28 replies to this topic

[SamuelCharles]

Hi all! 
So, I'm 5 days in of owning my Liberty and loving every moment of it, I never want to get out of it! I'm very excited to start doing some little mods here and there to make it unique to me so I thought I'd get a build thread going to have something to look back to, get some advice from others and possibly entertain/ inspire others  

Being a P-Plater, the mods are going to exist mainly of aesthetic touches and some other bits and bobs, no major engine work or anything like that. My personal goals are to create something clean and unique that wont attract huge unwanted attention. Also, with only being 18 and making $1000 a month if I'm lucky and trying to save for Uni next year, my budget is lower than others. As I live in the town of Taree, NSW, the roads are quite horrible. I will be taking it onto dirt roads quite often and I will need to tow a trailer every now and then so I'm going to sacrifice some handling and stick with the stock springs, shocks and wheels.

My mod list as of today consists of:
-Exhaust (Probably only catback, not chasing power) ✔️
-Slimline number plates ✖️
-Plasti-dip wheels and the chrome on the grille blaaaaack ✔️
-Paint the calipers red ✔️
-New head unit ✖️
-Upgrade speakers ✔️
-Ultrex mesh grille at some point (Lightbar ✔️)
-Ultrex rear diffuser ✖️
-CREE LED brake lights/ indicators/ reverse lights ✖️
-Thicker swaybars ✖️
-Strut braces ✖️
-Halo lights ✖️

-Upgrade headlight bulbs to something much brighter ✖️

-Upgrade fog bulbs for the same reason ✖️
-Eyelids ✖️
-Roof spoiler ✖️
-Towbar (I need it due to riding downhill mountainbikes so I need to cart bikes around) ✔️

-Maybe some tow straps for an interesting feature ✖️

 

So, If you are a P-plater and want some ideas or have any tips, well, anyone can give me their opinion , keep an eye out here! 
Cant wait to start modding! Hope to eventually get to some meets! Have a good one
-Sam

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[CRUISN]

A Gen4 is a nice beginning point for a P plater.

 

Please add "replace awful yellow NSW plates for black/white versions" to mods list.

[Reevesy]

Looks like its second on the list already Mark

[Barbbachello]

Good list. Could probably upgrade to bilstein struts and springs and not loose any practicality.

[Liberty]

Nice car and good list. There are a few things I wouldn't do but each to their own. Just don't rush too much into it all otherwise you'll get bored of it quickly.

[SamuelCharles]

Stop Number 1: Cleaning

 

The first stop of my journey was a good old clean. This car, to be frank, was pretty disgusting... The engine bay was black, leaves were everywhere, brake dust covered the wheels, the chrome exhaust tips where black, the interior was covered in dust/ what seemed to be food crumbs and dirt. I don't know about others but I do prefer a nice, clean car . We decided that we may as well do the the usual fluid changes while we were in the mood, so new coolant was poured in and oil changed and new filter put on. After this Dad and myself decided to give the Liberty its first proper clean out since I have owned it. The first step was a good wash of the engine bay. A good soak in heavy duty wash and a rinse of helped bring the engine bay to a somewhat decent level. I cant even describe how much black road grime and dust fell off this cars engine bay, I think we washed half of Sydney down the drain... Once that was cleaned out, I got into a good scrub. The car had leaves and chunks of black who knows what in cracks and crevices and had bird poo that seemed to have been baked on by the sun over a period of time. The wheels were covered with brake dust so they also got a good cleaning too. This all brought a nice slight shine to the car and this was also when we noticed the gorgeous Arctic White Pearl paint. I never noticed the gold sparkle the paint had until I scrubbed the residue off the car.
 

After the wash we moved to the interior. Dad chose to pull the pollen filter out and I gave the interior a run over with a damp cloth to pull all the dirt and dust off the dash. Pollen filter was pretty clean surprisingly, had the usual couple of leaves and junk through it but was fine! The dash, door trims, radio/climate control fascia was cleaned, gear stick boot, steering wheel, cup holders etc. Went over the seats with the wet vacuum and some fabric cleaner to clean the seats which worked very well and a good vacuum of the carpets. 

Then we started the exterior. I cleaned up some black trim with black shoe polish and a rag whilst dad started the polish on the car. We went over it with a "scratch remover" cut in an attempt to cut the paint back slightly and remove some of the scratches and some weird stains on the paint.... As per usual it didnt make a large difference but man oh man did it look tidy. The sparkle in the paint looks perfect in the sun, I find it hard to look away from it We are going to leave it for 2 or 3 weeks and come back with a coat of Nu-Finish to seal all the cuts and give ti even more of a shine and protective coat. We also went over the headlights and tail lights with the polish and they come up looking new! Yes, its not as good as purpose made cleaners but it worked well enough for my standards!

So, thats about all for the first step. Yes, its boring but I thought id make it part of my build post. I'm very happy with the results and happy its all clean and tidy! (minus the scratches from the previous owner) Planning to convert the fog lights to DRL's next weekend so that should be fun!

 

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[R-Y]

Good work dude. I always go to town with cleaning when buying second hand cars too. I even went to the extent of removing the seats to clean the interior. Tidy car. Keep on top of your services and it should reward you nicely for a first car.

[Morgan]

Clean!

[Hypnotic]

Nice job with the clean up.

 

Very tidy.

[Liberty]

Looking real good. I love that white paint.

[SamuelCharles]

Small update:
I'm still trying to adjust to the way the car drives but I got bored today and took my GoPro out and thought I'd do some 0-100km/h runs to see what the car could do. I was on a wide, rarely used road so there was no danger to others, just wanted to do some launches. The car pulled amazingly. Yes, I know its only the N/A EJ25 but its still quite some fun for what it is. Could've launched a little harder but it wasn't like i was racing for anything. Anyway, heres a quick clip. Enjoy
https://www.youtube....h?v=7wvbzsvUpJ8

[SamuelCharles]

Stop Number 2: Exhaust 

 

The time came to get some sound out of the liberty. It probably seems a little silly doing this after only owning it for 3 weeks but it had to be done at some point... and i love it. Its nothing fancy, mild steel catback, 2.5 inch, new resonator to kill drone, twin mufflers and 2.5 inch tips. It is only the night after having it done thismorning so its not run in yet but it already is perfect for me. Has enough sound to be obviously modified and plenty loud when on the gas but quiet enough that i can happily cruise on the highway with no drone in my ears. The tips do seem a little small but i kind of like them... it looks small enough to be a stock setup but once moving sounds awesome, perfect to dodge police attention. Once it all settles in over the next 7 days ill put a video up of the sound it has. 
 

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[Soans]

what catback exhuast are you running? 

[SamuelCharles]

Hi Soans, 

It's a completely custom system from a local exhaust specialist. Its 2.25" from the cat back right to the tips and is mild steel and thats about all I know. It sounds great in my opinion. 

Thanks
 

[allpaw4]

Do the tips have a hard, sharp edge on the inside of the rolled lip? If they do, think about changing them at some stage - I've no idea what yours sounded like, but when we did mine, the rolled edge created a puffy sort of sound. Changed over to the stock tip and no more strange sounds, just nice crisp exhaust.

[Soans]

Hi Soans, 

It's a completely custom system from a local exhaust specialist. Its 2.25" from the cat back right to the tips and is mild steel and thats about all I know. It sounds great in my opinion. 

Thanks
 

Cheers, you wouldn't happen to have a video clip of the exhaust would you?


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[SamuelCharles]

Do the tips have a hard, sharp edge on the inside of the rolled lip? If they do, think about changing them at some stage - I've no idea what yours sounded like, but when we did mine, the rolled edge created a puffy sort of sound. Changed over to the stock tip and no more strange sounds, just nice crisp exhaust.

I'm not 100% sure but ill check tomorrow and if so i'll look into it... I want different tips anyway. Thankyou!

Cheers, you wouldn't happen to have a video clip of the exhaust would you?


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No, not at the moment. But its been on there for a while so i think its time to do one... Tomorrow afternoon ill make one and post it up tomorrow night  

[Soans]

I'm not 100% sure but ill check tomorrow and if so i'll look into it... I want different tips anyway. Thankyou!

No, not at the moment. But its been on there for a while so i think its time to do one... Tomorrow afternoon ill make one and post it up tomorrow night

cheers mate

[SamuelCharles]

Rightio, heres the video. Listen to it with a good set of earphones or speakers otherwise it sounds stock