Introduce yourself here!

[Thelgord]

First of all, amazing VX! I love it!

I do have a couple of questions though.

1) What bumper is that? I have been looking for one but haven’t found one that will fit (maybe I have and just haven’t realized it yet). It looks an ARB maybe? Looks amazing!

2) What is that piece near the door handle?

Again, awesome rig!

[petapaulmary]

The bullbar was a off stock Holden Rodeo, but we had to cut the ends and bend it out to fit the curve of the vx and had to cut and put a bend in the top pipe portion over the headlights so as not to partially shield the light it gives out. All the underside fits exactly. It was a shame having to trim the stock bumper though.
The little thing by the door handle was already on there it just a door bump stop.

[PK]

Hi Peta, Paul, and Mary. Which one are you??

I am in Tasmania, and also have an Austal (colour) VX, 1997 model. There used to be 2 other Aussies on the forum, but I haven't seen them on here for ages.

You are a bit far away to suggest a meet up, but if you are having any problems yell out and I will help if I can. I use mine as a daily driver, but about to pull it off the road for a big birthday. She turns 21 in August, and desperately needs the inlet manifold decoke and new gaskets, exhaust repair, and new wheel bearings.
Then she will be good for another 150,000.

Peter
PK

[petapaulmary]

Hi my name is Paul the boss is Peta with Mary as her middle name just like the music group.
Never been to Tasi it on my list as I am originally from Wales.
Appreciate the help if required. It’s a pretty cool car, so there are at least 2 now in Australia.

[PK]

Hi Paul,
I was once told by another Aussie owner, that he had researched the VX imports and believed that around 25 had been imported into Australia.
I know at least 4 have been raced at different times in the Australian rally series, and 2 road going vehicles have been written off, so I would guess that there are 15 - 19 still around.
But I have never seen another one on the road. Saw a couple in New Zealand a couple of years ago.

PK

[ipd]

Shame to have to notch the rear bumper to make the hitch fit.

I like the front bumper. There's really no way around trimming the stock bumper to fit something like that though--the headlights & grille are just too "unique" to fit a bumper around them and make it look good.

My dream bumper would be something that mounts up pretty much bolt-on like that, but with a front curve that very nearly matches the stock bumper curve. Brushguards that fit the headlights. And a front opening that provides increased airflow. Even better if a hex-grille can be used.

What happened to the backup camera?

[TheBigRig]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased my 2001 Vehicross in black with grey interior with 145,000 miles and as of today its on a truck heading to Reno, Nevada to be delivered next week. I'm glad I found this forum because there doesn't seem to be a lot of info on these unique little cars among the google searches.

Quick story: Being a car guy I love to modify everything. Recently my 1999 Ford F350 7.3L heavily modified diesel truck has broken to a point of being undriveable. So I needed a little car to buzz around in, but something I wouldnt be compelled to modify. Well the vehicross fits the bill so I had to buy one. Now the F350 can go under the knife and get the TLC it so deseperately needs at 260,000 miles pushing 400HP and 1000 ft/lbs of torque.

Glad to be a part of the Vehicross club.

-Darren

[Mile High VX]

Welcome Darren...it's great to have new enthusiast join the group. If you're a Facebook person there is a good group on there as well.

[petapaulmary]

The back up camera is installed where the ole get me home spare tyre was. That area now contains spare fire extinguishers, air compressor, tool kit and medical kit. I am going to have to put my new spare tyre somewhere else as it won’t fit due to the upgrade in size.
I replaced the Japanese radio with an after market one with gps, reverse camera etc.
With regards to the tow bar a mate and I knocked it up it a tad over engineered
The bull bar looks nice I reckon

[petapaulmary]

What the Facebook group called
Cheers

[Thelgord]

What the Facebook group called
Cheers

https://www.facebook.com/groups/32929439606/

[TheBigRig]

I replaced the Japanese radio with an after market one with gps, reverse camera etc.

The radio you installed, is it a single din flip open one, or single din with a little screen on the front. OR did you modify it for a double din large screen. Looking into a new radio but cant decide which.

[Mile High VX]

Looks like he is in Australia. He likely has a JDM (Japanese Domestic Model) VX so factory he has a double din and right side drive.

[TheBigRig]

Looks like he is in Australia. He likely has a JDM (Japanese Domestic Model) VX so factory he has a double din and right side drive.

Good call.

My little black vehicross arrived last night! Im excited and loving it. So I bought this car sight unseen from the East Coast, so I knew what I was getting into. When I picked the car up from the carrier and drove it away I immediately thought it was severely broken. Car would lurch violent in gear, felt reluctant to turn, and had a top speed of 30 mph. So I immediately pulled into the next parking lot and thought "You know, this actually feels alot like driving my F350 in 4 Lo." Sure enough I suppose the carrier locked it into 4Lo to get it on the truck. Popped it back into 4 Hi and she runs great. Now come the rattles. Driving it around a bit I could hear things rattling and pinging. So I pull out the phone flash light a take a look under the car. OH BOY its an east coast car most definitely. One of the rattles was the tail pipe from muffler, over the axle, and out the back. Completely rusted through and dangling. Pulled that out. Another rattle was the tube bumper, also rusted through and dangling. So the poor old girl is very rusty underneither. I gonna try and look around if I can get it up on a lift and be able to wire wheel or media blast it and spray it out with bed liner. I gotta hand it to the dealer I bought it from for his ability to be so thorough with his pictures and videos and yet still be able to keep this serious rust hidden from me. I have yet to do a real thorough inspection under the car but the worst part so far is the pinch weld right in front of the rear wheel. Its practically missing. But I am loving the little car. What a difference it is going from my 4 door long bed lifted f350 to this little one.

Question if anyone here knows: Is the black door handle with the switches on it drivers side replaceable, or do I have to replace the entire door panel?

[Thelgord]

You can get the door handles separate. There is even a kind of how-to on a blog somewhere on how to restore them, even if chipped or cracked. Can’t remeber the site off the top of my head. Isuzu parts center can get them. Sometimes you can find deals on salvaged ones, but they generally aren’t better. Pro tip for Isuzu parts center. Find the part you are looking for, then open a new tab. One tab will be the site with the www in the url, one without. Different prices from the same site. No idea why.

Oh, and welcome to the addiction