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hen Tom Kirk first bought his Jimny, he ran it standard for ‘a few days.’ That’s normally enough. On went as set of AT tyres, and those didn’t hang about long either before being kicked into touch for a set of MTs.

Words: Tom Alderney Pics: Harry Hamm

These were 31x10.50R15s, making them a lot bigger than standard. Which meant there was work to be done if they were going to fit.

Now, there are various ways of lifting a vehicle. They’re all good but, like chocolate and sex, you can have too much of a good thing. After a certain amount of chocolate, you want a nice salad. After a certain amount of sex, you want… well, more sex but with someone else. Or a rest. Or maybe some chocolate.

Anyway. Tom hedged his bets about as much as you possibly can. He mixed four separate techniques for making the bigger tyres fit, which sounds like the 4x4 equivalent of chocolate fondue or an orgy but unlike either of those things is very sensible.

Obviously, when you’re talking about off-roaders the place to start is with the suspension. More height doesn’t necessarily mean more flex, but if does offer loads of potential – which Tom made the most of with a +3” set-up featuring Pro-Comp shocks. He also used 1” spring spacers, adding more lift between the chassis and axles – though obviously this doesn’t do anything more for the truck’s articulation.

Neither does a body lift, but he added one of these too anyway with +2” spacers hiking the distance from the chassis to the tub. This, of course, is a way of creating better ground clearance and making space for bigger tyres – as is trimming the wheelarches, and he did plenty of that too.

Even the tyres themselves add 2-3” in lift, being so much taller than the Jimny’s weedy little 205/70R15 originals. So that, between

Above left: The transfer case you’re looking at here is a classic Rock Lobster made by mashing up the internals from SJ410 and 413 units. rotectin his investment om has fitte a heav t fa ricate ash ar that sits sn e o the casin ove centre ri ht he front mper mo nts have een c t off the chassis an a fa ricate stee mper e e into p ace s o can see it as esi ne to take a inch t oesn t contain one here s more of the same at the ack a on ith heavi trimme arches everything, places the vehicle’s roof about 9” further off the ground than it once was. The words ‘centre of gravity’ come to mind, though a combination of offset rims and 32mm wheel spacers help return the vehicle to its original stable self. As Tom illustrated, or not, during our photoshoot, when he very gracefully demonstrated its articulation then equally gracefully placed it on its side.

Tom told us that his plans for the vehicle’s future include a roll cage. Never a bad thing; the roll we watched did nothing worse than stuff a wing mirror, but you can’t rely on luck to always be on your side. He’s also intending to do something about the 1.3 engine – like replace it with a bigger one. Another reason for fitting a roll cage.

As it is, the original 1.3 was already spinning a Rock Lobster tranny when we took these photos. A common theme among every Suzuki owner we’re ever talked to is that this conversion, or whatever equivalent you choose, is the best mod you can possibly make, and

Tom is no different – though his suspension and mud tyres get honourable mentions too.

All this from a man who had never previously owned a 4x4. But though his ambitions were limited to just having a laugh at playdays, he wasn’t just messing about with the truck. ‘I’m addicted to spending money on it!’ he told us. That might sound familiar, and so might this: ‘It used to be my daily driver. But now I’ve now bought a car so I can give this more hammer off-road!’

Any examples of that? ‘I almost rolled down the steepest hill I’ve ever driven up. I couldn’t go forward or back, as my frond end just kept slipping round until the Jimny was about to go over. I thought my mates were at the bottom of the hill la ghing b t then saw them all climbing the hill to save me. They were falling and sliding back down, but eventually they got to me and lifted the front end back round so I could drive backwards down the hill! That’s when I knew I had real friends – only about eight of them though!’

Real friends will also relentlessly egg each other on to be the one who does the barmiest thing on a day out. Which is pretty much what started happening as soon as Tom’s Jimny had been fetched back on to its wheels on our shoot, though he managed to keep it out of the clutches of the infamous Kirton lake.

A surprise, possibly. ‘I don’t know much of its history,’ he told us, as he prepared to disappear in a cloud of steam. ‘Other than that I have abused it! But I wouldn’t have done anything differently, though I’d add more mods if I were rich. It’s cost enough to build!’ ront ra i s arms are ma e of sset e e t e stron er than the ori ina an the re castor correcte to s it the springs and shocks too. Both panhard rods are a sta e a o in a e position to e maintaine espite the e tra hei ht of the ne s spension