Bling

Ignoring setups like my work van that is single leaf. How do you think multi leaf setups are affected though when the stack is no longer acting in the way it's supposed to? Just seems like bad design to me if the loading is such that the springs are no longer working as designed. Unless of course they are designed to work inverted, but i'm not sure anyone would design for that. Depending on the spring stack layout, i'd think most would all be compressed and not able to function correctly. The van phones shown about would have the bottom spring not acting when needed, but completely compressed along it's length against the springs above it. Hitting a bump has to act on something other than the spring pack as they are all jammed together. I don't have leaf springs, but always up for learning.

Imagine how well it would handle with operating suspension then. Inverted leaf springs to me would be the equivalent of bound coil springs. This theory could be wrong, but I can't see how inverting leaf springs actually offer any form of good suspension. flipside to that, is you often can't go silly low and have working springs, so it is a balancing act between looks and handling nice. As for the legality, I was quite surprised that inverted leaf springs are not a WOF issue. Work ute had passed previously no worries. Only had the extra spring fit by choice. I bet it handled a lot nicer afterwards though (not my vehicle).

People tend to add another leaf when getting them reset. Inverted is just bad in general. Old mans ute had stock suspension inverted with his box on the back (most likely roll like this with no clue). He had another leaf put in and all sorted.

I think I recall something about links expiring? Could be dreaming though.

What diameter ducting do you need for the heater vent?

Yeah I regret mentioning it now, but it was mainly in case those that don't actually know they will be up shit creek, now know if they read the thread. Dude probably won't have insurance on the pile anyway so it was totally a hypothetical.

I never said that? You specifically said you are going to drive the vehicle with parts that it is not certified to have installed. So my point was (didn't think i'd need to explain it I guess), if you stack it, they can look at the photos and if they determine the changes you made contributed to the accident, you're up shit creek.

MIG / TIG use different gas IIRC, so go with the gas to suit the process you're using. I roll co2 and MIG, because I own the cylinder. Argoshield (for MIG) seems to be a better option.

No one cares. LVVTA will have photos though, so don't stack it into something as you'll be paying off their repairs forever. The reason you can't make changes is because people in general are stupid and don't know what is and isn't safe. So everyone has to suffer. If you want to swap wheels like you do underwear, stick within the rules to not need a cert. If you want the freedom to run the likes of coilovers and aftermarket brakes, then you play by a different rule book. Doesn't matter what you do, people will get upset at something.

You should bring a rolla.

Best option is to ask the certifier what they want you to do. They'll all have their own preferences.

Winter is tough, I had to wait for warm weather to do most of my painting as I didn't want to paint inside / also have very limited space. Most of my stuff I did a panel at a time, and epoxy primed it. Then waited till it was warm enough to do the filler primer / top coat. If you're wanting to do the topcoat, then a decent heater should sort that. I had plastic surrounding the car at one point, suspended from the roof. This kept all the grinder dust enclosed. Could do similar for painting panels.

Thanks for that, would certainly have a paper trail to show it was done to the correct specs.

When using aftermarket coilovers, is it acceptable to substitute parts out for custom parts so long as they are at least as strong as parts they replace? Think locking nut at bottom of threaded tube. Supplied is quite short. I want to get some fabricated that are longer with the same locking design at the top. So basically threaded tube below the nut that is the same diameter as the shock body. But all one piece, machined out of the same material of original locking nut. Reason for this is due to going large wheels, the locking nut is too close to wheel. Moving it up also moves it inboard due to strut angle, thus gaining clearance. TIA

So correct me if I'm wrong, lol. But you're saying if you claim you accidently make money from an unintentional 3 property development, you don't have to pay income tax on the profits? That's either the best loophole ever, or your accountant will likely end up in jail lol. Just doesn't add up to me. So feel free to dumb it down further if you can be bothered

Yeah might hoon into local agent for those chaps and see what they say. I've only priced up genuine so far, which is why I started looking at other options lol. Was already on RockAuto shopping so figured i'd see what they offered.

Will do, a lot of places do off the shelf bars. I want the receiver type bar as my shins are sensitive to walking into fixed bars at pace. But will look at all the options when the time comes. Wiring is the bigger pain.

Sweet cheers. A google search shows that it's actually built out of quite thick plate, so i'm now pretty confident that it's up to the task. Just wasn't sure if I was missing anything WOF wise. But from the towbars i've seen on cars i'm assuming so long as they are of sound construction, it's an area not actually regulated for light vehicles.

I have checked the VIRM here: https://vehicleinspection.nzta.govt.nz/virms/in-service-wof-and-cof/general/towing-connections/light-vehicle-towbar-and-fifth-wheel for towbar requirements and it doesn't really say (for light vehicles) there are any requirements for towbars to be of a certain standard. I know people knock them up all the time. My question is, can I rock a RockAuto towbar on my vehicle no worries? Even with shipping the cost is ~$420. Just asking in general really. How I read it, is it's sweet. But then i'm also not a heavy fabricator to know how legit the below design is. Looks like this, make by https://www.drawtite-hitches.com/ and they appear to have sold zillions of towbars.

Pretty sure the old man used O'neils out waterloo way. When I priced up a box trailer etc it was actually fuck all more as it would be so many less trips. I was very surprised, hire wasn't high and the per KM charge wasn't that bad either. That was going Akaroa to CHCH. So if you're just rolling in town it should be pretty competitive. Oh and congrats.

Good luck getting that past a cert man. Oh... But yeah nah, sweet pickup!

Probably too late to the party, but they are pretty easy to make yourself from scraps and some wingnuts from mitre10. I used 5mm rod instead of square stock though as too lazy to make square holes.

Some nice craftsmanship going on there.

Sweet thanks team. Will look into the sealant options then. Getting a pro in to do it is an option, trying to organise that will just be a punch in the dick though. So if I can DIY it, I will. Rear windows still have the foam rubber strip mostly in place for keeping the seal in check. So i'll likely measure it up and clean the windows 100% before adding back a new seal to goo against. Something like this should do the trick https://www.wyatt.co.nz/shop/REPAIR/ADHESIVES+%26+SEALERS/Pro+Form+Urethane+Sealer+Adhesive%3Fsku=PF1812.html But will also enquire about getting it pro done. But then i'll probably want a new screen put in and it snowballs.

Gluing in windows. At some point i'm looking to fit the front windscreen and rear 1/4 windows back into my car. Selleys do a silicone sealant which i'm looking at for the windscreen (was recommended). https://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/p/selleys-selleys-autofix---windscreen-sealant-310g/219451.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI17C_3qTA7gIVDhwrCh3a6AU-EAUYASABEgK0-PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&fbclid=IwAR1Ym3KlDfOmfBYExTcBO4Ntf82yJDLDoSq6_8y4HNMWG_cadbNG8Zn5sp0 However, the rear 1/4 windows looked to be held in by mastic of some description. Is there any reason to not seal these in with the same product? Having removed the mastic stuff, I don't think it would allow for any more movement than the rubber silicon product. So just thought i'd see if there is a reason I shouldn't just use the same product everywhere. I plan to run a bead of sealant around the frame edge as it previously trapped water in the gap and rusted out the whole frame. tl;dr any reason not to glue in rear 1/4 windows with sealant rather than mastic stuff?