4X4 Australia

UPGRADE or modify? It’s a problem that plagues four-wheel drive owners across the country.

Vote for Jarad’s ML Triton to decide this year’s Custom 4×4 of the Year.

On the one hand, you’ve often spent so much money on your ride that the thought of starting over again will see your wallet snap shut out of fear. On the other, you could be throwing good money after bad continually tweaking what you currently have into what you currently want. It’s a predicament that plagued Queensland local Jarad Roberts deep into the third iteration of his ML Mitsubishi Triton.

Jarad’s Triton started life like so many other 4x4s. Just two years old when he got the keys, it received an altitude adjustment of two inches with a set of 33s slotted into the arches. It made the perfect beach-camping rig, but wasn’t up to the job when pointed towards some of the more serious tracks in South East Queensland’s numerous off-road parks.

Out went the two-inch lift and 33s; in went a five-inch lift and 35s. Despite the large lift and larger tyres, the Triton still wasn’t capable enough for what Jarad was asking of it. He toyed with the idea of selling it and replacing it with something more hardcore, but then he’d lose the comfort and reliability he needed to take the family camping.

A call to Greg from Outcast Offroad in Queensland sealed the Triton’s fate. There’d be no more mucking around with the stock suspension; it was to go on a hoist and be stripped back to a clean set of chassis rails, then it would roll out of the Burleigh Heads workshop as a comp-truck in tourer clothing.

First on the chopping block was the independent front suspension (IFS). IFS is ideal for comfort and handling, but it’s rarely as effective as a live axle when off-road. Where the old complicated set-up used to live there’s now a heavy-duty Dana 44 from East Coast Gear Supply in the USA.

It has been externally beefed up with bracing and a Solid Industry diff hat, while the insides are shoehorned full of 35-spline chrome-moly axles with Nitro Gear 4.11:1 ratios, wrapped around an ELocker. Before the Dana 44 could go in, the front chassis rails were stripped bare, ready for the new bracketry.

There’s a pair of custom Patrol-style radius arms with a custom Panhard rod keeping the diff in place, while a Patrol steering box sends input to the D44 through a set of steering rods from an early full-size Jeep Cherokee. The whole lot is kept in check by a Fox steering damper.

Of course, keeping the diff in place is only half the battle. Welded to the chassis is a pair of custom shock towers that house 2.5-inch remote-reservoir Fox coil-overs. They’re not only far easier to package than a traditional separate coil and shock arrangement, but they provide limitless tuning options to get the ride quality perfect in all conditions.

With the bugs ironed out in the front, it was time for Greg to wave his magic wand over the rear end. The lifted leaf springs work great for carrying a load but stumble when it comes to articulation and ride quality – two things you want in a rock-crawler-cum-family-tourer.

With the rear suspension so far removed from the standard arrangement, most would be surprised to learn Jarad’s Triton still runs the standard rear axle: a huge 31-spline unit lifted straight out of the previous-generation Mitsubishi Pajero, although now boasting an ARB Air Locker.

Holding the massive rear axle in place is a custom three-link suspension arrangement, with the upper link going to an extensive diff brace. Much like the front, the rear end is kept suspended via a set of 2.5-inch remote-reservoir Fox coil-overs, although this time they’re mounted inside a pair of tube shock towers. Those with an eagle eye may have noticed the rear end is decidedly stubby, as there’s been a whopping 400mm lopped off the end of the chassis rails to drastically improve the departure angle.

The Triton was slowly but surely making its way from family tourer to family crawler. The factory tub and canopy, along with the family’s extensive camping set-up, went up on Gumtree, while Greg set to work sculpting the stout tube tray based on Jarad’s designs.

The combination of dimple-died plate, tube sides and thick flares make the tray near-on unbreakable, although camping duties have been relegated to the teardrop-style trailer the family now hauls behind the Triton. Underneath the tray rests a second battery and air compressor set-up, as well as spare tyre storage large enough to handle the 37in Maxxis Trepadors that Jarad fits for play. Street duties see the Triton wearing more reasonable 35-inch Mickey Thompson MTZs.

The visually striking custom bar up front is another Outcast Offroad masterpiece. Built to suit the 50mm bodylift, the bar houses a 12,000lb Avenger winch and Hella HID spotlights. The HIDs, a 42-inch quad-row light bar, LED replacement headlights and fog lights means the Triton punches out close to 70,000 Lumens of usable light.

The TJM snorkel might give the impression there’s a stock engine tucked away under the bonnet, but that’s only half true. On its first pass on the dyno the 3.2-litre turbo-diesel punched out around 230Nm at the rear wheels, despite already being fitted with a three-inch straight-through exhaust and K&N filter. An ECU re-map and dyno tune netted a sweet increase, with 500Nm now punching through to the rear axle. Of course, that level of power doesn’t come easy.

A Chip It manual boost and drive controller lends a hand with the Exedy HD clutch and oversized radiator to keep it all cool. Power is sent rearwards through the stock transmission, although Marks 4WD Adaptors reduction gears get the Triton crawling better than stock with improved engine braking for steep downhill tracks, even with the 37-inch tyres.

Despite the extensive modifications, Jarad doesn’t hesitate loading up the family and heading off for an adventure with the camper in tow. There’s a modern stereo, power steering, cruise control, ABS and air conditioning, and the whole thing is engineered and completely road-legal. In fact, the only thing Jarad regrets is not building it right from the first day he got the keys.

There’s been a few hurdles and changes of direction along the way, but Jarad now has a 4×4 that will do it all, from hardcore rock crawling trips through to peaceful beach camping with the family. However, that’s to be expected from what is undoubtedly the best road-going Triton in Australia.

WHY A DANA 44? YOU may be wondering why Jarad choose an front axle from the USA when there are so many local options available. The first reason is due to the transfer case. Transfer cases are either left- or right-hand drop, meaning the front driveshaft is located on the passenger or driver side of the car. In most live-axle 4x4s in Australia the driveshaft is right-hand drop, while in most late-model 4x4s the driveshaft is left-hand drop. So they simply won’t line up without extensive modifications. However, the Dana 44 was available in right- or left-hand offset to suit the transfer case drop.

The other major selling point was engineering. The Dana 44 under Jarad’s Triton is essentially the same spec as what was available in late-model International Scouts, which came standard with 35in tyres. This made it easy for the engineer to sign off on it all.

Vote for Jarad’s ML Triton to decide this year’s Custom 4×4 of the Year.

WE HAD stopped under the shade of what seemed to be the only tree around. The country stretched away to the horizon all around us, but the normal landscape of rolling dry saltbush was broken by a stretch of water… and it wasn’t a mirage.

The Cobham Lakes straddle the road north of Packsaddle along the Silver City Highway and, from what we have been told, the easternmost one is salt and the one off the west side of the road is fresh. An historic grave of a woman who died there back in 1886 can be found on the north side of the lake, but we couldn’t find a single sign of the first hotel – by all accounts opened in 1882 – built in the Corner Country.

Earlier that morning we had left Broken Hill, the gateway to the Corner Country of NSW and the foundation stone of the western part of the state. The town once sat on the biggest and richest silver/lead/zinc deposit in the world; when it was first discovered in the 1870s, it made the finders very rich men.

It became the absolute bedrock of what is now the gargantuan BHP Billiton and, while there are far fewer miners working underground these days and BHP has moved on to bigger things, the town has become a focus for tourism and outback art.

We headed north up the Silver City Highway that today is more bitumen than gravel, although there are still some lengthy sections of unpaved road. We passed the ruins of old hotels at Stephens Creek and Yanco Glen, before coming to the site of the old township of Euriowie. Back in the 1880s, tin was found in the nearby Barrier Ranges, and at its peak the town had a population of 700.

Today, little remains of the town, but the old cemetery can be found on the north-eastern side of Euriowie Creek, and with permission from the local land owner there are some hidden ruins to discover in the nearby hills. Also scattered around this area and in the gorges are some impressive Aboriginal rock engraving sites.

We stopped in at the Packsaddle Roadhouse, but it was too early for a cold beer so we contented ourselves with a softy and pushed on. It was then that we stopped under the shade of the lone tree at Cobham Lakes, which would make a pleasant overnight stop, before the highway called again.

The next stop north was Milparinka, which has seen the doors of the historic Albert Hotel opened again. So we decided to call it quits for the day and set up camp just a stone’s throw from the notable and pleasant drinking hole. In fact, while washing down the dust from our travels, the menu looked so good we decided any cooking was going out the window and we were having a meal there as well. Who could argue with that?

The local historical society has done a lot of work at Milparinka, which back in the 1880s was the centre of the surrounding goldfields. They have refurbished the last two grand, old stone buildings, set up information signs and displays, as well as established a fine little museum, which is worth a wander through. Sadly, the Albert Goldfields aren’t accessible, as they are being worked and have been closed off for public safety – that’s the excuse anyway.

Just 16km north-west of Milparinka is Depot Glen, where Charles Sturt and his men were trapped for more than six months in the drought of 1844. James Poole, Sturt’s 2IC, died here and his grave can still be seen, while Mt Poole is a few kilometres away across the gibber-strewn plain. Here on top of its lowly, rocky crest, Sturt had his men (my great-great grandfather among them) build a rock cairn as a memorial to Poole, but, more pragmatically, it was used as a beacon to help him navigate in this near-featureless country.

Back on the main road it’s just a short hop to Tibooburra, which is the biggest town on this loop through the Corner Country. It’s easy to see why this place was originally known during the goldrush era as ‘The Granites’, as the little hamlet is surrounded by piles of rounded, weather-smoothed rocks.

With two pubs and a couple of servos and general stores, it’s an oasis in a dry land. Check out the model of what Sturt’s 1844 expedition looked like in the local national parks office, and don’t forget to admire the paintings on the walls of the Family Hotel, some of which were done by acclaimed artist, the late Clifton Pugh.

The story goes he got stuck in the pub because of rain closing the roads, and when he got bored he started painting the walls. Mind you, the portraits don’t have much clothing on, and it turns out they were the publican’s daughters!

Tibooburra is essentially surrounded by the Sturt National Park, and just outside town is Golden Gully, where you’ll find a heap of transplanted mining equipment from when gold was being dug and when water was scarcer than the much sought-after mineral.

Nearby is Dead Horse Gully campground, while a couple of tourist drives through the park take you to old Mt Wood Homestead and Jump-Up country, both of which are worth doing. However, for our little party, it was enough to have a quick look around town, get some fuel and head to the Sturt National Park, some 85km north-west of the town and just south of Fort Grey Homestead.

Not far from the homestead is a small camping area close to where Charles Sturt set up another camp in July 1845. His party stayed here for four months while Sturt led a small group of men north as far as Cooper Creek and the eastern edge of the Simpson Desert.

For us, though, Fort Grey was just a short drive to Cameron Corner, the meeting point of the borders of NSW, SA and Queensland. Surveyor JB Cameron spent two years from 1880 to 1882 marking the Queensland/NSW border, and he placed a post here in September 1880 – so I guess it’s fair enough for it to be named after him.

The Wild Dog Fence that follows the borders came a few years later and is still in use today. It attempts to keep dingoes on the north and west side of the netting, so that farmers can run sheep on the south side, but it’s only partially successful at that.

For most travellers, Cameron Corner is well-known for its store and hotel, which opened in 1989 and has been supplying cold beer, a hot meal and accommodation and camping since. We stopped for the evening, set up camp and wandered over for a coldie or two, but this time around resisted a meal in the friendly establishment.

The next day we headed back towards Tibooburra then took the Gum Vale Gorge road south-west from town, which is the back way to Milparinka. There’s an opportunity along the way to check out the old mining equipment around the Warratta Mine, before pushing on and passing Mt Sturt Homestead and arriving back at the small hamlet.

There were a few kangaroos around in the early morning, but as the sun climbed higher they retreated to the shade. At one spot further south, the ’roos in their quest for water had dug out a big depression in the sand; two were even scraping away at the soak as we came along. They must have been thirsty, as they didn’t bound away when we neared.

Pushing south and staying away from the highway is a pleasant run, only spoilt by the sheer number of gates you must pass through. In fact, as you head past Mt Shannon, Pincally, Pimpara Lake, Yelka and The Veldt homesteads, there must be more gates along this back road than anywhere else in Australia.

As we continued along the route, we managed to get confused at a number of track junctions that pass by lonely homesteads including Teilta, McDougalls Well, Corona and Willangee. Quite a number of these stations and others in the surrounding area offer accommodation and camping, as well as tours and self-drive 4WD tracks to enjoy.

There couldn’t be a better way to get an understanding of the country and the people who live and work out here than by staying at one or more of these properties. And you’ll get to see some great wildlife, especially the many birds that call this semi-desert region home.

We soon pulled into the well-known Eldee Station that nestles beside the western flank of the Barrier Ranges, where Naomi and Steve Schmidt made us feel welcome. Here you can enjoy some great 4WD tracks, take a photography course, or enjoy a guided walk.

When you come back to the homestead you can cool off in the pool and spa. It’s a well set up station stay.

The next morning we headed across the Mundi Mundi Plains and climbed the hill that overlooks them. We soon came to Silverton, where among the scattered ruins of this once vibrant silver mining town you’ll find a few first-class outback art galleries, as well as the Mad Max Museum (because the films of the same name were shot around here). You can also visit the old Silverton Gaol and the Daydream Mine.

However, as we had popped into every outback pub we’d passed along the way, we rolled to a halt at the Silverton Hotel.

With Broken Hill just down the road, our trip around Corner Country was drawing to a close. But like so many times before, we’ll be back – I bet you won’t be able to just visit it once, either.

TRAVEL PLANNER

BROKEN Hill, the gateway to Corner Country, is 1150km west of Sydney, 840km north-west of Melbourne, and 520km north-east of Adelaide. It can supply everything a traveller needs, and it demands more than a day to visit all of its attractions. For more: www.brokenhillaustralia.com.au.

The best place to start your planning for a trip out to the Corner Country is at: www.outbacknsw.com.au. Here you’ll find all the sheep and cattle stations in the area that offer camping and accommodation. The best time to go is winter and spring… so hop to it! Eldee Station: www.eldeestation.com. Silverton: www.silverton.org.au.

AFTER we asked our readers for suggestions of where we should put the Toyota Hilux to the test, we chose the Canning Stock Route through the remote centre of Western Australia.

The Canning Stock Route follows an ancient track that was once used to move mobs of cattle south through WA’s dry heartland to Perth. It’s one of the most remote tracks in the world and its rugged, unyielding terrain will put any vehicle to the test. It’s a renowned car-breaker, so what better place to test the so-called ‘Unbreakable Hilux’.

To make life even tougher on this SR5 double-cab Hilux, we used it as the support vehicle for a group of other cars. It was loaded up with a 400-litre fuel tank in its tray, plus spare tyres and most of the camping gear for trip members. We were going to work the blue ute hard.

The Hilux was bone-stock, right down to its showroom tyres. In fact, Toyota refused to give us spare shock absorbers for the trip, telling us we wouldn’t need them. It turns out they were right, as the car didn’t put a foot wrong during the entire 1600km stretch of the CSR. It even went on to take the party to Broome in the west, before taking on the Gibb River Road heading back to Darwin!

A sound test for any vehicle, and one the Hilux passed with flying colours.

Fusing scones and bread to create a sensational treat.

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

Cooking It

Preparation time: 10-15min | Cooking time: 10-15min

Step 1: Prepare your camp oven (or oven) and preheat to 220°C.Step 2: Sift flour and salt into a large bowl.Step 3: Heat butter in a small saucepan until it has melted. Then add the milk and heat to blood temperature.Step 4: Add the mashed bananas to the milk/butter mixture and mix well.Step 5: Make a well in the centre of the sifted flour and pour in the milk/banana mixture.Step 6: Mix gently with a knife until it has formed a soft dough.Step 7: Scrape the dough out onto a floured board or working surface. Shape into a circle or square and pat out to a 2.5cm thickness.Step 8: Cut into rounds or squares (as big or as little as you like). Handle the dough as little as possible, or you’ll end up with heavy, tough scones.Step 9: Place in a lightly greased ovenproof dish, such as an enamel dish or foil tray, and glaze tops with a little milk.Step 10: Place the dish on a trivet in a preheated camp oven and bake for approximately 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.

Viv’s hints

THESE scobreads take a little longer to cook than a normal scone because of the banana content, so make sure you don’t burn the base. Don’t fret if you do though – just cut off the burnt bits, they will still taste yummy!

If you’ve used large bananas you may need to add less milk, or if the dough is too wet, more flour, to get the right consistency. It should be a soft dough.

Have the scones just touching in your dish, as it forces them to rise upwards and not outwards.

Don’t have self-raising flour? Then use 500g plain flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder and two pinches of salt.

Serve warm with butter and honey, or honey and cream. They are best eaten warm after baking, however they can be wrapped in foil and reheated in your camp oven.

Other handy things to remember when baking scones include: sift the flour twice to achieve a light scone; always use milk that has been heated to blood temperature; use sour milk or buttermilk; dip the scone cutter in flour before and after cutting each scone to prevent the wet dough from sticking; cook immediately on mixing; and remove the scones from the dish and cool on a wire rack so they don’t sweat.

Website of the month

The CWA (Country Women’s Association) has a wealth of family recipes and a couple of their own cookbooks. For a collection of their simple recipes, check out: https://au.pinterest.com/cwarecipes

Want more recipe ides? Browse our Bush Cooking collection for inspiration.

JEEP has unveiled a one-of-a-kind Wrangler 75th Salute concept to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the original Willys MB military vehicle.

This year marks 75 years since the legendary WWII military vehicle went into production, after Willys-Overland was awarded a contract from the US government to build the first Willys MB on July 15, 1941.

It all started in July of 1940 when the US military invited 135 manufacturers to bid on the production of a light reconnaissance war rig that would replace the military’s motorcycles and Ford Model-T vehicles.

To get the vehicle it desired, the army developed a list of criteria: a 600lb load capacity; wheelbase less than 75 inches; height less than 36 inches; smooth-running engine that ranged from three to 50mph; rectangular body shape; four-wheel drive with a two-speed transfer case; fold-down windshield; three bucket seats; blackout and driving light; and a GVM of less than 1300lb.

Only three manufacturers met the brief: Willys-Overland (which developed the Willys Quad), Bantam Car Manufacturing Company (Model 40 BRC) and the Ford Motor Company (GP Pygmy).

After testing and further evaluation, the Willys Quad (which became the MA and later the MB) was selected and started rolling into the battlefields when the US entered the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The recently revealed Wrangler 75th Salute concept vehicle encompasses the rugged toughness and authenticity of the original Jeep military vehicles, with the omission of B-pillars and doors. The traditional olive-drab colour scheme evident 75 years ago also adorns the concept.

Based on a two-door Jeep Wrangler Sport, the Salute concept features 16-inch steel wheels covered in 32-inch military non-directional tyres, hood latches, a rear-mounted spare, steel front and rear bumpers with tow hooks, and low-back canvas seats. Other features that pay homage to the original include custom wood hood blocks and side mirrors, and bronze commemorative fender badges.

It’s powered by a 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine, mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

The Salute concept was built in Toledo, Ohio, on the same assembly line that has produced the Wrangler for decades!

“We are creating this unique Jeep Wrangler 75th Salute concept vehicle in celebration of the brand’s legendary history, and to demonstrate that, 75 years later, today’s iconic Jeep Wrangler is instantly recognisable and clearly connected to the original Willys MB,” said Mike Manley, head of Jeep Brand – FCA Global.

“Since they were first produced in 1941, Jeep vehicles have been the authentic benchmark for off-road capability, having mastered more terrain, led more adventures and provided drivers more freedom than any other vehicle before or since,” he said.

SOME recovery accessories have cutting-edge designs, are easy to use and can dramatically increase safety.

But not the high-lift jack. They’re heavy, almost laughably low-tech, and they have the potential to put a grown man in hospital with a bag full of previously attached teeth.

Despite this, they are without doubt the most versatile piece of recovery equipment you can buy and should have a place in any tourer worth its salt.

The basic design has been around for more than 100 years, with the Bloomfield Manufacturing Company (owner of the Hi-Lift Jack Company) first putting it on the market in 1905 as the Automatic Combination Tool. Over the next century, the number of uses the jack was put to paled only in comparison to how often the design was copied.

Unlike more niche products, the high-lift is so versatile due to its simplicity – in basic form it’s essentially a huge mechanical lever. Using a range of various attachments, tourers can utilise that force and perform a huge range of jobs with the one tool: straighten bent steering rods; press in uni joints; turn a vehicle around on the spot; it can even double as a hand winch.

HOW IT WORKS IF YOU’VE ever ran your eyes over a high-lift jack, you’d no doubt be familiar with the I-beam spine and the numerous holes throughout. While the holes keep weight down, their main purpose is to provide a stable footing for the jacking mechanism. As the handle cranks back and forth, each cycle unseats one of the two climbing pins from a hole in the spine, before lifting up and sliding into the next hole above.

Think of it like walking up a ladder. One foot comes off the rung, moves up to the next, and the next foot follows. All the work is done by the running gear, with the spine acting as a ladder for it to climb. With a long-enough spine, there’s no end to how high you can lift.

A high-lift jack will generally have a little over two tonnes of lifting force and is capable of driving in both directions up and down the spine. That said, when cycling down, the jack requires a constant load to work correctly. When the load gets too light, the running gear will drop the rest of the way down the spine.

GETTING IN THE AIR FIRST and foremost, a high-lift jack is for lifting heavy things like 4x4s, and this is probably the most common reason people buy a high-lift. However, there are a few tricks and techniques to be mindful of before swinging the big red handle like a maniac.

Due to the long suspension travel and high starting height of most 4x4s, lifting directly off the barwork is useless. You’ll still have all four wheels firmly on the ground long after you run out of wheel travel. Higher jacks can overcome this, although there are more elegant solutions.

To lift directly from the wheel, the go-to accessory is known as a Lift-Mate. It’s an adaptor that slides onto the nose of the jack, with two hooks that grab the wheel. If you’re lifting it to clear an obstacle this will get the tyre off the ground; if you’re removing the wheel you’ll need to lower the axle back down onto a wheel-chock before removing the jack. Alternatively, a ratchet strap between the chassis and axle will eliminate suspension droop, allowing you to jack off the vehicle’s barwork.

That said, in some circumstances the instability can play in your favour. By placing the jack on an angle (in your recovery point or bow-shackle) and cycling the jack into the up position, the 4×4 will not only lift in the air, it will also push it in the direction the jack is leaning. This can be used to get you out of ruts or even just to re-position yourself in off-camber situations.

If you find yourself in a dead-end with no room to turn around, a high-lift can be used to turn your vehicle on the spot. Use the same technique as previous to shift the rear end over the length of the jack, and then do the same for the front end in the opposite direction. The process basically involves lifting your 4×4 into the air and repeatedly pushing it off the jack, so it’s definitely a last-resort technique.

HAND-WINCHING IF YOU’RE a glutton for punishment, you might consider using a high-lift jack as a makeshift recovery winch. Due to the simple nature of the high-lift, the actual process is rather simple. Like any winching operation, you’ll start off by wrapping a tree trunk protector around a suitable anchor point. With a bow-shackle through the ends of the straps, attach it to the top clevis on the high-lift, so you’re winching from the fixed end and not from the moving vehicle.

You’ll need a five-metre drag chain to be able to get any sort of usable distance before re-rigging. From here, the actual operation is simple. You’ll have two short chains attached to the high-lift with a hook on the other end – one attached to the spine and the other to the jacking mechanism. Run the drag chain past the jack and grab it with the hook from the jacking mechanism.

After engaging the jacking mechanism, cycle the handle to begin pulling the drag chain tight. Once you’re out of travel from the jack, hold the drag chain with the second hook attached to the spine. Then slowly crank the jack backwards, allowing the main chain to take the load so you can re-rig to get the full length of travel again.

It’s a slow and physically demanding job, but if you’re stuck with no other options it can get you out of trouble.

JACK OF ALL TRADES THEY’RE often bought as a complicated replacement for a bottle jack, but a high-lift should be looked at as a tool that applies massive amounts of directional force. When viewed in that light, they become much more of a do-it-all tool rather than a standalone jack. If you want to lift a wheel off the ground to change a tyre, a bottle jack is a far more appropriate tool. If you need to winch yourself out of mud, lift a tyre out of a bog hole, jack the entire vehicle up to clear a rock, straighten a bent steering rod, or flip a rolled vehicle, the high-lift jack is the go-to piece of kit.

SAFETY FIRST BEFORE you go racing off to use your high-lift jack as a mobile 4×4 workshop and rescue tool, there are a few key safety aspects to be considered.

Firstly, lifting a large weight a metre in the air in unstable conditions should always be a last resort. The potential for the jack to slip off or out of recovery points shouldn’t be ignored. As a rule, always work on the assumption the vehicle will fall off the jack.

Secondly, the large arc of the handle applies a massive amount of force into the jack. So, if the jack’s mechanism or the load slips, that force can come back into the handle and turn it into a giant power hammer. Remember to keep two hands on the handle at all times, and keep any bones you don’t want broken out of its way.

The third and perhaps most often overlooked factor is what will happen when the vehicle becomes unstuck. If you’re winching your 4×4 out of a mud hole and you’re standing downhill when it finally comes un-stuck, your day is about to get a lot worse. If possible, always have someone in the vehicle ready to steer or stop.

7 TIPS FOR USING A HIGH-LIFT JACK

1. The two chains attached to the high-lift allow the load to be held while the jacking mechanism resets, to allow near-continuous winching.

2. All jacks of this style should have a lever to reverse the direction. Before flipping it, ensure the load is secure and the jack’s handle is in the upright position with all body parts clear.

3. Here you can see the jack’s lifting mechanism. As the handle cycles, one pin at a time will pull out and lift up into the next position before locking in.

4. When cycling down, the vehicle’s weight will try pushing the handle up. Always use both hands and keep clear.

5. By placing the jack’s base against a tyre’s bead and applying pressure, you’re able to break the bead away from the wheel. This can be useful for cleaning the bead or applying internal tyre patches.

6. With a hard surface and a keen eye, a high-lift jack can be used as a crude press in the field.

7. A set of straps around the chassis and axle can limit suspension droop, allowing you to more easily lift a wheel off the ground.

5 TIPS FOR SAFE USE

1. MAINTENANCE A high-lift jack can become stiff to use (or even jam) due to a build-up of dirt or mud. Store it out of the weather and always give all moving components a spray with silicone lube before use.

2. RECOVERY POINTS If your barwork has specially designed high-lift jacking points, use them. Jacking off tube or plate steel won’t provide a sturdy connection, increasing the likelihood of the load slipping.

3. USE A BASE A solid base provides a stable lifting platform. If there’s any doubt the jack might sink into the ground, use a base to spread the load.

4. USE THE RIGHT TOOL A high-lift jack is designed to move heavy things, not hold them. If you’re working under your 4×4, make sure it’s held with axle stands, or similar.

5. MURPHY’S LAW If something can go wrong it will. Keep anything you don’t want broken or bruised out of the firing line of the jack handle, the mechanism, and the vehicle’s path to the ground.

OVER THE past few months you may have noticed my maroon Land Cruiser popping up frequently in 4×4 Australia.

Those with keen eyes may have noticed a few things that just don’t add up, so it seemed appropriate I give a little background info to explain how it got to where it is today.

A few years back I was at a Toyota Hilux meeting at Lithgow, NSW, and after snapping my front diff and pretzeling my steering rod in my IFS Toyota Surf, I was rescued by another 4×4: an LC60 with a high-mount Warn hanging off the front. It was something that would inspire me years later.

This LC60 first found its way into my driveway a little over two years ago. For the reasonable price of $3500 I scored myself a 1989 FJ62 Land Cruiser with 300,000km on the clock, a tired, old petrol donk, 33-nch All Terrains, a 50mm Ironman lift, and a rear air-locker. Despite having solid foundations, its age and lack of preventative maintenance were showing through. Worn joints, missing bolts and an attention to detail that can most politely be described as non-existent had the 60 anything but adventure-ready.

The course of action was simple: Fix the stuff that needed to be fixed, upgrade what needed to be upgraded, and do it all without losing the old-school charm of what is now a classic Land Cruiser. First on the chopping block were the square headlights and fibreglass flares. They’ve always felt like a stop-gap to me, like Toyota was trying to breathe a little (1980s) modernity into something clearly designed in the 70s.

A replacement radiator support panel and front end were slotted in over the course of a weekend, with upgraded headlights and H4 globes giving the Cruiser a reasonable amount of lighting at night.

The 60 now looked how it was originally meant to look, but had the good gear from later models, including the five-speed H55F gearbox, power steering, lap-sash rear seatbelts and power options.

The next thing to grab my attention was the tired and sagging suspension. The old girl was sitting almost 50mm lower on the passenger side, so a fix was desperately needed.

My ultimate goal for the 60 was a classic-looking 4×4 with modern refinements and comfort. To this day I’ve never found a 4×4 with leaf springs on all four corners that has even a modicum of ride quality, so the choice was made to replace the tired front leaf springs with a set of King off-road racing shocks. Custom hoops in the front hold the 12in travel. 2.5in-body remote-reservoir coil-overs, with a pair of hydraulic bump-stops, ensure there are no hard hits on any unseen washouts.

The brakes and steering were both typical of a near-30-year-old 4×4, so I replaced both front and rear axles with those from a 1996 LC80. This netted me four-wheel disc brakes and much larger front CV joints, but also a vastly superior steering design and tougher steering box. The front axle is held in place by LC80 radius arms and a Panhard rod, while the rear sits on top of Dobinson 60mm lifted leaf springs.

The LC80 axles added roughly 120mm to the track width (front and rear), so the -44-offset steel wheels were replaced with 0-offset 17×8.5in Standards from Method Race Wheels. They’re wrapped in 35×12.5in Nitto Trail Grapplers, which required a 50mm body-lift to be temporarily installed due to scrubbing in the rear.

Up front there’s a custom tube bar constructed by my mate at Kinselas Kustoms. It holds up a set of Baja Designs LaPaz halogen driving lights, but more importantly houses my Warn M8274-50. The winch is wrapped in Dyneema rope and has been fully rebuilt with all the usual upgrades like a pinned free-spool, braced housing, capped brake shaft, and fill and drain plugs.

For now, the tired old 3F still has a home under the bonnet, although it’s now joined by a PWR radiator, an engine crossbrace for the coil-overs, and a new electronic ignition system from Piranha Offroad.

So far, interior upgrades are minimal, with a little sound deadening to cut down exhaust drone and a pair of leather bucket seats from an EB Falcon making things slightly more comfortable.

The 60 is starting to look the part and is more than up for a weekend camping trip or night run through the rocks, but it still needs a little work before it becomes truly adventure-ready. For starters, the diff gears need to be upgraded to handle the larger rolling stock, and the 3F is sucking down 22L/100km, so it needs to be axed for a more economical powerplant. A few extras would also make life off-road a little more comfortable, including water storage, dual batteries and a few electronic gadgets.

The 60 still has a long way to go before I’m truly happy with it, but I’ve got a near-on 30-year-old Land Cruiser with plenty of room for the family and more than enough off-road capabilities. Plus it’ll stick with most modern cars through the twisties!

[specs]

31,043KM DATE ACQUIRED: 2014 PRICE: $3,500 KM THIS MONTH: N/A AV FUEL: 22.0L/100km

IF YOU hung around after the fast cars finished at the Finke Desert Race, you might have seen our friends from across the hall at Wheels magazine finish the gruelling race in a near-stock Mazda BT-50.

This was the same car we used in our 8-way Double-Cab ute test in the January 2016 issue. Since then, part-time 4X4 Australia contributor Toby Hagon has been driving it around.

Race preparation was limited to the essentials, as the Mazda team wanted to keep the car as standard as possible and prove that it could conquer Australia’s toughest two-day off-road race. Toyo tyres, race seats and harnesses, a rollcage, shocks and brake pads were the only changes.

Finishing the two-day, 452km event with the car in one piece – and within the allotted maximum time of four hours and 15 minutes each day – seemed a lofty goal. So the fact Hagon and co-driver Bernie Webb not only made the finish line but crossed it in second place in the Production Class, in a time of 7:55.32, seems little short of a miracle.

How tough was it? Well, some old hands with more than a dozen years’ experience were claiming this year’s course was the gnarliest they’d seen. Out of 127 trucks and buggies entered, just 64 finished. And out of those 127 entries, only the Mazda was driven to the starting line with a rego sticker on the window – the rest were trucked in.

Finishing was no walk in the park, though, with the shocks melting and failing on day one, and the Mazda BT-50 crawling over the line with the distance-to-empty reading just “4km”. Toby just managed to extract himself from the rollcage – a sight that looked not unlike a baby elephant passing through the eye of a needle – before requiring medical assistance. It was more than 10 minutes before he could even attempt to walk.

“I’m not kidding when I say I can’t believe that thing made it; there were some big hits. The ball joint has hit the inside of the wheel arch and the chassis has hit the turbo protector and put a ding in it, and even the metal toolbox in the back has dents in it from where the tools hit the lid. Just incredible,” a hugely grinning Hagon said at the finish line.

“The thing that mentally killed me yesterday was just how unrelenting it was. There’s a section in the second half where the bumps just go on and on, one after another, but today I knew it was going to get better.”

Navigator Bernie Webb added: “It was just brutal. I’ve had some big crashes in my time and I can honestly say, hopping out of the car yesterday, I felt like I’d had a 130km/h rollover, it was that bad.”

The satisfaction for Webb and Hagon and the whole team was not just in finishing, and finishing well – their time was more than three minutes faster than the fourth-placed truck in their category – but in proving their many, many doubters wrong.

“That car has stood up incredibly well,” Hagon said. “I’ve never seen a car brutalised in that way, and to have it still here and driving is beyond impressive.”

FCA US has launched a bug bounty program in an effort to expose flaws in its vehicle software.

The bug bounty program, administered by Bugcrowd (a crowd-funding company specialising in cyber security), allows Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US to identify potential security risks, implement fixes and/or mitigate controls and improve the security and safety of its vehicles.

It also has the advantage of establishing a relationship between FCA US and the cybersecurity community.

Titus Melnyk, FCA US’s senior manager of security architecture, explained: “We want to encourage independent security researchers to reach out to us and share what they’ve found so that we can fix potential vulnerabilities before they’re an issue for our consumers.”

The program plans to reward hackers financially, with payouts expected to range between $150 and $1500.

Casey Ellis, CEO and founder of Bugcrowd, added: “Automotive cybersafety is real, critical and here to stay. Car manufacturers have the opportunity to engage the community of hackers that is already at the table and ready to help, and FCA US is the first full-line automaker to optimise that relationship through its paid bounty program.”

Vehicles at risk of cyber hacking are those with an in-built internet connection.

Last year, news broke of two computer programmers who hacked into a Jeep Cherokee’s system and took complete control of the vehicle, exposing severe weaknesses in the vehicle’s security.

The hackers took control of the air-con system, radio and windscreen wipers, before totally shutting down the vehicle’s transmission.

HOW crap is mobile phone coverage in this country?

I was watching the ABC news the other night and saw a story on mobile phone black spots in Australia. When a graphic came up depicting all of the black spots around the country, I nearly spat out my Iced VoVo and knocked over my cuppa.

I already knew coverage was pretty crook outside of capital cities and major regional centres, but nothing could prepare me for what I saw on the screen. You can check out the map by heading to nationalmap.gov.au, hitting the ‘Communications’ submenu and ticking the ‘Mobile Black Spot Database’ box. I guarantee you’ll be astounded.

It’s not just remote areas of Australia that are affected; there are loads of black spots within a 50km radius of all capital cities. While this is inconvenient, it’s not nearly as bad as the service provided to people who live in or travel through country areas and remote parts of Australia.

The ABC news story detailed an incident in Walhalla, Victoria, which is home to one of the 6000 black spots in this country. According to the story, a visiting tour-bus driver collapsed of a heart attack and fell seven metres down an embankment. No one present had mobile phone coverage, so the local hotelier, Mr Michael Leaney, had to run back and forth between his hotel’s landline and the accident site – a 10-minute scramble up and down a steep hill – to relay information to emergency services.

According to the ABC, Walhalla had applied for funding through the Coalition’s $160 million Mobile Black Spot Programme, but had been knocked back. This is a small town, but one that, according to Mr Leaney, attracts more than 120,000 visitors per year – and it’s hardly a long way off the beaten track.

One thing I find quite astounding is the lack of mobile phone coverage along many of the country’s major highways. For example, anyone who’s travelled up the Stuart Highway from Port Augusta to Alice Springs, and then on to Darwin, will know there’s bugger-all mobile phone reception along most of the route.

I was recently travelling through South Australia’s spectacular Flinders Ranges, where I spent several nights at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna. Ordinarily I could rely on Parachilna to have some mobile phone reception; as long as I stand in the right spot I can usually check in with my better half each night and let her know everything’s okay – but not on this trip. Not only was the mobile phone coverage on the blink, but the hotel’s landline was also stuffed.

The ultimate irony was that there was absolutely zero phone reception (mobile or landline) on the very day that Telstra was offering Australia-wide free data, in an attempt to make amends for previous technical stuff-ups.

While not being able to access a day of free data definitely falls into the first-world-problem category, in this day and age it’s not acceptable for a business such as the Prairie Hotel to have to operate without a phone line. It sure makes it hard for hotel staff to take bookings or order supplies, let alone call for help if there’s an emergency.

Now I understand Australia is a bloody big place and there aren’t unlimited funds to expand the mobile phone network to cover the whole country, but I think what we have now is seriously deficient. I won’t hold my breath waiting for things to get much better any time soon; according to the ABC story, the Coalition is already working with telecommunications companies to fix coverage, but it has not allocated any new money in the federal budget to address the issue.

At least the price of satellite phones has reduced significantly over the past couple of years.