Bearded Baldy

Yeah firewall seam is ugly in the corners, which means if i start digging it will be ugly across the whole thing. So i am not digging yet. Wheel arch seam looks ok on passengers side, drivers side was average so cleaned it up while i was there. Panelwork is not my area of expertise, in any way shape or form.

Damn scoria driveway. Patch is in. F$%king stones. Need to get a decent helmet, my old split level is a bit big for fitting in wheel arches apparently. Not as neat as other OSers work but neat enough for me, a grinder and underseal will pretty it up. No photos as i am done lying on the ground for today, forgot how much weld spatter in the armpit hurts.

As always, rust gets worse when you start digging. Peeled back the carpet and chipped off the soundproofing. Did not have to poke the hole, it came up with the tar. But i did make the 2nd one. Got the patch cut too, just as the rain arrived.

@tortron , just went on rockauto for a quick look. That is a dangerous site mate! I went on looking for front shocks and checked out with allsorts of parts i do not need yet, but so cheap i could not not buy them. Any other sites you know of? Lol

Cleaning up the inner guard before spraying some underseal around, and reassembling the suspension, until i found a problem. Best i do something about this, a bit scared to dig the dirt off the cab mount incase Tortron has not gone into mass production yet. Good thing i have plenty of time.

I use this app to resize everything. Easy as to use.

Pulled the rh side apart this afternoon. Will get a start on blasting, scraping and painting tomorrow. In the mean time time. ( . )( . ) Boobies or eyes? Your choice.

Yeah that sounds about right haha saw some old photos a while back, my style has not changed but not a skinny white boy anymore. Still got a brand new twin plug flameflower kit on the shelf :):) Anyway back to your thread. Keep the updates coming. It gives me motivation to work on mine.

Haha yeah i used to to swap my cortina wagon rims back for the wofs. Had deep dish hotwires but wrong offset so they hung out near an inch at the front and caught the guards on the back if the tank was full. Good times early 2000s.

Is the height problem at the front or the back? Could easy knock up a set of longer shackles for the back. Some steel plate subtly tacked into the top of the strut towers in the front would work temporarily, not that i advocate scamming the system.

The eagle eyed amongst you will notice the hub and spindle is still covered in O.E rust, dust and grease. I am getting some later model units to go on with vented brakes. Just need to wait until after the lockdown to collect.

One side done for now. Pitman arm is on. Looks lots tidier now at least.

Both arms and inner guard on one side ready for reassembly. Blasted and painted the pulleys too while i had the cabinet going. Settled on yellow for the springs, turned out ok. Will look tidier for the pink sticker check anyway. Might put it together tomorrow and strip the other side. Can do the pitman arm and adjust the steering box while i am in there.

I have an awning similar to @jessemk2 has on my cruiser, but i bought a clip on tent for it. Has walls floor and roof. Along with windows it has a back door so you can still get into the wagon without getting dressed/rained on if need be. https://nz.adventurekings.com/camping-outdoor/awning-and-awning-tents/adventure-kings-awning-tent-suits-2-5m-x-2-5m-awning-waterproof.html

Slowly making progress, other bits and pieces around the place have stolen my attention. Sandblasted and primed one arm. Will get the matt black treatment later. Have not settled on a colour for the springs yet. It will be either yellow, blue or black as that is what i have under the shelf. Leaning towards yellow as it may hide the inevitable cracking and rust.

Will keep you in mind when i ring them after this shitshow is over. Would not be looking for insane power, poor ute would not be able to put it all down anyway. 2.5 inch exhaust, front mount behind the grill. Should make for a fun trip to the dump. Might start looking around, see how much people are asking.

Side topic. Are the turbo rvr motors really as bad as the yanks make out for crank float? I have seen a few die but more from lack of maintenance and/or cooking them.

And for those that like a little dish at dinner time.

Clearly that was going to be too big for the vacuum line so on to plan b. Drill out hole to 4mm, flare a piece of 3/16 brake tubing, turn down end of tubing with mini lathe (cordless drill in reverse and a file), smear with brush on electrical tape (cannot find my shellac anywhere), and tap into hole with greatly oversized hammer. Et Viola

Did not really want to swap manifolds again so had a good look through the spares, this 1/8 npt threaded plastic elbow was the closest i could find.

Headgasket arrived today so head is bolted on and ready to go...or not. Started swapping brackets between the still fitted engine and the replacement, turns out one of the pressed in vacuum fittings has been snapped off the manifold. Beer o clock then time to go through my brass fitting collection and see if i have something to suit.

Have been lurking on mightyram for the last month or so, that is where the long term turbo swap idea stemmed from. Will definately check out rock auto too. ProZac re the wheels, i usually do not go for white writing on my tires, my 4x4s i have the tires showing blackwalls. But this ute just seems to suit it so will get similar when they need replacing. Good info on the starion gear, when this lockdown is over i will put the word out amongst my suppliers. I have a suspicion a local-ish one has some early 80s stock hiding in a far corner of the yard.

Beauty cheers Tortron, has a 4.875 in it at the moment. Coupled with the low and wide 14s it puts the speedo out by around 15km at 100.

Ok guys n girls. What diff heads will fit in the old turd? I am guessing any of the l200/pajeros up to the mid 90s, when all the platforms changed. Ideally want a 3.9 lsd.

Ready and waiting. Maybe tomorrow