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SUPER SUPREME
When pizzeria manager Morris McLennan wanted to build a tough tourer, he ordered one with the lot
WORDS BY BEN WICKHAM PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBB COX
One of the great things about customising a 4WD is that there are so many options to choose from. Much like pizza, in fact, just without the anchovies - unless you drive below the high-tide line. Gourmet pizzeria manager Morris McLennan had previously owned an unmodified Range Rover, whetting his appetite for four-wheeling. So after driving a Corolla for a time, he picked up a brand spankers Toyota 4Runner, before topping it with a whole heap of mods and accessories to create the supreme 4Runner you see before you.
Morris purchased the six-cylinder 4Runner RV6 new in 1995, negotiating the purchase to include an ARB bullbar, Warn XD9000 winch, side steps, flares, alloy wheels and all-terrain tyres. He says this took it up to a similar spec to the $8000 dearer SR5 model, but without power windows and the like. He also considered buying an 80 Series LandCruiser, but it was just out of his price range. Over the following decade, almost every aspect of the 4Runner has been altered or modified to turn it into an incredibly capable and self-sufficient tourer. As well as boasting more antennas and communications equipment than Pine Gap, it’s been lifted, strengthened and fitted out to make almost anywhere in the country accessible.
He says that the hardest thing in the early days was just sourcing many of the parts, like diff crown wheels (the 4Runner had an appetite for these until he found some bomb-proof Japanese items) and a lift kit. Hardcore parts for IFS HiLuxs and 4Runners, not to mention the know-how required to modify them, really didn’t become common until the last few years. It’s a wonder Morris’s staff can remember what he looks like, as he’s travelled to enough destinations around Australia to humble Russell Coight. In 250,000km he’s taken it to Cape York via the CREB track, to all three corners of Tasmania, Fraser Island, the Gulf of Carpentaria, as well as a monster Outback odyssey from Sydney to the Flinders to Uluru and the West MacDonnell Ranges, then back to Sydney via Tennant Creek, Central Queensland and Rockhampton. While the HiLux-based 4Runner might not have the reputation of Patrol and ‘Cruiser, Morris has proved that they’re tough enough to tackle anything the bigger trucks can. Bon appetit!
UNDER THE BONNET
With a V6 lurking under the hood, the 4Runner isn’t wanting for horsepower, so Morris has left the engine itself untouched, save for servicing it with genuine Toyota lubricants and filters. A Safari Snorkel minimises the possibility of it swallowing water, while a set of Hurricane extractors, feeding into a 2.5in mandrel-bent mild-steel exhaust, liberate a few ponies. Morris first ran it without a resonator, which he says sounded fantastic, but several lawsuits from deafened passengers later, he begrudgingly fitted one to tone it down.
To power the winch, lights and other electrics, a 120A Bosch alternator charges an Overlander 600CCA starting battery and a Lifeline 105Ah sealed gel battery mounted behind the back seat (there isn’t room in the engine bay to fit a second battery), all managed by an ARB Smart Solenoid. An ARB air compressor provides pressure for the rear Air Locker, as well as scaring Kenworths with a set of truck air horns.
DRIVETRAIN AND SUSPENSION
The standard five-speed gearbox and transfer case remain untouched, but a heavy-duty Daiken clutch was fitted to help cope with the added mass of all those accessories. A set of 15mm spacers were inserted between the crossbar and the chassis to lower the gearbox, improve driveline angle on the rear tailshaft and reduce vibration.
The front tailshaft is standard, but the rear item is a heavy-duty slip-yoke type with up-rated uni joints from Tail Shaft Engineering, all painted in a lovely shade of cornflower blue.
Diff crown wheels are Japanese Asano parts with a shortened 4.875:1 ratio (up from the standard 4.2:1), which Morris says suits the 33s perfectly. He tried several US-made sets, which tended to break, before settling on the Japanese parts. An ARB Air Locker occupies the rear diff housing, while the front is standard. You might be surprised to know that the car hasn’t had a body lift - that’s right, it’s all due to a 4.5in suspension lift. Originally he fitted an Old Man Emu 2in lift kit, which after about a year of use had sagged, leading Morris to go hunting for a bigger lift kit (no mean feat with an IFS vehicle).
Eventually he settled on a US-made Superlift kit, which essentially lowers the suspension mounting points. (Similar to the Calmini kit fitted to Tim Scott’s Isuzu MU in issues 63-64.)
While he considered doing a body lift or a solid-axle conversion, Morris felt these were likely to create as many problems as they’d solve, so he stuck with an un-lifted body and IFS. At the front are heavy-duty torsion bars, which Morris says are one of the best parts he’s fitted, making a big improvement in braking and handling performance. Damping duties are performed by five-way adjustable Rancho RS9000 shocks. An OME steering damper is also fitted. Out back are Lovells heavy-duty coils and nine-way adjustable Rancho RS9000x shocks, which he says he’s been very happy with. Wheels are Chevelot Armalite II 15x8in alloys, fitted with 33x12.5in BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/As, which Morris swears by, saying his first set survived Cape York, Fraser Island, the Flinders Ranges and much of Central Australia!
OUTSIDE
Starting at the front, the ARB bullbar has been modified to accommodate two recessed IPF fog lights, and has additional mounting tabs for two IPF 900SC driving lights on top of the bar, Cibie Oscar spread-beams below, and the HF and 27MHz CB antennas, as well as featuring a 5mm steel bash plate. The winch is a Toyota dealer-fitted Warn XD9000 with 30m of steel cable. At the other end, a Kaymar steel bar with swing-away wheel carrier gets spare tyre number one out from under the rear floor and also provides a mounting point for the UHF antenna and a camping light. Morris has a choice of three UHF antennas (3db, 6db and 9db gain), which all use the same interchangeable mount for quick swapping depending on the surroundings.
The vacated wheel well is occupied by a Long Ranger 65L auxiliary fuel tank from Out of Town 4WD, supplementing the puny 60L main tank, giving a touring range of about 650km. On top, a track-mounted custom-made alloy rack from MAX Aluminium Automotive Accessories with Rhino legs makes itself extremely useful by holding spare tyre number two, two reversing lights, Hi-Lift jack, long-handled shovel, jerry cans, another four IPF 130w spotties, and antennas for the scanner and AM/FM stereo. Any questions about the durability and safety of this set-up have been proven by dozens of off-road expeditions with it loaded up.
INSIDE
It’s pretty darn obvious that Morris likes to spend a lot of time here, because this has got to be one of the most kitted-out interiors we’ve seen in a long time. From the driver’s seat, Morris has easy access to a VDO Mini Cockpit System. Basically a miniature rally trip computer, it displays engine RPM, distance travelled, average speed, outside temperature and includes a stopwatch and clock. To its immediate left is a Sony Pyxis IPS-760 removable GPS. Sony only dabbled in the satellite navigation game for a few years during the mid-late 90s, and Morris picked up this all-singing, all-dancing chart plotter for a steal when they discontinued their GPS range.
Next to the gear levers are a Uniden Pro 520xl 27MHz CB, which fits in place of the ashtray. He says he doesn’t use it much these days - it was much more useful back when he bought the 4Runner, as most people were still on the old AM CB band. Beside it is a Codan 9323 SSB HF radio with the handset holstered next to the steering wheel. Morris has a longer (pictured) and a shorter whip aerial for use when around and under trees.
Overhead is a Department of the Interior roof console, which houses a Uniden UH-099 Sundowner UHF and a Uniden UBC-60xlt Bearcat scanner with a scanning range from 25-1300MHz, which covers pretty much every transmission band in use. The console also contains an eight-disc CD stacker, a glass breaker and switches for all the lights. The blue strobe light is part of a Cobra dual infra-red/microwave alarm system - a significant addition, given all the accessories fitted to the vehicle.
Should Morris get tired of all that two-way communication, he has a comprehensive sound system to keep him entertained. It consists of a double-DIN Panasonic VX900 head unit, Kenwood graphic equaliser, a Sony Xplod XM-1002HS amplifier driving twin 10in Xplod subwoofers, and two Xplod XM-222 amps powering front Sony 6in splits and rear 4in speakers. You know he’s not mucking around when the system is protected by a 60A fuse. Morris built the rear storage system himself, using 10-12mm marine ply. Permanent sections are covered in marine carpet, while a removable section around the Engel 40L fridge is fitted for long trips. An uncarpeted section down the left-hand side holds rough gear like axes, tent poles and so on. A box behind the rear seat houses the second battery and amplifiers. He’s also fitted three 12V sockets, additional lighting and covered the inside of the lower tailgate in 3mm chequerplate. A half-height Milford Cargo Barrier is fitted for safety. Other interior accessories include two Maglite torches, a fire-extinguisher, a Genuine Nokia car kit with 6db antenna, and a larger, taller centre console.
BRIEFLY
VEHICLE: 1995 Toyota 4Runner RV6
ENGINE: 3VZ-E 3L petrol V6
GEARBOX: 5-speed manual
4WD ACTIVATION: Part-time, shift-on-the-fly, manual-locking front hubs
SUSPENSION: Front - Independent torsion bar, Rancho RS9000 shocks. Rear - Rigid 4-link, Lovells coil springs, Rancho RS9000 shocks
BRAKES: Front - Solid discs. Rear - Drums
WHEELS: Chevelot Armalite II 15x8in alloy
TYRES: BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A 33x12.5x15in
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