Blue Mule resto in Malawi

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Hobbs said:
NO, no, no... You can't sell that 'Cruiser!! That would be very wrong after everything you have done here. Don't sell her now.
Click to expand...

Hobbs,
No worries - the Blue Beast is not the same rig as the Blue Mule (I'm starting to see a trend here) :D The Beast is up for sale, mostly because of the expense of flying her back to the states. It's more than I want to/can spend right now. If the Beast sells, good; if not, that's OK, too. I'll just have to plan a trip to Scotland at a (much) later date to plan the North Atlantic run.

:cheers:
 
Dan,

I've thought about that trip a lot myself, although more from the US-Oz perspective. I think the US-Oz is a better way to go because you can avoid all of the Middle East by going down Russia, through China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Darwin, Alice, Adelaide.

From the UK, Europe would be a breeze (if an expensive breeze). The old Soviet Republics would not be too bad, but all of the 'Stans could be a bit tricky. From the picture of your M-5, it looks like it has a G registration. I can use my Aussie passport, and we just might be able to get through some the 'Stans without getting shot... but I think I would investigate going through Russia into Kazakhstan, China, then Laos. Once you got to Thailand, things would ease up a bit, and then you would follow the same track as I just mentioned for the US-Oz.

What do you say- shall we do it??!!:clap::clap::D Just think of the thread we could write up...

Cheers,

Josh
 
M5driver said:
Can't have too many pix, right? :D

Here are more of the panels and parts under Rust Bullet. The tub and fenders are getting body filler over the welds now; I hope to have photos of them in another day or two. That will finally finish the RB part of the painting.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the revival Dan but I need some help please. After we finished the cutting and welding, I was forced(don't ask:mad:) to move the rest of my body work part of the rebuild to a prominent body shop for the blasting, beating , filler work and final painting etc. Did you guys apply the filler directly to the Rust Bullet or did you "prime" it with a sandable primer first ? What type of filler/primer did you use ? I did read on the RB site that you can apply filler/primer directly to RB but I wanted to get your 1st hand experience also please ? Any additional advice is also most welcome
 
tmarx said:
Sorry for the revival Dan but I need some help please. After we finished the cutting and welding, I was forced(don't ask:mad:) to move the rest of my body work part of the rebuild to a prominent body shop for the blasting, beating , filler work and final painting etc. Did you guys apply the filler directly to the Rust Bullet or did you "prime" it with a sandable primer first ? What type of filler/primer did you use ? I did read on the RB site that you can apply filler/primer directly to RB but I wanted to get your 1st hand experience also please ? Any additional advice is also most welcome
Click to expand...

Hi, Theo.

I had the filler applied directly over the RB, after a light sanding. If the RB is on for more than 72 hours, it is recommended to do a light sanding before applying filler or other coatings like primer, paint and so on. In my case, I just had the panel beater apply their primer over the RB on large panels before it had sat more than about 24-48 hours so resolve that issue. After 72 hours, the RB is really well cured and hard, so it doesn't hold paint or filler well, hence the light sanding. The bits that needed filler got completely sanded with 1000-1200 grit paper. So far, it seems to have worked well. We also put a final coat of RB over the filled areas before priming with the standard primer.

FWIW, it looks like I will finally have a warm, dry weekend (and no grass to mow ;) this time) so I hope to work on the Mule and get the rear drive shaft cleaned up and back on. I really need to get her on the road so I can check out the details left hanging. I'll start a new thread or two when I do that.

Best to all in LCCSA and our friends here on MUD :):)

:cheers: and :beer::beer:
Dan
 
I just discovered this thread and read the whole thing. What a great story. Couldn't stop reading. Amazing work. I have the same year 40, so your descriptions and pictures were extremely helpful for me. Thank you tons for sharing. Looking forward to reading more about your journeys. I miss flying too. Cheers.
 
It has taken way too long, but the Blue Mule is rolling again :bounce:

Got the damage to the original drive shaft repaired - Dremeled the bashed up areas so it fits flush again. (sorry, no pics of the repaired one yet. I'll post something when I take it back off to paint.)Still plan to get a replacement, in case I encounter any problems with this one.

I checked my previous posts - forgot to mention the busted stainless flex line in the rear. The guy who hauled the truck here from the Port of Baltimore wrapped a chain over the flex line and cranked it down hard. Snapped the flex line after it stretched or straightened the hard line. I thought I'd be able to get a replacement from the local NAPA, but the guy there told me they don't handle the flexible lines, only the hard lines. So, I ordered one up from SOR. I was concerned about the hardline, but no leaks and I was able to reshape the straightened section without doing too much violence. I plan to replace all the hardlines anyway - just hadn't planned to do it so soon. :rolleyes:

I see I didn't get all that red Malawi mud off the bottom of the Mule :whoops: - that's not rust in the photos.
Brake-line-1.webp
brake-line-2.webp
Brake-line-3.webp
 
I also replaced the cracked dash pad and put a new battery in it today. She fired right up. It sure felt good to drive it around the block a couple of times.

I still have some small issues to resolve - one locking hub that slips out of the "free" position, a vibration that comes on at about 40 mph (wheel balance? driveshaft? bad angle on the rear shaft after removing one leaf from the springs?), new 33x9.5 tires as soon as I can get them... but she's running again. :bounce2::steer::steer::steer:

:princess: is happy to have "her" truck again.

I will close this thread now (no, really :D) and address the above issues in new threads. Maybe this one is ready for the "buildup threads section on MUD.

:cheers:
 
Theo,
Sorry - I don't recall the brand. I only remember that it was a good quality product brought in from SA. It might have been an SA product or an import. It wasn't Bondo. I think it was a two part product - paste and hardener. Sorry I can't be more help. :rolleyes:

Dan
 
Thanks for the bump. Sorry about the long hiatus in the Blue Mule saga. Internet in Togo was really bad.

FWIW, the Blue Mule and I retired to Arizona this year - me in May; the Mule took a few months to get there from Togo. I plan to do a bit of clean up and maintenance and have it on the trail again by spring.

I'm currently in Kenya visiting :princess: who is doing her final assignment here before she can retire. It seems her 10Mbps fiber connection to the 'net in Nairobi far outstrips my "high-speed" DSL connection at home, but I plan to post updates from time to time anyway.

:cheers: to all!
Dan
 
Good to hear from you Dan. A few pics of the Mule in her new retirement livery with an Az plate would be fitting. how did she fair in Togo? Will you have any more rust to deal with?

Lexie is now in Santa Fe with me, so perhaps we need to meet up one day over a beer and a burger.
 
Bumping up this excellent thread!

I high-lighted it on this thread... because I do think it is one of the best stories / builds here in MUD...

Any updates Dan? Would be awesome to see some new pictures!
 
hecrod said:
Bumping up this excellent thread!

I high-lighted it on this thread... because I do think it is one of the best stories / builds here in MUD...

Any updates Dan? Would be awesome to see some new pictures!
Click to expand...

TKS, Hecrod.

Since I got retarded...ahh, I mean RETIRED, and got the Mule back here from Togo, I have spent most of my time, energy, and money on rebuilding our current retirement home. The Blue Mule has had regular small workouts, but not a lot of real trail time. I had an ignition issue to sort out (the failing spark igniter, now in the unobtainium category). As soon as I found my used trail spare amongst the boxes and boxes of stuff in the garage, that issue was resolved, but I still plan to build my own new trail spare. I'll post that with pics when I finally have time to do it (next year?). I hope to have the house rebuild/remodel done by about March-April, then hope to get the Mule out for more regular runs. The rust on the tub and fenders has returned and will have to be attended to, so I am planning a less extensive tear down and rust repair next year. In the meantime, we still manage to put a few trail miles on it each month.

Recently, the Mule and original 2F - maintained, but not yet rebuilt - turned over 222,222point2 miles... quite a milestone for a grand vehicle.

More as it happens.
Dan

222222point2-jpg.1141420
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom