Got this 1983 Mq SWB about February this year. Bloke had it listed for a buy it now price of $950, so I got it without looking first. By the look of the photo's on the listing I could have made my money back either way in parts and also seeing it had just had 6 months rego paid onto it. Went down to Camden to collect it from the sellers brother to find he was having a hard time starting it due to flat batteries, so in the commotion of trying to get it started I had a quick look and it seemed better than the pictures he had listed. Well, finally got it started and was told the batteries were just a bit flat seeing it had sat for around 12 months, the brother assured me they were fine and by looking at the volt gauge I could see the charge was ok, so I took his word for it.
Drove it out the gates to find it had a bit of a wander in the steering, so I pulled over at the closest servo and pumped up the tyres to the correct psi, still there but got better.
Got it home ( an hours drive away) and turned her off. Went to turn her back on and no go, so I chucked the batteries on the charger overnight and kept my fingers crossed. Next day still dead batteries, meaning unfortunately $400 needed for 2 batteries seeing its 24v. Called the seller and was told it was my bad luck even though the brother had told me they were fine. Took that on the chin.
Then when I was fitting the supplied brand new vinyl flooring I noticed something was odd on the outside, turns out the bloke had listed it with a photo of 4 brand new Wrangler tyres on it yet the ones on it are cheap a** wangli and woosung. I didnt notice as they both have white writing on them and look similar from a glance. Called the seller up and he said that it was old photo's and he never said it had new wrangler tyres in the listing. Contacted ebay to make sure I was right legally and then called the seller back. Told him the photo makes part of the description and demanded a partial refund or 4 new wrangler tyres. We settled on $150 refund, so the car cost me $800.
Since I have owned it I have painted the dash, installed an 8 ball gear knob, done both front wheel bearings, did and oil change, replaced the fuel filter, installed the vinyl flooring, cleaned up some rust, installed a stereo, installed Sony 6x9 4 ways in the rear and Poineer 6" 3 ways in the doors with custom spacers ( due to deep cone depth), installed Gq scuff plates and centre console ( thanks to Matt_Jew) made a storage container for tools on one side and jack on the other, fitted an amp ( not yet hooked up), changed one of the white rims with a black deep dish one, installed some spotties, cleaned up some rust and undercoated her. Ive also started painting the bay, going for gloss black up top with Im thinking chrome down below.
The engines an SD33 ( 3.3L diesel) and she has a 4 speed manual. Its running 31X10.5 r15's all round and looks to have had a lift. Its got relatively new Koni shocks, 7 tonne HD winch, k&n high flow air cleaner, new front pads, almost all rust cut out and rewelded by previous owner, rebuilt injector pump ( $2000 worth with reciept) the rest is stock as a rock.
Plan is after the house move Ill replace the radiator support ( thanks again Matt_Jew), install a redarc 10a charge equalizer for the stereo, replace the tyres, install extractors, replace the exhaust ( thinking 3" with dump pipe), install a snorkel, finish the spray ( going for machinery grey), repaint the rims ( poor job done by previous owner), install a CB, finish off the interior, replace the front seats ( rears going to the tip) and rebuild the steering components ( mainly tie rod ends and drag link). Also need to replace the tail lights.
She has 465,000km on her and still purr's like new so Ill leave the engine as is and maybe freshen a few things up. The wandering steering I think is from the draglink's ball joints, so that will need to be done very shortly. Apart from that she is a pleasure to drive and once the woes are ironed out she will be hitting the bush were its suppose to be.









slight play in draglink causing wandering steering

Ball joints not the best

Huge fuel tank. $20 and the needle moved 2mm lol

Love this sticker

Sorry, 5 speed to go in when funds permit aswell.
I ended up custom making the stereo fascia and wanted something to hold my phone so I could use its gps while driving. I got a holder with a charger attached from the reject shop but I wasent happy with the way it screwed into the cigarette lighter as it stuck out like dogs balls, so I decided to retrofit it to the fascia. When I broke the arm of the holder with being too heavy handed I thought f**k it. I opened the unit, removed the usb charger plug and the holder itself. Then I rewired the usb charger to run off the 12v accessory feed, mounted it to the fascia via a flat head bolt through the fascia with a rubber grommet to allow a solid fit and also maintain the swivel motion. This is the result, not bad for a $4.99 holder. Works a charm
Upright with usb charger seem clearly

Horizontally swiveled holder, usb accessed by opening the upright faced holder legs of the charger ( seen on the left

Last edited by 79 raven on Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Good idea with the usb

Thanks mate, it leaves the cigarette lighter for either lighting my smokes or charging something else. When I finally get the chance to grab a 24v relay Ill run the dc converter that came with the mq off the accessory feed and then that will power the amp and a rear charge point for a fridge or something else if needed.
The amps only 60w rms X4 so its not huge but enough to create some noise.
Hows yours going? You liked the 6.5L Chev v8 lol. Be nice hey, o'h to have the spare 6k

If I had a spare 6k id just do that barra turbo conversion lol

Imagine what a 6.5L v8 diesel would sound like under the bonnet though of the patrol. Bet the diesel would last longer too and be cheaper to fix. You blow a turbo in the Barra, whats that? About 2k?

2.5 k gets you the full conversion out of a xr6t motor loom ecu all accessories lol. Turbos are 500upwards second hand though

s**t thats come down in price.

Thats from our site sponsor. Other places charge 3500 or more!

I was thinking more around 5k+, so $2500 aint bad really.
Ive got to work out the trim on the Mq. Im going to grab some butchers paper and get a template of the rear 1/4's. Then Ill cut some either 3 or 6mm mdf and cover them. Colour unknown, either some shade of grey or maybe black. Thinking not black due to the heat issues and reflection of heat. Once the colours sorted out Ill run some vinyl over the jack and tools holders to suite. I also want to grab some rubber for the tray, relign the roof and maybe fit a tool box in the place of the rear seat. Dont know yet about the tool box though because with the tail gate down I can just fit on lying down, so might leave it and when I go bush just sleep in the tray with a cover around the rear window and tailgate to stop the bugs. Got to better than on a wet floor with a rock up my a** lol.
Allot of dont knows right now. Once the move happens Ill start to think more seriously about it. Tomorrow Ill double check all the rod ends for tightness and get a 100% answer to whats causing the wander. Ive still got to go down and grab the jewnation of the radiator support off Master Matt_jew, the lengthy delay from supercheap on getting me the timken bearings and now the still wandering steering has me worried drive half our down and back. If I can resolve it on the cheap or more like bandaid it ill be happy. Its all got to be redone anyway, just need to move first.
Ill grab a decent steering damper, swivel hub kit's, tie rod with ends ( cheaper than buying tie rod ends by them selves lol) and a draglink. Anything else while Im there Ill do too, should last a while if I do the lot in one big hit and its all relatively easy stuff.

Hey I couldve sold you the best upgrade for an mq!!!
A swb gq mav chassis. With diffs!! I rekin an mq sporting a coil gq bottom half would be cool.
Any updates on the old beast?

it might be a while before he replies. he just moved house and telstra are doing their usual thing and stuffing him around with the net connection.

Ahh I wondered why he's been quiet

apparently the mq didnt miss a beat during the move tho, so atleast one thing went smoothly.

Yeah Telstra is doing a shifty on us with port allocation and reckon they can find us one if I sign up to a 12 or 24 month contract...... But they wont guarantee it and reckon we need to lock into a contract before they will know....... f**k them. I got a wireless dongle on the cheap from our provider till we have a port, but the receptions crap here. Im busting my a** to get 56k 99% of the time.
Mq went like a treat. She did 1300km between Blackheath and Lawson over 5 days and would have been running for atleast 12 to 14 hours every one of those days loaded up to the hills. Never stopped, not even a f@rt. f**k great car.
She is starting to show a few things because rego is due next month ( of course lol). No 6 injectors leaking a small amount around the injector housing and the tie rods have play. Getting the tie rod ends on Monday off Bursons Penrith for $57 a side ( giving Bursons another go). First day after that without rain and they will be done. Then an alignment, I want the spare swapped over with one of the rear tyres as its a bit bald and Im tossing up over this injector. It will need a bit more manual reading to get my head around the injector rebuild and maybe some calls to the specialists for prices.
I put new tail lights on her before we moved as the old ones were really faded and cracked. Once she gets the pink slip pass Ill be investing on some tint ( might do it myself) and an idea I have with the tray. I have removed the rear seat and am tossing up some idea's about extending the tray floor to just behind the seats, then running a void above the trans tunnel to house the amp and 2 boxes behind the seats for storage. I would like to make it flush with the tray floor but then seeing the seats gone there will be no barrier between the front cabin and the tray except the back of the seats and the console.... meaning anything in the back might damage the seats or console if it rolls up front when I brake. Im thinking about either a removable barrier or maybe not having the new section flush with the tray floor, but raising it and mounting a Cb behind the console. Just dont know.. She is a blank canvas interior wise and some idea's would be good, but it would take 3 days for me to upload pictures at the moment.

Bry, man, I know this sounds stupid and the Gq suspension would be allot softer on my poo hole, but I dont know... I kind of like the simple design and the leafs front and rear. I was talking to Matt a few months ago about dash options and even as s**t as the Mq dash is for now I like it. Its a no frills car thats bullet proof. Its simplicity is its greatest asset.
Hows your's coming along Bry? Ill try and see if I can load your thread.