[OnTheWrongSide]

Well, for those of you following my intro thread http://www.titantalk.com/forums/new-member-introductions/360450-hi-down-under-not-owner-yet.html, the good news is the T is converted, registered and on the road.

I bought it from Mark Arbuckle in September last year, it was a standard and good condition Pro 4x king Cab with Luxury Pack. The salesman wasn’t too clear but I get the impression the original buyer was unhappy and organised some sort of buyback deal so the truck ended up back on their lot only about 18 months old. I had it checked out by a local inspector who didn’t see any issues, and without looking too far ahead in the story neither the conversion nor my first month’s driving turned up anything out of the ordinary either. I ended up paying $34k US for it ($AUD 45,000)

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

So it left Indiana, Pennsylvania in September 2016 and started the long swim to Australia. Funnily enough I was in Gibraltar the same day the truck was doing a stopover in Morocco so I did come within about 20klm of it last year….

It arrived in the docks in Brisbane on Christmas Eve which was a mess timing wise (Australia pretty much totally goes on holiday from the Monday before Christmas until the end of January, the weather’s too good (or hot depending on your view) to work until feb.

Anyway, in mid Jan it made its way to MJH imports on the Gold Coast, the only workshop in the country legally allowed to comply a Titan for registration. Total cost for the conversion was $38,500, non negotiable. Considering the amount of work involved I actually think that’s quite reasonable….but still….ouch….

The truck was finally ready to pick up just after Easter, but due to racing commitments (mostly Kelly doing Targa Tasmania, but also the Kempsey state Hillclimb round) and being in the middle of a house move, we just didn’t have time to go pick it up so we had it trucked back to Sydney.

This is how it looked with the steering wheel on the right (wrong?) side

So in the end it finally arrived in Sydney Monday 1-May (yep, 226 days after I bought it….), and I went to sort the rego the same day. On the downside, while driving back from the weighbridge to the blue slip (new rego) inspection station I noticed that sweet sweet smell of burning coolant, and the temp gauge heading towards the roof. I took a chance, nursed it the last klm to the mechanic and parked it up crossing my fingers no real damage done. Turned out the guys who did the engine conversion left a hoseclamp off a nasty heater hose and it wasn’t obvious on their short test drive. Easy fix, no sign of damage done.

Otherwise first impressions have been good. I mean, it drives like a truck but we are on a pretty rural property so it suits. Lots of space, great room in the back for the Kelpie kids and secure storage when we are needing things, and the king cab size tray is swallowing plenty when we need it to. It’s nice and stable on the freeway, chews petrol and terrible around town or trying to put it in a standard size parking space at the supermarket. Pretty much everything I expected so far.

Here’s how she looks next to the old tow car, a Nissan Stagea.

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

So what’s next? Well the main reason I went with something so big was to make towing the race car around the state a bit easier, so fitting up a proper height towball and converting the trailer wiring to Australian plug is up next. (BTW do you guys really have combined brake and turn lights on trailers still!!?!).

I’ve already fitted a backflip f1 cover which seems to work pretty well. Actually it must have had a cover in the past sometime (removed before sale) because I can see the old marks on the side of the tub. And, obviously they had to flip the utilitrack rails upside down (as I had to do again for the backflip) because whoever did the job was a butcher and cross threaded about half of the utilitrak mounting bolts when the put it back on with some sort of impact wrench. I guess it’s nice to know some US mechanics are as bad as some Oz ones…..

From there I’ve some side steps to put on, and also a full exhaust + nismo airbox + uprev to install. Partly because I’d like it to go a bit better and mostly because I’m pretty juvenile and like stuff to sound good. And also a bunch of electrical stuff to make race weekends more convenient, maybe a slide on camper etc etc….stay tuned 

 

[Rage232]

wow that's crazy! Your at $72k for a Titan with that conversion!! Not too many Titans down under eh!? haha awesome though glad it's all working out so far!

 

[Mastermind46]

Wow that's a lot of work. I saw a stagea build on mighty car mods. Basically turned it into a gtr wagon. Freaking sick. I also watch ronny dahls YouTube channel on 4 wheeling in western Australia. I'd watch their build videos to get some ideas on electrical setups. I would take his cruiser in a heartbeat.

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[HRTKD]

Nice writeup! That's a lot of work and money invested in that Titan.

With regard to the slide-in camper, you'll end up with an either/or situation. You can can have either the camper or the trailer, but probably not both. The cargo capacity of the Titan is such that it is hard to find a slide-in camper that is light enough. Then try to add a trailer? Not likely.

 

[honda250xtitan]

Nice writeup! That's a lot of work and money invested in that Titan.

With regard to the slide-in camper, you'll end up with an either/or situation. You can can have either the camper or the trailer, but probably not both. The cargo capacity of the Titan is such that it is hard to find a slide-in camper that is light enough. Then try to add a trailer? Not likely.

when i was in Australia I saw cars towing ski boats....they're crazy over there.

 

[danman]

Absolutely awesome! I'd drive a right hand drive titan!

 

[jdmartin]

Dude if I ever get to Australia I want to check out this wrong-side wheel Titan! Awesome!

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

haha thanks guys. Yeah your trucks are basically non existent over here. AFAIK there are 2 first series titans and 2 XD diesels in the country. There would probably be a couple of hundred other assorted trucks of different ages but it's a big country so you almost never see them.

What we call utes are very popular here, I'm pretty sure your frontier is the same as our navara which is among top 20 selling vehicles. Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger are in the top 3 sellers and basically twin cab utes are everywhere. For comparison a top spec navara is about AUD60k for a 2.0l diesel with 190hp, 330lb/ft, 3.5 tonne towing and 1 tonne tray so while the Titan did cost more it is not out of the ballpark.

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

Wow that's a lot of work. I saw a stagea build on mighty car mods. Basically turned it into a gtr wagon. Freaking sick. I also watch ronny dahls YouTube channel on 4 wheeling in western Australia. I'd watch their build videos to get some ideas on electrical setups. I would take his cruiser in a heartbeat.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Funnily enough I know the MCM guys quite well, their shop is in the same suburb I live in, and I bought my March Super Turbo off them years ago. I love Ben's stagea, and it's well executed, just needs a little more money spent on it and it should go very well.

I've actually been using a stagea for towing the last 10+ years, there was a pic earlier in this thread. It's had a heap of working including manual conversion (it was factory auto), 3.0l bottom end (was 2.5 factory) with the factory twin cam head, big high mount turbo, front mount intercooler, front facing plenum, all suspension/anti roll bars, towbar etc. It makes 250kw at the wheels (so about 500hp at the engine) and comparing the towing it has more power and torque than the titan.....but the truck is roomier, more comfortable (stagea has very firm springs/shocks for towing), less manual/clutch and is no worse on fuel use.... I also imported that but as it was from Japan it was already right hand drive so much easier and cheaper process.

Nice writeup! That's a lot of work and money invested in that Titan.

With regard to the slide-in camper, you'll end up with an either/or situation. You can can have either the camper or the trailer, but probably not both. The cargo capacity of the Titan is such that it is hard to find a slide-in camper that is light enough. Then try to add a trailer? Not likely.

Thanks for the warning on that, I'll look into it more closely later and look for more info from here. I don't mind modifying to increase rear capability if possible (I saw at least 1 thread on here with an axle upgrade, or perhaps air bags/helpers). Trailer has about 180kg down weight on the ball fully loaded and you are right that doesn't leave much for a slide on including gear

 

[Mastermind46]

Funnily enough I know the MCM guys quite well, their shop is in the same suburb I live in, and I bought my March Super Turbo off them years ago. I love Ben's stagea, and it's well executed, just needs a little more money spent on it and it should go very well.

I've actually been using a stagea for towing the last 10+ years, there was a pic earlier in this thread. It's had a heap of working including manual conversion (it was factory auto), 3.0l bottom end (was 2.5 factory) with the factory twin cam head, big high mount turbo, front mount intercooler, front facing plenum, all suspension/anti roll bars, towbar etc. It makes 250kw at the wheels (so about 500hp at the engine) and comparing the towing it has more power and torque than the titan.....but the truck is roomier, more comfortable (stagea has very firm springs/shocks for towing), less manual/clutch and is no worse on fuel use.... I also imported that but as it was from Japan it was already right hand drive so much easier and cheaper process.



Thanks for the warning on that, I'll look into it more closely later and look for more info from here. I don't mind modifying to increase rear capability if possible (I saw at least 1 thread on here with an axle upgrade, or perhaps air bags/helpers). Trailer has about 180kg down weight on the ball fully loaded and you are right that doesn't leave much for a slide on including gear

That's so awesome!! Other than their mistake on the whole painting an intercooler black thing, they are awesome. One of the influences that got me into cars. Have a speed3 as my daily. About 400/400 at the wheels. Is a blast but no traction.

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[OnTheWrongSide]

Well a couple of updates.

After seeing a bunch of threads about the issue (particularly old ones), I decided to buy a spare PDM relay. So I picked the part number from the big thread on here and hit ebay australia to buy a spare, and found one listing here: New Genuine Nissan C11 Tiida ECM Relay PN:284B7CW29E RRP$330 | eBay

Price was $199AUD so I got in contact to let them know there was some error in the either the part number or the price as the same part is $2.45USD in the states.

They responded that they had checked and there was no error. List price from Nissan Australia is $278.20AUD and that $199 was the best they can do.

Yes, literally 16,100% mark up on a relay. No mistake. Nissan Australia must paint them in unicorn sh1t when they unload the container.

Only one little example, but you can see how a titan doesn't seem that expensive here, even after the RHD conversion

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

Also, I got to do the first tow of the race car last weekend, and it was a beauty. 1600klm round trip from home near goulburn up to grafton for the 5th round of the NSW hillclimb champs.

Happily the US and Oz hitch receivers are the same 50mm square so I fitted up a local hitch. On the downside the US trailer connector is different, and requires different wiring too (do you guys seriously use the brake light to indicate for corners?). Anyway, tapped into the factory loom for earth, trailer brakes, brake lights, parker lights and tapped into the indicators on each side for the left and right indicators. Everything went OK there although I do have to mount the plug properly (it's just cable tied for now). Also have a redarc brake controller attached to the factory wiring at the dash

From there we did the tow up, had an awesome weekend racing in the rain (came 10th outright in the Leaf in a field of 63 cars), then towed back again. The Titan did great all the way, dealt with all the hills, temps including transmission were good, brakes were fine and there was plenty of space on board.

Only downside is that about 200klm from home I got the ABS, Slip and TCS off error lights. I'm assuming I've got that issue with the hot exhaust melting the rear wiring which is a bit of a pain since next tow is in 2 weeks to Tamworth which is another 1200klm; I doubt I'm going to get time to sort it prior so it will probably get worse

It will also be interesting to see how the dealer is able (or not) to help since the truck is still well within warranty...but well out of the Indiana PA servicing area. I do have a full exhaust from cajun pipes ready to put on which should solve the root cause.

 

[Kuyaspidey]

Awesome write up, I love reading up on your stuff!

 

[ghoztt]

Well that's something you don't see every day. That's pretty cool!

 

[Rage232]

Also, I got to do the first tow of the race car last weekend, and it was a beauty. 1600klm round trip from home near goulburn up to grafton for the 5th round of the NSW hillclimb champs.

Happily the US and Oz hitch receivers are the same 50mm square so I fitted up a local hitch. On the downside the US trailer connector is different, and requires different wiring too (do you guys seriously use the brake light to indicate for corners?). Anyway, tapped into the factory loom for earth, trailer brakes, brake lights, parker lights and tapped into the indicators on each side for the left and right indicators. Everything went OK there although I do have to mount the plug properly (it's just cable tied for now). Also have a redarc brake controller attached to the factory wiring at the dash

From there we did the tow up, had an awesome weekend racing in the rain (came 10th outright in the Leaf in a field of 63 cars), then towed back again. The Titan did great all the way, dealt with all the hills, temps including transmission were good, brakes were fine and there was plenty of space on board.

Only downside is that about 200klm from home I got the ABS, Slip and TCS off error lights. I'm assuming I've got that issue with the hot exhaust melting the rear wiring which is a bit of a pain since next tow is in 2 weeks to Tamworth which is another 1200klm; I doubt I'm going to get time to sort it prior so it will probably get worse

It will also be interesting to see how the dealer is able (or not) to help since the truck is still well within warranty...but well out of the Indiana PA servicing area. I do have a full exhaust from cajun pipes ready to put on which should solve the root cause.

Did you get the JBA headers and uprev tuning as well? I love mine - makes a huge difference in power and I love the sound!!
The ABS, Slip and TCS is usually caused by a wheel speed sensor.

 

[Blackbeauty]

Only downside is that about 200klm from home I got the ABS, Slip and TCS off error lights. I'm assuming I've got that issue with the hot exhaust melting the rear wiring which is a bit of a pain since next tow is in 2 weeks to Tamworth which is another 1200klm; I doubt I'm going to get time to sort it prior so it will probably get worse

Often times, when those three lights come on at the same time, it's due to low brake fluid in the brake reservoir... due to worn brake pads. Worth a look for a quick check...

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

Thanks guys for the suggestions, I really appreciate the suggestions from guys who probably see posts like that all the time.

Actually after some quality time with the consult 3 it looks like the error is actually a failing diff lock solenoid (3rd most likely cause for these lights probably). Brake fluid is checked and fine although I intend to bleed the brakes because the pedal is longer than my preference....

I've cleared the error codes and done about 500klm since without them returning (and also without using the diff lock). After the next big tow in 2 weeks I'll try the diff lock again and see if that is the issue, seems to be intermittent.

Also, no pics yet, but a big thanks to @FishinAlaska for pointing out the mounting points he used for his light bar. I've used the same for mine and it is by far the easiest I have ever put one of those on. Not to mention, holy ****, the bumper is actually metal not plastic....I literally hadn't seen that since my 200B in the 80s and had to knock on it a few times to be sure!

 

[OnTheWrongSide]

Oh sorry forgot to mention, yes full zorst including JBA headers from cajun pipes, and the uprev tuner as well. Haven't had a chance to put them on yet since I'm moving house but should do so in a couple of weeks