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PART 4

BREATHIN' EASY

Like any vehicle an X-90 can’t breath underwater, so there’s a big need for a snorkel if you intend going anywhere near water. But this presents one little problem... there is no snorkel specifically built for X-90s. Enter Mannell Motors.

Nick’s company slogan is “Everything 4WD”. It should be “We-can-do-everything-and
anything-you-need-regardless-of-what-4WD
you-own-even-an-X90”. Stuart and Torsten (who goes by about 100 different nicknames depending on the time of day) undertook the challenge to get Oscar breathing in the water. After researching the closest possible fit, a Safari 1991-1994 Vitara 1.6 Efi snorkel from ARB was chosen.

Issue number one was the template. The X90 is a little curvier than a Vitara, so a custom template was drawn up and cross-referenced with the original one. After much measuring and checking, the boys concurred that they could indeed make it fit, and marked everything up ready to drill.

First up was to remove the inner guards to find out where the intake sat, then the airbox and all attached hoses were pulled out. The fuse box was shifted out of the way to give easy access as well. With everything removed, Loofy drilled all the holes, smoothed them all out and painted the edges to prevent rusting.

After waiting for the paint to dry, the snorkel was laid up against the guard and pillar to check the fit. It lined up beautifully but then came issue number two - it didn’t mould to the contours. The top sat out like a seagull on a barge pole... or like a Vitara snorkel on an X90!

No problem, the Mannell Motors boys are specialists at custom fits! A little gentle panel massaging was done, so well that if you didn’t know what had happened, you wouldn’t even notice it. All that was needed was a little bit of foam tape to flush up the bottom edge and a quick change to the pillar mount, and it was all looking good to go.

The drill holes were marked and screw plugs set, and with a little gentle persuasion from the guys, it all bolted up beautifully. Once the snorkel head was mounted, it looked tops... “Just like one you got from the shops” per Stuart! All that was needed now was to sort out the plumbing.

Issue number three - the inlets didn’t match. Some silly bugger at Suzuki had moved them. Must have been Mr Okimata (see below) fiddling around again. So Luffy and Stuart sourced some rubber flexy hose and did some creative extending. Everything was sealed up and double-checked for gaps (a good installer knows that this is vital. You only need a few mil’ of water down your engine’s throat and you’ll hydraulic it... and that will kill your engine and your wallet faster than your wife at a Tiffany’s store)

Once the plumbing was restored and everything double checked, Luffy left the silicon to dry for an hour or so (also important as last thing you need is your engine inhaling a chunk of silicon.... FOOOOMP!) then fired up Oscar. He sucked in a lungful via the snorkel... perfect!

Looks pretty smart eh? The Mannell Motors boys did a professional job as always, it looks like a factory job. Thanks guys!

You’ll notice that Ashley from Ash Stripes snuck back in the middle of all this to finish off the sign writing... top job! He also commented (and muttered under his breath a couple of times) about the X-90 being overly curvy, but he’s a pro’ and it all went on smoothly.

SO, WHO IS MR OKIMATA?

Mr Okimata is part of Suzuki legend. We don’t know who he is or what his real position was, but it is rumoured amongst Sierra/Samurai owners that he was responsible for that little, black plastic vent-like trim sometimes found on your B-Pillar.
There is nothing behind it, it doesn’t have any function... it’s just, well, there.

Legend has it that Mr O’ had nothing to do and was making a nuisance of himself, so was told “Go and make something for a Sierra”. But all the good bits had already been done, so he wandered around for a bit scratching his head, looking for something to add. This was when he noticed the bare B-Pillar, put pencil to paper... and the ‘Okimata Bit’ was born.

Would I kid you?