150,000 miles on the clock, 20 long hard years in the Pennines of Northern England, a comprehensive revival in England by me in 2021 specifically focussed on making the truck useable as a daily driver but now it’s time for the most fun of upgrade to Ventura. A visual, physical and performance based upgrade with a very specific intention. Vehicle Preparation for Ventura to enter her first rally – The Maroc Challenge.
Let’s start with a status update of work done to Ventura to date:
New Brakes – Check
New steering box – Check
New 1:2 transfer box upgrade – Check
New front diff – Check
New radiator – Check
New upgraded intercooler – Check
New cooling Hoses – Check
EGR delete – Check
New ECU and remap – Check
New Stainless exhaust – Check
New silencer delete – Check
So all in all, the underside of Ventura should be in good order ready for almost anything I can throw at it. Which means in reality I could drive out the door and take it straight to Morocco and put it through a 3,000km off road adventure and it might just work…but can I make it better?
So here is the long list of vehicle preparation I have decided to do:
2” suspension lift – Arguably the most important upgrade, to increase ride height and comfort off road. This is a no brainer and has been high on the list of 2024 upgrades for a while. I have selected Old Man Emu shocks and springs. This in turn includes castor correction, extended drive shaft, new bushes, extended brake lines, turret tops and a host of extra little bits and bobs to make the ride perfect.
Steering Damper – At the same time I am going to fit a OME steering damper to reduce any wobble and make the steering even more solid after fitting a new steering box in 2023.
Bigger tyres – I don’t know if bigger tyres really make it better off road, I love my Falken Wild Peaks, and there are loads of arguments about thin v fat tyres. But wider and larger tyres look damn cool, so the BF Goodrich KO2 AT is what I have selected to ensure all the desert, sand and rock is suitably catered for. They of course need new rims, which should complete my off road ability perfectly!
Snorkel – I love the look of a snorkel, and finally I have a proper justification for fitting one to Ventura. The common misconception that a snorkel allows you to wade through rivers is not entirely correct what a snorkel really does is get the air intake up and out of the dust and sand of desert driving. So this is a no brainer and is first on the list. (but I am also going to seal the intake all the way to the box, and fit diff breathers, so I can also wade if I need to!)
Transfer box sump extension – We will be doing long road days as well as long off road days, the transfer box gets hot and the best way of cooling this is with more oil. So an additional 1ltrs sump tank is on the list.
Roofrack – I really want to keep weight down, so adding anything to the roof is counter intuitive, but a stiffer suspension set up will counter the added roll factor. Adding a roof rack does give some undeniable advantages, and allow me a place to add a light bar, some working rear lights and to store big lighter items such as maxtrax, highlift jack, shovel, sand flag. I think I can bodge together something in DIY form that should last the trip…
Storage – Having the right thing in the right place, that doesn’t rattle, bounce or move when off road is a key part of being prepared. With two of us on the road, we don’t need the back seats, so I have plenty of space to work with to create something suitably solid, safe and easy to keep dust free. This will also be a DIY job.
Radio – The Maroc Challenge recommends we have a CB (27mhz) radio. Which just sounds cool. So I want one. No idea who I will speak to. I have found RMS Radio in lisbon and they have an excellent selection and I met some cool people in the shop when I went to buy my radio.
GPS – To do this kind of rally you seem to need GPS as the waypoints are given (I think) every evening by USB stick or something. So a proper GPS is required. So Garmin Tread Overland 8″ is on the list. I have no idea how to use it.
Once I have all of this kit, I need to spend a couple of days testing it all off road to make sure it works and doesn’t break!!
