Wayne, it looks incredible and I dream of my surf mobile one day having that drive ability, style and power of your creation. I am working towards it with help from this build.
Could I ask you get that bad boy outside and get some photos in the sun. It was created for the outback and not for the garage!
Good luck on the drive. I am a road trip man and am envious of the trip out west.
This is the dream build! Just spent 4 hours reading the entire thread. If you don't mind a request can you please post the final performance/evaluation of roadability/mpg. Congratultions and maybe someday......
Man oh man...
The truck isn't done, yet.
I wanted to give the truck a once over before driving it outside for the test run.
But
I went to fasten the seat belt and... The one end wasn't fixed down yet. One of those jobs "it will take an hour, I will do it later" and later is now. And it wasn't an hour; it was 4 hours and still not done. The driver’s side is easy, make a bracket and bolt it down. But the passenger side has to go up over the fuel tank so a bit more complicated.
Of course now I noticed the fuel door still sitting on the shelf so I need to mount it.
Then there is the license plate for the rear with light, now the basket is set up for the plate but the wiring would be exposed to the brush so I mounted it under the swing out. This provides for a short wire and a protected spot for the light.
The VSV would not disengage the t/case so I had to diagnose this problem. Simple fix once the problem was fount. The one VSV is set up in reverse so I had to modify the routing and all is good. It is quick engage and quick disengage, similar idea to the e/locker switching.
While I am working on the seats I notice that the drivers seat travels too far back and the latching could come off the pegs so out comes the seat to add a "stop" to the travel.
the safety catch for the hood...
i had to allow for the latch thickness, the depth of the lip to make the hood bumpers the right height...
perfection!!
it holds the hood tight, the latch clears the front custom grill protector.
well tomorrow the truck will get its shake down run (the drive train traveled all the way from Alberta to Ontario so there should be no issues at all). i do know it is over fueling a bit but it hauled ass coming down and now with the intercooler... life should be rocking!!
then on the trailer.
if i post pics of it loaded then it is done and i am on the road.
oh, as for taking pics in the sun... it ahs been raining here for the last 7 days and tomorrow isn't looking any better. maybe on the drive out i will find some nice back ground and some sun to accomplish that.
BTW, your license plate light is exactly the one I use as an interior light in my 78. Believe it or not, you can make a thin mounting plate that slips inside the washer access hole at the top of the windshield frame and then screw this light to the mounting plate without drilling any holes in the frame. I don't know what years had the access plug next the rearview mirror, but I know 78 did. I wired mine into a switch on the dash so I can have light when the hard top is removed.
Coffee, nothing beats Timmy's but i can give Starbucks a try...
shoot me your phone number direct to wayne@crushersrule.com and if i have time i will hook up...
cheers
Wow, what a great build! The finished product looks brilliant, with a few trick bits and pieces bolted on to make it tougher. I like the locker engagement panel! Great job mate.
My guess is that the snowplow is working as a stone shield for the drive down. You can absolutely ruin a nice car/truck towing behind something that throws stones or sand.
