Rig Jnr's Build

[alian]

Beats being at work, thats for sure!!!

[triton_guru]

Haha looks bloody awesome mate wish I could not be at work haha

[c-dale]

Thanks fellas, was a great day out. First day on my own in a very long time. Have got my sanity back ready to tackle another big weekend with the kids

Managed to get a pretty good before / after too.

Before


After


Looks like a different rig. All going well in a few years time it will be another big transformation. Just need to get saving...

[triton_guru]

Looks bloody awesome mate really does, has come a really long way. I found a picture of my car whenni first got it and wow haha the difference was huge. I like to think that one day I will be able to do a crazy conversion to the old girl but tbh I'm pretty happy with how it is haha keep talking my self in and out of it

[c-dale]

I had my rig tuned today at Mecury Motorsport. Very, very happy with the outcome and super impressed with the service I recieved.

I rocked up a little after 8am to drop the car off and was going to use one of their loan cars while they sorted the rig out. Trent (owner) came and greeted me and let me know that the stuff member that had the loan car had called in sick so it was unavailable. He quickly grabbed my keys and had my car up on the dyno first to get it done so I could make the other appointments I had today .

I went in and heard them starting the process. It wasn't long before Trent was back in asking a few questions. Turns out my car was only running 8psi boost . He had his boys doing something with the wastegate and after checking my manifold was all nice and clean (I just had it replaced) he was back to it.

45min later he came in telling me it was done and should be impressive. Now running 18psi boost along wuth the tune to match. He printed the dyno chart for me and Tessa (also the owner) explained it to me in simple terms.

I fixed up the account and popped outside to head off. Fired up the car and noticed it had a CEL. Popped back inside and Tessa had one of the boys out straight away to check what was going on. Turned out to be a MAF sensor code so he cleared it, popped the bonnet and proceeded to remove the sensor yo give it a clean for me. He then took me through how the tune has altered the EGR programming so I dont need to worry about carbon build up anymore . Sorted the sensor and fired the car up. All sweet!

Drive home was sweet, so much more power. Has gone from needing to flog the shit out of it, foot to the floor at every gear change to just super smooth super quick power. Havent needed to floor it to get up to speed, I have, but that was for fun

Trent found an extra 41kW and 150nm in the old girl. So now running 111.2kW and 450nm. Hells yeah!!



Highly recommend!

[Mayhem2015]

what sort of coin does a tune up like that set you back? Looks like a handy exercise and probably healthier for the engine in some respects.

[c-dale]

Retail is around the $1900 mark. Not bad considering thats the pretty much the price of some of the big name chips. Its also tuned to your rig. Mine would still be running 8psi boost and I would be none the wiser had I gone a plug and play option again.

[Sickd]

Love the front nudge bar with winch UNREAL!!! It is exactly the look I like too top job awesome rigg

[coughy]

hay c-dale did they tell you why 8 psi??
was the wastegate out of ajustment or something??
or did you have a vacum leak??

also i see that you are in brissy would love to catch up and see the difference in yours to mine
as i have a tony chip and mods compared to a mrt tune

[4wd26]

bit different in this vehicle is a ML with the 3.2 engine

I have the chipit chip if you want to compare different engines

[c-dale]

Thanks Sickd.

Coughy, I'm not sure to be honest. The wastegate is ringing a bell but Im not mechanically minded so it ywas in one ear out the other. Whatever they did it worked. Car goes awesome compared to before I took her in.

If you want to catch up I'm cool with that. 4wd26, if your keen as well we might be able to get a bit of a drive day sorted.

[coughy]

bit different in this vehicle is a ML with the 3.2 engine

I have the chipit chip if you want to compare different engines

lol you know my little 2.5 will roll your old 3.2 ,26 heheheh

[c-dale]

My old man bought himself a new lens for his camera at Christmas and also had one of his DSLR converted to take infrared photos. Given he had new toys to play with he suggested a boy’s trip to Fraser, with the intent to go top to bottom or vice versa pending tides. I jumped at the chance and set up the last week of the school holidays to go over with him and my eldest boy Jake.

Given I hadn’t been out camping for quite some time I and still had time up my sleeve I wanted to make a few little improvements to the camp set up for the back of the rig. The only thing that let us down last time out, and all I had the budget to fix given Christmas, was the hand pump for the tap. I leaked, was hard to use and near impossible to get working correctly so it had to go. Dad sourced a cheap little electric pump for me and I spent far longer then I should have getting it mounted in the back of the car. It pumps at 4 lpm and is self-priming. I do still have a switch located up near the tap though, just to make sure she isn’t under pressure all the time.



Due to the way the stainless steel was originally designed for the hand pump my choice of tapware was limited. I needed something that was basin mounted, not wall mounted, was economical but also long enough that I could still use it effectively. After scouring the isles at Bunnings nothing was really looking promising tap wise until I stumbled into the plumbing section and saw some classing looking cistern taps. This with a bit of clear tubing would work an absolute treat and not look too bad. With a bit of plate bodgyed up for the switch she was in and working a treat.



Only things to sort now before departure was insurance (AAMI wanted way too much $$$ for an “agreed value” that was far below anything I ever agreed too) so I signed up with club 4x4. The premium was more then AAMI but I have the car covered for the maximum they would allow ($17 800ish) with $20 000 worth of accessories. So if the worst happens and she get written off I get near enough to $38k to buy a replacement!

The only other issue which cropped up the day before departure was with the 4wd system. She hadn’t been in 4x4 for a while so on a straight bit of road I engaged 4h to ensure it was working – nothing – no light nothing… tried a number of times and still nothing. Got the mechanic on the phone to see if we could get her in for a quick once over but he was booked out and super busy. Thankfully while on the phone with the mechanic the system seemed to kick in, the light flickered then came on and stayed on! Massive relief as it seemed to be golden from that point forward.

Day 1:
Saturday 16th Jan came round and we were up and ready to leave at 4am hoping to get the first ferry at Tewantin. Trip up was great but the rain was on and off and things didn’t seem to be improving as we headed north. We managed to make the first ferry and it wasn’t long before we hit the beach at Teewah. Tide was low at 6am so we made good time to Double Island and was able to get round the rocks at Rainbow with ease. It was a quick fuel and pie stop before hitting the Barge.



We hit Fraser in the middle of a decent shower but excitedly pressed north. We had no idea where we would be stopping for the night as the trip was meant to be a very flexible like it and stay sort of touring trip but we figured we would go as north as possible. First stop was Eurong, as dad was keen on another pie, and we then pressed on and didn’t stop again will Waddy Point.

By this stage the weather was clearing and the island was starting to look its spectacular best.





We must have had honey on our arses as it wasn’t long after this shot that we had a massive crew set up right behind us!



We pressed on and stopping in at Ocean Lake. Given we have largely stayed to the south end of the island we were a little disappointed with Ocean Lake. It’s nice but is nothing compared to McKenzie or Birrabeen. We hit the beach again and continued north.

The tide was on its way in by now and we still had Ngkala Rocks to overcome. This had me a little worried due to all the stories you hear about constant bogging’s. I did pack my GoPro to capture the action but we hit a rock bypass and before you knew it we were though. I turned to dad and said “I think that was Ngkala”. His response was, “couldn’t be, that was too easy, must be another one further up”. Haha, low and behold that was it!

We hit the tip at high tide and found a fella in a Prado looking lost. As the tide was in you couldn’t get around a bunch of trees that the tide had taken but he was desperate to make it though. We found ourselves walking with him to see if it was possible or if we have to wait for the tide to go down a bit. We found a track around the trees, it was hidden in the dunes not far from where I had parked but you still had the main sand blow dune tackle. It was either wait it out or attempt to drive the sand blow – which is a no no. We headed back to find the Prado guy taking the track around the trees. We followed a short time later only to see him turn around and bail back south. Dad set up his fishing rod and Jake got his bogey board of the roof and we set in to wait for the tide to lower. An hour or so later, no fish caught but heaps of sand tobogganing done, we made it round the dune.

Surprisingly it was super busy at the tip and we wondered if we could find a camp site. Given the new ways of booking sites on Fraser you can’t just select beach camping anymore but have to select a designated zone. As we were touring the island without any real plan we couldn’t do this so just picked a zone to get a permit and went bugger it we will go in any space available. Luckily we found an awesome spot and set up for the night.

Day 2:
We all managed a massive night sleep and got up ready to tackle a bacon and egg breaky and a big day at Sandy Cape. It wasn’t long before we received our first visitor, a “cheaky” (according to the ranger) dingo who came up the access track to our site and sat and watched us for a good 15min.



Not long after he scampered of up the beach the ranger came in to check our permit. Given we were in the wrong zone I let dad sort it out. He was a ranger at Cooloola back in the 70s so it wasn’t long before he was busting out stories of the good ole days and he and the ranger were having a good chin wag. Ranger was fine with us being in the wrong spot but offered the warning to only do it in off peak periods and that if we tried to pull it over the Australia day long weekend we would likely be asked to move.

After breakfast we headed out to do the lighthouse walk and were amazed that most others had already packed up camp and bailed – we had the place largely to ourselves!!





We did intend to do the walk to the WWII bunkers and the graves but it was hot and we couldn’t be bothered so ended up fishing, swimming and tobogganing on the dunes again for the remainder of the day.







The only time Fuel and Sand mix well

[4wd26]

very nice
envious

did you take any infrared shots or was that camera for another purpose?

[c-dale]

Day 3:
We woke early to tackle the Bunker and Graves walk before breaky but had to wait till after 6am before we could drive on the beach due to the turtles laying (6pm – 6am driving is out on the nth of the island from Nov to March from memory). The walk was nowhere near as taxing as the light house walk as it was a lot less hill climbing. The bunkers are sadly largely lost to the forest now, much like the ones on Bribie they have been fenced of and left to degrade. I really don’t understand why we don’t value our history in this country and try to preserve this stuff.





We had read the story of the light house keeper the day before at the light house. He had shot himself in the chest while chasing a wallaby while hunting and passed on the island. The family had also lost a daughter 5 years prior at the age of 8mths old.



It’s hard to imagine that the grave stones are almost 140 years old.
After the walk we packed up camp and headed south. We stopping in and refuelled at Orchard Beach – fuel was $1.95 a litre – before heading south then west. Or next stop was Woralie Creek on the western side.
We set up camp had a swim in the creek then watched the sun set over the water – a treat for us Queenslanders





Day 4:
Weather was stunning and really making the beach shine. We headed south to one of the major tidal creeks on the western side and set up for a spot of fishing and photography.











We headed back to camp around lunch to avoid getting caught on the wrong side of the creek when the tide came in and spent the afternoon fishing, swimming and playing beach cricket.

[c-dale]

Day 5:
Day five saw us pack up and head east again. We camped just up from the Mehano as dad wanted to try and get some good sunrise shots.

From the western side we travelled down bullock road which was tight and pinstriped the rig a bit. We would have loved to go down the beach on the western side and in from Moon Point but the track west of Bullock Rd to Moon Point has been closed since June 2014 due to ‘inundation’. It seemed pretty bloody dry on the whole island so not sure if we will ever see it open again.

The drive through the valley of the giants is epic and hands down the best rainforest on the island. I was sure there is a walk there but we couldn’t find it so headed to Happy Valley to grab some lunch and fuel up. Fuel was $2.20 a litre here!!! Thankfully the awesome fish and chips helped me recover from the shock. Stupidly I was expecting it to be the same if not cheaper then Orchard beach given its further south and easier to get too.

Camp


Day 6:
As planned we were up before the sun to get down to the Mehano in the hope of some good shots.





Sadly the clouds made it a little disappointing so we headed back to camp had breaky and then headed out again. We walked to Lake Wabby and I happened to snap my sons new bogey board from sliding down the dunes into the water - whoops Lunch at Happy Valley again before spending the afternoon with the masses at Eli Creek.

[c-dale]

Day 7:
Our final full day on the island had arrived. As we didn’t get the shots we were after the day prior it was another pre-dawn wake up to head to the Mehano. We got it all to ourselves yet again!





We ventured down to Eli Creek and had that all to ourselves also! Not often that happens at Eli.



After breaky we packed up camp and headed inland. We stopped at Central Station and did the short walk.





It was then onto Lake Birrabeen for an awesome and again largely solo swim.



Birrabeen is my favourite lake without doubt, it is as beautiful if not more beautiful then McKenzie with none of the crowd!

We camped at Lake Boomanjin for the night. What a great spot! Again we had it all to ourselves, the lake, the camp ground, all of it!





Sadly, that was the end of our trip. The next morning we packed up and headed home before the Aus day weekend crowds descended on the place. Oh and just for completeness, fuel at Eurong was $1.85 a litre

[c-dale]

very nice
envious

did you take any infrared shots or was that camera for another purpose?

26 dad hasnt sent me any of his infrared shots yet. All the photos, bar the dingo, are mine.

He is a massive fan of infrared stuff. Its similiar to traditional black and white but much more vivid - less greyscale, more black and white.

The only photo I have at the moment is a bit of an oldie but I like it.



Most noticable within the trees.

[c-dale]

Fraser tends to end up resulting in a fairly hefty repair bill normally. Thankfully this trip went quite smoothly. We did have trouble with the 4wd system again at Sandy Cape, which was a little stressful. The light refused to come on again so it was hard to tell what was and wasn't working. I got on a slight incline and stuck my head out the window and dumped the clutch and thankfully despite being no light on the dash I has drive to the front wheels. Will need to get it investigated a little further.

We also lost our return barge ticket but thankfully had the receipt so the fella on the Mantaray let us get home without needing to pay again.

I need to replace my boys bogey board after my fat arse broke it at Lake Wabby

Oh and my 65amp hr deep cycle battery is usless for anything more then a weekend. Last battery seemed to recharge with a bit of driving, this one doesn't so dads solar panels were a God send!! I've added a set to the list of must haves.

Only other damage so far is a busted bash plate mount and a rusted through roof rack. So happy days.

Oh, and I found another crack in the tub that's 3 now. Front corners up near the cab and on the rear corner passenger side near the tailgate. Guess that makes my "unnecessary" tray a little more necessary . I did see a very cool alloy tray on a lux while over at Fraser so may need to alter my design a little...

[Cowboy Dave]

Great pics mate. Really very nice. I quite liked the dingo. They're a good looking sort of animal I reckon and you've captured him well.

[c-dale]

Thanks CD, can't take credit for the dingo shot though, that was all dad. He got quite a few good shots of him as he sat there for quite a while.

[Crash486]

Great write up, makes me miss the good times we had there. I had a kelpie X lab that looked like that dingo.

[Duck]

Cracking trip report, I enjoyed it thoroughly

[kip70]

Great write up and even better pic's! Gotta get my ass back on Fraser!!!!

[c-dale]

Took the Rig up to Rainbow Beach the Friday before last. did just shy of 500km in the day. Bris to Noosa, across the ferry and up the beach to the lighthouse. Across to Double Island the into Rainbow via the Freshwater track. Did the Eastern and Western fire break loop (Kings Bore rd.) Then home via Cooloola way and Harrys hut. was an awesome day and drove some of the tracks pretty hard. Have a few little repair jobs to do now but mostly cosmetic stuff.

First attempt at editing a vid rather than just going straight from gopro to youtube.

Enjoy

https://youtu.be/o_Wt50OISV4