SHAUN WHALE OFFICIAL BIO

ABOUT SHAUNO

Shauno’s never owned a vehicle that’s not a 4WD. The passion began as a youngster driving around in his Grandad’s old HJ47 LandCruiser on the farm. His first 4WD – a Suzuki Sierra, which taught him a lot of great lessons at a young age: basic mechanics, patience and just how much fun short wheel based 4WDs are on the tracks!

Since his first days as an editorial assistant for 4WD Action – Shauno has driven just about every hard track in Australia, camped at the best campsites in every state (and a lot of the worst ones too!), and broken and replaced or fixed every part on a Toyota LandCruiser… Over that time, he’s figured out what to look for in 4WDs and the gear you put on them, not to mention what spares, tools to take.

The ZOOK

Shauno’s first 4WD was an old Zook - a little wide track soft top Suzuki Sierra. As anyone who’s owned a Sierra would know, they’re great on the tight and technical stuff, but they’re not exactly ideal for long-range touring. Enter the O.G 60 Series, now the Dirty30.

The Dirty30

The Dirty30 started life as a Toyota LandCruiser Sahara 60 Series. It took Shauno 6 months of cruising the classifieds to find the right one, and within 3 short weeks of taking ownership, he’d loaded her up for its first epic adventure through South Australia and the Flinders Ranges.

Back then, the 60 sported the trust 12HT factory turbo-diesel engine, 3in exhaust, bar-work, rear wheel carrier, a 2in lift and spent most of its time rolling around on 33in muddies, though it did have 35s tucking in under the guards for a while.

“It served me well for several years before it started to cop some panel damage and rust”, Shauno says. “It got to the point that something really needed to be done about it.” The decision was made to ute-chop the 60, and that’s when the Dirty 30 was essentially born.

The Dirty30 did over 400,000km tackling the tough tracks and touring around Australia, which really took its toll. “Some things started to let go,” he says “And we’re not talking about diffs or CVS. I’m talking about things like the chassis and body.” The Dirty30 was on the brink of retirement and sat next to Shaun’s shed for 12 months, before the idea of the Dirty30 MKII as we know it today was born.

Sooty

Old Sooty - a ’91 80 Series LandCruiser with its 1HD factory turbo, custom bar work, 2inches of lift with super-flex arms, Raptor paintwork, 35s, twin lockers and complete rear touring setup in the back – it’s what 4WD dreams are made of. With over 500,000km on the clock, despite the torture Sooty gets put through, the old girl is one of the most reliable 4WDs Shauno has owned.
Back then, the 60 sported the trust 12HT factory turbo-diesel engine, 3in exhaust, bar-work, rear wheel carrier, a 2in lift and spent most of its time rolling around on 33in muddies, though it did have 35s tucking in under the guards for a while.

The Chopped 200

A recent addition to Shauno’s shed is the chopped 200 Series LandCruiser. Craving a few extra creature comforts – and Shauno’s first ever brand-new vehicle – rolled straight off the production line and straight into the DMW workshop. There is underwent a body chop, 650mm chassis extension and 4.5GVM upgrade. Shauno had the tray and canopy designed with functionality and storage in mind.

Now, although Shauno is a Toyota man through and through… it hasn’t stopped him from getting behind the wheel of a Nissan

Daryl

Daryl the old petty GQ Nissan Patrol complete with airbrushed horses on the bonnet and sides found its way into Shauno’s shed one day and just never left. It was originally part of the Bush Mechanic Series - Shauno had 24hours and $5k budget to build Daryl in a track ready weapon, Shauno opted for a snorkel, 2inch lift, borrowed a set of 35inch tyres from Sooty and put a MyCoolman fridge to keep those beers cool back at camp. It wasn’t long before Daryl took on some more serious mods with a winch bar, rock sliders, rear bar GU front axle and front locker to transform Daryl into one seriously capable budget build.

For Shauno the most important thing in life is having vehicles that will allow him to get to the types of places that’s he loves. “I live and breathe adventure, it's more than a lifestyle, it's an absolute way of life… and that’s what it's all about.” says Shauno.

Be sure to keep up to date with everything happening in the SHED!