"Lola" - WreckDiver's 2005 Frontier Nismo CC Build and Adventure Thread

  • HTML tutorial
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

Hey guys! Gonna start keeping track of my build here too, I figured some people here on OB would like to see it as well.

Meet Lola.

The day I picked her up:



Now... ish...



Lola is my 2005 Nissan Frontier Nismo. She currently has 150,500 miles on her and going very strong. I bought the truck from a dealer in Yakima, WA in June of 2014 before bringing it all the way back to central Montana with me. From there, we have gone on many great adventures together, and she has evolved a great deal from how she started. I'll get you guys up to speed on the past adventures and the current mods over the course of a few posts. For now though, here's a list of where we've been and the mods the truck has. Feel free to ask any questions or just chat.

MODS

Suspension
Radflo Extended Travel Coilovers with 650lb springs
Nisstec 1" top plate spacers
SPC Upper Control Arms
Old Man Emu Dakar MD leaf packs
Bilstein 5125 shocks
Nisstec adjustable shackles
Diff breather mod
Extended brake lines

Wheels and Tires
285/75R16 General Grabber AT2s
Factory Nismo wheels

Powertrain
Radiator bypass
Auxiliary transmission cooler
Transmission cooler fan
2* timing advance

Armor
ARB front bumper
Shrockworks engine skidplate
White Knuckle rock sliders

Interior
Cobra 19 CB radio
Power distribution/fuse block
OTRATTW switches
First aid kit
RAM X-grip mount on grab handle (phone)
RAM tablet mount in dash (for Samsung Tab)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 7.0" set up with BCNav and Copilot

Exterior
eBay snorkel
ARE canopy
Canopy roof rack
Hella Rallye 4000 Euro beam light
Hella Rallye 4000 cornering beam light
IPF fog lights for bumper cutouts
Firestik CB antenna
Home-made Hi-Lift mount
RockyMountainX recovery points

Accessories
Indel B 50 Liter fridge
Outback Solutions 52" Roller Floor
Ironman 2m awning
175W inverter
ARB CKMA12 onboard air compressor

Electrical
Xscorpion battery terminal
Kicker battery terminal
Blue Sea fuse block
Hella relay block w/relays
Blue Sea power and ground bus

Upcoming
ARB rear diff cover
Odyssey battery
Shrockworks transmission skidplate
WeatherTech floor liners
Reverse lights
Seat covers
Window deflectors
Canopy lighting
Bluetooth radio connectivity

TRAVELS

2014
Brought home from Yakima, WA
Backroads of Seeley Lake, MT
Boulder River Valley and a section of Independence Mine Trail
Northern Bighorn Grasslands, the Pryor Mountains, and the Big Ice Cave
Beartooth Highway and nearby backroads outside Red Lodge, MT
Back up to the Pryor Mountain Ice Caves, the Bighorn high desert in WY, and the Bighorn Canyon
Fourth of July in the Beartooths, Hellroaring Plateau
Beartooth Highway, Daisy Pass off road route, Lulu Pass off road route, and part of Goose Lake Jeep Trail
Explored the backroads of Seeley Lake, MT
Holland Lake, MT
Backroads outside Coeur d'Alene, ID
Beartooth Mountains

2015
Beartooth Mountains
Paradise Valley and Chico Hot Springs
Seeley Lake
Holland Lake
Seeley Lake to Bigfork, MT
Seeley Lake to Glacier NP
Beartooth Mountains, Roscoe, and East Rosebud Lake
Crazy Mountains
East Rosebud Lake
Sundance, WY
Badlands NP
Black Hills, SD
Wall, SD
Needles Highway, SD
Devil's Tower, WY
Beartooth Highway to Cooke City and side roads
BEGIN NW OVERLAND RALLY
Seeley Lake, MT
Seeley to Kellogg, ID
Kellogg, ID, Spokane, Plain
NW Overland Rally Event
Hole-in-the-Wall Trail, Liberty, WA
Upper Mill Creek Trail, Plain, WA
Backroads from Plain to Spokane
END NW OVERLAND RALLY
Beartooth Mountains and Hellroaring Plateau
Beartooth Highway to Cooke City, Fantan Lake Trail, Daisy Pass, Lulu Pass, and Goose Lake Jeep Trail
Yellowstone NP - Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, and Midway Geyser Basin
Beartooth Highway off road routes
Boulder River Valley and Independence Mine Trail to Blue Lake and Monument Peak
BEGIN CANADA/NORTHERN MT TRIP
Seeley Lake, MT
Seeley to Glacier NP
Going-to-the-Sun Road, Logan Pass, to St. Mary, MT
St. Mary to Babb to Swiftcurrent Lake
Going-to-the-Sun Road to Whitefish, MT
Whitefish to Tally Lake, MT
Tally Lake, Eureka, and Canadian border
Canadian Border to Fernie, BC, Canada
Fernie to Radium Hot Springs, BC, Canada
Radium to Kootenay NP, BC
Kootenay to Banff NP to Banff, Alberta, Canada
Banff to Lake Louise
Bow Valley Parkway
Two Jack Lake
Banff, AB
Moraine Lake
Peyto Lake and part of the Icefields Parkway
Lake Louise to Yoho NP, Takkakaw Falls, and Field, BC
Banff Upper Hot Springs
Banff to Calgary
Banff to Cochrane
Cochrane to Waiparous Village
Waiparous Village to Waiparous Falls off road route
Waiparous to Forestry Trunk overland road
Forestry Trunk Road to Nordegg
Forestry Trunk Road to Hinton, AB
Hinton to Jasper, AB
Jasper to the Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise
Lake Louise to Radium Hot Springs
Radium to US border
US border to Kalispell, MT
Kalispell to Seeley Lake, MT
Seeley Lake to Whitefish, MT
Seeley Lake, Garnet Ghost Town, Phillipsburg, Granite Ghost town
END CANADA/NORTHERN MT TRIP
Nye, Fishtail, West Rosebud Lake to Mystic Lake
Red Lodge to Cooke City, Beartooth Highway, Hellroaring Road
Benbow Mine, East Rosebud Lake, and Roscoe, MT
Seeley Lake, MT

2016
Seeley Lake, MT
Bighorn Canyon, MT & WY
Paradise Valley and Chico Hot Springs

Glad to be here on OB!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dunco and Steve
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

So, a little catch-up. The day after getting the truck home, I started into the necessary day 1 mods. I removed the crappy running boards, ditched the front air dam, and did the radiator bypass to avoid the notorious SMOD. I was really falling in love with the truck. It made all the right noises, did what I wanted it to, got great fuel mileage, and seemed really well put together.



From there, I decided I needed to move my RTT from my first gen Frontier (Nancy) over to my new one for an upcoming trip. The only bed rack I had was the one from the old truck though, so I was forced to use that.



Then, just a week after I bought the truck, I took it on a trail, up the Boulder River Valley with a few friends.







It was a great time, even though we had to abandon the trail run thanks to snow. I learned a lot about the truck too. A few days later, I took the truck on a day trip over to the Pryor Mountains. Because adventure!



Then I took another day trip up and over the Beartooth Pass in southern MT. My favorite drive ever. I also hit one of the lower roads in the valley.





\

After that trip was finished, I tackled the ever-important diff breather mod.





And then I mounted the tent on a lower bed rack, a la Yakima rack parts. It wasn't the most stable system though, so I ended up adding a third crossbar for more support.



At this point, I decided it was time for some beefier rubber. This had been my first experience with the General Grabber AT2, which came on the truck. I was so impressed with their traction and manners that I decided my next set would be 265/75 Grabbers. Without a lift they looked HUGE!



And then... Some more exploring! This time, north of Cooke City, MT. We attempted to run one of the rougher trails up here, but were again turned back thanks to snow. At least the views were good.













To be continued...
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Steve
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

After our little Cooke City excursion, we headed to Red Lodge at the base of the Beartooth Mountains for a camping trip over the 4th of July. We had a lot of fun exploring, made it to the top of a really rough road, and found some great views.









Then, we took a day trip over to the Bighorn Canyon and the Pryor Mountains.







We didn't do as much for a while afterwards. We headed up to Seeley Lake to visit my parents in August.




After we got back, it was a lot of school and work. In September though, I picked up the first major mod, an ARB front bumper! A guy was selling one for super cheap on CL and I picked it up for a steal.



I then installed my CB and the antenna.





Then in December, the bumper got a chance to prove itself. We went up to Seeley Lake to visit my parents for Christmas. On the way up, while in a blizzard, a deer jumped out in front of me. I couldn't stop, and ended up hitting the deer at 35mph. The bumper was just fine.

At the end of the year, we took another drive up to the Beartooth Mountains for some playing in the snow.





Then in January, I finally got all my parts gathered up for the first iteration of my suspension: Nisstec coilovers with extended shackles.









To be continued...
 
  • Like
Reactions: WJ - Firefly, Dunco, Steve and 1 other person
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

After I got my lift installed, I did a couple more day trips around the areas close to me. Around my birthday I headed up to the Beartooth Mountains once again. I stopped and had some lunch in the quiet, winter covered forest.







And I did some exploring around the aptly-named Paradise Valley, and the routes around Chico Hot Springs. I still have to explore this road to it's end.









I also went up to visit my parents again in Seeley Lake. While I was there, I headed up to the picturesque Flathead Lake.





Shortly after that, I decided to take the build a different direction. I needed more space to store things, as I was sick and tired of putting everything in the back seat at night to avoid bear problems. It would also be nice to have more secure and dry storage. At the same time, I wanted to preserve the decent fuel mileage I was getting. Plus, hauling my 55lb Australian Shepherd into the RTT at night was a bit of a pain. So I sold the RTT to a friend and found a used camper shell on Craigslist for a decent price. It was the wrong color, but I called around to get it painted and found I would still save a bit over buying brand new. So I drove the three hours to Helena and picked it up.



I also received the sliders I had ordered from White Knuckle Off Road. These things are awesome!



Shortly afterwards, I stripped the windows out of the cap and took it to the paint shop.



While the cap was off, I made my own Hi-Lift mount for the factory utility track. Just a couple large carriage bolts, washers, and nuts.



About a week later, the shell was done, so I picked it up, very happy with the results. The next day my fiance and I went on a day trip to the stunning East Rosebud Lake.









To be continued...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Robert OB 33/48
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

After I got the cap paint-matched, I picked up a cargo net and came up with a great way to store my bedding out of the way.



But I got annoyed with how droopy it was, so I added some bungee cord.



I also got myself an Ironman 2 meter awning. It's got a built-in LED strip!







Since the weather was getting even better at that point, I took a drive to the Crazy Mountains to kill a day. Turned out to be a great decision!









I also installed the IPF fogs in my front bumper.



And I got my accessory electrical system started. It stars a Blue Sea fuse/distribution block and a Hella relay box. Turned out super clean.



The drive back from Flathead a month prior had made me realize I really needed some extra lighting. Deer were everywhere, and my stock headlights just didn't make me feel very safe. So I bought myself a set of Hella Rallye 4000 lights. One in a Euro beam pattern, one in a cornering beam pattern.



When I did that, I got my wiring finalized, including OTRATTW switches...



Getting everything labelled...



And a power distribution block and fuse box under my dash.



Using a factory hole in the firewall and a new grommet.



To be continued...
 
  • Like
Reactions: WJ - Firefly and SLO Rob
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

The new lights make a hell of a difference driving at night.

High beams;



High beams w/Hellas



Te replace my much-loved but kind of impractical RTT, I purchased an Oztent RV-3. Thanks to signing up for a newsletter from Dick's Sporting Goods, I was able to get 10% off the tent online. Win!





To celebrate the new tent, we took our first camping trip of the year, to the beautiful East Rosebud Lake. It was quite cold and rainy, but it made for some cool photos.







Next, we visited a good friend of mine who lived in Sundance, WY. We explored the Black Hills and some of the more picturesque parts of SD and WY.

We hit Badlands National Park:







Sitting Bull Cave:







The Needles Highway:







We also went to Devil's Tower:





After that trip, I got a snorkel from eBay. This is my second eBay snorkel, the first was installed on my previous truck. I've had decent luck with them so far, even though the templates are a little off. The quality is pretty good for the small amount I paid. I figure to protect them I'll just make sure to add some Armor All every now and then. Hasn't faded or anything so far!





To be continued...
 
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

Then we took another day trip to the Beartooth Mountains. The weather was just perfect for photography that day.









Shortly after, I decided that I hated how low my truck was sitting. I didn't have enough ground clearance, I was constantly topping out my shocks over bumps, and I was really unhappy with the overall performance of my suspension. So I ended up with a set of Radflo 2.0 extended travel coilovers and SPC upper control arms.







I also picked up a great set of front recovery points from a member on TheNewX.



The truck was really starting to come together.





Just days after the new suspension install, I took the truck out to Washington to attend the annual Northwest Overland Rally in Plain, WA. That was one of the most fun events I've ever been involved with.















What a great time. I can't wait to go again!

To be continued...
 
W

WreckDiver1321

Rank 0

Traveler I

60
Member #

1321

On the way home from the NW Overland Rally, I did some exploring around Seeley Lake, where my parents live. Beautiful area, and tons of back roads to explore.







After getting back, I ordered a set of OME MD Dakar springs to level out the back. They ride great!





The day after we finished the spring install, my friends and I took a day trip up to the Beartooth Mountains again, this time to hike atop one of the high plateaus. Beautiful.













To be continued...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom