I agree, it is a very interesting project and is in scope of the ordinary man on a budget and his imagination.
Do you use the swb chassis complete without shortening it and just fit a different engine and mate it up to the gearbox or do you use the gearbox as well?
I am interested in doing something similar for off roading and didnt consider the vitara chassis until i saw it here. Good job.!
Hi
depends what you are intending to build or perhaps the intended use might dictate the way forward
I am using a swb chassis unmodified so I can retain the identity and use it on the road, if your off road then you could chop off the rear overhang to improve clearance on steep banks, the front is wishbone and strut so you arnt going to get the axle travel like you would with a coily landrover so trailing it might not be the best but comp safari or racing then it would be much better reducing the unsprung weight compared to the landys live axles, the front diffs are weak being made from alliminium so if you land with the power on they will break/split in half but fortunately the diesel version uses a steel front diff to live with the increased torque of the oil bunner so its easy to swap them over
there are 3 different wheelbases, swb being 89" lwb is 98" and xl7 is longer again at around 103" so plenty to choose from,
as for engines the little 16v puts out around 105 bhp not enough to pi$$ lewis Hamilton off granted but quite lively,
or if you move up to the 2.7 v6 out of the xl7 then you have around 200 ponies to propel you into the scenery.
on my tube buggy I am going rear wheel drive only and using a lexus V8 with 300 ponies just to make sure I do end up upside down in the bushes. back axles are remarkably strong never heard of one being broken.
vaxhaull fronteras have a very usable chassis to, torsion bar front suspension
and they can be bought for peanuts on ebay
I haven't had much time to progress mine as other projects keep queue jumping , the bar stewards, but I have started making up the base layer out of 50x50x2mm box that will pick up with the body mounts and have the tube frame welded on top,
not sure it shows up in the pics but that's all I have at present