Hello From Alton Hampshire!

Hi,

Havn't bought a Frontera yet, but as prices aren't exactly high I am sure I can pick one up quite easily. I am mainly here to pick up some pointers on specialist suppliers and aftermarket parts. I currently drive a mk 1 Yaris with 220k miles on the clock and need something a little fresher, more robust and preferably AWD for the country roads. what I liked about the Frontera is the rear wheel drive by default and the car like ride height, with the option to go 4 wheel drive when needed.

I'm no novice to old cars, I have good mechanical knowledge (spend my time spannering on my Celica GT-Four if that means anything to anyone here) I'm looking to build an unusual type of off-roader, one that's lower and wider, for a bit of drifting or rally cross, want to eliminate body roll as best as possible, lower the centre of gravity and add a decent clutch and 250+ HP for some sideways action.

The reason for a Frontera is the "something different" factor, and they're cheap, so if I wreck it I can afford to fix it/replace it/re shell it etc...

couple of beginner questions:

Are there many differences between the Isuzu MU and the frontera or is it the same car badged differently?

Where is best place to source a decent clutch? (I imagine a strong off road one will stand up to the abuse of launches and drifting)

Any good sources for aftermarket support, lowering springs, polybushes, Piggy back ECUS.

Is the 2.2 petrol turbo charged and is it reliable? I assume its n/a, but I do love boost!

I think that's all for now, something a bit away from the norm, but I already have access to a defender for serious off road stuff, so want something a bit more playful, that I can also drive daily. Thanks to anyone who passes on info.

Welcome to fog and the beginning of your frontera adventure. Yes the frontera has selectable 4wd BUT it's only to be used on surfaces where traction is lost is mud sand etc you shouldn't use just down a country lane as it's not AWD in the same respect a freelander is for example as the forntera has no centre diff so using 4wd on high traction surfaces will cause 'wind up' (search on here) and possible damage to the drivetrain.

Unsure of lowering springs as 99% of people put longer springs in for lift. With the 2.2i petrol some people have been 'lucky' but they are renound for needing head gaskets doing more than once.

Thanks Stretch, I am sure it will be an adventure!!
My GT-Four has a viscous coupling for the full time AWD system. I see that the AWD on the frontera is more for sticky situations, but still better to have it than not. I take it that its a low speed box for the 4x4?
I found them to be very good offroad when I drove them on a Farm in NZ sadly nearly 10 years ago.

As for head gasket rebuilds- something I am familiar with, as I did one on the TD5 engine from the Defender last year. Was a bit on the expensive side, but I imagine If the engine goes pop, a spare should be cheap enough to source.

Yes lowering it would be adverse to the normal Rugged off roader approach, but I want something a little faster in the corners. It should still have some good clearance even if it gets dropped by an inch or so.

BTW please forgive any naive or uniformed comments that I make.

Where abouts are you in the south...I am building a 3.2v6 drift car, which I am hoping will be packing more like 250bhp+ and lots of weight saving (other than the driver!)...

I was about to say what greg is doing. 3.2 v6 lwb. Cut the rear springs down and unwind the front torsion bars and you'll be ready to do mad skids. Oh and greg, just make sure you only ever drift round right hand corners otherwise you'll end up rolling it

(feels good to finally get my own back)

i am just up the road from you in basingstoke... and if you need any help let me know... i have had a few frontera's and played with most as well.

as for the 2.2 petrol it is non turbod and tbh if you can get a good v6 go for that with the b
or the other thing you could do is drop a c20xe or c20let into a leaf spring swb, the box is the same and should take the extre stress ok... or there is a few other things you could do.
i hear the c25 v6's fit onto the c20's gear box and is a possible mod, same goes for the x25's. i have been looking at what next to do with mine.. :twisted:

This is amazing! thanks chaps, would really appreciate looking into these drift builds. I’d be up for popping down to Basignstoke for quick look at your project Fudge. Lets face it S13s are very expensive for what they are and you can’t put snowboards or mountain bikes in them all that easily either haha.

I actually have a small stake in a customs garage in Emswoth called South Coast Workshop (from the GT-four / Jap car life) So I was thinking rag a Frontera engine as standard and then swap for a JDM power plant. RB25s are our speciality swap of - mainly for Mazda RX8s and Nissan Silvias so far, but I think as the car has Jap/Australian routes It could work-would need to check dimensions etc-but in theory…

Also what about an LSD does the Frontera have a rear LSD as standard or is it an open diff?

I have been all over the shop trying to decide what car I should get and I have really settled on the RS sport SWB Frontera, for looks as much as drivetrain and practicality. The only issue so far is how expensive it is to insure as a daily as standard - £500+ !

Any specialists insurers out there for these cars? I use Adrian flux for my limited mileage policy on my Celica, but I want to drive this thing every day to work, wonder if NFU might be cheaper?