Halfords Dog-Taxi

Hi everyone, thought it's about time I introduced myself and my girls.

Hello from South Tyneside .... that place where the Great North Run ends and that "nice boy" Joe Mcelderry (X-Factor) resides.

Girl No.2 - The Gris


Girl No.3 - The Gris Wagon


and not forgetting Girl No.1's wheels .... The Rav4 Reebok


As many know already, I'm not an off-roader .... currently a Dog Taxi, have taken out the back seats and laid some marine ply.


The first thing I did was to change the front speakers - has made the sound good enough for me.

Have also fitted an alarm with ultrasonics and linked the alarm remote to work the central locking.

Replaced the standard toot-toot horn with 2 horns - one high, one low, a bit more scary now :evil:

The studs that held the rear seat backs are quite handy


when I'm passing an electrical trade supplier, I'll pick up a couple of elec cable steel conduit fittings like this, as they look ideal for sliding over those bolts. In case you're wondering, it's so I can bungee strap the weekly shop down.


I've stuck on rear bumper protectors and a hairdresser's bar .... I'm sure I'll get some stick for this, but at the time I was concerned that some of the "pond life" that live in my cul-de-sac would scuff the back end (like they did on my last ride)


so I did the front as well


and the sides


and yes .. I did get carried away and added some bling ... I'm so sorry, I really don't know what I was thinking, but I'm OK now. :sick:


I stuck on some Wispa Bars


then some wind deflectors ... but I got the girlie ones by mistake, wanted the big ones.


and I put some bolt-on pedal plates ... anyone with long legs will be aware of the problem of driving with your legs wide-open and after doggy walking, my wet boots kept slipping of the little pedal rubbers. Note, I had to put the clutch pedal on upside down as the surface is a bit too grippy.


and finally, here's the spare :blink:


Have placed a forward order for the new General Grabber AT 205/75R15's - coming at the end of July.

Very nice, we have no problem with shiny bling, all Jimnys are welcome here!

bumper protectors are nice - not seen them before

Very nice

That spare looks familiar... is the wear on the outside edge ? My left hand front wore in exactly the same way, killed the outer edge and the rest were OK. Tracking was fine, I think it had spent all it's life in town going round roundabouts before I had it ! Might be worth getting the little rubber inserts for your pedals that push into the holes for MOT time; some testers seem to think it's a fail if there's no rubber on the pedals :huh: Found that one out the hard way when I had them in my Subaru a few years back...

Our Ridgeback would be jealous of that, he makes do with (all) of the backseat :laugh: Me + Girlfriend + dog x weekly shop = domestic usually. Maybe should do something similar :laugh:

We'll need to know how you get on with the new AT's when you get them.

Thanks

Yes the wear is on the outside edge - after reading somewhere .........

you can't adjust the alignment of wheels on a rigid axis. From the factory, they're perfectly set, but if the beam gets even slightly distorted, you can't adjust the wheels to compensate

. I'm a little concerned as I'd guess they would have kept the "best" old front tyre as the spare !

Didn't know that about the pedals needing rubber :pinch: could stick a bit of cut-up dueler on, but that could be dangerous in the wet.

Male Rigdeback, nice .... so I guess you don't need an alarm
Only one domestic a week ...... what's your secret :huh:

I'd take the chance going for the test mate or just ask them first , I might of just got a muppet when the Subaru was tested The same guy also failed someone else with a XR2 mk2 that had just been rebuilt for a petrol leak because he could "smell petrol" but there wasn't an actual leak i.e. not a fail... He didn't answer when asked if it was maybe from the tank breather pipe

Def no need for an alarm, anyone about outside the house where it sits gets shouted at from the living room window :laugh: and nobody goes near it when paked up with him in it :laugh: Mates got 2 female Ridgebacks, some muppet tried to break into his house... you can imagine what happened next :woohoo: The guy was last seen bolting up the street with the 2 of them hot on his heels :laugh: The dogs came back looking rather please with themselves

Anymore plans for your Gris Wagon ?

The Gris Wagon plans

imminent (on order) - new General Grabber ATs 205/75/15 :woohoo:

near future - Waxoyl treatment - what does anyone think of these ?

near future - rear window tints :whistle:

1 years time - S/S exhaust

5 years time - ORA front and rear bumpers

6 years time - new boot layout
- slightly raised false internal floor with pull-out extending ramp, for the Gris to walk up when she's unable to jump in anymore ............ Ahhhh

8 years time - suspension lift, arches, big wheels, rock sliders, roll cage, winch, spots and a couple of Dobermans in the back ........... grown men will scream in terror as I park next to them, women will cover their childrens eyes :evil:





..... yeh maybe I'm getting carried away now :dry:

I like the one in those pictures, obviously without the chrome bits.
From the front, well fit!

K

SPC5838 wrote

Might be worth getting the little rubber inserts for your pedals that push into the holes for MOT time; some testers seem to think it's a fail if there's no rubber on the pedals Found that one out the hard way when I had them in my Subaru a few years back...

cheers Donald, just checked out www.motester.co.uk and it appears the MOT only considers the brake pedal (as it's part of the braking system) - "Footbrake - pedal rubber not worn to excess" - that was stroke of luck then :woohoo:

other bits that may be of interest -

• the spare wheel and tyre are not examined in the MOT
• removing an anti-roll bar which was originally fitted to the vehicle is now a reason for MOT failure

Happy days ! I thought that muppet that failed the Scooby was at it ! Removing the anti rollbars being a fail will upset a few folks, hope they've kept them sounds like disconnects will be getting popular !

You wouldn't have to worry about the locals bumping it with ORA bumpers anyway :laugh: They'd only do it once Shame the bumpers on that black one aren't available in the UK (I think ?) there's loads of styling gear that is actually functional ( i.e. not just cosmetic ) on the Japenese sites but nobody sells it here, serious £££££ to buy and import it, probably why Do like the front end on those Jap versions.

Today fitted some rear speakers

Clarion SRQ-1330R 3-way 130mm


they needed some new holes drilled

and as they're 3 way, they protrude slighly and "just" fit behind the grilles with the rear panels put back on.

however, the right hand side was trickier to fit as the seat belt mechanism (one bolt and one screw - simple) had to be removed to get my hand down the back to hold the clips


the sound is excellent (well as good as possible using the standard Jimny clarion unit). :woohoo:

if anyone's considering upgrading speakers - fit rear speakers first, they're actually located closer to your lugs than the fronts and have "space" to push their sound into the cabin (unlike the footwells).

halfords - is the wiring actually there for the rear speakers then?

i always wondered that when i had my first jimny

will def be fitting them to the next one if its an easy diy