Budget Canter Build

[59DEN]

Hello everyone greetings from Albany, Western Australia, first post.
My son and myself have bought a well used 1989 Canter from a tree plantation company last year that was mechanically good, but the cab and rear chassis rail were not, we also bought a tray from a Perth truck body builder that had been traded in on a custom steel one. Rodger my son, who is a panel beater also bought a written off Avan that had came into his work, which we will use as a removable camper
After sitting on our hands for a few months waiting for a rust free cab, we finally came across a 2wd truck with a blown motor off Gumtree and 1/2 hour later bought a set of 16*7 inch split rims and tyres, so we are ready to make a start.

The plan is to have a capable basic 4wd truck / camper and aiming to get all done for about $15k, hence the title, "budget canter build", the total spend so far is $7k, I have attached a few pictures below.

I hope you will not mind if we ask a few questions as we go along and get a bit of advice,
Cheers
Dennis and Rodger

 

[59DEN]

A few more pictures

$600 Avan, accidentally driven into a ditch and was written off

 

[SkiFreak]

Firstly... welcome to Expo Dennis.
Looks like you are off to a good start. Keep the pictures coming, as many of us here live for that.
This is the place for asking questions, so don't be hesitant in doing so. Just don't ask me how to do things on the cheap, as I am obviously not very good at that.

 

[Aussie Iron]

You have a real good start to budget Canter camper setup. I looked long and hard for an A-van to use as a camper for on mine but couldn't find one that would have been at the right price. There are many here that will help you out with info if you need it so just ask away.

Dan.

 

[59DEN]

Thanks to both of you for the warm welcome, I must admit to being a bit hesitant about posting, feeling a bit like the poor relation after reading about the great builds and trips in the Mitsubishi Heavy Truck thread.

Just started over the last few years getting out and about in the desert country and this leads to the first question of how capable is a canter like mine in dune country like the Simpson or Canning?
Any links and pics to canters that covered this sort of country would great.

 

[alan]

Yeer welcome aboard!! you probably have already noticed the 2wd cabs are different from the 4wd cabs, mainly the floor, but nothing that can't be altered, mine was a 2wd cab which i fitted with slight mods.

 

[PKDreamers]

Welcome Dennis and Rodger ,the canter will look pretty cool with a Avan on back.
As Owen said keep the photos coming along.

 

[whatcharterboat]

Thanks to both of you for the warm welcome, I must admit to being a bit hesitant about posting, feeling a bit like the poor relation after reading about the great builds and trips in the Mitsubishi Heavy Truck thread.

Just started over the last few years getting out and about in the desert country and this leads to the first question of how capable is a canter like mine in dune country like the Simpson or Canning?
Any links and pics to canters that covered this sort of country would great.

Hi Dennis.......Wow. That Avan was a good score. Welcome from me too.

One of our customers wrote about his old Canter. Here is the link. He gives a pretty honest opinion of the good and bad points of it, mods done by himself, others and ATW and also talks about his experience in the Simpson and other tough terrain.

By the way. Love Albany. Great town. Great people.

http://www.allterrainwarriors.com.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=3273

 

[mog]

I'm looking forward to your build.
Perhaps you have seen this one, but if not here is an 'A' camper on the back of a Doublecab:

 

[SkiFreak]

The Avan looks like a neat fit for a dual cab or a shortie. Wouldn't have a big air brake either with the roof folded down.
If I were doing this I would probably modify the wheel wells on the Avan and add storage boxes in that space, but maybe that's just me...

 

[joshuakampa]

This is my dream truck!

What super singles did you put on?

 

[59DEN]

Cheers Allan, I did not know about the differences, thanks for the heads up, enjoying reading your build thread.

 

[59DEN]

Welcome Dennis and Rodger ,the canter will look pretty cool with a Avan on back.
As Owen said keep the photos coming along.

Thanks Pete, shed gets a clean up this weekend and we will make a start on removing the cab the following Saturday, will keep the camera handy.

 

[59DEN]

Hi Dennis.......Wow. That Avan was a good score. Welcome from me too.

One of our customers wrote about his old Canter. Here is the link. He gives a pretty honest opinion of the good and bad points of it, mods done by himself, others and ATW and also talks about his experience in the Simpson and other tough terrain.

By the way. Love Albany. Great town. Great people.

http://www.allterrainwarriors.com.au/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=3273

Thanks Mark, it,s my son who gets the bargains, through his work as a panel beater, it was a warn high mount winch last week for $350. There is about 4 4wd winch capable bullbars in my shed that have minor easy to repair damage all written off, one off them is going to cut up to suit the truck later.

That link answered my question about the sand capability of the canter, looks like LSD or locking diff for the front later on, if available.

 

[alan]

Thanks Mark, it,s my son who gets the bargains, through his work as a panel beater, it was a warn high mount winch last week for $350. There is about 4 4wd winch capable bullbars in my shed that have minor easy to repair damage all written off, one off them is going to cut up to suit the truck later.

That link answered my question about the sand capability of the canter, looks like LSD or locking diff for the front later on, if available.

Some nice alloy wheels would go a treat with one of our LSD's