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

Oops My finger slipped yesterday...

I've been watching "Alaskan Offroad Warriors" on the Blaze channel on Sky, and in episode four they all got stuck in a boggy section... so as I plan to get back to some serious regular greenlaning, I figured there are always 'lanes where there's no (pesky) trees to winch off, so I ordered a,,,



... ground anchor off eBay...

In fairness I think I only used my old foldable-spade one a few times with my previous Jimny... but it's nice to have in the back just-in-case and keeps me self-sufficient too... winch / strop / snatch block / anchor...

And I thought before I paint the buggy, it'll need some mounts on the back 'cage' diagonal elliptical tube for the 'arm' of the anchor and somewhere to bolt the 'spade' too...

X8GGY wrote: ...On the A-pillar I'm planning on rounding the corners of this steel plate and welding it along the right hand edge to the snorkel tube... on the left side I'll drill three holes through the plate, and then drill through these into the 'cage's A-pillar tube and then weld nuts into the A-pillar tube so that the snorkel can then be bolted to it... (I'll shape the plate a bit to make it look nicer too of course )

Something like that?

Just as the lorry arrives!

Arse! In fact beepety Beep! (Can’t use naughty words on a family forum!)

I ordered some bonnet struts from China a good while ago... and being as I’m trying to finish the bonnet area at the moment, and the Post Office quietens down on a Saturday afternoon, I thought I’d get them out of the stock room and have a look at them, partly as I was worried with bonnet mods whether they’d take the extra weight of the LED light bar pod, etc... although I’ve cut holes in it and narrowed it too... Anyway, the nitrogen struts are mega stiff and it should be fine...



Very nicely packaged and good quality..,



The strut connects to the brackets via these ball and sockets, secured by that little spring clip...

Right, I’m doing this on the Post Office counter in between serving the odd customer (and believe me some of them really are! Odd that is )

Anyway... Boing! Off springs one of them clips...

And...



Under me is a £2500 super secure roller safe... it’s bolted into the base via an electronic solenoid system that only an engineer can release. And the base is bolted into the floor under the safe... go on, guess where the spring clip went?!... Yup... into the inner depths of the safe!!... Fudge!!!



So, anyway, they’re assembled and I’ve nipped our to the garage to check how they fit (as my wings have been redesigned), and they’ll be fine, but...

... don’t look too close at the last photo... or you’ll notice the top Left bracket’s ball and socket is now secured with a bent paper-clip!!!

Lambert wrote: Necessity is the mother of invention!

Yup, my lovely assistant suggested colouring the paper clip in with a black marker pen... !

A strange day today...

I started by fitting two fluorescent tubes?! Working on the buggy the other day I'd popped one with my head! BANG! it went... no damage though, apart from thin glass everywhere... so I moved one from one of the other light fittings to carry on working... but then a few days later another one started clicking and not staying on... so, anyway, fitted two new ones so I can (kinda) see what I'm doing...

I thought I'd ease myself into the day (I always start with an easy job) by cutting the other flat steel bar that had recently arrived from eBay...



Ahh, spot the (un-)deliberate mistake?! Hmmm, how am I going to get two out of that too-short piece of 100mm flat bar?

Measure, and re-measure...



That;ll do it!



These are for the sides of the LED light pod...



So that's room for me to weld the thin outer sheet of the bonnet skin to the 'thick' 6mm flat bar, and then round it nicely afterwards...

And then... our eldest daughter appeared in the open garage sliding door... "Dad, Mum's fallen off the ladder" ?! WTF! They've been doing a spate of re-decorating, wallpapering, painting, and had been redoing the main family bathroom... and the missus had fallen backwards off a small stepladder and had smashed her head on the sink on the way down (don't worry, the sink is fine), and was wandering around looking a little dazed... Hmmm, only she was more concerned about finishing the painting?!... So I got her sat down on the bed, daughter watching her, and I ended up painting the bathroom walls and ceiling...

Happy she wasn't concussed... I returned to the garage after some brunch...



I welded the bracket that I'd whipped up on Friday to the snorkel , and then drilled and fitted rivnuts into the 'cage's A-pillar tubes, and then nipped round to the shop for a cold drink and some 8mm bolts - all my nuts and bolts are stored in the shop store room from the days of Bits4Vits... anyway, my neighbour shouted me so I crossed the road to where she lives opposite the shop... I assumed she wanted some alcohol for later, even though we weren't open... but, no, she proceeded to tell me that another customer / neighbour / friend had been found hanged overnight

So I went home to tell the missus, and sat and had a cuppa in a bit of shock...

And so returned to the garage later...



I cut the other end of the snorkel tube to the correct length and then drilled it to bolt a 45 degree bend on the end to link to the convoluted hose that will come over the top of the engine...

And then, the missus appeared... "the roller blind doesn't fit", she said, so another hour messing about with that Ended up cutting the tube with the angle grinder, and the cloth of the roller blind to suit... but as long as the Queen is happy You know how it is guys?!



I then took the snorkel tube back off, and ground and sanded it to finished quality, and took this photo of it to email to my mate who runs FloFlex Polyurethane to see if it's not too big to pop in with their usual plating, which usually consists of the insert sleeves for their polyurethane bushings...

And then I decided I'd had enough, so I finished "early" at 4:30pm and am currently raising a cold beer in memory of a lost friend.........

Edit : forgot to mention... I didn't do much welding (as planned), as I have another eye appointment tomorrow to get a needle stuck in my eye, so I avoid welding beforehand so I can do my best on the eye-test they give me first to check my progress...

or the precious sink

I woke up this morning in one of those CBA moods, and I resolved to have the day off OFF for once...

I hauled myself into work at 6am, but by 9am I was raring to get out in the garage... when my staff member arrived

Thought I'd finish the bonnet LED light bar pod ...



Lotsa welding, grinding, sabding, and a little bit of filler later...





Blimey! That turned out better than expected!



Lick of paint! I'm using red-oxide as a primer, and to see any flaws before the yellow agricultural enamel paint goes on for the final finish... it needs flatting down before then!



Ooops! Gravity has rotated the JCB healights, but you get the idea...



Time for some more CAD (Cardboard Aided Design!) to make some finishing pieces...



Super...



Final test fit of the snorkel, before to end the day I went to drop it off for eventual zinc plating when my mate's next batch goes in...

No work on the buggy on Sunday ............. I'm off greenlaning with Brett and Riccy So I do get a day off 'OFF'

So...



I'm getting there!

The passenger door is boxed in, but needs grinding / sanding / little bit of filler / finshing...
The radiator expansion bottle / windscreen washer tank / engine battery brackets are all ready to weld up and then fit...

So that'll be all the welding and grinding noisy bits done?... just as our eldest daughter heads back down south next weekend

So we're onto finishing up?... paint, lights, etc...

Eh? Sorry... What do you mean the bonnet photos are useless without the light bar in?...

Ah... go on then, I'll go and fit it (two minutes later ) ...



There you go



One more

Going back to image #9867... (Sorry, we've been binge-watching "Line of Duty" ) ...



The idea of those flat bar sections was to house the side repeaters...

You can see on the driver's side that it is clearly visible from the side -



But on the passenger side, image #1 above, it is somewhat obscured by the snorkel tube...

Hmmm, so... in the garage I posted on Brett's "Jimny Jaunts" Group WhatsApp asking the rest of the lads whether a side repeater was absolutely necessary (for the MOT), as the JCB headlights I am using have repeaters built into the side of them... but, double-checking them after posting, they too are obscured somewhat by the mud guards...

And then Statey ("Camo Jimny") said... "What about on the side of the bonnet"?... Genius! Hadn't thought of that...! SO...



If I was to holesaw through the oval tube that I've used to make the bonnet edges, I could fit these new / original Jimny side repeaters into the bonnet edges so that they are clearly visible from the sides, and re-use the new JimnyBits repeater guards I've already bought to protect them (from those pesky trees!) by folding the brackets around the oval tube top and bottom...



And bearing in mind their placement here above the mud guards, with their own guards they should be safe on the edges of the bonnet

I think I owe Statey a breakfast / Pint!