Junkyard Montero Build

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My first ever 4x4 was a 1987 Montero 2-door. I didn’t know anything about them at the time, aside from the neighbor girl was selling hers ridiculously cheap and I thought it looked pretty cool. Turns out it was an off-road beast with a lot of very cool bells and whistles. Bouncy seat, inclinometer, 30” tires, headlight washers... Long story short, this truck started my long and sordid love affair with 4WD wagons and adventure travel. I eventually replaced the Montero with an FJ40, but I never forgot about it.

Fast forward nearly 30 years and here I am again, building the ultimate “budget” overland vehicle out of an old Montero! Reliving my youth!

Truth be told, I watched too many episodes of Roadkill and got a wild hair to build a junkyard car to take on an incredible road trip. I knew I wanted a 2nd gen with 3.0L (6G72), 5 speed and cloth interior. Also, it had to be rust free. A tall order!

After searching junkyards far and wide I found exactly what i was looking for at a salvage yard in South Dakota. The truck was a 1994 Montero LS with 3.0L and 5-speed, brought up from New Mexico the year before. Zero rust. $700. SOLD!

The truck had some minor issues to address. Bumps and bruises, timing belt, water pump, tune up, valve seals.

Here is what it looked like when I bought it.

 

[Gallowbraid]

Excited to see where this goes.

 

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Getting through the deferred maintenance took a couple weekends but was very easy to perform. All fluids changed, T-belt, water pump, valve seals, intake reseal, suspension bushings, sway bar links, etc. I couldn’t wait to have a solid platform to build from.

Suspension and tires were first on the list. OME HD 2” coils in the rear and torsion bars up front. Bilstein shocks all around. I chose 33x10.5 Cepek Extreme County tires because I prefer a narrow track width.

 

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While I was in doing the suspension work, I also replaced the auto locking hubs with AVM manual lockouts to save my CV boots. The boots don’t respond well to the steep control arm angles after cranking the ride height up.

Next came a trip to my local junkyard to get some ticky-tacky stuff that had accumulated from years of neglect. Both side mirrors, left headlight, windshield trim, a couple small interior parts (all purchased for less than $40) brought the truck up to speed for an overland rig. I don’t like it when a truck is flawless. Makes it harder to fresh dents in them.

To support the added electrical I had planned, I fabricated/welded an auxiliary battery mount from some scrap. The 2nd battery was isolated via driver mounted switch and will power all electrical to be used at camp.

 

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The classic Montero was clearly designed for real use. For me, it represents the “Golden Age” of SUVs when vehicles were built on a truck frame and used over-engineered truck parts, but started integrating luxury creature comforts. Things like the dash mounted inclinometer, oil pressure and voltmeter are actually useful (not the inclinometer so much, but cool anyway). A trouble light and toolbox located in the back load space are thoughtful additions. The transfer case has a viscous coupling that allows for All-wheel drive function and a center lock for true 4WD. Rear stadium seating with inner and outer armrests is a huge plus. The back seat also completely reclines flat and moves forward and aft. There are two separate toolboxes under the back seat.

 

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Next up was the winch and ARB bull bar. There is no direct install ARB available for the Montero in North America, so I rolled the dice on a cross-referenced part and did some mild fab work to get it attached. The result was perfect. A 9,500lb Smittybilt winch should suffice for a while. I also decided to rebadge the truck with Pajero lettering. I got some shit for this from my buddies but there’re just jealous!

 

[Greg]

Good stuff.

 

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I needed a platform for the rooftop tent, so I chose a Defender rack. It is solidly built, mounts to the old fashioned rain gutters, has optional tower heights to clear the semi-high roof profile of the Montero and has provisions for auxiliary lighting. I’ll need to bolster the rear tent support using an old Yakima cross bar I’ve got lying around. Also, I’m still searching for an access solution (e.g. ladder) and a spare tire mounted bike rack if anybody has ideas?

 

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The most recent additions have been a snorkel (totally unnecessary but looks good), Hella lights on the rack, a satellite fuse/relay block under the hood and a CB radio. My intent is to add an awning to the rack and a basket over the spare tire for a cooler, shovel and Hi-Lift. I’ve also got a power inverter and LED light bars for the sides of the rack. The finishing touch will be swapping out the rear axle for an SR with the air locker. I found one at a junkyard close to my house for $200! That pretty much brings you up to speed. I’ll plan to document improvements as I go.
The end goal is a 3 week trip through the western US and British Columbia next summer.
All in, I have just about $5,000 invested in this rig and so far it’s taken me over 15,000 trouble-free miles since bringing it home. Having owned 4 land cruisers, 2 Nissan Patrols, 1 Range Rover, 1 CJ7, 1 CJ5, 1 M37 and 2 Series Land Rovers, the Montero is my favorite. It gets the job done and doesn’t break the bank...all with Japanese reliability.

 

[Dave]

Love it. These things are truly under rated, Pajero’s rock!

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Totally agree, Dave. They provide a unique, cost-effective solution for folks that want to explore the back country and get back home again. With 16-18 mpg and a comfortable cruising speed of 75MPH they can cover a lot of ground! Not saying they’re better than the venerable Land Cruiser or any other 4x4...just a neat alternative.