Kirkynut's Jimny (aka Daddy's Tractor) - The Evolution continues...

Didn't catch this the first time round mate. Truck looks great pal. I feel the same as you with all the maintenance work. Jimny is reliable but like you said, it bloody should be!!! cost a fortune to keep 100% lol

Some more pics of my Jim Jam in action last year - not many piccies of it this year as work has stopped me playing much.


















Kirkynut

We have managed to get out laning a couple of times this year though. I've posted these piccies somewhere in the past I think but here they are under this and for those who missed them first time round:








I like to spectate and take photos at winch challenge events and have historically followed the Challenger 4x4 events run by the All Wheel Drive Club. Again, this year I've not been able to get to many due to work commitments, but hopefully that will be different next year.

My camera is a digital SLR but is a bit of an antique with only basic lenses so I've been making do with what I've got. But I think I'll be investing in a new more expensive modern one with fancy expensive lenses next year!

Here is a link to my photos from the last round of the 2012 Challenger I got to at East Grinstead on 27/05/2012 - be aware - I like to take piccies so there's a few! It lacks Zuks but despite them being taken over by Landrovers they are awesome to watch - and if I had the money, I would love to compete at this level and above!

s937.photobucket.com/albums/ad216/kirkyn...rinstead%2027052012/

Kirkynut

A quick piccie of my Jimjam in the snow recently - no updates really - just a quick mobile phone piccie!

Kirkynut

Well the Jimjam passed it's MOT for another year with no advisories - Woo Hoo! To be honest I knew it would be OK and did not have that worried feeling I have had in the past with it when I take it for an MOT.

It has only done 1750 miles since the last MOT and all of those have been on the road, so there was absolutely no reason for it to fail.

I gave it a once over on my last set of rest days not realising the MOT was due on 6th October, just because I like to give my cars a once over every now and then to know everything it tickerty boo. So I knew when I checked my documents the other day and noticed the MOT was about to expire that it would be fine.

I did notice the other day though that the driver's side front extended brake line had begun to rub on the tyre where it had turned for some reason. I think as I drove through flood water recently it might have got caught on something and got pulled round at the joint on the inner wheel arch. No great problem. A spanner on the joint turned it back round, bending the rigid pipe so it's nowhere near doing it now. Fortunately it had not been doing it long so no damage caused.

I really must get out in the Jimjam now and use it for some greenlaning.

I have a few little bits I'm going to do to it soon aswell, so more piccies to be taken I hope.

I considered selling up to be honest as it doesn't get used and a Disco would be nicer size wise etc. The thing is I have so much money invested in the Jimjam that I'd not get back, I love it and the Mrs loves it too and doesn't want me to sell up.

The idea of trips further away has come up, perhaps the Pyrenees etc. This is a reason why I wanted something bigger like a Disco. A Disco is a Land Rover though. Land Rovers are simple to work on and parts are easily obtainable and cheap - but there's a reason for that though! All of my mates drive Land Rovers and they are always fixing this and that and the other needs replacing. They've all replaced steering boxes at £300+ a pop for example - when was the lasttime you heard of a Jimjam steering box needing replacement - and if you did you'd get a second hand one as they are all so good!

So the Jimjam stays and will get more use in the next year!

Long live the Jimjam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kirkynut

The spare wheel cover has been deteriorating on my Jimjam over the last year or so with a tear that has only been getting bigger.

As I had mounted my rear number plate and it's light to the spare wheel cover bolting them to a piece of ply that sandwiched the number plate and light with the cover, this was becoming a problem I had to solve!

I can't have the number plate on the bumper as it's an ORA rear bumper and the tyre would cover most of it so it couldn't be seen and when I've done proper off-roading in the past I take my spare off the rear door and have dropped off some nearly 90 degree drops, so would take off any number plate lights as I slide down.

The solution:

I bought the spare wheel disc cover from eBay and it arrived yesterday. Now I was under the misapprehension that the bottom of the 3 bolts that hold the spare wheel on was how this mounted to the wheel - but how wrong was I!

They must have a 4th bolt or stud for the cover to bolt to - why I don't know but Suzuki must know the answer!

So I had a piece of studding welded to my Bits4Vits spare wheel spacer - Dave doesn't do them any more for some reason, so don't go looking! The number plate is only held on to the disc with self tappers and I always carry a full tool kit in my Jimjam so I'll always be able to get it off to get the spare off.

I then gave it a bit of a clean and de-stickered some of the stickers I have applied over the years that are no longer relevant or I just don't like. I thought about completely de-stickering it but I thing the Mrs would get the hump if I took off the ones of the places we've been to off.

So here it is as it stands today:

The other job I wanted to get done today was to re-locate the battery from the boot to under the bonnet using one of Jimnybits battery trays - The Jimnybits website tells you the maximum width of battery the tray will take but does not mention height and I did not think to test fit my Numax before buying the tray.

So it will come as no surprise to you now that my Numax is too tall and you can't shut the bonnet with it in place, no matter how far back the battery goes in the tray. Obviously it needs a bit of clearance so as not to short the battery out on the bonnet too!

I shall keep the tray for the future and when the Numax calls time I'll replace it with something not so tall. It's a shame as the Numax battery is a really good battery which stores a lot of power and can put out a lot of Amps when required. We shall see - the battery tray might end up for sale on here at some point, along with a barely used ORA Steering Damper kit I've no use for!

I would like to get the battery out of the cabin for obvious reasons with it being a lead acid battery.

Kirkynut