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Joined: Jan 08, 2009 Posts: 4345 Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:37 pm Post subject: September 2009 MadZuks Owner Of the Month - KiwiLeigh
Congrats again!
My name is Leigh Neil and I'm a New Zealander (Kiwi) by choice, although I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa back on 2nd October 1961. I arrived in New Zealand with my parents and older brother back in 1965 and have lived here ever since.
In addition to my older (South African) brother, I have a younger (Kiwi) brother and sister. All of us are still in New Zealand except my younger brother who lives in Dubai, flying Boeing 777s for Emirates Airlines at the moment.
I'm still married to my first and only wife and we've made it to 21 years so far. We've got two teenage daughters, Ashleigh (19) and Brittany (17) who are both still at home with us here in Nelson, a medium-sized town at the top of New Zealand's South Island.
When I finished school I trained and worked at a telecommunications technician before joining the Ministry of Transport as a traffic-cop in 1985. I spent 17 years as a cop before leaving in 2002 and spending one year as a full-time dad, the best thing I've ever done and the reason I've got such a great relationship with my two girls. At the end of 2002 I got a job selling cars at the local Suzuki franchise dealership and am still there today.
The only nickname I have is 'Fliptop', given to me by a pilot friend from the days when I used to fly fixed-wings on a private licence. It came from the cop's full-face motorcycle helmet I used that had a lift-up faceplate and reminded him of the Reach toothbrush cartoon advertisement with the flip-top head.
I only got involved with off-roading in about 2005, purely by chance. I sold a new car to a couple who were into it, and when they found I was a petrol-head they invited me on a trip. That was it and very shortly thereafter we got the family's first 4WD, a 3Dr Suzuki Escudo for Ashleigh as her first car when she was 15. We found it through another dealer who had looked at trading it, but put me onto the owner for a private sale. We paid $NZ1600 for it and Ashleigh named it "Fred".
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I'm not yet a member of any clubs, but have started running 'shiny' 4WD days for our Suzuki clients from work. I wheel with friends that I have met over the last couple of years.
I don't actually own my own off-roader, I've helped Ashleigh build up her truck and then, when Brittany turned 15, got her another 3Dr Escudo which I found through the deceased estate of a customer, paying $450 for it with a rough-running engine. He was a lovely old guy who my wife had worked with many years ago in the Forest Service so, as a kind of keepsake, we kept his name for the truck, "Piglet".
Each truck probably owes us around $NZ5000 so far, but there's still plenty yet to do on them. I've also bought a 5-door V6 but am not allowed to modify it as it's for Lisa and the dogs.
Fred is a 1989 5-speed running 31" muds, snorkel, skidplate, 1" body-lift, 2" suspension lift, cut front guards, custom front bumper, manual hubs and a Hell-bright yellow and black paintjob.
Piglet is a 1990 3-speed auto running 31" Super Swampers, snorkel, 3" body-lift, cut guards, manual hubs and a snow-camo paintjob.
Neither truck has carpets as we do a lot of wet-work, and they both have in-dash UHF radios. They both need some form of diff-locker or LSD as funds permit.
The best mods are those that let us run good-size mud tires (body-lift and guard-cut), closely followed by the snorkels. The worst mod I ever did was put heavy duty shocks in the back of Fred when I put the suspension-lift in. Imagine riding on a steel seat bolted to a length of railway iron, bouncing across broken rock. And that's just what it was like on the tarmac! Not surprisingly, those shocks were replaced VERY quickly. I don't have welder skills so rely on some shop work and lots of help from friends, but most work on the trucks is done at home if I can. Not necessarily because I want to, just because I can't afford to do it any other way. The upside is that it has given the girls a good start to a mechanical understanding of their trucks. I'm not a great mechanic, but can read a manual and will give most things a try.
Like everyone else, I never get to wheel as often as I'd like but when the trucks are running we usually get out once or twice a month on short day-trips. My favourite wheeling destination is Thompson's Flat/Lake Daniells, a beautiful area in native bush that we try to get to a couple of times a year.
I love trail-runs providing they have some challenging technical stuff in them. I also like mud and river work but easy trails bore me a bit. I think my funniest 4WD moment was when Ashleigh had her very first drive in an offroader and almost flipped our friend's Mitsi Pajero when she panicked and hit the gas instead of the brake, coming to rest half up a steep bank, teetering on two wheels. It was also the scariest, but we were laughing too hard to be really frightened, although we were huddled on the uphill side with one half-out the sunroof trying to keep it balance until we got some help.
Involvement in the sport has taught me that good ideas come from the most surprising places and re-affirmed for me that everyone has something of value to teach you.
Most of my other activities have gone on the back burner since getting into the trucks, but I have been a passionate motorcyclist, fixed-wing pilot, hunter, target pistol-shooter, competitive rally navigator and photographer. These days I do casual work as a journalist/sub-editor/photographer for several magazines and enjoy both the work and the extra income it provides. If I'm not working or wheeling I'm probably fiddling with the trucks in the garage, or playing mindless computer games (I still really enjoy combat flying sim games and first-person shooters.)
I enjoy a wide variety of music but prefer rock classics and modern rock when I'm driving. Anything from Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd to Green Day and All American Rejects. (I have a particularly soft spot for Cat Stevens and Freddy Mercury/Queen.)
Unfortunately there is poor radio coverage in the NZ back-country and the trucks only have CD players so, until we get MP3 input compatible stereos, wheeling trips tend to be music-free once we're off the tarmac.
Red has asked for a little-known fact about myself, and there really aren't many as I don't have too many secrets. Probably the most surprising thing about me to people who get to know me is that I'm actually incredibly shy and quiet in the flesh, to the point of being insecure. Go figure!
If I could give a piece of advice to a future off-roader, it would be to watch and listen intently, talk little. In other words, don't be like me. Also, just get out, try things and have fun. What's the worst that can happen?
And, just in case anyone questions the Neil household's brand loyalty; here's a pic of my driveway today. From left to right: The 1995 V6 5-Dr "Herman", Ashleigh's "Fred", Brittany's "Piglet" and , in the garage, Brittany's boyfriend's 1989 3-Dr 5-speed.
Joined: Apr 08, 2009 Posts: 1100 Location: New Jersey
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:00 am Post subject:
Wow! That's a really nice insight there Leigh. Thanks for sharing a little bit about yourself. _________________ Of all the things I have lost, it's my mind that I miss the most
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