Blank Canvas, 1989 Montero

[fangars]

First mod will be new tires and rims.
I am going to put 16" steel rims when I can find some.
Not sure where the best place is to get steel rims.
The tires will be 33" AT's of some kind, have not decided which yet.
I will have to modify the spare carrier to fit the new rim and tire, probably.

It needs new shocks in the rear. Not sure what the best solution for the rear is.
Suggestions anyone?

In the future:
full length roof rack
roof mounted storage basket for the interior
I will custom build fore and aft bumpers, both winch capable.
custom build a set of rock sliders
take care of any under armor that needs to be done
paint
further mods I may or may not do:
diamond plate armor over the dented hood to reinforce for a hi-lift mount
diamond plate armor the sides
tint rear windows.
1989 Montero 5 speed 6 cylinder.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/1444258636.html 33.4" tires put too much stress on this old beast?

 

[scrubber3]

As far as shocks go, it all depends on what you intend on doing with it. I myself will be going to KYB monotubes soon. For the tires.... Will those fit? If so, you may not be pleased with the power you will lose with a tire of that size. You can always change the gearing to compensate for the power issue, but at a cost to the MPG. I would think though that 33s would be the max for a stock motor. If it isn't one thing, it's another huh? There are a lot more people on here with more knowledge on these beasts than me, so just wait and see what they say. Nice rig and good luck!

 

[RttH]

That is a beautiful truck! With all the modifications that everyone does...yours would stand out (in a good way) if you kept it stock! It will do quite well off-road in stock form. To each their own! Congrats on a great looking Montero!

 

[fangars]

I think I am going to pass on those tires, wait until I can afford new steelies so I can get 5 of them. Maybe 6 even.
The bumpers can not remain stock, front and rear are both bent up beyond the point of easy repair, with a little more effort then repairing them I can build my own custom bumpers.
I think I will keep it pretty much stock for now as far as suspension goes, I just need new shocks in the rear for now.

Full length roof rack is a must, I will be hauling 20' lengths of steel up there like I do now with my Xterra.

Probably going to pull the rear bench out completely so I can have room for my dogs, cargo and perhaps even sleep back there if I can figure out how to make my 6' 1" frame fit in there.

Center console is missing some bits, I need to see a complete one so I know what I am missing.

 

[tdesanto]

:beer:

 

[pint]

WOW! Nice find. I may be looking for something like this next spring.

 

[08whitex]

Glad you were able to end your tedious search for a new expo rig. Let me know if you need any help with Fab work or designs. My garage is always open. :victory:

 

[off-roader]

There's a pretty large group of Mitsu owners in the Phoenix area. Let me know if you want me to put you into contact with them.

1st mod I would suggest is to add 1/4" of plating to the skinniest part of your rear suspension's trailing arms. These are the areas that wrap around the rear axle housing. They have a tendency to break. Alternatively you can also upgrade to gen II trailing arms. Direct fit and already thicker where needed.

As for bumpers, there are many options available if you're willing to fabricate/modify the bumper's mounts so they fit the Montero's frame.

Also most winches are narrow enough that they will actually fit in between the front frame rails behind the bumper. I see you're hoping for a rear winch as well. FWIW, I've been wheeling everything from basic 1 trails to hard core 5 trails for over a decade now (not much in comparison to many others) and NEVER seen where one would have been needed in back but I'm sure someone on here has found a situation where it would have helped.

As for tires/wheels, I'm glad you didn't by that wheel/tire combo. That wheel probably wouldn't fit over your front hubs because it's center bore looks way too small.

34's work and I wheeled with a gen I 4 door this past weekend who was running 34" super swampers... but you'd have to be sure your entire drivetrain are up to snuff... and in your case especially the cooling system.

32x11.5's fit w/out any lift but it will remove 1/8-1/4" from the ends of your front bumper's rubber end caps.

33x12.5's will fit w/ a 2" Body Lift (see 4crawler.com or make your own BL).

34x12.5's will fit with a 3" BL

35x12.5" will fit with a 3-4" BL

2" BL is easy peasy to do. You will need to 'modify' the brake line coils at brake master cylinder in front to compensate for lift. You'll also need to remount your radiator fan shroud 2" lower. You should also adjust your transmission shifter (automatics) and IIRC nothing needs to be adjusted for a Manual tranny. You'll also want to extend your rear center brake line especially if you do a suspension lift, remove your rear anti sway bars and put on longer shocks.

A 3" BL is similar to a 2" but may require more mods to compensate for the height.

Spare tire carrier carries 33x12.5's easily (I put 1/2" of washers to space them out further) so it should also carry 34's. It does on my friends.

As for shocks, KYB's are the proven solution. Edelbrocks also work very well.

Let me know if you have any other questions. I'm on my 3rd Gen I now and my first Gen II.:Wow1:

:smiley_drive:

 

[off-roader]

My current gen I built for rock crawling...

I don't have any closeups or better pics right now but I can post up more this evening if you want.

But for now, here's a pic of my current gen I w/ 33x12.5 BFG MT KM's (on left side of pic) during a trip to Pismo last Feb.

 

[pint]

Sorry for the hijack, but are there any decent parts suppliers for Montero's? Lift, bumpers, skid plates, rock sliders, etc?
Also, are there any web pages/forums (other than this one!) dedicated to Montero's?

 

[scrubber3]

i don't have any closeups or better pics right now but i can post up more this evening if you want.

But for now, here's a pic of my current gen i w/ 33x12.5 bfg mt km's (on left side of pic) during a trip to pismo last feb.

more please!

 

[off-roader]

Sorry for the hijack, but are there any decent parts suppliers for Montero's? Lift, bumpers, skid plates, rock sliders, etc?
Also, are there any web pages/forums (other than this one!) dedicated to Montero's?

Yes and no to parts availability.

Bumpers: You won't find a wide selection of bumpers in the US. Known brands are ARB & TJM. With modifications many bumpers will fit however. For example on my Gen II, I'm running a set of bumpers made for a Jeep TJ. I modified the frame ends so that most jeep bumpers will fit.

LIFTS:
- Body: www.4crawler.com
- Front
- Gen I: Sway Away used to make stronger torsion bars. alternatively you can torque them to raise the front end even trimming the upper bump stops to get more travel but at the cost of the CV's wearing quicker.
Alternatively you can also re-index the bars to get some lift up front.
ARB used to offer replacement torsion bars & Iron Man may make a set as well (Australia).
- Gen II: see Gen I IFS comments.

- Rear
- Gen I v6: install rear coil springs from a gen II or use ARB or Iron Man Suspension (both from Australia)
- Gen I Leafs: (not much but others have been modified to fit).
- Gen II Coils: Valley Springs occassionally offers longer coils but their reliability is questionable (in my experience) although others have had ok luck with them.

SKID PLATES
Nothing that I've seen that I'd consider off road worthy although there was a Japanese company making Aluminum plates that to me looked more cosmetic than functional.

ROCK SLIDERS
4crawler.com makes a set you can assemble yourself if you have the welding skills. He no longer makes prebuilt kits however.
Trail-Gear.com also makes an inexpensive DOM set for Toyotas that can be used on gen I/II 4 door rigs. Not sure about the 2 door rigs.

As for other Montero resources / web pages... yes there are. In fact I'm a moderator on another major Mitsu 4x4 forum but in respect to the Portal, please PM me for those details.

HTH.:coffeedrink:

 

[fangars]

Sorry for the hijack, but are there any decent parts suppliers for Montero's? Lift, bumpers, skid plates, rock sliders, etc?
Also, are there any web pages/forums (other than this one!) dedicated to Montero's?

I do not consider this a hijack at all as I was going to ask the same question.

As far as rock sliders and bumpers go I will be fabricating my own and offering them for sale, so add me as a source and supplier for those products as well as roof racks both exterior and interior.
My plans for this vehicle are full lenght roof rack, front and rear bumper, rock sliders and probably skids. Those are the products I will most likely develop and offer for sale.
I might come up with something for the hood to mount hi-lift, shovel and axe on but I do not know if I will market what I come up with.

Xoskel will be the new source for first gen monteros.

 

[Dolomiti]

I do not consider this a hijack at all as I was going to ask the same question.

As far as rock sliders and bumpers go I will be fabricating my own and offering them for sale, so add me as a source and supplier for those products as well as roof racks both exterior and interior.
My plans for this vehicle are full lenght roof rack, front and rear bumper, rock sliders and probably skids. Those are the products I will most likely develop and offer for sale.
I might come up with something for the hood to mount hi-lift, shovel and axe on but I do not know if I will market what I come up with.

Xoskel will be the new source for first gen monteros.

I am very interested in any roof rack you create and offer. I am looking for a full length, sans rails, that I can put my Eezi Awn on and a couple of Pelicans.

I am also interested in hood mounted Hi-Lift.

This is a set of 33.10.5s, with Old Man Emu coils and shocks. The tires fit before the OME, and the 10.5 fit on the spare holder with no problem. 12.5s will fit without a lift too, but rubbed up front when turning/backing up.

 

[Martinjmpr]

Dolomiti: That's a nice looking 1st gen Monty you've got there!

I am also interested in hood mounted Hi-Lift.

Okay, I gotta ask: Why?

Yes, I know it looks "salty," and I see a lot of jeeps (both Wrangler and XJ) with this mod around here, but IMO it is asking for trouble. A high lift jack weighs 25 or 30 lbs (or more) depending on length. The sheet metal on the hood is not very thick. With two mounting points you are asking that sheet metal to hold a lot of weight it's not really designed to hold. And think about this: When you start bouncing up and down on the trail, that weight will be magnified by quite a bit. I would imagine that stress cracks and/or dents would appear pretty quickly if you actually went off road with such a setup.

And do you really want to think about what might happen if you get into a collision and that hood mounted high lift comes crashing through the windshield?

If you need to mount a high lift on the outside of the vehicle, I would think there are better places to do it. The 1st gen Monty has a very stout steel bumper (I know how thick it is because I drilled mine to mount some fog lights on it.) It would make a decent mounting point from a strength perspective. Ditto for the rear bumper.

If you have or plan to get an ARB or TJM style bullbar, you could also mount the high lift to the top of the bull bar (though I would, again, have concerns about what happens to it in event of a front-end collision.)

Finally, there are at least a couple of companies that make high-lift mounts that will work on the spare tire, mounting the high lift either in front of or behind the spare.

The hood mounted high lift is a fairly recent trend in off-road vehicles and it always strikes me as a bit of a "poser" move, as if it's being done to "show off" the high lift, not to make it more accessible or usable (because it is neither.) Whenever I see one I always and think "Mall crawler."