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INFINITE OFF-ROAD ABILITY

Sporting Nissan running gear, this crazy Rocky rocks off-road

WORDS BY BRENDAN SEYMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BY PAUL WORSLEY

Murray Taylor is a bit of a nut. You see, he’s pretty heavily involved in the competition scene, having done his fair share of events previously in a 7in-lifted, 37in-tyred, turbo-diesel GQ. The thing was, he wanted something a little smaller to put between all those trees and rocks that the big boys usually get jammed in, but he didn’t want to get rid of the Nissan because of it’s inherent toughness.

He was not always been a Nissan man, mind you. A HiLux (that he colourfully describes as a piece of- err, poo) and a 2L petrol Rodeo had previously been driven to destruction before he bought the Datto. So when it came time to downsize, Murray did the only sensible thing- he bought a Rocky and jammed a whole swag of Nissan running gear in it.There’s now a stonking 4.5L V8 under the bonnet, putting power to the ground through a GQ gearbox and transfer, which in turn moves the GQ axles. The body’s been chopped into a cab-chassis, and now wears a couple of coats of Ford XR-8 Citrus Green to really make it stand out from the crowd.

Apart from being a 4WD nutter, Murray’s the man behind Max Traxion, the 4WD tyre and accessory shop who, amongst other things, distribute the range of Maxxis tyres. Murray believes in thoroughly testing any product that he sells through Max Traxion, which is why he’s running those massive Maxxis Creepy Crawlers. He reckons that they are a fantastic tyre, giving him all the ‘traxion’ he’s after when he’s doing the competition circuit.Murray reckons there’s been a few people have a dig at him for owning a ‘sh*tbox’, but anyone worth their salt knows that this thing has it all - a big V8, bullet-proof running gear, the ultimate approach and departure angles and a loose nut behind the wheel. Onya Murray, you have the whole package!

INSIDE
The cabin is as bare as can be. Every non-essential item (carpeting, door trim) has been ripped out along with the standard seats, which have been replaced with Sparco race seats, complete with four-point harnesses. There’s a comp-regulation fire extinguisher mounted both sides of the transmission tunnel, and three inconspicuous switches on the dash that provide diff-locking fun.

Under the bonnet of this wild-looking rig lurks a monster. It’s ‘Vee’ in configuration, it has eight cylinders and it’s not a Holden, Ford or Chev donk. It is, in fact, the spectacular 4.5L Nissan VH-45, originally fitted to the high-tech luxo-saloon known overseas as the ‘Infiniti’. This quad-cam beast puts out a stonking 208kW and 410Nm from the factory, more than enough to put the Rocky up any hill it wants to climb.

The standard twin 2in exhaust runs into a single 3in pipe, and finishes with a muffler centrally located above the rear diff. With talks of 700+hp being pulled from these engines overseas, it’s little wonder that NOS or a turbo are in the pipeline. After all, there’s no point doing things by halves is there?

Backing up the V8 is a GQ automatic gearbox, bolted to the VH-45 bellhousing. As the VH is not a very popular engine in 4WDing circles (yet), there aren’t any adaptor kits out there. So, Murray had to make one up himself. There was also no information on the motor wiring, making the installation a case of ‘trial and error’ until everything functioned the way it is supposed to.

Keeping with the theme of functionality over good looks, the rest of the engine bay is spartan. In fact, apart from the brake booster, the modified LandCruiser steering column and a few other bits and pieces, the engine is the only thing you’ll find under the bonnet. The battery has been relocated, and there’s barely any wiring to be seen. Murray has deliberately kept it this way because it makes it easier to work on, and means there’s no unnecessary crap to go wrong during competitions.

The radiator has been moved to behind the cabin, but that’s more to do with the fact that the big Nissan V8 had to be shoe-horned into the engine bay more than anything else. There’s only a limited amount of room in a Rocky!

OUTSIDE
All the barwork you see bolted onto the Rocky is custom-built by Murray. It’s all ultra heavy-duty stuff, and it needs to be, to take the force of a potential roll-over in a competition and still allow Murray to keep going.There is also the fantastic-looking front bar, which houses a Warn electric hi-mount winch, and the sliders, which bolt to the chassis in three places. Plus, there is the rear twin-hoop roll bar, the internal roll-cage and a roof bar that holds the 100W spotties. Talking of lighting, there’s also a set of 50W driving lights on the roof bar that point sideways and give almost a 180-degree spread of light around the vehicle. A custom-made vacuum hose snorkel with a pod air-filter raises the Rocky’s breathing height substantially.

Bolted onto the ends of the axles are 17x9in ProComp alloy rims shod in 40x13.5 Maxxis Creepy Crawlers. These tyres are loved by the rock-crawling brigade the world over, because they are extremely sticky. They’ll claw the Rocky up a near-vertical wall!

UNDERNEATH
Murray has stuck with Nissan gear underneath the vehicle, with GQ beam axles and coil springs being used at either end. That’s a three-link at the pointy end, and a five-link at the rear, which is certainly an improvement over the standard stiff-as-buggery leaves. The coils are factory sized, and still lift the Rocky substantially higher than before. Taking care of bump-absorption duties are Blue Max shocks at either end.

The GQ 4.4:1 diff centres are chock-full of ARB Air Locker goodness at both ends, making sure those big Maxxis donuts turn equally at all four corners. The complete GQ axles have been retained, including disc brakes at all four corners. Just as well, because that VH-45 really gets up and moves.

To keep the V8 cool under high-pressure competition situations, a radiator from an SD33 (MQ Patrol diesel) engine was sourced for it’s efficient cooling capabilities. This was mounted behind the cabin, due to the lack of space in the engine bay after the V8 had been fitted. Twin thermo-fans improve the cooling properties of the large radiator by forcing cool air through its fins.

Under the tray reside the relocated twin 750CCA batteries to power all the electrics. There is also a 65L fuel tank and an 18L surge tank to ensure fuel gets kept up to the pump no matter what angle Murray tries to put the Rocky on.

50mm RHS body blocks help give the Rocky a tad more body clearance for when Murray is climbing in between rocks.

BRIEFLY
Vehicle: 1986 Daihatsu Rocky
Engine: Nissan 4.5L Infiniti petrol V8
Gearbox: GQ Patrol
4WD activation: Part-time, lever-activated
Suspension: GQ Patrol solid axles and coil springs on front and rear
Brakes: GQ Patrol discs front and rear
Wheels: 17x8in ProComp alloy rims
Tyres: 40x13.5 Maxxis Creepy Crawlers