Dave's la(te)st buggy build...

There are hubs?

Lambert wrote: There are hubs?

:lol:

On a serious note i would like some of these hubs
Anyone

S200KYS wrote:

Lambert wrote: There are hubs?

:lol:

Ohhhhhh. Okay.

Keithy wrote: I like those wheels and tyres!

I'd like to build a Willys body onto a Jimny chassis.....one day!

Thamks Keithy

They are 16" Grand Vitara alloys shod with 235/70R16 (29"*) Malatesta Kamels



Should suit the buggy look?

*Hence fitting VVT diffs to correct the gearing... sticking with a standard transfer box for this (supposedly) "budget" build

Back in the garage again yesterday... I set the alarm for 8:30am to get out there for 9:00am and began working quietly as the rest of the family where still asleep

As time passed and it got to a more godly hour I got the angle grinder out and finished...



,,, dropping the front axle out, still with the radius arms and shocks attached, as it's easier to work with the axle off the vehicle and on the floor, and later up on trestles later for a rebuild...

Then Brett arrived, as he needed some brackets making up to keep his spare wheel in place in the boot... so we did that together and had a bacon bap after the family got back from taking the dogs for a walk and a swim in the river...

After Brett had gone, I had the welder and Hammerite blacj paint out so I thought I might as well get on with...



... strengthening the steering bars,,, I'd ordered some seamless tube with a 26mm ID to match the 25mm OD of the steering bars...



I took the old track rod ends off and labelled them to reset the new ones when they get rebuilt later...



I then drilled the seamless tube and cleaned the steering bars underneath where the holes lined up...



I then puddle welded into all the holes, and the ends of the tubes to the rods, and then cleaned everything up with the angle grinder...



I then hung them off one of S200KYS' waffle boards to paint them a couple of coats in the sun



Closeup of the step in the strengthened bar (new track rod ends loosely fitted to hang them up for painting...



I then spent some time striiping everything off the axle casing...

And eventually sat down with t a beer to wait for my youngest daughter's boyfriend to come "home" (he virtually lives with us!) from work, to...



... help me lift the axle onto a couple of waiting trestles for the strip and rebuild this week...

And strip, clean and paint the front radius arms and fit the SuperPro bushes in ready for the eventual rebuild...

Thats a top idea with the steering bars Dave!

I wonder if something similar could be done for the panhard rods? You could get the tube threaded internally at one end. Cut one end off the donor panard rod, sleeve it over and use a screw in end perhaps?

In land rover circles it's a thing to have loosely fitting heavy wall tubing over the steering bars so that the outer can roll over an obstacle. I never bothered with them but quite a few did.

Yes Lambert i remember them jingle jingle all the way :lol:
Dave any reason why you didn't have longer sleeves ?
like just leaving 5mm protruding each end

It's a land rover, they came with rattling preinstalled at the factory, what's one more that will be drowned out in the cacophony anyway?

jackonlyjack wrote: Yes Lambert i remember them jingle jingle all the way :lol:
Dave any reason why you didn't have longer sleeves ?
like just leaving 5mm protruding each end

When I looked on eBay the maximum length for the size I wanted was 90cm and the drag link is 100cm, so I figured a 5cm / 2" step at the end would be fine as any flex will be in the middle not at the ends, so I cut the front tube for the steering bar to be the same 5cm / 2" step at each end... :lol:

I could have asked the seller to cut the two pieces at 100cm and 75cm I suppose (insteadof 2 lengths of 90cm, but that would have slowed the sale / despatch down), but I figured it would be a good cheap fix and aesthetically pleasing with the step in where the bars met the hubs...?

Rockwatt used to sell HD steering bars, I have a pair on S200KYS, the alternative is TrailGear ones from JB, but they are £226 plus delivery, and require the track-rod-end mounting holes to be reemed out? So I figured DIY was easier and more cost effective...?

I never considered leaving it loose to roll over stuff> Just wanted to beef up the bars while everything was stripped and off...?

Dave

Bit more today...



Some more parts turned up in the post...

I started to strip the front axle ready for a paint and a rebuild...



Fought long and hard with the oil filler cap! Won in the end thanks to the blow torch to melt the mastic someone had used... the square hole rounded off first, and then smacking it with a chisel failed to get it to shift... :lol:



With the oil out, stripped the drivers side down to the bare ball...



And then the other side... the CVs might need a bit of grease in them before the rebuild?! :woohoo:

I've been contemplating long and hard on whether to fit matching front Trail Gear HD shafts whilst rebuilding, but have eventually decided (mostly due to lack of funds at the moment!) to stick with the standard 22's, the transfer box and props are staying standard, and it's "only" a fun buggy for some summer 'laning, so why go the the extent of HD front shafts? I might regret typing that? #HENRYD :lol:



Diff out... a VVT one is going in instead, to correct the gearing for the 29" tyres.



A few bags in the diff hole and then wire brush and sand everything flat ready for some paint...

I had some debate with the rest of the lads on our WhatsApp group as to whether I should re-use the king pins themselves again, but with them being on a high mileage X-reg donor, I think it's probably wise to replace them as a matter of course,especially being as everything else is being replaced with new as I rebuild...

I then got a call to say my Dad had been admitted to hospital So I quickly showered and went to visit him, I'll return to this soon