79s in the Blood

The love of LandCruisers can often be hereditary and the passion for owning a heavily modified 79 certainly runs strong in this family. Father David and son Nick have a common family interest in 4WDing and touring and their passion extends to the love of the Dual Cab 79 Series LandCruisers, so it make sense to do a father/son build from start to finish on a couple of big double cabs.

David opted for the traditional and much loved Sandy Taupe while Nick decided to go left-field and order in a brand spanking new Merlot Red 79.  The only thing better than a Jmacx coil conversion is having two on the go at the same time and, well a 79 build just isn’t complete without one these days so it makes sense to have both of these beasts as capable as you can get a 79.

Both vehicles were fitted with the coil spring conversion using Kings remote res shocks giving a GVM of 4200kg at 4 inches of lift. Both kits entail the usual suspects including refabbed diff housing correcting rear wheel track, stronger axles, airbags for load carrying assistance, front heavy duty radius arms, adjustable panhard rods and an NPC heavy duty clutch.

Both vehicles were also fitted with Method 312 Matte Black wheels in a 17×9 inch wrapped in the Toyo Open Country RTs that measure in a 35 x 12.5 inches. From here though, the vehicles start to take on their own personal touches and the biggest point of difference between the two starts with the bar work. While David went with the traditional bar in the way of the TJM T13 Outback bar offering full frontal protection of the big 79’s square lines, and matching TJM brush bars and side steps – Nick opted for a more stylised look while still offering basic protection from the Predator Bar by Offroad Animal along with matching rock sliders. Both vehicles will be recovering Patrols using a 12,000lbs TJM Torq winch with synthetic rope and wireless controllers.

The other stand-out features for both of these vehicles include tray and canopy packages from MITS Alloy. Again, personalised touches included dimensions of the canopies with David going with the full-length canopy and Nick opting for a half canopy, both colour- coded to match the vehicle.  David’s full-length canopy has the complete touring fit-out consisting of a Bushmans upright 85L fridge, sliding draws, Travel Buddy oven and a battery system combining Enerdrive AC and DC charging systems and twin Kick Ass 170 A/h AGM batteries. There are twin wheel carriers mounted to the back.

There is a full on-board air inflation kit by Airbag Man using the TJM Heavy Duty Compressor. This gives David full control of the airbags in-cab as well as being able to run an airline for tyre inflation which is flush mounted into the rear fascia of the tray. Tapered colour coded tool boxes and an under tray trundle draw add to storage capacity and a built-in water tank in the headboard saves room for water storage for remote travel supplies.

Nick’s Canopy is fitted out with a Clearview ES150 Plus drop-down fridge slide and Enerdrive BCDC charging system driving a single 170A/h kickAss slimline AGM battery.  A Travel Buddy 12V oven was also mounted on an overhanging shelf compartment.  Again an Airbag Man on-board Air inflation system was installed using the TJM Heavy Duty Compressor for airbag inflation as well as the ability for tyre inflation. Tapered under body tool boxes and a trundle tray were also a must for Nick for extra storage capacity.

Both vehicles are fitted with Hayman Reece’s top of the range X Bar tow bar which incorporates heavy duty tow points into the bar. Both vehicles are also fitted with the Redarc Tow Prow Elite Version 3 trailer braking units.

David’s 79 is running a Rhino Pioneer Platform on the roof which holds the Enerdrive 180W solar panel and Darche 180 Eclipse awning for protection from the elements.

Lighting for Nick’s vehicle is a 21.5″ slimline LED light bar by Stedi which is integrated into the top tube of the Off-Road Animal bar and lights up the track while being tucked away nicely and out of harm’s way. David runs the Stedi Type-X Sport 8.5″ LED driving lights which are perfect for turning night in to day.  Both have had the OEM headlights replace with Stedi LED upgrades so no more travelling by candle light as anyone that’s driven the 79 on standard headlights will be familiar with.

Under the bonnet, both of these trucks are running HPD catch cans, Diesel Care secondary fuel filters and HPD upgraded intercoolers for engine protection; and Patrol Docta stainless steel air boxes and snorkels for improved, cleaner air flow.  Both were fitted with the Marks Adapters bonnet strut upgrade to make life a little easier and save the old-school steel bonnet rod from bending under the weight of the hefty overweight bonnet.

Interior features for both vehicles include  upgraded entertainment systems by Kenwood, installed by our good friends at House of Soundz. The interiors were completely stripped out and Dynomat sound insulation fitted for reduced road noise and better interior acoustics. Bushmans Centre Console fridges were installed for keeping stuff cool while on the road and  Department of the Interior custom console with gauges and USB sockets were designed to fit the Bushmans fridges.  GME XRS 370 UHF radios take care of comms and a set of Black Duck 4 Elements seat covers finishes the interiors off just nicely on these two beasts.

The pair of big 70s will definitely be the talking point of many a family get-togethers now and outings on the tracks are family affair. The guys couldn’t be happier with their big rigs and we are happy to be apart of this father/son build. Keep and eye out for these two weapons on the tracks, you certainly wont miss them!