So I have seen folks talk about their modifications over several threads, but thought it would be fun to get folks to describe their modification choices in one thread.  Including what you like and don't, and possibly why you made the choices you did.  Building my new rig, the input from our diverse group is helpful.

I'll get it started;

Todd Eliason's rig,

1993 Range Rover Classic LWB

Diesel conversion to LR 300TDI - Installed by Scott Williams

QT Diff Guards

Kenwood D700a Ham Radio

Icom F521 Public safety radio

DII Cupholders

OME HD springs and Shocks

Garmin GPSmap276C

Soon to have Wild Kingdom OffRoad sliders - purchased

Hellroaring Dual Battery setup with Odessey batteries (Roemer Offroad) - purchased

Great Basin Rovers (MaxiDrive) HD Front Axles and CV's - Purchased

Expedition Roof Tent - Purchased

TruTrack Differentials- Purchased

3.9 down gearing from GBR - soon

CooperTire Discoverer ST - January

LT230 CDL T-case - soon

Rovertracks or GBR HD Rear Axles - soon - Roemer OffRoad

9000K winch - Soon

Rovertym or custom winch bumper - soon

ARB Touring Roof rack - near future

On board air - Future

onboard water with pump and showerhead - Future

Onboard Heat Exchanger - future

Rear Bumper with swingaway tire carrier and fuel - Future

Ceiling mounted licorice dispenser - near future - Roemer OffRoad

Edit: Looks like I need to install something from ToddTech - seems to be the trend :)

I am trying to build my ultimate daily driver and expedition rig with mostly new running gear.  Hopefully nothing under 60K miles or rebuilt to near new condition.  Feel free to chime in with ideas on my build.

I moved this to the Projects forum. It is my hope that the Projects forum will be exactly this; a place where people will post about their past build-ups, current build-up, or current projects. If people need help with something, then it is best posted in the tech section. The projects section is for writing up what you've already done.

Craig

Time for an update...

1992 Range RoverCounty

3.9l Rover V8, still going strong at 147k 153k

[u]Current gear configuration[/u]

245/75-16 MT’s on 3 spoke RR alloys

Steering skid plate and front diff guard from DAP

Rear axle pinion guard from Rock Ware

Heavy-duty offset tie rod from Rock Ware

OME springs all around (courtesy of OTG)

Blingstein shocks

TonyTech front sway bar disconnects

Rear sway bar removed

Cargo compartment carpet-delete kit (rubber pickup bed mat)

Cargo tie downs from US Cargo control

Custom gear box in spare tire location

Marinco 12v power outlets in cargo area for Engel

Engel 45 on slide mount (courtesy of Roemer Offroad)

Dual batteries with Hellroaring BIC

ARB air locker rear diff (24 spline) with ARB pump (courtesy of OTG), with air connection in cargo area for tires, etc.

Garmin GPSmap 60Csx GPS with external antenna

Hella H4 headlamps

TonyTech headlamp washer relocation kit

TonyTech 50w backup lamp

TonyTech steering damper relocation kit

TonyTech winch bumper with recovery rings

Warn 8274 refurb’d by TonyTech

Albright heavy-duty winch solenoid (courtesy of Roemer Offroad)

3/8” Viking synth Trail Line and Viking aluminum fairlead (courtesy of Roemer Offroad)

SMH jumper cable connector in grill

TonyTech rear bumper with swing-away tire mount and recovery rings

Front and rear OEM Land Rover lamp guards

Yakima Loadwarrior basket

Roof-Top-Tent.com tent with vestibule (courtesy of Tood)

60” Hi-Lift jack and axe on rack mounts

Refurb’d sound system -- Panasonic AM/FM/CD head with iPod input, four 4” Pyramid two-ways running off an a/d/s/ PQ10 amp and the stock PQ8 amp driving the sub.

1000 watt 120v power inverter

Bicycle water bottle cages installed on cubby as drink holders

Fresh radiator (courtesy of Columbia Rovers)

[u]Future stuff[/u]

Heat exchanger for shower

LT230 (courtesy of WKOR)

New cats and muffler

24 spline front 3rd

Rear diff guard

Fuel tank skid plate

Energy field damage shields ala' Star Trek (sliders are so 2007...)

My reply came across too strong.  I think it is an awesome thread idea Todd!  I just moved it to keep my sense of world order in balance... don't mind me and my psychotic breaks.

2006 Rubicon Unlimited

- Scratches
- Dents
- Warn bumpers front & rear
- Warn HD9000 (lovingly mounted in front of OTG)
- Windshield mounted 150W Daylighters (thx Andy!)
- New oilpan
- Modified control arms
- less capacity than stock gas tank
- H4 conversion w/ E-code headlamps
- Missing foglamp

i think that's about it :)

1991 Range Rover (precious, thanks Ike) 

ARB RD56 rear air locker

24 spline Rovertracks HD rear axles

OME HD front springs

OME Heavy constant rear springs

Bilstein shocks front and rear

OME steering damper

WKOR sliders (coming)

Custom rear HD bumper

Southdown skid plate (not yet installed)

Sewer cap diff gaurds (not yet installed)

235-80-16 Cooper Discoverer S/T on factory 3 spokes (respect) :)

Brownchurch roof rack

Roof top tent courtesy of Todd

Mantec snorkel

Front factory brushbar

IPF 800xs driving lights

IPF 7" round H4 conversion headlamps w/ HD harness and 170 watt bulbs

Electronically controlled HID spot light mounted on A-pillar (work in progress)

On board air supply w/ tank (work in progress)

ARB refrigerator

Rebuilt ZF transmission w/ HD clutch packs

Rebuilt 3.9L w/ Crane camshaft and upgraded engine management

LT230 transfer case

1995 Discovery no leather or sunroofs =)

-r380 manual transmission- we just found it, not even looking for a 5 speed... fate??
-2" Iron man suspension Lift- to be different, everybody runs OME or RTE, i have no complaints, it's a little stiff but i don't mind, especially when it's fully loaded, the lift kit came with a full bushing kit, all for $450 i think.
-245/75 yokohama Geolander at's- bought these upon reccomendation from a few old school NWOS-er's, for what i use them for they're perfect, sucky in the gooey mud but great in the snow and everything else, something different than BFG AT's
-Recaro front seats- on the vehicle when i got it and they're not holding up too well, fabric has a 2" slit, they work, came with the truck
-RTE front bumper- hit a toyota pick up with it and it saved my front ps quarter panel, got the one with the "nose" have yet to see the same bumper here in the NW.
-PIAA 520 fogs- I like em, they work great for a wide beam
-Exhuast redone, ends after the axle and is tucked up higher...
-Pioneer MP3/cd player - ghetto-ly hooked up so the stock sub is connected to a sub pre-out on the deck, all other speakers are hard wired to the deck. Pioneer 6.5"s are in the back pillars. 2002 sub.
-Ramsey Pro Plus 9000- Only had one problem and it was when i've needed it the most, the male pins for the controller wore down and so they were not touching together.
*wish list*
Tru trac for the rear- traction!
Diesel engine (it's coming, fossil fuel is running dry)
New shocks - not sure as to what kind yet
Fuel tank skid- i drag my fuel tank quite a bit, so much that the fuel vent has become a little closed up
Synthetic winchline- because everytime i used the wire rope i envision it snapping and sending rope and hooks through windshields


+edited to elaborate+

O.K., I'll play.

Rig:  2000 Toyota Tacoma Xcab SR5, 4X4, five speed manual tranny, V6, purchased new in Feb. 2000.

OME HD suspension front and rear with greasable shackles

Cooper STT siped M&S tires 31x10.5.x15

ARB front bumper with Warn 8000 winch, need to replace wire rope with synthetic

PowerTrax No-slip rear diff.

Stout Equipment Co. rear bumper with two 3/4" clevis'

Raven HD fiberglass top from new, recently installed Windoors on sides

DAD sports seats. 

AJ sliders

BudBuilt front diff and engine guard

Skidrow transfercase guard

Icom 706MKIIG HF/VHF/UHF radio

Diamond 2m/440 ant

Tarheel screwdriver ant for HF

ARB 45 Qt frig/freezer

Slee Off-road slider mount for refrigerator

numerous tie-down mounted along bed rails to keep gear in place

Yakima rack system on Raven top; use four Yakima crossbars

Fiamma 8' awning

Fiamma ramps

Garmin GPS map 76s

DeLorme LT20 GPS used with notebook computer running both Topo USA and Street Atlas software

Columbus Variant or Maggiolina Extreme roof-top tents (own one of each) Disclaimer; I sell these tents because I think they are the best for Rocky Mtn and Pacific NW environment.

Rational behind my selection of equipment.  In February of 2000, I finally got sick of dumping money into my beloved 1990 RR SWB.  Beautiful vehicle on and off-road, grotesque maintenance costs.  Freedom was at hand, the kids were grown and the dog was dead.  I needed something I could use around town, at work as a geologist, and for exploring the western U.S.  I wanted something affordable, reliable, got pretty good mileage (16-22 mpg typical), and had a lot of off-road parts available for it.  I selectedd a Toyota Tacoma V6 and it has met or exceeded all my expectations.  I now have almost 100,000 miles on the rig and am completely happy with it.  Minor problems have been few and far between: the 60/40 bench seat was one of the first things to go.  It did not allow easy access to the storage area in the Xcab while driving.  Upshifting into 2nd gear has to be done slowly or the inevitible gear grinding occurs.  I've had this probem since day one.  The overhead cab light switch is bad.  Other than that it is a dream to drive.  Three days ago, a friend and I took off from Spokane, WA and drove down to his property near Weippe, ID, to cut some Xmas trees.  We hit a lot of icey roads on the way down, and I had to four-wheel into his 90 acre property along the Lolo River following a switchback logging road that dropped about 1,500 feet from Weippe plateau down to the river.  We had a great time through the snow and sleet, saw a lynx and several deer, and followed a cougar track for a 1/4 mile.  the entire trip was over 400 miles and we were gone and back in less than 10 hours.  The rig works exactly the way I planned it to when I built it up.  Now all I really have to do to it is regular maintenance.  Life is good.

B V,

I would like to hear what your experiences with the Xtrerra have been.  I tried to buy one when they first came out, but they couldn't find me one with a manual transmission.  Are off-road parts easily available?

See you like to homebrew.  If you have a pair of old shackles lying about, you can use one-half of a shackle along with several grade eight bolts to mount a Hi-Lift jack above your soon to own ARB bumper.  Use the lighting mounts ARB typically welds to the upper tube of the bumper.  It has worked for me for four years now.

Wish the people talking about their buildups here would discuss why they used the parts they did, and how it is working out on the trail. 

Dale WU7X

Regarding the hi-lift, the Xterra has room for it under the rear seat, only a 48" though...so that's where it stays!

Overall aftermarket parts for the Xterra are slim...especially if you compare to Jeep Grand Cherokees (even the new ones), and Toyota FJ Cruiser.

I have owned two of these trucks, a gen1 (00-04), and the current truck a gen2 (05-present).

There is a fair amount of stuff for the gen1 now (even solid axle swap kits), but not much for the gen2 yet. In an effort to provide an ultra-abridged version of my experiences with these trucks read below:

- Bought the 02' Supercharged Xterra in 01 to tow my boat (had a bronco for 4x4)
- Ran a few light trails with the Xterra stock, lifted it 1.5" and had BFG all terrains on it (265/70r17)
- Hopped up the engine a little (intake, exhaust, overdrive pulley for the supercharger...12psi)
(About this time I moved to WA, and sold the Bronco before I left CA)
- Blew the engine up, and got it covered under warranty (mostly)
- Decided to dyno the engine at work, and blew up the replacement engine 2mos later (oops!)
----
-Traded in the 02 for an 05 in Dec of 05
-2.5" lift and 33's in February 06
-Original lift sucked (too high spring rate, wouldn't flex)
-Upgraded to current lift and have been mostly happy with the suspension since then
-New suspension RTI's at 565 front, 585 rear.

My rig.

1986 Isuzu Trooper 2.3L

Not much in the way of aftermarket stuff for the ole' troop.

Rear aussie locker

4.56 gears

Pro Comp ES3000 shocks.

New Clearwater Cylinder head.

Weber carb conversion with K&N filter.

Industrial strength 2" lift shackles from Independent4X

Low profile bump stops for the front.

Optima Red top

The Hi-lift mounted behind the seats.

31-10.50 Wildcat ext mud terrain tires.

10,500 Milemarker Hydraulic winch......needs to be mounted up.

Superwinch manual hubs

Cobra #@$% CB

Coming Soon:

Rock Sliders

Electric cooling fan

New exhaust...

Either wheel spacers or new offset rims, The tires rub at full stuff in the back.

Magellan explorist 500LE....under the X-mas tree

And oh yeah...I got some cool crome lug nuts....too

 This little rig suprises me and the guys I wheel with everytime I take it out. For a pretty much stock rig, I'm able to keep up with the guys running 35's and big lifts. It's amazing what you can do with gears and a locker.

"Not much in the way of aftermarket stuff for the ole' troop."

I had the same problem with my '88 Montero shorty.  But likewise, a very capable truck right out of the box.

Wow, after reading all the dodads you guys have on your rigs I wanted to throw in a few things on mine.

I have a 1973 Pinzgauer 710M, for those that are familiar with some of the exotic (my word) Land Rovers, it bears a very strong resemblance to a LR101.  I have added a few things, as it is an ex-military vehicle and was not made for comfort.

Radio, one that plays CD's..wahoo.

CB, not the best communication device but it beats shouting out the window. The horn works. I think a Ham unit may be in my future along with a GPS.

48'' highlift, have not used it.

Warn 9000k 24v winch, only used it once. Very embarassing story.

ARB fridge, tri-voltage, 12, 24 and 120v. Great for having a cold beer at the end of a run (not during, ...this is a very strong rule)

Twin red top Optima batteries in series and a 20w solar panel to charge the spare battery for the ARB fridge.

Viair compressor

Tail lamp revisions to change the yellow stop lamps to red. The yellow light is ok in Europe but confuses people in the states. I added a red stop lamp to the center of the spare tire for extra visibility at night.

Petronix ignition, much better than the stock military dizzie.

The pinz comes from the Swiss military with all the tools needed to do most repairs, tire chains, shovel, ax, etc. The stock clearance is 13.5 inches, with 33'' tires it goes up to about 15, but with the winch (not a stock item) and custom bumper on the front it drops back to 13 in front and 14 in the rear. I have added a few storage areas and extra petrol can holders. I bought it with the 33's on it as the stock Maloyas really are not a very good tire for all around use. It will haul about 2000lb and I have had 16 bags of redy mix conc in the back with no appreciable handling problems. Not bad for an 87 horse air cooled power plant.  ...oh yeah, the heater sucks. It comes off the exhaust air chamber like a VW.

It really leaks in the rain and I have to install new door seals. Even so, I love this vehicle and wouldn't trade it for any other one I know about.

Morris

It hates me too.  Let me guess, you did the "quick reply" and someone posted before you, so you lost the entire *lengthy* post.  I hate that.

C