- Thread starter
- #501
^ not a frequently used mod; but when I need something from the glovebox and its o-dark thirty it sure eliminates cussing 
Featured 100 - spressomon (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter spressomon
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #502
Also finally got around to distancing myself from the butt ugly color on my '03 OEM 18's...using the Plasti-Dip spray recommendations from the 100 section thread about same. I ordered the "charcoal" color but would have preferred no blue tint to it...but better than before and simple enough to redo if/when necessary (right after my next big rock trail explore )
The playing card trick for masking off between tire and wheel was a fantastic tip for this job! And the Plasti-Dip even did a commendable job of covering some of the rock rash I accumulated.
)The playing card trick for masking off between tire and wheel was a fantastic tip for this job! And the Plasti-Dip even did a commendable job of covering some of the rock rash I accumulated.
Nice! Those don't look bad at all!
Spressomon, do you have any pictures of the wheels on the cruiser you could share? This might end up being a fathers day gift to myself.
- Thread starter
- #505
^ taken this morning. Had I known the blue/green-ish color of their "charcoal" I would have just gone black...next time 
Maybe with dirt on them they'll look better under the Bronze Metallic...
Maybe with dirt on them they'll look better under the Bronze Metallic...
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
That looks super sharp. How did you clean and prep the aluminum?
- Thread starter
- #507
Sanded down the nasty rock rash...then scrubbed the wheels using Meguiar's wheel cleaner...then used the wheel cleaner/prep from DipYourCar (kit form). The downside to using Plasti-Dip on wheels: I don't think rock rash can be touched up...will see. But it can easily be peeled off...so this is more/less a test.
The entire job was done in about 1/2 day's time. >30 minutes between each coat of Plasti-Dip is called for...which worked perfectly for the 4 coats I put on these.
The entire job was done in about 1/2 day's time. >30 minutes between each coat of Plasti-Dip is called for...which worked perfectly for the 4 coats I put on these.
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- Thread starter
- #508
A usage note about the playing card trick: Deflate the tire to zero psi. Gently push on the tire, near the bead/wheel lip area, when inserting the cards...just be careful not to unseat the tire
After the paint is dry...then do the opposite: I used the handle end of a large hammer to push/flex the bead area of the tire...and that allowed complete, clean and easy removal of the cards. Perfect masked line!
After the paint is dry...then do the opposite: I used the handle end of a large hammer to push/flex the bead area of the tire...and that allowed complete, clean and easy removal of the cards. Perfect masked line!
When the plastidip is damaged smooth it out with xylene and then respray. The anthrecite is also a nice color as it has some reflectivity due to the metal particles in the spray.
- Thread starter
- #510
^ good tip...thanks!
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The wheels look great D. Good use of the cards.. I'll have to steal that prep idea.
J
J
Looks great. I was able to slide cards in enough without airing down. Obviously, you'll need to touch them up pretty often. Plastidip doesn't hold up very well. It pretty much jumps off the wheel when you even get near a rock. I get pretty lazy about doing it because it does rash up so easily. They'll never look better than they did when you first finished.
Thanks! I've been wondering how that would look on the black truck. I suppose there's only one way to find out...
- Thread starter
- #514
Front shock tune update.
Since putting the 1" wheel spacers back on front, earlier this spring, the rebound damping in my front mounted Fox 2.0 (w/ remotes) shocks felt too weak.
Apart of overhauling the shocks and retuning the compression side earlier this spring I also went from the prior blue colored Fox shock oil to their latest formula which is now red in color. The new red fluid felt a little lighter viscosity, in hand, even though it's supposed to be the same. Whether it was the increased leverage on the shock from the additional 30mm of track width, the seemingly lighter viscosity of the new red colored Fox oil or maybe a combination of both it was apparent I needed to increase the rebound damping.
So yesterday I installed a #80 rebound shim stack and removed the #60 of same. After test driving the spressoWAGON around town today the improvement was very noticeable and considerably improved with less front suspension roll and lift/dive. All in all it feels great. I'm curious to feel if the #80 stack will be adequate when in loaded touring mode/weight.
But the stack is easy enough to swap out...taking only about 1-hour total time.
Another layer of shock tune experience for me
Since putting the 1" wheel spacers back on front, earlier this spring, the rebound damping in my front mounted Fox 2.0 (w/ remotes) shocks felt too weak.
Apart of overhauling the shocks and retuning the compression side earlier this spring I also went from the prior blue colored Fox shock oil to their latest formula which is now red in color. The new red fluid felt a little lighter viscosity, in hand, even though it's supposed to be the same. Whether it was the increased leverage on the shock from the additional 30mm of track width, the seemingly lighter viscosity of the new red colored Fox oil or maybe a combination of both it was apparent I needed to increase the rebound damping.
So yesterday I installed a #80 rebound shim stack and removed the #60 of same. After test driving the spressoWAGON around town today the improvement was very noticeable and considerably improved with less front suspension roll and lift/dive. All in all it feels great. I'm curious to feel if the #80 stack will be adequate when in loaded touring mode/weight.
But the stack is easy enough to swap out...taking only about 1-hour total time.
Another layer of shock tune experience for me
- Thread starter
- #515
Yet another reason why I do 99% of the work on my rig...
So, back in 2010 apart of a great Explore Utah trip, the OEM front passenger side anti-sway bracket ripped from the frame; not a very stout design #1 and rust corrosion #2 accelerated its demise.
So after returning home I left the spressoWAGON in what I thought were capable enough hands: With Sam Cothrun aka SAMCO in Reno. Now Sam's pedigree is impressive enough with stints working as an employee fabber at Rod Hall Racing, building, driving and racing his own desert trucks including Baja too. So you'd think a guy like that would have been capable enough...
The new bracket he fabbed is much heavier duty than what Toyota gives us and should withstand the test of time...but probably won't survive the plasma cutter to come
.
I couldn't quite figure out why I have been experiencing so many worn front anti-sway bar struts (beno wonders too
)...they chafe where the eyelet of the ASB meets the riser...and now its easy to see why! Sam welded his new ASB bracket to the frame too rearward...completely missing the centerline of the riser. Hopefully this is the last fix-over from the jobs I've paid hard earned $$$ to perform on my rig.
So...the lesson of the day: For those of you that have a modicum of fab skills and based upon my vast experiences of paying other's for their so called expertise, I highly encourage you to take the next step and fix your own junk. For those of you close to Slee Offroad and Mudrak...consider yourselves lucky and blessed as they are in rarified air indeed!
After all the diff, shock mount, ASB brackets, etc., I've had to redo its a complete head scratcher how guys like Sam Cothrun even get to the starting line...let alone the finish line and in route. Sam if you read this:
Rant over.
So, back in 2010 apart of a great Explore Utah trip, the OEM front passenger side anti-sway bracket ripped from the frame; not a very stout design #1 and rust corrosion #2 accelerated its demise.
So after returning home I left the spressoWAGON in what I thought were capable enough hands: With Sam Cothrun aka SAMCO in Reno. Now Sam's pedigree is impressive enough with stints working as an employee fabber at Rod Hall Racing, building, driving and racing his own desert trucks including Baja too. So you'd think a guy like that would have been capable enough...
The new bracket he fabbed is much heavier duty than what Toyota gives us and should withstand the test of time...but probably won't survive the plasma cutter to come
.I couldn't quite figure out why I have been experiencing so many worn front anti-sway bar struts (beno wonders too
)...they chafe where the eyelet of the ASB meets the riser...and now its easy to see why! Sam welded his new ASB bracket to the frame too rearward...completely missing the centerline of the riser. Hopefully this is the last fix-over from the jobs I've paid hard earned $$$ to perform on my rig.So...the lesson of the day: For those of you that have a modicum of fab skills and based upon my vast experiences of paying other's for their so called expertise, I highly encourage you to take the next step and fix your own junk. For those of you close to Slee Offroad and Mudrak...consider yourselves lucky and blessed as they are in rarified air indeed!
After all the diff, shock mount, ASB brackets, etc., I've had to redo its a complete head scratcher how guys like Sam Cothrun even get to the starting line...let alone the finish line and in route. Sam if you read this:
Rant over.
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- Thread starter
- #516
So...I've been wanting to get my steering wheel recovered for a while and until recently, thanks to a solid recommendation from super90 within a thread about same in the 100-Series Forum (https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/series-100-steering-wheel-core.819716/#post-9395931), I finally had the confidence with the upholsterer to get this job underway.
The original steering wasn't terribly worn but the top portion was worn enough to get sticky...and it bugged me. Again with super90's recommendation I sent the wheel to Donald Le, Dallas Custom Steering Wheel (http://dallassteeringwheel.com/), and had him recover the OEM wheel; and I'm 100% happy with his work.
I didn't want extra padding and decided to forgo perforated leather on my recover; however these are options Donald is happy to oblige in addition to custom leather, etc., etc.
Donald held fast to his "3-5 day turnaround" once in hand (he did mine in 3-days) so minimal down time was required.
The original steering wasn't terribly worn but the top portion was worn enough to get sticky...and it bugged me
. Again with super90's recommendation I sent the wheel to Donald Le, Dallas Custom Steering Wheel (http://dallassteeringwheel.com/), and had him recover the OEM wheel; and I'm 100% happy with his work. I didn't want extra padding and decided to forgo perforated leather on my recover; however these are options Donald is happy to oblige in addition to custom leather, etc., etc.
Donald held fast to his "3-5 day turnaround" once in hand (he did mine in 3-days) so minimal down time was required.
That looks great!
- Thread starter
- #518
Update on the steering wheel: After the recent Death Valley cruise I'm 100% pleased with the steering wheel recover! Glad I finally got that little project off the back-burner!
And...I posted this earlier in the Camping section: In addition to the little fold up/down aluminum table I fabbed a few years ago, following my friend Ali's idea for same, on my Slee swingarm (crazy handy BTW...can't imagine not having it!) I've been dreaming about a lightweight yet strong camp table project. And a table that would store on the roof rack instead of taking up precious interior space would be a big bonus too!
Well last summer I finally ordered aluminum 1x1, aluminum honeycomb panel, gas spring/struts, Formica and all the other things I needed to get my folding camp table project from concept to working prototype. Don't know about you but generally my first prototype/fab job doesn't quite hit the proverbial bullseye: This table project being no different. But 3rd time was charm for this table!
After a months worth of on and mostly off-road testing I'm happy to report I am 100% pleased with how it turned out AND how incredibly useful it is. The only problem: Now I want two of them
The table is also super quick and easy to remove/reinstall from the under-roof-rack mount yet solid and rattle free when in transit mode. Amazingly the table top (Formica) stays incredibly clean even after a day of dusty trail action! Just another little thing that comes in oh-so-handy when in camp mode.
And...I posted this earlier in the Camping section: In addition to the little fold up/down aluminum table I fabbed a few years ago, following my friend Ali's idea for same, on my Slee swingarm (crazy handy BTW...can't imagine not having it!) I've been dreaming about a lightweight yet strong camp table project. And a table that would store on the roof rack instead of taking up precious interior space would be a big bonus too!
Well last summer I finally ordered aluminum 1x1, aluminum honeycomb panel, gas spring/struts, Formica and all the other things I needed to get my folding camp table project from concept to working prototype. Don't know about you but generally my first prototype/fab job doesn't quite hit the proverbial bullseye: This table project being no different. But 3rd time was charm for this table!
After a months worth of on and mostly off-road testing I'm happy to report I am 100% pleased with how it turned out AND how incredibly useful it is. The only problem: Now I want two of them
The table is also super quick and easy to remove/reinstall from the under-roof-rack mount yet solid and rattle free when in transit mode. Amazingly the table top (Formica) stays incredibly clean even after a day of dusty trail action! Just another little thing that comes in oh-so-handy when in camp mode.
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The guy in the video reminds me of Brad Pitt.
Only better lookin'!
