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SCREWBALL

Don’t screw with this MQ!

WORDS BY MARK ALLEN PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBB COX

Take one young lad on a restricted income, let him loose with a few self-taught lessons in mechanics and welding, and what do you reckon he’d come up with? One hell of an MQ Patrol - that’s what. Jeff - aka Screwball (or Screwy for short) - is the first to admit he’s no pro welder, doesn’t hold a degree in mechanical engineering and was a little confused with all the MQ’s electricals at first, but he was determined to do as much of this project by himself as possible.

Screwy, you got the big thumbs up from us at 4WD Monthly; we’re always keen on catching up with fellas that have given it their all instead of resorting to a catalogue. Screwy has a penchant for MQs - a good change from the more commonly used GQ - to the point that he has a handful of them at home in various states of disrepair.

He was adamant that his truck was going to remain an MQ and not turn into a GQ hybrid. Hence the retention of leaf springs, albeit sprung over and three-quarter elliptical rears, MQ diffs and no pumped front guards. One change that he was keen to make, though, was to up the ante under the bonnet - the old 3.3L diesel was promptly cashed in on a Holden 5L V8. While most (read: 99.99 percent) of 4WDs (and cars for that matter) utilise round-section driveshafts, Screwy has managed to knock his own shaft up in box section, complete with a longer-than-standard slip joint - that’s thinkin’ outside the... err... circle!

The paintwork is a custom mix of a bit of green, a bit more green, throw in some lime and hey presto - Screwy ended up with a lime green paintjob; just what he wanted. Then there’s the tray; a bobbed custom job that is definitely not designed to haul maximum gear around the countryside. Instead, it’s purely for carrying the spare wheel, a few tools and stuff-all else - perfect for a weekend play toy, plus it provides far better departure angles than the stocker.

If Screwy’s MQ is anything to go by, I reckon these old Dattos may just be the next wave of ‘must have battleships’ for tough-as-nuts 4WDing. Better get in while they’re still cheap, or perhaps Screwy might be able to point you in the right direction for a good one: up his driveway perhaps!

SUSPENSION
Nope, not gonna do it, rack off; there’s no way Screwy was gonna convert his mighty MQ to coils. He might as well have gone and bought a GQ! So, leaves were the way to go, albeit with a bucket load of changes. Screwy has chucked the spring packs over the axles instead of the OE placement underneath. Up front, a shackle reversal was also performed to help with maximum suspension flex while tackling rocks and to help prevent damage. Not content with the Nissan leaf design, Screwy now utilises a set of rear HiLux springs on the pointy end (is there a pointy end to an MQ?) of his ride. They are much longer in the rear half of the pack than the Nissan’s, which allows the diff to be moved forward.

This aids in clearing the front driveshaft from the front gearbox crossmember, which has also been moved rearward 4in to allow maximum vertical travel of the driveshaft. Castor plates and rotated knuckles allow the Nissan’s driveline to maintain reasonable steering geometry. The diff end of the shocks features Snake Racing ‘pin-to-eye’ converters, while the top of the shocks are mounted to homemade shock hoops. Screwy sourced Monroe’s catalogue to find the most appropriate length shock for his suspension cycling and came up with four identical 735mm extended units. To fit them into his hoops, the top of the outer shock cover (the bell) has been removed to provide adequate clearance.

Rear leaves have received the SPOA treatment, and the rear diff has been rotated to allow the pinion to align with the driveshaft. The OE shock mount has been removed and replaced with a custom hoop to which the new long-travel Monroes are connected at an inboard angle for maximum off-road travel. The rear Nissan leaf packs have also been reversed to increase wheelbase, which now measures 104in - a full 12in over standard. Not content with the increased flex, a custom three-quarter elliptical leaf has been added to the rear end, which sees this green MQ flexing as good as any coil-sprung GQ ever will.

To prevent rear-axle wind-up, Screwy has knocked up an anti-wrap bar to suit the extended wheelbase. Extended brake lines, breathers and locker air lines have all been fitted to suit the newfound heights of the MQ, which Screwy reckons is about 8in above that of a stocker.

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