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LIKE A VIRGIN
This 79 may not be as flash as Madonna, but it’s a lot more pure
WORDS BY BRENDAN SEYMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBB COX
The owner of this blindingly white 79, James Caltabiano, doesn’t know how to do things by halves. When he decided he wanted a capable tourer that wouldn’t think twice about tackling long, hard miles, he knew that a second-hand Sally wasn’t quite going to cut the mustard. A new 4WD was the only option, because he didn’t want to have to be dealing with backyard bodge jobs and find out about all the shortcuts the previous owner took, halfway up the CREB track. But it had to be a ‘real’ touring 4WD, which meant a diesel, preferably with a hairdryer strapped onto the side, and no girlie-man IFS, either.
It had to be halfway affordable too, and it needed to be a ute, both for carrying all the gear that James would want to take away with him, and being a bricklayer, he needed something he could use as his everyday work truck as well. With most manufacturers going independent this and torsion-bar that, it pretty much cut the options down to a GU Ute or a 79 Series. And James is a ‘Cruiser man.
After laying down $55,000 of his hard-earned golden coins to the smiling salesmen at Windsor Toyota, James set about turning his stock-standard, pure - almost virginal - tray-back into the Top End tourer he always dreamed it would be. There’s no doubting that Toyota makes a solid machine in the 79 Series - it’s got it all where it counts; good clearance and off-road stats, near-on bulletproof engine and driveline, a decade’s tried-and-tested 4WD system and solid axles front and rear - but you can always make a good thing better. So James talked to Lachlan at Offroad Industries about the suspension and the boys at Magnaflow about extracting a few more low-range ponies from the engine.
He also talked to ARB about the electrical gear that he’d need to keep the shiny side, well, shiny when punting up all those tracks by shining light on where James is headed and giving him extra traction to get there safer.
Along with that, James has fitted a custom canopy to the tray that he fabricated himself. It’s a simple solution to the storage issues that long-range touring presents, such as how to keep your gear clean, dry and free of dust while clocking up the miles.
James has big plans for the 79 now that it’s completed its metamorphosis. Places like Cape York and its infamously devilish tracks look set to test the tray-back’s mettle.
However, the way that it’s been set up, it’s doubtful that much this country can throw up will upset the ‘Cruiser. It’s one custom tourer that encompasses the spirit of 4WD adventure.
INTERIOR
Sitting high up in the driver’s seat, James has access to a number of instruments, gauges and switches that he’s installed to make touring life that little bit easier. Though the cabin is largely stock, the additions have been chosen wisely for their functionality. To ensure he knows how much air the Toyota factory turbo is forcing into the engine at all times, an Auto Meter boost gauge has been mounted to the right of the dash in plain view. So James knows what lies ahead at all times, a Navman iCN 510 GPS unit hangs from the windscreen. In these days of high-tech touring, a GPS is an essential safety item, ensuring that whether you’re around the corner buying milk or punting through the Simpson Desert, you know exactly where you are.
Underneath the heater controls, present and accounted for are those familiar blue and black switches that mean instant traction. James has replaced the stock steering wheel with a sporty Sparco one, because he figured that if he was going to do all this hanging onto steering wheels, it might as well be a comfortable one! As an added bonus, the fluffy dice hanging from the rear-view mirror and the scented pine air-freshener are good for an added 20hp at the rear wheels, and they reduce low-range gearing by 12 percent. Wonderful stuff, those two.
EXTERIOR
James asked Mr Toyota to option the 79 to the hilt before it left the dealership. When he drove it away, it carried with it a genuine steel winch bar, steel brush bars and sill protectors/side steps, all in matching white. A set of headlight protectors and mesh bug grille were on the vehicle, also courtesy of Toyota Genuine Accessories, and it came with a steel tray hanging off the chassis behind the cabin. The vehicle was a good starting point to build on in the quest to build the ultimate tourer for James’s needs, operative words being starting point. To the winch bar he attached a set of mega Lightforce 240s, capable of turning night into day and frying roadkill at 20 paces. These were good, but to aid in their lighting duties, a further two sets of the smaller, but equally impressive, Lightforce 140s were mounted on the rollover bar just behind the rear of the cabin. Also calling the winch bar home is an 8500lb Warn Hi-Mount with 30m of wire rope.
Under the tray, James has fabricated custom lockable storage containers at all four corners. It’s an ingenious way to use some of the otherwise-lost space under there. Speaking of custom fabrication, the spare wheel rides on a wheel carrier that James attached himself. It’s a heavy-duty item designed to take the not-unsubstantial weight of the spare, which, like its four brothers that keep the Toyota from driving on its disc brakes, are custom-offset Toyota steel items measuring in at 15x7in. They wear Dick Cepek Radial FC-11s that weigh in at a respectable 37x13.5in.The ute sits a total of 6in closer to the clouds thanks to a reworked suspension system courtesy of Offroad Industries.
The front three-link features coils and Tough Dog adjustable big-bore shocks, while the rear is able to carry a substantial load thanks to the heavy-duty raised leaf springs, matching Tough Dog adjustable big-bores and airbags to help with load-carrying.
PERFORMANCE
To extract a few more ponies from the IHD-FTE 4.2L turbo-diesel donk, James had a 3in straight-through custom mild-steel exhaust installed. It’s a Magnaflow item, which, with its increased potential for expelling spent gases, reduces backpressure to give the already-grunty engine an extra kick in the pants right down low, which is exactly where you want more power when walking through a low-range obstacle. Pop the bonnet on the 79 and one of the things that will strike you as not factory fitted is the dual-battery system. James had the trusted guys at his local ARB store install it to power the winch, spotties and fridges that get a look-in whenever he’s out touring. They line up down the passenger’s side of the engine bay, unlike the factory Toyota dual-battery system, which crowds down in the corner. That’s how you can tell it’s not a factory system. The other addition to the engine bay is the ARB air compressor to power the rear Air Locker, helping James and the 37s to power through any sticky situation and get that bit further up the (barely) beaten track.
BRIEFLY…
VEHICLE: 2004 Toyota 79 Series Trayback
ENGINE: 4.2L EFI turbo-diesel
GEARBOX: 5-speed manual
4WD ACTIVATION: Part-time, stationary engagement, lever activation
SUSPENSION: Front - 6in-lifted coils, 3-link, Tough Dog adjustable big-bore shocks
Rear - 6in-lifted leaf springs, Tough Dog adjustable big-bore shocks, airbags
BRAKES: Front and rear ventilated 4-piston discs
WHEELS: 17x9in Custom LandCruiser steel wheels
TYRES: 37x13.5in Dick Cepek FC-IIs
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