Deluxs new black Jimny, Project KZA

You've been a busy boy, good result though!

Lambert wrote: You've been a busy boy, good result though!

Yes seconded.I love watching things like this from Bitchin' rides to Car sosage!
I used to love a challenge like that - mostly it was a case of having to put right OPP (other people's problems) though rather than the joy of cars but these days I cannot be *****.
Keep up the good work.

Yeah, was expecting a lot of OPP but this board has been very kind to me so far.

Not that I am bothered really, its my car and if I was such a bad mechanic I'd have starved to death years ago, LOL!

More updates soon, the business cell in my brain reckons I should get it finished quickly and sold while the weather is bad. Sadly, the other cell in my brain likes Japanese cars and has realised its the closest thing to a convertible with a leather interior I will ever own!

I am still alive!

Been busy with a stinkin cold, masses of overtime at work and sorting out a new job! (Which I got, LOL!)

Effort on the project has been stepped up as it looks like becoming a daily driver for a bit while the 'rolla comes in for its yearly refit (new rear wheel arches, redo exhaust with a cat, drivers door lock failure) which has meant pictures have taken a back seat.

Guides on replacing timing belt and diagnosing management faults with a smart phone at advanced stages of fabrication too!

WOW! An update from Delux!
Sorry my updates are becoming more and more like Halleys comet but I have been so busy. Anyway, the Jimny!

After drying out in the spare room and being thoroughly hovered the scrapyard seats were decontaminated by Lidls finest...

20190102_132258 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

Followed by a good going over with ...

20190102_133355 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

Was slightly disappointed to discover there isnt a real Lord Sheraton! According to wikipedia he was a baddy in Days of our lives. Still, seats turned out pretty decent...

20190102_135108 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

I pressed on and put everything back together...

20190113_122710 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

20190113_103011 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

I dont remember 'Remove conkers from the air filter housing' being a line on the service sheet but I done it anyway.
Finally sneaked into work for wheel alignment and balance (Thanks Al!)...

20190323_095609 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

Some of you may have noticed the 'Tramps hat' top has disappeared and a new sporty top has appeared in its place!

20190303_141118 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

From jimnybits.co.uk. Great customer service, very easy to fit, free stickers!

I took the precaution of replacing the roof fitting rails too. The press studs in them were missing, rusty or flattened. I could have been resourceful and bought a bag of new ones from ebay but the actual strips were a bit crunchy and faded. Rplacing them is very easy, just pop the trims off and remove the tiny nyloc nuts...

20190303_131758 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

Put the new one in place, jiggle it about a bit to get all the studs thru, get all the nuts on a couple of turns before tightening it up. Its a bit fiddly but worth the effort...

20190303_134654 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

Finally, broke out the polishing machine and polished the scratches out...

20190309_121801 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

20190309_122305 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

To a mechanic like me I thought it looked stunning but Jamie the car cleaner from work made me go over it again with something to 'remove the swirls'. It looked like someone had washed it with an angry cat before and now its very shiney, job done!
Still need to MOT it and do a few niggling things I have noticed since putting it back on the road but it will be up for sale soon to make way for the next project.

The intention is always there to save another jimny, do loads of work, take loads of pics, stunning write ups etc. but it never works out like that. Have to repaint the garage and get the visit to Japan classic sunday in the Netherlands out the way 1st.

In addition to the Jimny, so far this year I have left my job for a new job only to be offered a deal to stay in my old job a week before I was due to leave and had to find a replacement to my poor old Toyota Corolla. It needed the usual MOT work but the grating from the front turned out to be the gearbox resigning. Replacement not readily available, dont know if I could have used another model. What if I had stripped it down to find the parts I needed were no longer available. With my sensible hat on it was just too much time, money and effort for a car thats worth £200 on a good day!

So I bought a replacement. The requirements were simple...

• Has to be a reliable, easy to fix Japanese car
• Has to be practical, preferably a 4wd as we stay in the Scottish version of Emmerdale
• Has to be a colour Mrs.Delux likes

So I bought this!

IMG_0326 by deeelux deeelux , on Flickr

Its my reward for years of driving cars that were bought because they were cheap or had something wrong with them!

Watch out for KZAs for sale ad and I promise I'll make some time and finish some Jimnywiki articles!

Great thread - thanks Delux.

With the Impreza, don't let the tread on the rear tyres get any lower than the tread on the fronts - even if both still have a reasonable depth. I 'totalled' one of the same year cars because of that. But you probably knew this anyway.

Also impressed by the conkers!

A very interesting read, Deluxs. Thank you for going to so much time and trouble.

Steve.