Finally preparing the rig

"Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction" (rustholes-are-weight-reduction)
03/21/2016 at 10:19 • Filed to: None

I finally made some progress on my Pajero!

Try working with a constantly present dog

Some time ago I made a post asking for advice for the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! I plan on doing in may (thanks for your tips btw).

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

In the meantime, I had lots of work, leaving me little to no time to prepare the car.

The main point on the to do list was the roof tent.
I was looking at different options including the tents sold on Ebay.
Those were sold by different sellers under different names but looked very similar. Basically they all sell the same cheap chinese crap with a different logo on it (with prices going from 990 to 1600€).
I even considered building one myself, using a normal tent, some boards and hinges.
After a few weeks of searching the internet for all different options (DIY sites, forums, ebay, classifieds) I finally found something interesting. A classified with no photos, no dimensions, no model name, just a misspelled brand name. But it was only 15 minutes away from work, so I went to check it out. It was fitted on defender roof mounts, which were way too wide for my small Pajero, but other than that, it was almost perfect. It’s 5 years old, been used 3 times, and cost me a fraction of the original price. So I strapped it to the roof and took it home.

Roof tent: check

Now I only have to build a roof rack to make it a bit more usable.

With that out of the way, I concentrated on the steering. While checking all the components, I saw that the used idler arm I installed has a little bit of play, I might put a new one in. The sway bar bushings also need to be replaced. But I also noticed that most of the play I had came from the steering box, and I could fix it with a flathead screwdriver and a wrench. I should have done this a long time before...

The next thing was soundproofing.
Last weekend, despite the efforts of my dog to distract me, I took the time to strip the interior, put on asphalt mats and cell foam to the floor and rear wheel wells, and put everything together except for the rear bench. The rear seats will be replaced by storage compartments. I took it for a spin and it was still really loud inside, so I will try to do the same treatment to the hood and the firewall.

We shall ride eternal, shiny and chrome!

Only 5 weekends left!

DISCUSSION (5)

KatzManDu > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/21/2016 at 11:24

Looks awesome. Good luck!

Did you ever buy the 1960s Chevy?

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > KatzManDu
03/21/2016 at 12:10

I have checked the chevy out, but it had lots of issues that render it a bad choice.
First of all, it’s an I6 that has been converted to a V8. In France, swapping an engine officially will cost you a lot of time and money, and doing it unofficially can revoke your insurance in case of an accident. This will also affect the resale value.
Then there was the rust. The surface rust was not a problem, since that was the look I was going for. but the floor pans had been cut out and repaired poorly, and in the trunk, the joints between the sheet metal were rusty and it was difficult to tell how attacked they were before sandblasting.
The fuel tank was rusty inside, So it had to be either cleaned or replaced.
It had damage on most body parts, the windshield had bubbles in it and was scratched, the wiper motor was missing, and a lot of other small issues.

To drive it as a rat rod, the minimum would have been to clean the fuel tank. I considered doing that, but than I looked up what it would cost to restore it completely. The parts alone would cost around 15000€ with shipping and taxes, so it would be a 27000€ car with the wrong engine in it.

I made an offer on the base of driving it as a rat rod, but the seller declined. It is still for sale though.
I found a 1959 model for 19900€ that I’m going to check out in the near future, maybe that will be the one.

KatzManDu > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/21/2016 at 13:53

Oh, wow. Gotcha. In Belgium you can get away with registering it as an “old-timer” which means you get a cursory CT and they don’t worry about the Certificate of Conformity.

Scotchead > Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction
03/22/2016 at 09:00

In my house, you open the door of a vehicle, you are telling the dogs it is ride time! Mine would be in the passenger seat waiting impatiently for me to finish the silly stuff and start driving. Good luck with your project

Rustholes-Are-Weight-Reduction > Scotchead
03/22/2016 at 10:29

Same thing here, 90% of the time I use the Pajero, she’s in the back, sticking her head out the windows to enjoy the wind.
Thanks, there is still a lot of work to get it travel-ready