shizzl

Now it’s time to get the axles back in to get it rolling, and sweep underneath it. 
it’s become a bit of a tip under there.

im actually pretty keen to make this one RX3UTE the more I work on it.

and make the 2nd ute mongrel as. Or an RX4UTE???

So much for working today. First proper day back and had a mad case of CBF.

had a site meeting, made a plan. Went to the workshop for more ute shenanigans.

this time I decided to stitch in the new tailgate skin. Mainly so when it comes time to lift the deck it doesn’t just fold up without the floor.

turns out they built up the lower corner a fair bit with filler. Don’t know why. There are no dents. 
 

I have a strata 215c and a XA 250, both migs. 
the XA was almost 1k cheaper and welds so much nicer.

a box smootharc 185 was around $1600 the last time I shopped for a mig.

just bought a XA plasma, really happy with the quality of this brand so far.

support is great too.

ive had to a couple of returns on my spool gun (Ali) where the driver quit, a screw backed out internally the first time, think they said the trigger failed the second time. Has been good since.

i found the price of welders dropped by 50% over the last 5 years but may have gone up due to shipping increases

Just a quick stop in at the workshop today.

etch primed the tunnel, still want to clean it up some more before painting.

finally got the steering box out, had to lift one side of the cab to get it done by myself. Mega Kent.

sliced off the factory rad supports and mounted the radiator and oil cooler.

etched the cuts.

only have the tailgate to finish before I can start the final prep and paint.

i will remove the cab and deck for painting.

that way I can prep the chassis side of it before they go on for the last time. (Fit fuel tank back in, touch up the etch with top coat)

might even fit the engine and box onto the chassis and get the exhaust done with the cab off.

im not sure where I want the exhaust to run at this stage.

i have 2 flexi’s, 2 resonators, a 2-1 muffler and one of those ugly rotor shaped mufflers.

i will make a new set of headers for it for better clearance. 

This really fills my heart with warm fuzzies, which is the reason I've been lingering here for so damn long.

You guys are friggin legends.

Is it ok to pie cut the uppers to correct the ball joint angle?

or is a custom A arm an option? 

Yeah everyone on mtnz etc says to pie cut the upper arms.

drop spindles only happened for the next gen up unfortunately.

i have seen those adapted to the 2nd gen but probably a stuff around.

have also heard of hilux spindles adapted too.

It’s the top ball joint that is the issue.

Put the chassis up on the table today.

then fired up the lightning scissors and whipped off the spring/shock pockets.

them found that the ball joint angle maxes out pretty quickly.

any ideas on legal ways to ease up on the ball joint?

by my calculations this limit only gets the frame 80mm off the ground. Weak as

pic is at the ball joints limit.

flipping and swapping upper arms doesn’t solve anything, thought about it, tried it, it failed.

3 minutes ago, Sunbeam said:

I’m welding a mild steel exhaust together, brand new fresh tube. Is it worthwhile or necessity to coat/paint the outside?

Not necessary but you can spray it with a high temp paint

I dont normallybother with it myself, itll outlast my ownership

On 08/11/2023 at 15:34, jakesae101 said:

Just a cert question on calliper adapters, these have been previously certed they are adapters for evo brembos to holden commie uprights and clubsport discs.

providing they are the correct thickness is the weld holding the two pieces to get the offset correct an issue? as I thought they had to be a single peice? 

Did you figure this one out?

my adaptors that are supplied are a 2 piece like that.

the guy said to put a couple of tack welds at each end.

i guess it’s no different than having a washer as a spacer like the palmside m16 caliper kits have that I run.

Oh and big thanks to @brocky41 for the calipers and handbrake set up.

what a star

That’s why I refuse to pay my rucs, toads are going backwards at an alarming rate 

I want RUCs to go. Maybe then both vehicles could be back within the credit line. Not thousands over all the time

Double cab looks awesome, looks like repu rear arches too

8 minutes ago, waspman said:

You could always add in the Karere stripes, this was the factory supplied diagram on how to apply them, from memory they also rolled white steel rims

I’ve never seen one of those, would be cool to see what it looks like on a ute

18 minutes ago, kiwi808 said:

Giz the chrome Modgies for my B1600!

Not a chance yet haha. 
 

think you can get them through hyperdrive.