If you haven’t already seen it, there’s a great 1st generation Montero / Pajero build by Expedition Portal forum member, Cruisn. He delves into everything: turbo-diesel engine swap, new interior, custom storage solution, on-board air, rooftop tent, lift, and more.
He’s posted lots of off-road pictures to boot. It’s definitely worth a look.
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The Mitsubishi Montero / Pajero / Shogun turns 30 this spring!
I looked at a lot of trucks, from Land Cruisers to Land Rovers, before settling on my 1995 Montero LS. The combination of Japanese reliability, a well-designed, well-thought-out interior, and, what I thought were classic good looks, proved pretty appealing. Also, I was looking for something from the mid-90s. That era seems to be the sweet spot on the SUV development timeline in which trucks went from spartan and capable to soft and cushy. The fact that it was the only one from this era available in the US with a manual transmission, sealed the deal. I’ve been happy with it ever since.
All photos: Gregory McDonaldI’d been wanting an extra margin of water fording safety and a cleaner intake source than under the fender well, so I ordered an ARB Safari Snorkel. A couple of weekends ago my friend Greg — awesome guy that he is — came up to help me install it. It worked out pretty well and took about 5 or 6 hours from start to finish (including a trip to the hardware store for last minute supplies).
If you install one yourself here’s a list of things you’ll need. Read through your instructions fully before you go to the hardware store to get supplies. I didn’t, hence the extra trip.
Apart from the standard tools, you’ll need:
• an 86mm (3-3/8″) hole saw (this may be different for your truck)
• Loctite
• drills up to 1/2″ diameter (the instructions call for larger but if you follow this method, you won’t need them)
• silicon sealer
• ratcheting box wrench (to tighten the nuts inside the fender well without removing the fender)
• a step drill, if you already have one (they’re about $50 so I just used a series of drills)
Here’s the biggest tip of the whole exercise: use the template only to drill the big, 86mm hole. Mark the small, snorkel bolt holes as well but use the bolts themselves to determine their exact positions. The template may not be accurate — it wasn’t for us. Use the same method for determining the positions of the A-pillar holes and you’ll be dead on.
Be sure to follow along with your instructions, if you do this yourself. I’m only going into a general level of detail in this post.
This first generation Montero, a 1990 LS model, has been transformed from stock into a fantastic looking overlander with very well-thought-out features that I haven’t seen on other trucks. To say I “spotted” it though is to give myself too much credit. Greg showed it to me when Natalie and I met with him in San Francisco to discuss our then upcoming Twain trip. I was immediately impressed. Here’s what Greg has done. Read the rest of this entry »
A young, mop-topped Jeremy Clarkson reviews the Gen2 Mitsubishi Shogun/Montero/Pajero in an early-1990s edition of Top Gear. Pretty great, if you can get past the short but cheesy title sequence.
