Wanda - FZJ105RV (pic heavy)

A little over a year ago Steph and I decided that our next touring destination would be Australia, with that decision made we then had to work out what to do for a vehicle.

Shipping our 80 was out of the equation due to work leave limitations, hiring a vehicle was considered but was very expensive for the duration of our trip. So seeing as we hope to visit a few times over the next few years, we decided to buy a vehicle. I did some research, spoke to a few people and had a long chat with Tony S, he advised me that a petrol 80 would be a good choice.

So the search started, I got in touch with Tony’s contact in South Australia Chris Blakemore, who runs FNB 4WD, he was a massive help and gave me loads of advice. I was that pleased with his assistance that I decided to limit my search to vehicles in his area, so that Chris could inspect them for me.

My specification was: Land Cruiser, petrol, auto, no LPG (they don’t seem to use lube out there and suffer from valve recession), air con, good condition with plenty of life left and preferably some touring mods. An 80 popped up that ticked all the boxes and had bills for $11K of work, so Chris gave it an inspection for me.

Well that was money well spent, it had loads of faults and required at least $10K to get it right, thats before any mods. So this one was out. It would appear that finding an decent 80 was difficult, as most have already had quite a life, and I decided that I wouldn’t be happy to spend a lot of money on a petrol version of what I had at home, so I threw more money into the pot. This took me into 105 territory!

A nice 105 appeared and Chris had it in for inspection in a flash, it turned out to be in great condition and better than many 105’s that come through the workshop. So I gave Chris the go ahead to negotiate on my behalf and we were soon the proud owners of a great 105.













These are the ‘as bought’ pictures, she’s in great condition and is part prepped. She was christened Wanda, as we’ll be wandering Australia with her. We know that Wanda was originally owned / prepped by the government and suspect that she was used for outback healthcare, hence the lightforce lights for night time outback driving.

So now with a base vehicle the fun could commence!

First mod was tinting the rear windows to keep the heat out of the interior:





Chris noticed during the pre purchase inspection that the rear cross member welds were cracked, typical of a vehicle that has spent a lot of time on dirt roads, so the rear bumper was removed and the welds renewed, a simple repair:





She had recently had all new suspension and what looks like every bush replaced. With that taken care of a set of rear air bags were installed, and the underside rustproofed:









A full service was carried out:



Rear drawers and fridge installed:



Snorkel installed:





Wanda came with the standard 50L sub tank, but this was swapped out in place of a 150L long range tank. This meant that the spare could no longer live underneath, so both would have to live on the rear bar. Wanda came with a Kaymar single swingout providing a place to mount the second spare, this was removed (sold) and a twin rear wheel carrier rear bar installed:









With a rear camp light and highlift mounted on the swingout arms:









The roof basket was sold and RTT fitted to the rhino rack bars, along with a Foxwing nailed on the side:





Chris asked permission to freshen up the front bar with some new side/indicator/spot light pods, for free, a perk of the project. Certainly! Very pleased with the result:





It would appear that if you remove the second row seats in Oz, you need to get the vehicle reengineered. To get around this need I tasked Chris and the team to come up with a storage system that would make the most of the space between the folded forward second row seats and the rear drawer system, just to complicate matters I also asked them to design it so that it could be removed in minutes without the need for any tools. Simple.

The team did us proud and produced a brilliant system with wing studs and locking pins, the load guard can be fixed to the front edge of the drawer unit or the front edge of the second row storage unit. The storage unit all folds up and is designed to fit on top of the rear drawer system. Perfect. So now we can use the rear seats if the need arises. (Some the pics are during the build phase, prior to being carpeted).










































The Oz market doesn’t get lockers as standard and seeing as I’m used to lockers with the 80, I didn’t want to be without them in a country with so many interesting tracks. So the diffs were pulled, fitted with TJM pro lockers, new ring and pinion and bearings:













A 45L custom water tank was installed next to the drawer system:



Two fire extinguishers were installed:



New tyres were required, so 6 BFG KM2’s were ordered (tyres cost the earth down under!), and fitted to some new alloys, having felt the weight of standard 80 steels I didn’t fancy lugging the steels around Oz, especially with two hanging out at the rear.

So she ended up looking like this:







Chris and the team have done an excellent job, and we’re very happy with how Wanda has turned out. She is now being test driven and having the diffs bedded in, so that we can turn the key and go when we arrive, confident that we have a reliable and capable tourer to take us wherever we wander.

(An Australia trip planning thread will follow soon)

Thanks for reading.

Wow you don't do things in half measures do you that looks great

Certainly looks a nice job, Like the camp light too
Good luck with the planning, look fwd to reading that
Cheers
Steve

Very nice Scott. Looks like a really good choice of vehicle and nicely prepared.

Great thread Scott.

I've been following the build for months on facebook but its nice to see all the pics and your words together.

I've got some awesome areas to show you in the Victorian High Country when you get down here.

Paul is moving down to Melbourne from NSW so maybe we could have a club trip, Me, you, Paul and Tony.

Very nice Scott. Looking forward to reading about your adventures.

Shayne said:

Wow you don't do things in half measures do you that looks great

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You took the words right out of my mouth Shayne!

That truck looks ready for anything - look forward to your trip reports and pics.

Looking good, as Ben says, im off to Melbourne so a trip could be on the cards.

I have removed the second row of seats from mine so may get issues when I have to re-rego on Vic plates.

Looks great Scott - well done for finally posting it up on here; spotted it on fb a while back

By the way, what brand is the rear carrier?

Paul said:

Looking good, as Ben says, im off to Melbourne so a trip could be on the cards.

I have removed the second row of seats from mine so may get issues when I have to re-rego on Vic plates.

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Wont be an issue in Victoria. Mine is registered as a 2 seater and didn't require engineering.

I doubt yours will even get checked by Vic Roads. Mine only got checked as it had just been imported.

Wanda is registered in South Australia and as you know all the states have different rules and regulations.

Where is it on fb?

On Chris's page Paul - HERE Various chunks of writeup & all the photos in an album

Wow, its like a whole Cruiser club underground society

Looking really good Scott, I do like a white Cruiser. I missed the FB mention though maybe you could post a link to that?

that sir is a mighty fine truck

It's a beauty and the 105 is the only cruiser I would consider changing my old 80 for (I hope it's not listening not that I'll ever change it while it's in one piece)

Lovely job from bottom to top and inside out!

Looks really nice, very well put together.
You'll love the petrol, I need one of those 50l aux tanks!!!

Thanks for all the kind words guys, we're very pleased with how she's turned out, and can't wait till we are touring with her.

Paul said:

By the way, what brand is the rear carrier?

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Hi Paul, its branded as a Boss Dual Carrier Rear Bar. Boss is one of the suppliers that Chris stocks and recommends as good value, I'm pleased with how it fits. The expense of a Kaymar couldn't be justified.

I think Chris has one on his own 80. He's on his hols at the moment, touring in the Pyrenees, but drop him a line when he's back and he can fill you in.

Ben said:

Great thread Scott.

I've been following the build for months on facebook but its nice to see all the pics and your words together.

I've got some awesome areas to show you in the Victorian High Country when you get down here.

Paul is moving down to Melbourne from NSW so maybe we could have a club trip, Me, you, Paul and Tony.

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Cheers, Ben, I'm looking forward to meeting up and doing some tracks together. I didn't know that Paul was moving your way, a club meet is a good idea.

Cossack said:

Looking really good Scott, I do like a white Cruiser. I missed the FB mention though maybe you could post a link to that?

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Cheers Chas. Yes she's very white! I'm pleased with how the wheels and tent look on her. (Gav has posted a link to Chris' FB page that features the build).

Thanks Scott, I missed the blue HERE on that post.