Stu

[karatestu]

Is the go-faster stripe going to be a one-off up the bonnet and across the roof, or will there be two; one down each side?

Both This thing needs all the help it can get. Faster than a Land Rovet Defender though

[antonio66]

Been coating the front part of the vehicle with lanolin . I smell of sheep now The steering and suspension parts all coated twice, front inner wings, bulkhead, around the radiator and front grill. Had to be careful not to get it on and belts or the brakes.

Waiting for bits to come back from the sandblasters. Got new poly bushes put in the upper trailing arms, anti roll bar and pan hard bar. All these things connect the back axle to the chassis in one way or another. I have new lower trailing arms, springs and shock absorbers too.

[karatestu]

As this is a working vehicle and gets a lot stuff thrown in the back I thought I would line it in 10mm thick rubber belting. Donated by a friend Should take some abuse. Took a strong hand with a Stanley knife but got there in the end. Covered the floor and over the new rear arches. The bits over the arches just lift off if required. I have enough belt to make mud flaps and do the front of the interior too.

[antonio66]

Bottom of new shock absorbers. I put them in to stop the back bouncing up and down on the old springs as I got in and out. Also shows where the rear pan hard bar connects the off side end of the rear axle to the near side of the chassis.

[slinger]

As I have been so busy with rust, fabrication, welding, painting and other stuff, I neglected to keep starting the engine. Not started for 10 months, new battery required. It took about a minute of intermittent turning over, priming of fuel, removing air and cracking open the nut on the first fuel injector and she stuttered in to life

Starts instantly every day since getting it going. Oh how I have missed the familiar noise of this 26 year old engine ticking over. Something I have heard most days for the last 25 years. I can't explain just how much I love this thing but the amount of work I have done to keep it on the road hopefully for at least another 15 years probably explains a bit.

Purrs like a 2.8 Litre kitten

[media] [/media]

[TheMadMick]

Glad it keeps you off the streets Stu. Sounds like a bag of nails to me but it ain't my thing anyway.

Enjoy!!

[slinger]

Glad it keeps you off the streets Stu. Sounds like a bag of nails to me but it ain't my thing anyway.

Enjoy!!

It's only got the front exhaust pipe on (missing the silencer and back section). The engine does look and sound a bit agricultural but they didn't get the nickname of the tractor for nothing . I can run it on vegetable oil if needs be. It will still be going when modern cars are at the scrapyard or fuel is unavailable.

[karatestu]

Not played a gig since September. None booked in. Haven't played my drums since the last gig. #can'tbearsed All I want to do these days is sleep.

[Lindsayt]

Are you rebuilding this vehicle to last for a thousand years?

[karatestu]

Are you rebuilding this vehicle to last for a thousand years?

I may be inclined to a little over engineering but 1000 may be a bit optimistic

I want it to last at least the rest of my working life which could be 20 years (or less if my health fails). Depending on what state it is in when that time comes, I may keep it going even longer if possible.

This rebuild has taught me a few lessons. You can't neglect certain things on a vehicle and expect it to last. I always looked after the mechanical parts well but neglected the underbody cleaning and rust prevention like waxing etc. It's a trade off of a little time and expense often or a massive resto project after so many years. From now on I choose the little but often because I don't think I will have the balls to do this lot again.

I don't want a new or newer truck. I want this one which has happily served me very well for 25 years. I don't want the vehicles laden with sensors for everything, dpf, adblue and all that bollox. I have a hope of fixing a simple vehicle but not a modern one. This will hopefully give me years of cheap motoring rather than monthly payments, expensive dealer servicing and parts and modern vehicle problems.

The government will probably try and price this thing off the road. That is the only thing that troubles me, and the fact that a modern engine would probably be cleaner and better for the environment.