Thinking Big
First featured in 4x4 magazine, february 2019
When you’re considering your options for a long-range expedition truck, the Suzuki Jimny doesn’t normally get a look in. But after a trans-European adventure involving a major traverse of the Alps using high-level off-tarmac tracks, this highly modified example of the breed came home triumphant.
These days, if you’re going to build a big- budget off-roader starting with a brand new vehicle, there’s a strong chance that you’ll do it with a pick-up truck. But even as recently as just five years ago, you’d almost certainly have used a Land Rover Defender.
The Suzuki Jimny has grown to become a firm favourite in off-road circles.The SJ410 and 413 were for a long time almost the only alternative to Land Rovers, and the third-generation model (the first to actually be called the Jimny in Britain) carried on where those vehicles left off.
Like the LJ that came before them, all these Suzukis shared the same design philosophy.They had the ladder chassis, beam axles and dual-range transfer gears of proper off-roader – but in a compact, lightweight package championing agility and manoeuvrability.As a result they were true giant-killers off-road, routinely defying the odds by conquering much more than was expected of them.
The new Jimny, which is just arriving in the UK now, looks set to follow on where the previous model left off. But this is the story of one of those third-gen Jimnys – one which, like so many others, has been modified to make it better than ever off-road.
As with all good stories, though, the direction of this one doesn’t follow the norm.When Redmond Neale bought his 2004 Jimny, it had already been modified a little – but he went on to take things to a whole new level. It had been lifted already, and fitted with a snorkel and heavy-duty bumper as well as a set of wheelarch extensions originally intended to go on a Defender. Clearly, the Jimny had been kitted out for off-roading – but it wasn’t the kind that Redmond had in mind.
‘When I bought the Jimny, it had a few mods and had seen a small bit of off-roading,’ he explains.‘I’ll very occasionally go out green laning with a few friends, but that sort of off roading isn’t what excites me. I’m more one to cover thousands of miles in a new and foreign country and explore it – that’s off-roading for me!’
Normally, you’ll buy a Landcruiser for this kind of stuff. If not a Landcruiser, maybe a Patrol or some kind of pick-up truck. Some people even still do it in Land Rovers. But a Jimny? Great at what it’s great at, but surely too small to work as an expedition truck?
Well, Redmond didn’t let that faze him. He had a plan for the trip long before the Jimny was up to scratch, and knew that there would be a journey before the travelling could even begin. His intention was to head to the Alps, where he would cover thousands of miles both on and off-road, so the vehicle needed to be versatile, capable and comfortable.
So, with a Jimny that’s been tailored for a different type of off-roading and has plenty of work ahead, where do you begin turning it into your own overlanding companion?
‘I had to do the build in a few stages. But the first step was to treat the Jimny to a full professional Buzzweld treatment, down at LAR 4x4 in Uckfield. I think a sound chassis and body is the best place to start – I knew what was in store for the car, so I needed something I could really rely on. I studied mechanics myself for three years, so couldn’t wait to get my hands dirty.’
From here, Redmond enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, whose garage RGC Motors in Cranleigh did much of the work on the Jimny. He also enlisted the help of fabrication specialist DC Welding Services in Horsham – and by the time it was ready for Alps, the Jimny’s spec list was more comprehensive than the chapter in Kanye West’s autobiography titled ’Things I love about me.’
Buzzwelding aside, the chassis has been left well alone – as has the engine, with the most notable mechanical change being the addition of a Rock Lobster transfer case built by Richard Wattam at Rockwatt.‘It drives as if it was standard!’ says Redmond. ‘On a 5:1 ratio, the engine works really well with it. ‘Motorway cruising is very comfortable and there’s still plenty of grunt off-road – not to mention it’s more reliable than a chain-driven box like the standard one.’
The Lobster tranny is paired to the standard gearbox, but ahead of this an uprated clutch has also been fitted – a tricky to source Exedy Safari Tuff Clutch from Down Under. Elsewhere in the drivetrain, the original propshafts have been replaced with heavy-duty high-angle jobs from Jimny Bits.
‘I put the Jimny on alloys from Jimny Bits with one-inch Trail Gear spacers and 235/85R16 Cooper Discoverer STT Pros,’ continues Redmond.‘The brakes I uprated with extended stainless-steel lines, and I’m also running a disc brake conversion at the back.’
You don’t get to put 235/85s on a Jimny without doing something to the suspension first, and once again Jimny Bits was Redmond’s go-to supplier. The vehicle rides on +4” springs and fully adjustable AVO shocks of the same length – giving him plenty of height and also no shortage of flex. Aiding them in this department are 4” castor-corrected radius arms, mounted using SuperPro bushes, and the suspension also features adjustable panhard rod mounts and Zookbob extended bump stops.
Bespoke rock sliders have been painted in Buzzweld CIO, as has a custom steel bumper – which plays home to the mount on which a 13,000lb T-Mech winch is to be found. Powering the winch is a dual-battery set-up run by a T-Max dual-battery relay and monitoring system.
Full Big Jimny extended breathers have been fitted to the gearbox, transfer box and differentials, and the engine gets its air via a snorkel – which, as you’ll recall, is one of the mods that were already in place before the build started.To help toughen the Jimny up for the more challenging adventures ahead, Redmond also fitted a front diff guard and heavy duty fuel tank guard, uprated the transfer box mounts and had the bodywork professionally modified to ensure the tyres don’t catch at full flex.
‘I have always been into exploring,’ explains Redmond. ‘I used to own a Ford Puma, which I drove 4500 miles across the entire European continent, and I drove to Milan and back in a 1992 Proton.The memory of these trips is partly what lead me to getting the Jimny.’
Suddenly, you can see why he wasn’t bothered about getting a Landcruiser. I mean, there’s literally nothing that wouldn’t be an improvement on an old Proton.What mattered as Redmond planned his Alpine adventure was that he realised he would need to buy his first 4x4 – and that is exactly what this Jimny was.
But enough about the Jimny now. What did the trip itself entail?
‘My partner and I drove 2500 miles to and around the French Alps,’ he explains.‘It was fantastic! The main route we did was called the Ruta Alpes 4x4, which you can find on the Wikiloc app. It was a fantastic route, and the Jimny proved to be a fantastic rock crawler!’
The route, which meanders through the mountain range from Chamandrin down to Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée, is made up mainly of steep climbs on gravelly tracks which yield some breathtaking views. But, as Redmond found, it’s not without its challenges.
‘The map was a bit difficult to follow at times,’ he reports.‘This meant that a few times we took tracks that didn’t exist anymore! We’d get halfway up and have to back down again. But even then, the Jimny managed it fine. Progress could have been quicker, but it wasn’t a problem. I just saw it as part of the fun!’
Climbing up and down various tracks in the Alps, combined with the hundreds of miles covered on tarmac to and from the mountain range, proved to Redmond the absolute versatility of his creation. It also left him in no doubt at all as to what is the best alteration made to the Jimny.And if you’re a regular reader, it will be a familiar tale.
‘The Rock Lobster transfer box conversion has transformed the car both on and off the road. It drives as though it is standard but with the 5:1 ratio it’s so capable and works seamlessly with the standard engine. On the motorway it cruises along easily at speed and off-road it gives you plenty of grunt.’
But, as with all off-roading, grunt doesn’t fix every problem. Sometimes when the weather takes hold, you just have to stop – as Redmond and the Jimny found out.
‘One night, we were heading down a track and towards our stopover for the evening,’ Redmond begins.‘But then a storm broke out and we had no choice but to stop and wait it out.The rain was pouring down so hard that the track was like a river beneath the Jimny and the wipers couldn’t clear the windscreen fast enough! Plus, because of how high we still were, we could see the lightning above the mountains.’ Scary.
Eventually, the weather did begin to subside – and, with the help of a 30” light bar, progress continued through the French mountains as Redmond searched out more destinations to explore.Among them was something quite surreal that really captured his imagination.
‘At the top of one of the mountains there was this structure, and once we headed into it what we found was strange. My partner stayed at the top because she found it creepy, but I wasn’t bothered and headed in for a look around!’
Built down into the mountain, Redmond had stumbled upon a bizarre abandoned building, with rooms and bunks beds seemingly forgotten long ago. Staircases led further underground, with myriad corridors and rooms to be explored. ‘It was so cool. I really enjoyed just looking around and imagining who had been there and what it had been made for.’
Now, that’s the kind of experience you only get from truly independent travel. And there are few better ways to travel independently than by doing it aboard a competent 4x4 of your own. ‘The Jimny worked just how I wanted it to,’ says Redmond,‘if not better! It took us on a real adventure, and I felt a great sense of pride from having created the vehicle that took us on it myself!’
If this journey with the Jimny has taught Redmond anything, it is that he wants more. However, that does mean he is moving on from the little Suzuki – albeit with with a heavy heart.
‘Over the last few years, I have loved my time with the Jimny,’ he says.‘But it’s time for a new project. I want something with a bit more space, so we can fit more equipment in it and just be more comfortable on our next adventure – wherever that may be! So, I’ll soon be picking up my Land Cruiser Utility and the next overland project will be underway.’
Well, what do you know – an other convert to the Land Cruiser way. But Redmond hasn’t been driven into the waiting arms of Toyota’s off-road legend by any failings on the Jimny’s part. If only it was bigger, you feel, he’d have stuck with it.
That is of course the reason why not many people use Jimnys for expedition travel in the first place. But Redmond proved that it can be done – and even if he’s moving on now, he has nothing but fond memories of his time with Suzuki’s legendary off-road giant killer.
