This is my second Prado (hence Prado II), the first, a 2001 Grande, I killed out on Scotts Head Rd, but that's another story.
For the next two years I drove a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara, a truly brilliant car, but the magic wasn't there.
Nothing would do but another Prado, preferably the same model.
I found this one at Cundletown, and it was exactly what I wanted, a rare(ish) 2001 Fiftieth Anniversary Edition 3.4 litre quad cam V6 with five speed manual transmission.
Differing from my first Prado only in he fact it wasn't a Grande, basically meaning no leather seats, which I didn't like anyway (too hot), having a manual gearbox rather than an auto (I prefer manul, paricularly in 4WD), and by being early 2001, no airbags. In a 4WD I'm fine with this too,
My accident in the first Prado involved a jump down from the road of about 10 feet, the demolition of two fences and the flattening of dozens of She-Oaks to end up front end in a river. I didn't have a scratch, and the air bags did not deploy.
The Fiftieth Anniversary came standard with:
+ Dual Air Conditioning
+ Cruise Control
+ Central Locking
+ Remote Locking and Engine immobiliser
+ Power Mirrors
+ Power Steering
+ Power Windows
+ CD Player and four speakers
+ 5 Speed Manual Transmission
Only difference is the sunroof, leather trim and wood grain dash.
So follow me through this Prado Timeline to see what changes and /or improvements I've made to personalise this brilliant car!
For the next two years I drove a 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara, a truly brilliant car, but the magic wasn't there.
Nothing would do but another Prado, preferably the same model.
I found this one at Cundletown, and it was exactly what I wanted, a rare(ish) 2001 Fiftieth Anniversary Edition 3.4 litre quad cam V6 with five speed manual transmission.
Differing from my first Prado only in he fact it wasn't a Grande, basically meaning no leather seats, which I didn't like anyway (too hot), having a manual gearbox rather than an auto (I prefer manul, paricularly in 4WD), and by being early 2001, no airbags. In a 4WD I'm fine with this too,
My accident in the first Prado involved a jump down from the road of about 10 feet, the demolition of two fences and the flattening of dozens of She-Oaks to end up front end in a river. I didn't have a scratch, and the air bags did not deploy.
The Fiftieth Anniversary came standard with:
+ Dual Air Conditioning
+ Cruise Control
+ Central Locking
+ Remote Locking and Engine immobiliser
+ Power Mirrors
+ Power Steering
+ Power Windows
+ CD Player and four speakers
+ 5 Speed Manual Transmission
Only difference is the sunroof, leather trim and wood grain dash.
So follow me through this Prado Timeline to see what changes and /or improvements I've made to personalise this brilliant car!
Progress
of the
Prado
The Prado II
Rear View
Let's start from the back, the very first thing I did, was remove the orange dust deflector. I think that these were factory fitted but i simply don't like them. The sun had begun destroying it anyway.
Then the spare wheel cover came off, it was cracked anyway, and i knew what I was going to find behind it - a spare with so much mud and dust impacted on it, it seemed a clay spare wheel.
Unsurprisingly the spare was already past its use by date, but in my opinion, still OK for a spare. So, first a visit o a handy mate to remove the wheel lock for which there was no key!
I then removed the spare for a good gurney wash, which revealed, not completely
surprisingly, a white letter tyre.
A new number plate and removal of the towbar tongue, replaced by a removable recovery bar and we have (in my opinion) a smarter looking rear end.
Side View
Sharp eyes may notice the decals usually located under each of pressure vents near very back are gone.These nearly always decay. An hour with the heat gun, a caramel wheel, some vigorous polishing and natures toolkit, a bottle of eucalyptus oil removed even a ghost of the 23 year old stickers. Ditto for the 4 small stickers on the front wheel flare.
Harder to notice is all the windows tint has been removed. It to had decayed badly, that's the trouble with stuff you stick on to cars. Like the '3.4 V6 Quadcam' stickers, Im probably not going to replace the tint. i like the 'clean' look.
Sharp eyes may notice the decals usually located under each of pressure vents near very back are gone.These nearly always decay. An hour with the heat gun, a caramel wheel, some vigorous polishing and natures toolkit, a bottle of eucalyptus oil removed even a ghost of the 23 year old stickers. Ditto for the 4 small stickers on the front wheel flare.
Harder to notice is all the windows tint has been removed. It to had decayed badly, that's the trouble with stuff you stick on to cars. Like the '3.4 V6 Quadcam' stickers, Im probably not going to replace the tint. i like the 'clean' look.
The Interior
Remember this car is 23 years old, with over 470,000 on the clock.
Having said that, the interior of the Prado, while not 'as new' shows little or no wear. You could get away with describing it as 'immaculate'. The carpet and seat fabrics barely worn and unmarked (some discolouraton in front seats, faded with soap and water).
Door trims and hood lining immaculate.
Additions:
Fit a CB radio to the console
Fitted a Sony XAV AX8000 Head unit
Kings Cargo Boxes in rear cargo area
Replaced both gearshift knobs
Remember this car is 23 years old, with over 470,000 on the clock.
Having said that, the interior of the Prado, while not 'as new' shows little or no wear. You could get away with describing it as 'immaculate'. The carpet and seat fabrics barely worn and unmarked (some discolouraton in front seats, faded with soap and water).
Door trims and hood lining immaculate.
Additions:
Fit a CB radio to the console
Fitted a Sony XAV AX8000 Head unit
Kings Cargo Boxes in rear cargo area
Replaced both gearshift knobs
Stuff you can't see....
* Fitted gas struts to lift bonnet
* Removed third row seats (8 seater) and fitted Kings Cargo Drawers
* Repaired centre console lid (thanks Roger)
* Fixed a broken rear window button
* Central locking not working, (Replaced remotes)
* Fixed Brake warning light on all the time - (added Brake fluid).
* Added a grab handle above drivers door (strangely, the only place that hasn't got a grab handle in a car that has nearly a dozen). This was purely for aesthetics.
* Replaced upper and lower balljoints. (i suspected these when I test drove it. Knew for sure on 200k drive home!)
* Replaced Both sides upper control arms complete (cheaper than pressing out the bushes)
* New Brake pads
Still to Do!
Needs shockies all around, not urgent
A couple of dash lights out
Diagnose auxiliary fuel tank not working
Front View
Not a lot going on here, the new plates, a light bar and CB aerial
In conclusion
I am happy with this car, the front end wasn't cheap to get repaired but I factored that in at purchase time, the replacements will last more kilometers than I'll ever do.
The previous owner, likely knew of this hence the low (ish) price! Who knows? Sometimes a fault can grow on a daily drive without the driver noticing the changes. Whatever, the balljoints and upper control arms are done and the Prado now goes where it's pointed.
Apart from that, the car was up to date with servicing and as already mentioned, had been looked after.
This is a Prado, one of the most popular cars in the world. Super tough and Ultra-reliable!
It cost me $5000 to buy and I've spent over $1500. The market value for the 2001 Prado Fiftieth Anniversary Edition according to Car Sales .Com $8470 - $11,990.
As I have no intention of selling this car - all is well
