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Good design and fab work! I like the stick out and agree that with an angle back towards the wheel would look cleaner visually. I'd go so far as to say that an angle towards the the rear wheels would look good both from the side and from the rear. That is ti say, 2 changes could be made.... But I'm not doing the fab, just commenting from the galley lol. In any case I like the reasoning for the build. Keep things light and functional, not a hardcore bumper or guard but still much mote stout than stock.

This looks pretty nice! Do you have a weight on this?

Really? Crap, that's not good. Did you just get frustrated and replace the MAF as a last resort?

Ahh okay. Do you know the minimum backspacing off hand?

Lokka up front and LSD with 2" lift and 32" tires is sounding really good. The Lokka is pretty affordable as well as the options I'm seeing for a lift. I'd most likely go with the Land Rover springs and spacers up front. I'm still looking at the strut and shocks options, either way all in on a lift kit is looking to be around $600-800 for what I have in mind. I'm still narrowing down my purchase and I'm getting close. 3 days of busting my ass and the house is finally on the market freeing up my time and resources. I'm looking at a non-running Q for $500 vs a pretty nice Pathy for around 3k... That $500 one sounds tempting but I'm suspecting it may cost more in the end. I'm basically putting the IACV and ECM on the to do list along with the power valves. From what I've read here the auto is the trans I'd most likely what to have anyway, if they down rated the 3.5 on the manuals that's not a good sign. If for some reason I want more performance I'll figure out a turbo kit lol. So quick question will the stock 17x8 et20 fit a 32" on a 2" lift?

Long post? Not even, keep it coming I say. This is exactly the kind of info/advice new/perspective buyers should be looking for. Any time I making a new vehicle purchase I research it up and down. Not only for weak points but also areas of strength, knowing where there is aftermarket support is and where it isn't is important too. Most of us have pretty solid mechanic skills, some of of can design and fab, very few of us have the time to do it all in a timely matter without a little help from those who have already walked down those roads. So I'll definitely have to think about my intended use. I was initially thinking I wanted a LSD since off roading isn't too important.... But then my buddy just told me about a trip he "accidentally" off roaded from Duackbush to Staircase in the Olympics and now I'm reconsidering lol. As for the manual.... All my rigs are manual, I do own one auto truck but that's going up for sale after my 4x4 purchase. Is it the auto you're referring to as being stronger than in other Nissan trucks? Does the VQ require a different BH than other VQ motors? Sounds like it does with your mention of the starter location changes. I'm a little disappointed to hear Nissan made this the bastard truck, that's so unlike them to me. At the same time it looks like there are some positives, high pinion reverse cut R200? Yeah, that's pretty nice. I don't plan to hop up the motor, but damn not even headers or cams? Are there rebuild kits at least? Or would one have to order custom rings and psitons should they need a rebuild.... Thinking about an ad I saw for $400, seller says needs a fuel pump but I'm guessing they abused the motor.

Thanks for the rust tips! I'm also finding the PV is on all early VQs. I didn't know the LSD are weak. Don't tell me they are all VLSD? I thought they were CLSD. Point me towards upgrades? As for the 5MT swap.... Yeah that looks like some work so I'll probably never bother or buy one from the get. The loss of the full-time wouldn't matter since I'd get hubs anyway as I plan on a 2" lift. Whos knows what the computers would think. My thinking was I'd try to find a wrecked manual truck and swap over all the relevant electronics. I didn't know these VQs were any different. From Nissain?! The king of the parts bin, can't really believe it lol. Is there a place I can look at the differences? Thanks for the good info!

Okay I'll add that to the checklist, thanks. Btw I'm not actually planing on a manual swap. Just on of those things. Looks like it would be expensive and probably couldn't keep the full time 4wd based on what I've read so far.

Hi I'm currently shopping for an R50 with the VQ35 to use as my camping rig and possibly "2nd vehicle". I'm looking to spend around $3k, bottom market but they are out there. Just as a little background, I'm a car guy, a little less familiar with trucks. I have a daily driver, tow rig, track car, and a project car. Do my own everything, some of these I built from the ground up some I bought and put my touch on. All budget minded and took me about 15yr to collect. So while I can certainly shop on my own for a used r50 a little knowledge about the specifics of the platform would be very highly appreciated. My first big question(s) are what are the trouble areas for rust? Anything mechanically I should avoid? For instance IACV and ECM issues... I've seen a few ads needed these. IACV from Hitachi looks reasonable at $100. ECM repair off ebay? That an okay way to go? Should I look for one at a JY? Neither of these repairs scare me off on the face of it. How can I sort out if the rig has an LSD? Those little orange stickers the only way to tell? The power valves. Should I just assume all the VQ35s will need this inspected and repaired? Or was it just the MY2001? Besides the 5spd. Anybody swap the 5spd into an originally equipped auto? Is that the same trans used in the Z33? Thanks for taking the time to read through qll them questions. If you have a good lead on an R50 lmk lol.