"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread

[wreckdiver1321]

I got the Intensity LED lights, DC to DC charger etc but most was written off and I was in no shape to pull it apart for things like the winch etc. Will just have to start from scratch.

That's pretty cool that the Intensity lights survived. I saw the pictures, the truck looks absolutely destroyed. Good that the little stuff made it, especially those lights. Those must be absurdly well made.

 

[Scott H Murray]

That's pretty cool that the Intensity lights survived. I saw the pictures, the truck looks absolutely destroyed. Good that the little stuff made it, especially those lights. Those must be absurdly well made.

I think the ARB bullbar took most of the impact from rolling, along with the cab itself.

 

[Blackdawg]

Haha awesome. Anyway, the trail I'm talking about is the old Independence Mine trail. Between Bozeman and Billings is a little town called Big Timber. If you get a chance, stop at the Frosty Freeze for lunch. Follow the main road through town till you get to the intersection with McLeod Street. Turn left there and just follow the road to the end. Once you're outside of town it turns into the Main Boulder Road. After about 25 miles it turns to dirt, and from there it's a further 22 miles to the trailhead. If you get a chance to stop at Natural Bridge falls (where the road turns to dirt), do so. It's a great view of a really cool natural formation. There's plenty of campgrounds to set up at, and the scenery just gets better the further you go. Once you're at the trailhead you can stop and air down. If you want to camp before you do the trail (it's kind of a long drive to get to it), there are several free primitive campsites, as well as several places to set up at along the trail. The trail itself is only 10 miles long or so, but where it ends is absolutely stunning. There is a beautiful alpine lake and you're right at the foot of Monument Peak. The view alone is worth the trouble of getting there.



Haha I'm not quite sure yet. We'll see how it handles Goose this weekend. I've got plenty of ground clearance at this point now that I've got my springs in (photos coming later).

No you don't...haha really wish I was bringing frank now. Frank has 14.5" to the front skid. And 14" of front wheel travel.

For the photos I've seen yo don't have much ground clearance. We will find out!

But it also all depends on what you plan on doing with the truck.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

No you don't...haha really wish I was bringing frank now. Frank has 14.5" to the front skid. And 14" of front wheel travel.

For the photos I've seen yo don't have much ground clearance. We will find out!

But it also all depends on what you plan on doing with the truck.

I measured last night, I've got 12" under the front skid and 14.5" under the sliders. So I think I'm doing okay haha. Like we said, we'll see this weekend.

 

[Blackdawg]

I measured last night, I've got 12" under the front skid and 14.5" under the sliders. So I think I'm doing okay haha. Like we said, we'll see this weekend.

Stoked!!!! See you tonight man!

And wow frames are low on Nissans. I'm at 21" frame height.

 

[jhberria]

Great pictures man, I still need to upload some of mine when I get the chance (although it will likely be a while as I'm stuck in the Mojave Desert for the next month... Yay!). The NWOR was definitely a worthwhile a experience.

 

[RedF]

Haha awesome. Anyway, the trail I'm talking about is the old Independence Mine trail. Between Bozeman and Billings is a little town called Big Timber. If you get a chance, stop at the Frosty Freeze for lunch. Follow the main road through town till you get to the intersection with McLeod Street. Turn left there and just follow the road to the end. Once you're outside of town it turns into the Main Boulder Road. After about 25 miles it turns to dirt, and from there it's a further 22 miles to the trailhead. If you get a chance to stop at Natural Bridge falls (where the road turns to dirt), do so. It's a great view of a really cool natural formation. There's plenty of campgrounds to set up at, and the scenery just gets better the further you go. Once you're at the trailhead you can stop and air down. If you want to camp before you do the trail (it's kind of a long drive to get to it), there are several free primitive campsites, as well as several places to set up at along the trail. The trail itself is only 10 miles long or so, but where it ends is absolutely stunning. There is a beautiful alpine lake and you're right at the foot of Monument Peak. The view alone is worth the trouble of getting there.

South at Big Timber, and comes out at Livingston? What kind of trail is it? Like rocks or dirt?

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Great pictures man, I still need to upload some of mine when I get the chance (although it will likely be a while as I'm stuck in the Mojave Desert for the next month... Yay!). The NWOR was definitely a worthwhile a experience.

Thanks bud! Can't wait to see your photos. What are you going to the Mojave for?

South at Big Timber, and comes out at Livingston? What kind of trail is it? Like rocks or dirt?

Yes south at Big Timber, no it doesn't come out at Livingston. It's an out and back trail, not a point to point. Still very worth the drive though.

It's a combination of rock and dirt. The rocky bits aren't too tough though. A stock 4x4 can handle it.

 

[jhberria]

Thanks bud! Can't wait to see your photos. What are you going to the Mojave for?.

Training exercise for Uncle Sam. The good news is I'm going to pull in some extra scratch while I'm out here, so I'm probably going to bite the bullet on the ARB front when I get back. Truck looks great with the new leafs, BTW.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Training exercise for Uncle Sam. The good news is I'm going to pull in some extra scratch while I'm out here, so I'm probably going to bite the bullet on the ARB front when I get back. Truck looks great with the new leafs, BTW.

Thanks man. Well, sounds like a bit of a win anyway then. Haha that didn't take long. We sure did do a good job at nudging you in that direction at the Rally.

Hey quick question for you. I know I already asked you about MPG with your 285s, but how about the power loss? I know you're running up and down hills and valleys in your X, and I am wondering how much power loss you experienced after going to 285s. Like is it harder to keep your speed up steeper hills, is it a really annoying amount of loss, etc.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

So the day after I got my new leafs installed, my friends and I decided it would be a good day to go break them in and find a good place to hike. One of my friends wants to start off roading in his Subaru Baja, and I figured Hellroaring Road outside of Red Lodge was a good place for him to learn a bit. Hellroaring Road is not much of a trail, and can be done in 2wd, but it is rough and very rocky. It's a 7 mile climb up the northern wall of the same valley that the Beartooth Highway goes up. As such, the views are awesome. Luckily, my friend's Baja made it up no problem.



You guys have seen my photos of this place many times before, but trust me, the views never get old.







We did a fairly short hike over the alpine tundra at 10,000 feet, then started to head back down from the plateau. Once we were at the bottom, we decided to check out the road that goes along the bottom of the valley. That road takes you into some very pretty country.







Lola was looking resplendent in her natural habitat.





On the way back we found a spot that flexed the Subie. Got both tires off the ground briefly, and the little Baja handled it like a champ.





Overall it was a really fun experience in the mountains. Sadly, it was getting dark, so we headed back down the road towards the highway. But not before I took the chance to get some cool action shots of the cars on the way out.









Great way to kill a day!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

I just realized how much I need to update this list:

Suspension
Radflo Extended Travel Coilovers with 650lb springs - done
265/75R16 General Grabber AT2s - done
Old Man Emu Dakar MD leaf packs - done
Nisstec adjustable shackles - done
Bilstein 5125 rear shocks - ordered
Diff breather mod - done
Extended brake lines - ordered

Armor
ARB front bumper - done
ARB rear differential cover
Shrockworks engine skidplate - ready to be bolted on
Shrockworks transmission skidplate
Shrockworks radiator skidplate
Shrockworks transfer case skidplate
Shrockworks gas tank skidplate
White Knuckle rock sliders - done
ARB rear step bumper

Interior
Cobra 19 CB radio - done
Power distribution/fuse block - done
WeatherTech floor mats
OTRATTW air compressor switch - done
OTRATTW bumper lights switch - done
OTRATTW fog lights switch - done
RAM mounted iPad navigation system
Scangauge II
Spare parts bag - gathering parts
Tool roll
First aid kit - done
SPOT tracker
Micro Start XP10 jump pack
Mossberg 500 12ga
.45 FNX

Exterior
eBay snorkel - done
ARE canopy - done
Canopy roof rack - done
Front bumper mounted Hella Rallye 4000 driving lights - done
IPF fog lights for bumper cutouts - done
Front bumper mounted 3' red Firestik CB antenna - done
Rear bumper mounted lighting
Hi-Lift mount - done
Nissan Navara badging - in my garage

Accessories
Indel B 40 Liter fridge - ordered
ARB air compressor
Access battery-powered LED bed lights
Superwinch X9 or Warn VR8000 winch
Ironman 2m awning - done

Electrical
Xscorpion battery terminal - done
Blue Sea fuse block - done
Odyssey group 34 battery
Hella relay block w/relays - done

A couple quick notes...

My rear shocks are on their way. I did order the Bilstein 5125s as I think they are good enough for now. I will probably make the jump to a remote res setup sometime in the future, but these will do for now. After doing some measuring, I've also realized I need extended brake lines. I have those on order from Nisstec as well.

After the last few trips, I've decided what I need next, over anything else, is a fridge. So I ordered up an Indel B 50 liter fridge to replace my not so well insulated and slightly leaky cooler. I'm so over bringing ice it's not even funny. I am ready to upgrade

The last trip I did (you will read about it soon) has me pretty much convinced I should make the jump to 285s. I am still doing a bunch of research on their effects, but from the sounds of it I'm not going to notice a huge difference in power or mileage, given that the tires I would select aren't that much heavier than what I'm running now. Still need to think on it a bit, but I feel like that's the direction I'm headed anyway.

 

[docwatson]

You may have answered this already, but any reason against the 255/85? I am mostly ignorant on the subject, so my question is out of pure curiosity.

 

[Allof75]

Excellent pictures! Those subarus certainly seem to do well for what they are. If I didn't need low range, I'd probably be driving one.

Good on you for checking off all those mods. Definitely feels great to build your dream truck I'm sure.

 

[jhberria]

Thanks man. Well, sounds like a bit of a win anyway then. Haha that didn't take long. We sure did do a good job at nudging you in that direction at the Rally.

Hey quick question for you. I know I already asked you about MPG with your 285s, but how about the power loss? I know you're running up and down hills and valleys in your X, and I am wondering how much power loss you experienced after going to 285s. Like is it harder to keep your speed up steeper hills, is it a really annoying amount of loss, etc.

I mean, with my lack of will power coupled with your guys' peer pressure.... there was really only one logical way for my bumper dilemma to end.

As far as the tires, there's only one repetitive scenario in which I notice a distinct change in driving characteristics with the 285s. Long, gradual hills. The gradual climbs at freeway speeds that formally didn't require me to drop out of cruise control or cause the AT to downshift on me, now do. A little bothersome, but it's not the end of the world. In typical city driving or freeway driving I've noticed no other adverse changes in driving characteristics of the vehicle, even under heavy loads. Certainly nothing that warrants any regret in my decision to move up a size.