P_Star

Yeah come along for a ride next weekend if you want? Always handy to have a spade operator on board Many thanks sir

oh don't worry, half the reason I did such a half assed job (prep/paint etc wise) was because I know my propensity for sliding sideways into trees/over banks/through gorse etc lol She will be filthy and fucked asap... yes I'm still talking the car... I think... Haven't had a good play with the tyres yet, was gonna check em out today but i suspect they will bag a bit

Well, mounted the final recovery hook, painted the wheels black, threw some paint I had laying about, pulled all the masking off... Pre attaching final hook, grill etc http://s15.photobuck...0105_182511.jpg Pretty much ready to rumble... hopefully heading out to woodhill next weekend to test it out/will probably break down :/

Ok, working fairly hard on this for the short time I have access to a garage so here's an update. Chrison8, legend that he is came over and welded in some fairly serious steel box section into what used to be my sill... i suspect it will be there when the rest of the truck is a memory haha sourced a new new caliper seal kit and replacement master cylinder from good bastard on ORE, these are now fitted and bled and the brakes appear to function as intended... fingers crossed. Unfortunately while replacing the master, sans thinking I pulled the CLUTCH master instead and proceeded to fill the system with air and had and absolute abortion of a time to get that bled up... finally got it functional again... wasted day pretty much, oh well, think first, then unbolt crap. All guards are now trimmed up and tyres don't appear to rub... well the fronts rub very slightly on a chunk of chassis but not much I can do about that right now, can either not turn hard lock/ space wheels a bit/ live with it for now it is very minor. Put a VERY VERY horrid patch on the massive exhaust hole, seems to have shut it up a bit... still leaking though... crackle crackle backfire haha, oh well, better than it was... Fitted up 3 of the 4 tow hooks (need to go buy a 4th lol) but brackets/mounts are all fitted up. Still pondering bracing for these but will work as is i think for now. removed the tints from rear window, I think the sides will be ok but it pisses me of not being able to see out the back. Also removed all the decals, stripes and stupid stickers that were on it. Cut out some more rust and jammed some patches in, covered in newtech and hit with flapper wheel... prep for paint.. done! Like I said, just needs to be functional, not pretty. Finally gave it a quick sand so I can throw some rust proofing paint stuff at it, more for protection than any particular aesthetic value so will see if that will stick tomorrowish... /Wall of text. Pics: piss. just realised I need to build some replacement panels for the inner guard behind the front wheels, that's no fun :/

http://catalogues.repco.co.nz/DIY_Deals_/4505/Mechpro_300kg_Engine_Stand/416023 http://catalogues.repco.co.nz/DIY_Deals_/4505/Mechpro_Engine_Crane_and_Leveller_Combo/416246

Yeah tomorrow would be mint!

Right, couple weeks off work means time to make some actual progress... house sitting my folks place... aka stealing their garage also helps. So first I had to get the turd across town... first issue for some reason the trailer light/plug setup doesn't seem to work... well... 1 indicator works :/ despite the lights all working in the truck... oh well, problem for later. Hook it up to the old mans truck and get to towing... odd, heavier than I recall plus truck is breaking traction... might just be the oddly slick damp road cos the wheels are definitely turning on the lada back there... hmmm... why is there smoke coming out of the wheels then? Oh, I see: That's not what I wanted to see :/ So pulled up in the bus stop of my old school and unloaded the tools (luckily I was taking them with me too haha) Pulled off the front wheels, removed calipers, removed pads (bloody good system in the Lada, mega easy job thank fcuk!)... wow, they did get hot, pad material fused to disc... oh well, put everything back together sans pads, farm jack decides it doesn't go down any more... wtf?! get angry, hit base with sledge to drop the lada back to the earth and get back on the road. Why is it making that clunking noise? Don't worry, that's just the guards eating my new tyres, happened so occasionally I didn't figure out what it was till I saw the big gauges in the tread :/ Finally got it home around midnight, but couldn't drive the piece up the right of way due to needing half hour of warm up and massive hole in exhaust waking up half the planet, gave up, went to sleep. Got the lump into the garage the next morning and ignored it for a full day and gorged myself on xmas leftovers. Today, made progress... front guards now hacked off to allow clearance, wish I had done that earlier... Looking ok I think. Then drilled some holes and mounted up some front hooks... not the 100% ideal spot for them but the best of the available options for now. So, now I need to track down a caliper rebuild kit and some new front pads... anyone local likely to stock them or should I just order online and hope they turn up promptly?

http://www.touchupguys.co.nz/auckland/city.php all the car yards use them so they must be moderately cheap...

Yeah rubber.... hacksaw is working just takes ages... would probably be quicker if I took them off and put them in a vice... but then I would have to find somewhere to mount my vice... :/ lol

Ok, pictureless update... Sill rust/entire sill booked up for replacement (hopefully) next weekend thanks to Chrison8... that message reminded me that that was the worst of the issue so spent some time in the sun today hitting this piece with tools. I drilled some more holes, front bar is now securely attached so it is once again towable which is half the battle (need to get it to the mud), 4 more holes will see the front recovery hooks ready to rock and roll then a little more fucking about will see the back finished off. Also need to get on to trimming the bumpstops... whats the best tool for that, I should probably purchase a sabre saw... they look like the business/fun/lazy/always need more cutty tools? Still need to sell this bloody merc of mine and buy something more suited to towing... at least something with a towbar haha and will be most of the way there.

Sweet, will do

I might just be being a wimp and having my period I was gonna say, might be easier if I drag it over to your place to do the sills? It is towable now so a bit easier I will be free in the late arvo... probably from about 4...

Went out and poked the lada with a stick today, fitted up the new rubber... it looks hilariously small after the other setup but looks like it will grip like crazy and everything has much more room... not to mention being significantly lighter. Pics: found some more rust... go figure... I think I have fallen out of love with this whore

Ok, no actual progress but here are some pics because serious lack of updates! So, I have found a temp solution to my ugly sharp guard hacking... have riveted on some window seal, the old fabric style stuff from a van... I need to find something similar that is a bit wider for a more effective solution Then while roaming around Pick a Part I spotted a spare wheel carrier on the back door of a Vitara and thought... that could solve my spare storage issue... so mounted it in the boot: Probably should have taken a pic before I chucked a wheel on there (obviously not the actual spare I will be using haha) there you go, boring update for the sake of an update... also had some horn arrive courtesy of the Tortronator haha. Oh... and I bought some new wheels/tyres that should work sans lift meaning I can use the bloody thing sooner rather than later... Pics:

I feel like I need one of these dudes who grows scrap on his lawn...

I.FUCKING.LOVE.THIS.FUCKING.BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I should do something to my bike/won't/jealous!

Looks tough!

Likewise, all the jealous!

Not being a dick but maybe start a project thread in "other projects" and then you can have all your queries in one place? and find them all easy... plus need pics please!

My first suggestion would be to read everything on here: http://www.ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/resources/index.htm Second suggestion would be: Give it to me!

Done, will see you a bit after 8, what do you drink?

Might try and swing by after work and grab some curtains... sylvia park somewhere you say?

feck, am I too late for this shiz? keen for curtains and maybe some lights :/

Looks like I will have a new set of sills in the next few weeks which will be grand (Hooray Chrison8). In the meantime I figured I should chop some more things... So made a start on trimming the guards, cut the first one up went moderately well... managed to go through both skins which I wasn't intending but I am most of the way through rejoining them and the extra clearance looks good. Then I ran out of wire... anyone know what a good brand of flux core mig wire is/best place to get it? anyway, before and after:

Oh, and it looks like that burnt orange/copper colour was a factory option: Edit: Could just be a shit pic of a red one, but looks ok imnsho