One man in Shropshire isn't letting the lockdown get in the way of his latest venture: building pick-up truck versions of Suzuki's plucky Jimny. David Johnson, the mastermind behind Shropshire Quads and its Jimny conversion, has seen demand pick up (sorry) since creating a Jimny test car for the UK's Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It looks the part, but something tells us the following blue conversion, created for a Jimny-loving farmer, might see Johnson's workload increase further because it looks like a miniature monster truck on a set of off-road boots.
The all-terrain vehicle specialist - made up of Johnson alone - has been converting Jimnys into pick-ups for four years, with most of the work obviously focusing on the older model. But the latest 101hp 1.5-litre-powered Jimny has presented Johnson with the opportunity to expand business as the car's fanbase grows, while retaining his in-house-developed conversion's ruggedness. He explained to PH that the product is "mainly intended for the agricultural market", but remains "fully road legal".
The seat belt anchor points all fully-tested and the rear closing bulkhead is "a proper panel that is factory made and fits perfectly every time", Johnson said. He handles the work on his own land, but the conversion is capable of surviving the tough life of a farming workhorse. On average, Johnson completes two cars per month, with some Jimnys receiving only the new rear-end, and others getting other mods including suspension lifts.
"We normally offer two lifts, either one or three-inch," said Johnson, with "the latter forcing changes elsewhere in the suspension". The body shell itself receives the new rear with "template cuts", before the rear metal panel goes on and plastic side mouldings are added to seal it all off. The chassis is wax-oiled, and Johnson said the suspension mods are "tuned to suit whatever the customer requires". The agricultural focus is entirely logical, but the potential market for quirk-obsessed urbanites is probably sizeable, too.
Prices vary from car to car, but to give an idea, Shropshire Quads' RNLI Jimny conversion - in this case just the rear-end and no further mods - cost about £7,000, while the work to create the more substantially-modded blue Jimny cost £8.5k. Johnson said that buyers who allow him to source a brand new Jimny can actually lessen their costs, thanks to the commercial vehicle status allowing a VAT rebate for business users. Suffice it to say the product is proving popular; Shropshire Quads is extending its UK reach and receiving enquiries from all over the world.
For those wondering about Suzuki's potential switch to supplying the UK with Jimny vans exclusively, Johnson isn't worried. The transition might be necessary to ensure the SUV's survival in Britain in the face of tightening CO2 targets, as commercial vehicles have different limits. But Johnson said the Shropshire Quads kit will remain compatible with the commercial vehicle bodyshell; good news for those of us suddenly day dreaming about adding a Jimny pick-up to the fleet.
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