Batto's 120 Build

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

Long over due to be done but better late than never i guess.
We have had the 120 for just shy of 3 years now and a few additions have occured during this time. When purchased it was already fitted with the safari snorkle and alloy factory bar. Had also been lifted 2 inches using EFS shocks with HD King Springs.

One of the first things to be done was throw on a set of cooper s/t, which after a conversation with the tyre guys it was decided to fit 265/70/17 as opposed to the stock 265/65/17. Finally the speedo actually reads correctly. It wasn't too long before a set of outback ideas recovery points and Brown Davis bash plates were added. The recovery points have been rather useful on many a bush trip to help others out, so far haven't needed them to pull me out but there is always a first. The bash plate now has a series of small dings where it has skimmed the top of a few hidden rocks in river crossings, certainly well worth it.

With a fair number of waterholes and potential water crossings in the area it only made sense to extend the diff and gearbox breathers into the engine bay. Somewhat of a custom job with running vacuum line from barbed fittings on the diffs/gearbox up to a piece of aluminium angle cut and drilled to suit. The actual filters were purchased from the local opposite lock store.

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

Next to be thrown on was the gme tx3440 to take care of the all important convoy communications. I decided on the 3440 for the simplicity of being able to place the main unit under the centre console and have all the controls on the mic unit. Along with the GME radio i decided to fit a smooth talker cradle for the iphone and external antenna to boost signal strength when on the outskirts of civilisation. I then chose to fit a dual battery system, after a bit of reading up amd research decided that the redarc bcdc1220 would do the task nicely. Another trip down down to OL and picked myself up a battery tray and then off to install. After mounting the redarc controller to the side of the battery tray and discovering it was more of a PITA than it was worth, a new home on the passenger side wheel arch next to the fuel filter.

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

Being able to easily reinflate tyres after a trip offroad or pump an inflatable boat up was high on the list of to-dos, so after digging through the shed i found a compressor that i had been using in another car. off came the alligator clips and on with eyelet lugs. I found that the compressor fits in nicely between the air box and brake master cylinder. Only problem then was i hate having the air hose rubbing on the side of the car whilst reinflating tyres, so it was time to run some airline front and rear. With that done a tee installed i now have an outlet behind tow hitch to allow rear tyres and camper trailer tyres, and an outlet next to drivers headlight behind grille.

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

After managing to score a set of hella rallye 4000 compacts for a rather good price, i set about throwing in HID globes and what a difference they made. Not being entirely content with standard gauges is was now time to throw in a scangauge just to keep a close eye on temps and voltages and maybe fuel consuption too. I couldn't go past the option add the hilux washers and get a better spray across the windscreen, likewise with factory cruise being a plug and play option. Contacted the guys over at Tony's wreckers in WA and they sent everything to me, works a treat. The latest addition being th Ironman monster winch with synthetic rope. Geez they are certainly heavy when you combine them with steel winch cradle and the alloy soverign bar.

[jhiace Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jhiace]

very nice Batto, i like the compressor on board.. I had it in my hilux but i put a tank in as well which made it even better.. Keen to do it with the prado to but the compressor doesn't quite fit..

[Dueler120 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dueler120]

Hey mate,
Love the 120's! Is yours a manual? Keen to see how you extended the gearbox breather if it is.

Cheers,

[outback7 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close outback7]

Good stuff Batto. Always good to see what other members do with their rigs.

[foxclan Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close foxclan]

G'Day Batto
A member since 2009, see it never too late or too early to start a Build up thread.
Good effort with the Mods so far, keep them coming.
Cheers Troy

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

Hi, thanks guys certainly more mods to come just need more funds, I figure slowly but surely. Dueler120 it is a manual, 150k service due very soon so will take a few pics while on the hoist at work and do a more in depth on how its all run.

[ptnlinda Member Find all posts View Profile Close ptnlinda]

Anthony,
Good to see you got round to putting the rig on this forum.Was great to catch up at Xmas and look forward to catching up again soon.

[Dueler120 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dueler120]

Hi, thanks guys certainly more mods to come just need more funds, I figure slowly but surely. Dueler120 it is a manual, 150k service due very soon so will take a few pics while on the hoist at work and do a more in depth on how its all run.

Thanks mate that would be very much appreciated!

Cheers,

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

Well ther have been a few more additions to the prado, so I had better update the build.
I sourced a set of the factory roof bars to put up top and set about putting a couple of work lights up there so we could see when setting up camp at night. Being an ex-AFP vehicle there was already a spot drilled through the drain channel in front of front roof bar that had been filled with silicon. That made running the cabling through the roof rather easy. It was decided that the switch to run the lights had to be somewhere easy to reach and not be confused with spot lights. We decided that in front of the gear shifters was a good spot, while in there i figured i would run a seperate dedicated switch (on rhs, with LED indicator) for the 12v kettle (can't do a long drive with no coffee). The power plug for this was run under the centre console and plug sits nicely behind.

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

To take care of shade when pulling up for coffee or lunch on the side of the track we decided it was time to fit an ARB side awning, I opted for the 2.5m length to ensure plenty of shade. After a trip out to Palm Valley over easter and finding out that the fitted compressor wasnt too keen on pumping up 6 tyres, i decided it was time to bite the bullet and buy a new compressor. Down to the local ARB store, looked at all the different types and settled on the CKMA12, this compressor has been mounted in the same spot the old one was. For ease and simplicity when hitching up the camper trailer I decided to add a reverse camera, we chose the style that replaces one of the number plate lights, not the best at night but i works. With all these mods and a fair few camping trips it really does make sense to fit a fire extinguisher, so one was purchased and fitted to the step on the rear passenger side just below back seat.

[batto Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close batto]

Knowing we were heading off on the road for 4 weeks to do a trip around WA and the kimberley's, I decided that an inverter had to be fitted to be able to run those all important 240v gadgets. The inverter fitted is only a cheap ebay unit but it has handled the job nicely. This wa fitted up to the milford cargo barrier using some aluminium flat bar. Power was run from the second battery through the firewall and under the scuff panel on the passenger side, the earth side was bolted directly to the vehicle body inder the rear passenger step. Also knowing that the Great Central Road, Gibb River Road, Bungle Bungle access and Tanami Road can all get very rough at times, I decided to make a fridge tie down board to keep the 60L Engel in place. This board was a single piece of 12mm whiteboard from the local Mitre 10, bolted to the floor using the factory third row seat bars (in floor). The board also had tie down loops fitted at either end.

[Smithy - 120 D4D Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Smithy - 120 D4D]

To take care of shade when pulling up for coffee or lunch on the side of the track we decided it was time to fit an ARB side awning, I opted for the 2.5m length to ensure plenty of shade. After a trip out to Palm Valley over easter and finding out that the fitted compressor wasnt too keen on pumping up 6 tyres, i decided it was time to bite the bullet and buy a new compressor. Down to the local ARB store, looked at all the different types and settled on the CKMA12, this compressor has been mounted in the same spot the old one was. For ease and simplicity when hitching up the camper trailer I decided to add a reverse camera, we chose the style that replaces one of the number plate lights, not the best at night but i works. With all these mods and a fair few camping trips it really does make sense to fit a fire extinguisher, so one was purchased and fitted to the step on the rear side just below back seat.

You should be happy with the ARB compressor. I know from experience that it can cope with pumping 6 tyres in succession, and in relatively short time. Nice setup you are building...