics rear leaf springs and make sure that all shocks have enough down travel (could be a limiting factor)
 
I think the best way to improve flex is to remove Sway bards/fabricate sway bar disconnects. Not the safest for city/highway driving but can be compensated with good 2.5" adjustable shocks (King, Fox)

Marilu has no sway bars and I learn how to drive her everywhere .. so maybe the front sway bar ( the only Cleo have ) would not last long .. I have " adjustable " Superior Shocks in the middle setting in front and the softest setting in the rear ( still hard rock the rear suspension compared to Marilu suspension )

Use parabolics rear leaf springs and make sure that all shocks have enough down travel (could be a limiting factor)

I was sold on parabolics .. but the only option was in Perth and was a challenge to make them ship to me was about to cost me nearly 2K for a set ..

Shocks are superior 4" so far they seems to have enough travel for the poor flex of the 76 .. and one of the factors for Superior " kit " were the shocks .. since OME only have pretty short ones for 2" lifts ..

Never were able to source the FOX part number, and Fox USA were no help on that .. Kings was an option but about 6K only in shocks ..
congrats on the 76!

thanks !

I also stay away from FB.

FB groups are more sales adds than anything else .. these days

How have you found LCOOL? I imagine that would be the best for VDJ7* info. I used to be there most of the time, but the 70 series forum of what used to be mostly HZ and HDers got overrun with VDers, so it is no longer that useful to me. it also lost many people to FB.

LCOOL have a bit of everything .. but forum platform it's outdated ( same as our local forum 4x4panama.com ) so pictures are complicated and not much people are there anymore to contribute ..

it is still a good source of info tho .. but not nearly as good or active as MUD .. actually there is no comparison for MUD .. thanks Woody ..

I use these (the 5 and 10 relay types) and a few of the different littlefuse boxes and think they are a great system, practically the best if you like wiring it yourself. For even greater space savings you see those relay-less box and 'one-wire' fancy multi-button displays things now becoming popular, but I still prefer building my own system with switches in different places i can feel in the dark without looking.

I'm not even close to use any of those . not the ARB new linx or whatever name it is .. that's too modern for me... I found 4 spots on the dash with blankets to use factory like switches for the stuff I need .. fans, rear lights and so on .. so no need to add any panel ( that I would not fin in any spot on the 76 dash )

100% old school relay, fuses and wiring .. it's more time challenging but I'm happy doing it ..


one thing to bear in mind when dealing with oz from our part of the world, be very conscious of the time you send your emails. try to aim for around 9-10 am their time (6-7 pm our time), otherwise your email gets overtaken at the top of the list overnight and may be never read in busy inboxes. The time difference is an issue, but yes, in general, aussies really aren't big on customer service compared to the USofA... very laid back is another way of saying it. :)

I've call them in the night, ( our night ) mails and nothing works ..

True story .. ( short ) SE ship my pallet to my local ( Aussie ) shipper who was in theory waiting for it to sent it to me ( by sea locally ) since SE told me they didn't make any arrangement for international shipping ..

Local carrier got the pallet with my suspension but it didn't have any name on it.. only the SE reference, so they returned to SE. SE charge me 250 extra bucks to sent it again ..

That's just bad customer service .. from both parts ..

Awesome 76!

thanks !

On your flex, the coil 70 series are notorious for bad flex in the front. Unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done about it. We tend to find that even some of the old leaf sprung trucks have better flex.

likely Tencha on SO have better flex .. not to mention Marilu .. but I didn't dream me driving a 76 to win any flex competition .. I'm more worried about getting a better ride.

Sorry to hear about your problems with superior engineering, they aren't really known for great customer service. However, i wouldn't say that is the case with all aus companies.

ohh .. ! I had an awesome experience with Nakia from Cruiser Consoles .. I mean top notch ! they are just as good as it gets.
 
Superior Engineering in my experience make a good product, charge too much for it and have terrible customer service. Bit of a pity because some of their stuff is quite nice.
 

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