Stu

[slinger]

1998 Daihatsu Fourtrak back on the road



I've got lots still to do to this like mudflaps, refitting the interior, new stereo & 12V socket, spare wheel tk fit inside above the passenger side rear inner wheel arch, make some diy splash guards, painting the bodywork with tintable raptor etc etc.







New chassis crossmember, spring hangers, lower trailing arms, springs, shockers, bump stops, front to back brake pipe. Front callipers were seized up so had to sent away for refurb. Came back powder coated The rear axle breather pipe was modified. Originally it vented into the crossmember (now replaced) which was open in each wheel arch. The new crossmember is sealed so the pipe has been extended in copper and routed all the way back to the top of the engine bay where it terminates in a downward pointing U bend. Don't want any water going in the axle if I happen to go through a forde .

New crossmember is the black round tube in the background with the upward bend.

[slinger]

Good job, mate. Great (first time) result.

[slinger]

Good job, mate. Great (first time) result.

Thanks Paul. It's such a relief to have her back on the road. Only took 14 months but I kept finding other stuff to do whilst it was in bits.

[slinger]

Started making some splash guards out of aluminum sheet that of course just happened tk be lying around. Put my trusty sheet metal bending machine back together




Needs trimming down but fits snugly when pushed up into the corners. I don't want any galvanic corrosion where different metals touch so it won't be touching any steel directly. Going to use some rubber shoulder washers for the bolts. Other spray guards are planned including one to cover the fuel tank from chassis rail to chassis rail. Need to keep the shit out .

[slinger]

Aluminum wheel arch splash guards are mostly done now. Just need riveting together with aluminum rivets to prevent galvanic corrosion and then painted. They are bolted on using stainless bolts with shoulder washers to ensure different metals do not touch each other.



These guards extend down nearer the floor so that I can attach mudflaps . I have made the rear mudflaps from 10mm thick rubber belt. I am also doing flaps for the front of the rear wheels but haven't made them yet.





Also finished a full width fuel tank shield which also keeps the shite out of the whole of the back end. Made with aluminum tread plate. Also needs riveting and painting.



From underneath showing how the shield attaches tk the chassis. Used the original bolt holes for the original tank shield and had to do quite a few bends to negotiate the gap and allow room for the rear pan hard bar to move up and down



From directly underneath.



Some more protective aluminum guards to make before I start riveting and painting.

[slinger]

That is now, possibly, the best Fourtrak in the country.

[karatestu]

That is now, possibly, the best Fourtrak in the country.

It's very kind of you to say so Lindsay. In some ways it possibly might be. It's still a bit tatty and I've seen one or two minters that sold on Ebay for £6-8K.

They don't usually sell for much ~ £3K for a decent one with 12 months mot. Suprising considering their reliability and off road capability but many were farm vehicles coated in cow shit which is a fast track to it rotting away. Compare that to LR Defenders which achieve much higher prices and they will probably breakdown next week and drain your bank account for years to come.

I haven't added up what I have spent on the old girl yet but it will be in the region of £5K not including my time. It wouldn't have been financially viable to pay a garage to do all the work I have done.

[Lindsayt]

Sometimes the truth is very kind.

[slinger]

[slinger]

Bullshit Jobs by "anarchist anthropologist" David Graeber 2018.

This is the next book I am going to read. Stumbled across a mention of it yesterday and it piqued my intetest.