100% Road Princess

We have a portable chemmy loo also

---

it lives on the Jimny roof rack when we travel, but you need to avoid hard braking nevertheless :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I believe I have done it, I hold here in my mortal hand a nugget of purest green!

Attempt number 4 of the DIY nickel plating kit has resulted in a finish I am happy with.
Right had one is the best finish by far, no surface imperfections and it's now we'll adhered to the base metal. I could polish it bright (like Chrome), but intend to do some salt spray tests over the next few days to see if the rust resistance is good enough.


I have too much time on my hands :laugh:

Nice one, Dumbledore....:evil: :ohmy: :evil:

Well done

Fitted Koni Heavy Track rear shocks today to the Jimny. In a side by side comparison with the Suzuki OEM shock I am happy to report that both compressed and extended length is exactly the same, which it should be for a OEM replacement product.
Compression is slightly faster than OEM but rebound is slower, so I have adjusted to give a similar compression rate.
Very happy with the quality from a visual point of view, and they fit perfect.

Even though I believed both Suzuki shocks were good, only lacking when towing, it obvious that one has failed totally, they should extend to full length when unloaded. No visible signs of oil leaks etc, but totally finished @ 50000 miles.
It goes some way to explain why suspension upgrades feel so good, usually by the time you do it your original equipment is past it's best.
8
Obviously it's a vast improvement over the stock system :laugh:

Failed shock still compressed compared to fully extended.


All nice and fitted ready for waxoyl.

I started to put my home assembled plating kit to good use today, the rusty fittings on the Jimny all have a nice new layer of nickel. Here are the no longer rusty rear door lock screws and cone washers.


So was it worth the effort and cost on the Jimny ?
Cost NO - it's cheaper and easier to just go and get new screws even at Suzuki's inflated prices.

The main problem is getting the part to be plated clean, no rust, no grease. In order to achieve this you really need to get the rusty part blast cleaned first, something a lot of kits don't mention. So to achieve this I have purchased a parts tumbler with grit, so my total outlay including the original £38 is now £98.

So those three screws have cost £32.66 each :laugh:

So was it worth the effort and cost for me?
Yes
In the current "stuck at home environment" it's kept me amused and every rusty bolt and nut on the Jimny is a viable target. It' will also to allow me to plate items on my classic bike restorations, in many cases you simply can't purchase a new item, so in this instance it's going the only option I have.

If anyone else ever feels the need to go down the same route more than happy to share the plating secrets I have discovered.

Stay safe and have fun.
Mike