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'99 VehiCross - New Guy Here

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'99 VehiCross - New Guy Here

Postby BartmanS4 » Sun Jun 11, 2017 3:36 am

Description:
Hello I’m Scott from Denver, Colorado US of A. I’ve had my 1999 Isuzu VehiCross since 2012. Currently has about 190k miles on it with a slightly fresher 145k engine in it. It has been highly modified over the years I’ve owned it. It got to me in very worn and neglected condition so I immediately swapped out the slipping 4L30 auto trans for an AR-5 five speed manual, had the body painted and coated all the body cladding with Line-X bedliner. I pulled out the back seat which is all but useless in the VX and then put on bigger tires. Since then the modifications have just kept a coming. I removed the TOD transfer case in favor of a manual 2H, 4H, 4L TC with 3:1 gears installed giving me about a 55:1 crawl ratio. I went from the stock 29” tires to 31”s then 33”s and now she sits on 35”ers. Installed a custom storage box that fills the foot area in the back and provides a flat floor from behind the driver’s seat to the back door. The most recent mod I’ve done is to cut open the back door and weld in a structure to allow for a oversized spare tire to be mounted. Living in Denver I have access to plenty of mountain trails of varying levels of difficulty. I also travel to Moab, Utah once a year to join up with likeminded Isuzu nuts.


Modifications and Accessories:

Suspension: 2.5 to 3 inches
Body Lift: 1 inch
Tyres/Wheels: 35x12.5x15 General Grabber X3
Traction Aids: LSD rear / ARB front air locker
Bullbar:
Spot lights and Lighting: 30” LED bar roof mounted
Communications/GPS: CB radio (common in US for off-roaders)
Dual Batteries: no, single
Engine: 3.5L V6
Exhaust: Stock
Sound system:
External: Roof rack, rear door spare tire mod, rock sliders, 9.5 ton winch
Internal: rear seat removed, custom rear foot well storage box

Pictures:

Before
Image

As she looks now.
Image
BartmanS4
Isuzu Baby
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:11 pm
Location: Denver, Colorado USA
Age: 49
Country: USA
City: Denver
Vehicle: 99 VehiCross 5spd

Re: '99 VehiCross - New Guy Here

Postby geeves » Sun Jun 11, 2017 4:09 pm

Looks nice. We dont have many vehicross here in NZ and I dont think there are any in Australia. How did you mount the winch in the factory bumper?
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
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geeves
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2013 Subaru XV

Re: '99 VehiCross - New Guy Here

Postby BartmanS4 » Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:11 pm

Thanks! Yeah, they only made around 5500 of these total and 1500 of those stayed in Japan and the rest went to the US. They are basically the same drivetrain as the '98-99 Trooper with a much shorter wheelbase. As for the winch there are a few options with the VX a few have replaced their entire front bumper with a modified Toyota aftermarket and then had no fitment problems. A few of us have had custom under bumper fabricated that allow for a smaller winch to fit underneath the cladding similar to this:
Image

I opted for a Smittybilt XRC-9.5 /w syn line but the Warn XD9000i is also a good fit. Anything bigger than that and it won't fit behind the cladding. I'll post some pics when I get a chance.
BartmanS4
Isuzu Baby
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2014 4:11 pm
Location: Denver, Colorado USA
Age: 49
Country: USA
City: Denver
Vehicle: 99 VehiCross 5spd

Re: '99 VehiCross - New Guy Here

Postby stardog » Sun Jun 11, 2017 5:41 pm

I have seen a few of them here in Australia for sale over the last 10 years but parts could be problem for them over here.
There was one converted to a diesel as well I think the person was asking about $17.000 for it was awhile back now I know they did originaly have the 3.2 petrol engine in them over here.
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Location: sydney nsw australia
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City: sydney
Vehicle: 96 wizard 3.1 top mount intercooler bulbar winch snorkel 2" lift front diff lock aftermarket transmission cooler.


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