[tmarx]

That is where you guys are so lucky Rob. We never had the 40 in ZA and so we can't just order replacement body parts locally - hence we overkill and hope for the best

[tlc_4play]

Theo

Its looking great ! !

But you really gotta pull finger if you want it ready for our Legends Kalahari Trip.

Question:- Will you be putting that pipe snorkel back on or did you have the cut-out in the panel filled.

[tmarx]

Originally Posted by tlc_4play

Theo

Its looking great ! !

But you really gotta pull finger if you want it ready for our Legends Kalahari Trip.

Question:- Will you be putting that pipe snorkel back on or did you have the cut-out in the panel filled.

LOL ! Didn't fill it Keith, so the snorkel will go back, pipe or no pipe ! I can't do much untill I get the the tub and frame back so I can't see myself being finished in time for the Legends trip, unfortunately

[tmarx]

Time for an update: Some of the panels being prepped for the dummy coat ....





Stone Chip already sprayed on the underside of the front fenders









Dummy coat going on ....











Small "repairs"to imperfections as highlighted by the dummy coat





Gordon and his guys miss nothing!

[tmarx]

Some panels got their final coats and are ready to be wet-sanded etc ....












Today Hennie and I started with the Stone-Chip underneath the tub.The plan was to do 2 entire coats ...













The firewall we will do with a conventional gun for a smooth finish ...







Eventually we had to give it up as that stuff takes too long to dry.Now we will head back there in the morning to do the 2nd coat of Stone-Chip.

[land cruiser kid]

That is some nice place you're doing the work in. You should see what I'm putting up with. Nice work

[tmarx]

Thanks ! When the previous beater dropped me I was forced to make alternative arrangements and these guys have been great in allowing me to almost realise the initial DIY idea ....


This morning we baked it for about an hour before we did the entire 2nd coat using a conventional gun.












Had some cheap manual labour to help with the un-masking






Tomorrow morning it will get some colour over the stone-chip.





I had done some filler work on a few small bits previously and couldn't wait to see how they would turn out. Pretty happy with most of the results ...

[tmarx]

Happiness is .......



collecting and taking your tub and chassis home !


























Now the real fun starts

[corbinwelter]

what a beaut!!!

[tlc_4play]

At last ! ! Nice Theo

Now you can start burning the midnight oil

[BELMONT148]

Awesome build. Love the engine choice.

Jeremy

[DanS HJ-45]

Just to make sure we're on the same page here: that is beautiful.

Carry on.

Dan

[tmarx]

Thanks guys, much appreciated !

[tmarx]

With the tub back on the real work could start. One of my concerns was getting the main tank back in while the tub was on. Initially I had planned on fitting the tank to the tub before putting the tub back on the chassis but unfortunately things don't always work out the way you plan ...


The tank was in perfect condition but very dirty from the aussie desert dust and in dire need of a good clean and paint.












For some reason mine had metal spacers for the straps.






I replaced these and all the felt material with heavy duty threaded rubber of various thickness, which I glued in place






Getting it back in place proved to be a real challenge ...






All done ...

[Roberto]

Theo

I was planning on doing the same thing with the tank and I remembered it was a bear to get the tank out in the first place. question , in your wheel well areas my body shop wanted to know if I wanted to spray those areas the same color as body (white) or leave the rockgard/ stonechip black finish? I see you went with the body color in which I like and wil do the same, did you spray the stonechip in those areas and then paint over with body color? Looks great I bet your chomping at the bit now. I want to get my tank back in so I can try and crank the engine. Mine has three shims for gas tank as well, 2-thick and 1-thin, do you have pics of where you put those and what side got 2 shims?

Rob

[tmarx]

Rob, mine initially had 3 spacers all on the pax(LHD) side but after I was finished , it had 2 thick spacers on the pax(LHD)side with a thinner one on the driver's side(RHD) .

2nd. I coated the Stone chip with colour as I wanted to be able to see the first sighn of oil leaks and thus went for colour.

3rd.My pax(lhd) side still took 2 thick spacers as compared to the 1 thin (driver's)side spacer - same as before

[Roberto]

Thank you brother I will save the info, got my top tore apart today, put pics in 40 series section

Rob

[tmarx]

Started fitting the Hell Creek springs ...





The new springs are quite a bit longer than the old ones





They also droop much further.I had to remove the shocks to get the axle onto the springs. New shocks are definately on the cards ...





All done





I started the rear ...








.. but ran into a snag with the shackle plates. I had earlier model shackles in the rear but I didn't want to go the custom bushes route again. I managed to find a set of later model greasable pins that fit on the threaded holes in the plates. The non-threaded holes just needs to be drilled 2mm bigger. Unfortunately my biggest drill-bit was still 1mm to small,so tomorrow I will go shopping again

[Teebag]

looking good

[tlc_4play]

Well done Theo - Slowly coming together

[marks69cruiser]

Amazing build. I am incredibly jealous! Keep up the great work!

[tmarx]

Thanks guys, much appreciated !


Well after work today, I finished up converting the early model Haystee shackles into later model ones, by fitting OME greasable pins - heeha no more custom pink bushes.

With that done it was just a case of fitting the springs ..






...dropping the axle back onto the springs ...






..and the result ...







Those 31" tyres now look decidedly tiny. Time to redo the rims and fit those new 33" that have been gathering dust !







I gained 5.5 cm lift in the front and 6cm in the rear but I suspect it will settle a bit as I continue to add the weight to it. Overall I like the product and the look

[cruiser enthuiser]

Awesome build man....have I mentioned I love the color? Keep it up!

[M5driver]

What??? No more pink bushes?

How will we know it's you, Theo?



Superb work, BTW

[tmarx]

LOL Dan !

Thanks guys

[tmarx]

Between sourcing parts , waiting for the yellow passivating and some home renovations to keep happy, progress has been very slow, ... frustratingly so !
Some before and after pics tells a story ...

[Roberto]

awesome job Theo, keepit going!!!

Rob

[tmarx]

Progress has been slow ....










































Spot the problem ?

[tmarx]

I am slowly getting used to the "same old , same old" routine of rebuild/clean , prep, paint, watch paint dry and then fit ....


















I had a problem with one of the isolators of the glow system and needed to find a part, preferably local.














Luckily JB helped and we found that the OEM 3L(2.8L) motor uses the exact same part as my 3B !















Today I discovered that whoever replaced the ones on my vehicle in Aus, had mixed them up and fitted the wrong one at the bottom, which kinda explains the reason why it was crushed ...









Correct one at the bottom


















I was also waiting for a small part in order to finish a few other things ......























Somehow this breather tank cover just didn't "feel" right but Keith will probably say it was just me being anal gain ..







So I sourced some rubber to round things off a bit ...

[cruiser enthuiser]

I like it. Go ahead and be anal - it's your rig! You're doing a great job putting that thing back to together. Looking forward to seeing it complete and back in action.