Any chance you have a picture of the bracket out of the truck?
I've never seen that on SOR's site. If fact, these are the first real good (?) pictures I've seen of the bracket. I need one.
The mule is looking fantastic.
Blue Mule resto in Malawi
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Any chance you have a picture of the bracket out of the truck?
I've never seen that on SOR's site. If fact, these are the first real good (?) pictures I've seen of the bracket. I need one.
The mule is looking fantastic.
Any chance you have a picture of the bracket out of the truck?
I've never seen that on SOR's site. If fact, these are the first real good (?) pictures I've seen of the bracket. I need one.
The mule is looking fantastic.
Talk to James at Cruiserparts.net. He can most likely find one for you...
- Thread starter
- #583
Any chance you have a picture of the bracket out of the truck?
I've never seen that on SOR's site. If fact, these are the first real good (?) pictures I've seen of the bracket. I need one.
The mule is looking fantastic.
Here's the only pic I have of the bracket by itself.
- Thread starter
- #584
DeeCee. Ground Zero.
Where they put down 2 inches of salt for every inch of snow 
road salt
Don't kid yourself Dan, the magnesium chloride they use in Colorado is at least as bad for FJ40's as plain old road salt. When they switched to magnesium chloride in Boulder, the cars seemed to me to get worse. My mother drives a 1990 4 runner that she got brand new, and it never had any rust until the switch. Now it is starting to rust at the rear wheel wells.
The only safe option in cold climates is a nice garage
Cheers,
Josh
Don't kid yourself Dan, the magnesium chloride they use in Colorado is at least as bad for FJ40's as plain old road salt. When they switched to magnesium chloride in Boulder, the cars seemed to me to get worse. My mother drives a 1990 4 runner that she got brand new, and it never had any rust until the switch. Now it is starting to rust at the rear wheel wells.
The only safe option in cold climates is a nice garage
Cheers,
Josh
- Thread starter
- #586
Don't kid yourself Dan, the magnesium chloride they use in Colorado is at least as bad for FJ40's as plain old road salt. When they switched to magnesium chloride in Boulder, the cars seemed to me to get worse. My mother drives a 1990 4 runner that she got brand new, and it never had any rust until the switch. Now it is starting to rust at the rear wheel wells.
The only safe option in cold climates is a nice garage
Cheers,
Josh
The 40 should arrive sometime in Feb-Mar, if it leaves here in Dec. It will sit in a container in Durban for 30+ days if current conditions prevail. Potentially, it could be delayed until April or later. I plan to drive the Mule from the port of Baltimore to wherever we end up renting a house, clean her up and park her until the winter weather clears and the salt is washed away. I'll have the mudders taken off and the snow & ice tires mounted just before leaving Lilongwe.
The bulk of the rust she had when I tore her down resulted from 2 Bulgarian winters, where they use a combination of mag chloride, calcium chloride, and plain old sodium chloride, plus sand, cinder, and dirt. We saw a couple of the alu body newer Land Rovers there that were showing significant corrosion from that mess. After all this work, I want to keep her as rust-free as possible.
- Thread starter
- #588
Hmmm tempting
Guess I shoulda said "unmarked container". You'll have to figure out which one
Dan,
Don't tempt Teabag- South Afrikans are extremely resourceful... just look at the great tachometer he made
I had a Subaru wagon I bought as an airport car from Tom Udall in the 1990's in New Mexico. It was absolutely rust-free. When I was based in New York with my airline, it started to rust out in just one winter. Salt is remarkable.
Josh
Don't tempt Teabag- South Afrikans are extremely resourceful... just look at the great tachometer he made
I had a Subaru wagon I bought as an airport car from Tom Udall in the 1990's in New Mexico. It was absolutely rust-free. When I was based in New York with my airline, it started to rust out in just one winter. Salt is remarkable.
Josh
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- #590
- Thread starter
- #591
Not so good
Took a breather from the madness at work and got the Mule down to the panel beater for final paint work. They kept the truck for 2 days, and did nothing.
According to my insider report, the truck was parked in the back for 2 days, then brought out and waxed inside and out the day I went to pick it up. So, I still have a very uneven paint job, with rough spots everywhere, runs, and sags. 
My insider tells me this is because the managing director, Mario Real, is still irked that the job took longer than he thought it should - since he just wanted to sand and paint - so he forbade the crew to work on it.
My source also tells me that Mario continues to be upset over the fact that I brought in my own specialty primer - the Rust Bullet - and he is really ticked that he couldn't mark that up, so he just jacked up the cost of labor and shop supplies for this job. He was also told that Mario figures this is not a big deal, since I am leaving the country soon, and he knows the truck will go with me.
This will probably backfire on him a bit - Chris has decided he will not use Mario's shop for any of his work; others in the ex-pat community who really like the truck are appalled at the uneven job I ended up with and have been spreading the word about the unprofessional work and behavior; our motor pool manager and the Brits motor pool manager have both seen the result and decided they will not send any more embassy business his way. This is a real pity, because Mario has good workers who want to do a good job...
Took a breather from the madness at work and got the Mule down to the panel beater for final paint work. They kept the truck for 2 days, and did nothing.
According to my insider report, the truck was parked in the back for 2 days, then brought out and waxed inside and out the day I went to pick it up. So, I still have a very uneven paint job, with rough spots everywhere, runs, and sags. My insider tells me this is because the managing director, Mario Real, is still irked that the job took longer than he thought it should - since he just wanted to sand and paint - so he forbade the crew to work on it.My source also tells me that Mario continues to be upset over the fact that I brought in my own specialty primer - the Rust Bullet - and he is really ticked that he couldn't mark that up, so he just jacked up the cost of labor and shop supplies for this job. He was also told that Mario figures this is not a big deal, since I am leaving the country soon, and he knows the truck will go with me.
This will probably backfire on him a bit - Chris has decided he will not use Mario's shop for any of his work; others in the ex-pat community who really like the truck are appalled at the uneven job I ended up with and have been spreading the word about the unprofessional work and behavior; our motor pool manager and the Brits motor pool manager have both seen the result and decided they will not send any more embassy business his way. This is a real pity, because Mario has good workers who want to do a good job...
- Thread starter
- #592
The lighter side
Got a phone call from the new manager at Toyota Malawi. Apparently a lot of people have seen the Blue Mule around town and out in a couple of near by villages since she is once again a daily driver. Seems several of his customers have called to ask about the new "Toyota Jeep", the blue one, they have seen out and about. They want to know if he has any in stock or on they way, because they definitely want to buy one
Now, THAT was good to hear.
And we are getting the tentative first rains of the season now - had a couple of really good showers today, so
and I are going to go looking for some mud this weekend If we get lucky, there will be pix later.
Got a phone call from the new manager at Toyota Malawi. Apparently a lot of people have seen the Blue Mule around town and out in a couple of near by villages since she is once again a daily driver. Seems several of his customers have called to ask about the new "Toyota Jeep", the blue one, they have seen out and about. They want to know if he has any in stock or on they way, because they definitely want to buy one
Now, THAT was good to hear.
And we are getting the tentative first rains of the season now - had a couple of really good showers today, so
and I are going to go looking for some mud this weekend If we get lucky, there will be pix later.
Don't dwell on the negative. I think it looks awesome! You can always fix the exterior later.
Not good news at all!
"Time" will eliminate all the minor surface imperfections anyway Dan because I believe harsh sunlight, wind and rain cause all paint surfaces to gradually "powder-away" (even if you never cut and polish them).
Well that's the reason I've used to leave all my paint efforts "exactly as sprayed".
The way I see it - This gives me a longer period before she will need repainting (because the paint starts its service life "thicker").
Dan
Its a pity the body shop owner doesnt want to fix it, but if push comes to shove - you can leave it and then when you get it home to the States - you can water paper it with some 1200 grit, then some rubbing compound - then a good polish and you'll never see it again.
Its a pity the body shop owner doesnt want to fix it, but if push comes to shove - you can leave it and then when you get it home to the States - you can water paper it with some 1200 grit, then some rubbing compound - then a good polish and you'll never see it again.
- Thread starter
- #597
Exactly right!
It's a pity, but doesn't affect how it drives.Not good news at all!
"Time" will eliminate all the minor surface imperfections anyway Dan because I believe harsh sunlight, wind and rain cause all paint surfaces to gradually "powder-away" (even if you never cut and polish them).
Well that's the reason I've used to leave all my paint efforts "exactly as sprayed".
The way I see it - This gives me a longer period before she will need repainting (because the paint starts its service life "thicker").
Not the worst thing that could happen, and paint can be fixed.
Yep. Completely fixable. In the meantime, I figure
and I will 
and if it gets the hoped for African pinstripes, it won't hurt, and I can remove them later - if I want to I better check the immobilizer - I haven't hooked that back up yet.Overall, we're just glad to have the Blue Mule back on and off the road again
And it still looks good enough that people are starting to ask after Toyota's "latest" foray into the 4x4 market in Africa
Looking for mud this weekend!
- Thread starter
- #598
Well, dang! Double dang!!
We're are taking some time for one last safari before we leave Malawi. We'll leave Friday. I have the Blue Mule all ready to go - thinking this is gonna be great! The mule in it's natural environment again (which is to say any place without "improved" roads, or maybe any roads at all). BUT....
seems there is a petrol shortage in that part of Zambia, and in fact all through this area, especially bad at the Zambia/Malawi border. I can't carry enough fuel for the ten day trip, including the run to/from Lilongwe. I have only 5 20 liter cans, and can borrow 5 more, but at the rate the mule "sips" fuel, especially in 4WD, I calculate that I can only carry enough to get us to S Luangwa Nkwali Camp, and out for a little over half the distance we plan to cover (walking and driving, camping safari). So, I'll use the Pajero instead, since there is no diesel shortage right now. I'll still carry 10 cans, because the camp charges a LOT if I fuel up there. I'm still checking every source I can, but if the petrol shortage doesn't ease by Thursday evening, I just can't take the chance of not finding fuel.
Hope to get a few good pix to post, regardless. We're really looking forward to the trip.
We're are taking some time for one last safari before we leave Malawi. We'll leave Friday. I have the Blue Mule all ready to go - thinking this is gonna be great! The mule in it's natural environment again (which is to say any place without "improved" roads, or maybe any roads at all). BUT....
seems there is a petrol shortage in that part of Zambia, and in fact all through this area, especially bad at the Zambia/Malawi border. I can't carry enough fuel for the ten day trip, including the run to/from Lilongwe. I have only 5 20 liter cans, and can borrow 5 more, but at the rate the mule "sips" fuel, especially in 4WD, I calculate that I can only carry enough to get us to S Luangwa Nkwali Camp, and out for a little over half the distance we plan to cover (walking and driving, camping safari). So, I'll use the Pajero instead, since there is no diesel shortage right now. I'll still carry 10 cans, because the camp charges a LOT if I fuel up there. I'm still checking every source I can, but if the petrol shortage doesn't ease by Thursday evening, I just can't take the chance of not finding fuel.
Hope to get a few good pix to post, regardless.
We're really looking forward to the trip.
Great job on the cruiser man!! I feel for you on the paint but like others have said you can deal with that later. Hopefully someone punches that shop owner in the mouth for ya!! haha Good luck on the fuel shortage. Keep the pics coming!! Mark
Hope you can go in the 40 !