great read,
patiently waiting for the next chapters
patiently waiting for the next chapters
Travels with Elmo (+Build)
- Thread starter chubbybunny
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #22
Now that I had some of the bigger maintenance items checked off, I needed to embark on a reliability test. That test would have to be 1. Beyond cell service, 2. Remote, dirty, dusty, rocky, sandy. 3. Have good food and good beer. What better place to test that out than Baja? Picked up my brother, friend, and girlfriend for a couple days camping South of the border. First stop was in Puerto Nuevo for their famed cheap lobsters. Cheap if you're a local, but if you're from out of town, they've 'run out of' medium sized ones and charge the premium for the larges. It's still a screaming deal.
My brother and our first pile of local fresh caught lobster.
There are maybe 40 restaurants in the tiny town right by the ocean off the highway, and the best way to choose is the eenie-minee-mo approach.
A few miles south is Ensenada, likely my favorite city anywhere. First stop is always at Taqueria el Trailero (The Trucker Tacos). On any weekend you'll see locals, Europeans, beater Hondas and prerunner Ford Raptors. This place is a must stop to get your taco fix right before entering town. After gorging ourselves again, the next stop was for beer. The vast majority of restaurants, cafes, and such will only have one, maybe two choices of beer. Tecate or Dos Equis most likely. If you're looking for well-crafted, unique beers made by passionate locals, the burgeoning craft beer scene is alive and well there. My favorite brewery is Cerveceria Transpeninsular. Founded by a San Diego native, this brewery takes its roots from the explosive microbrew scene just North across the border. The beer is excellent, and the atmosphere is laid back, with the fermenters front and center for you to watch the brewers work their magic.
Oh, and once we'd pulled in, we were met with this beautiful sight:
Yup, he's running Methods with what looks like STT Pros.
That's the vehicle that Mike Pearlman, chairman of the NORRA races in Baja, and staff uses to pre-run the race routes as he maps them out before the race. That's right, an 80-series PRERUNNER. I peeked inside and it was chock full of screens, mounts, and GPS receivers. You can see one of the antennas at the back on the roof. Mike actually came out when he saw me pull in and we chatted cruisers for a bit. He's definitely a fan of 'em. He mentioned that he has several at his residence in the states. After chatting with him and then the owner of the joint (you really do get to meet awesome people in Baja) we headed south. Made a pit stop at La Guerrerense for their famed ceviche, showcased by Anthony Bourdain on one of his episodes. Best fresh seafood from a street cart around. There's a theme here, I know. FOOD.
Drove an hour South until we could turn towards the ocean once more, and then explored miles of empty coastline and beaches.
Those little stock 31's are starting to look a little weak.....
My brother and our first pile of local fresh caught lobster.
There are maybe 40 restaurants in the tiny town right by the ocean off the highway, and the best way to choose is the eenie-minee-mo approach.
A few miles south is Ensenada, likely my favorite city anywhere. First stop is always at Taqueria el Trailero (The Trucker Tacos). On any weekend you'll see locals, Europeans, beater Hondas and prerunner Ford Raptors. This place is a must stop to get your taco fix right before entering town. After gorging ourselves again, the next stop was for beer. The vast majority of restaurants, cafes, and such will only have one, maybe two choices of beer. Tecate or Dos Equis most likely. If you're looking for well-crafted, unique beers made by passionate locals, the burgeoning craft beer scene is alive and well there. My favorite brewery is Cerveceria Transpeninsular. Founded by a San Diego native, this brewery takes its roots from the explosive microbrew scene just North across the border. The beer is excellent, and the atmosphere is laid back, with the fermenters front and center for you to watch the brewers work their magic.
Oh, and once we'd pulled in, we were met with this beautiful sight:
Yup, he's running Methods with what looks like STT Pros.
That's the vehicle that Mike Pearlman, chairman of the NORRA races in Baja, and staff uses to pre-run the race routes as he maps them out before the race. That's right, an 80-series PRERUNNER. I peeked inside and it was chock full of screens, mounts, and GPS receivers. You can see one of the antennas at the back on the roof. Mike actually came out when he saw me pull in and we chatted cruisers for a bit. He's definitely a fan of 'em. He mentioned that he has several at his residence in the states. After chatting with him and then the owner of the joint (you really do get to meet awesome people in Baja) we headed south. Made a pit stop at La Guerrerense for their famed ceviche, showcased by Anthony Bourdain on one of his episodes. Best fresh seafood from a street cart around. There's a theme here, I know. FOOD.
Drove an hour South until we could turn towards the ocean once more, and then explored miles of empty coastline and beaches.
Those little stock 31's are starting to look a little weak.....
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- Thread starter
- #23
We were able to drive right up to the beach and have a private little picnic. Just watch out for the occasional dead sea lion or two when you pick a spot. Unlike the California beaches you might be used to, these are not maintained by mechanized sand sifters, The Rock or Zac Efron like in the Baywatch remake. Sorry boys, no C.J. Parker out here either.
Pretty great sunsets too.
Found a camp spot for a couple days right on the ocean with bufadoras, or blow-holes, that shoot seawater up through them every time a set of larger waves rolls in. This provided much amusement to us, especially after a case of Dos Equis had been consumed, as we tried to urinate in them between sets. Our timing was not always successful, and resulted in several of us getting soaked. Having your own pee shot back up at you with hundreds of gallons of seawater mixed in was not an experience I'll soon forget.
The long line back across the border in Tijuana. You can buy Redbulls, painted ceramic Jesus bobbleheads and a myriad of Mexican chili flavored sweets here sold by street vendor opportunists. On average this line takes about 1-1/2 hours. Mid day on Sunday it took us well over three.
It's worth it every time.
Pretty great sunsets too.
Found a camp spot for a couple days right on the ocean with bufadoras, or blow-holes, that shoot seawater up through them every time a set of larger waves rolls in. This provided much amusement to us, especially after a case of Dos Equis had been consumed, as we tried to urinate in them between sets. Our timing was not always successful, and resulted in several of us getting soaked. Having your own pee shot back up at you with hundreds of gallons of seawater mixed in was not an experience I'll soon forget.
The long line back across the border in Tijuana. You can buy Redbulls, painted ceramic Jesus bobbleheads and a myriad of Mexican chili flavored sweets here sold by street vendor opportunists. On average this line takes about 1-1/2 hours. Mid day on Sunday it took us well over three.
It's worth it every time.
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- Thread starter
- #24
AAAAAND 35s!
I painstakingly researched available tire brands and treads and compared those to my dwindling bank account and settled on the 315/75R16 Cooper ST Maxx. Load range E, 3 ply stiff sidewalls, silica-compound infused rubber; beefy boys they most certainly are. The ST Maxx's tread pattern are between a mud and AT pattern, commonly called a 'hybrid.' Best of both worlds in my opinion. Enough void-space for some mud-slingin' hoopties and enough edge/siping/rubber contact so that you're not sliding around like an elephant on ice skates. The sidewalls are tough, so rocks and tree branches aren't much of a concern. Though you do have to air down to about 13-psi to get a good wide contact patch on sand for enough flotation. Any lower and you risk de-beading. (Flash forward->As this cruiser is my daily, I've put some serious miles on them in the last two years. 65k mile update: These tires wear like iron. Still have more than a third of the tread left. I attribute this to mostly highway miles, and because I run em at 45psi, much to the dismay of my tailbone.)
Sandblasted the wheels to remove the sh*tty Plasti-dip job that was flaking off. I coated them with Al2O3 afterwards to keep them from rusting.
Quick trip up to Big Bear for an evening,
and then met up with some friends and onto Joshua Tree for another night. Went in to the park for the day and got to witness our first snow day there! Not enough to stick, but was still a blast climbing (by hand, not wheeling) the sandstone rocks in the desert with the joshua trees in the background while it was snowing. Camped outside the park to the north in BLM land for night where we had an excellent fire-grilled meal, and a frigid ight sleep in sub-zero conditions. When desert camping, you should ALWAYS bring extra blankets. Whoops.
Meat and potatoes. Anything more is just a garnish, in my opinion.
We had quite the menagerie: Seika, Nacho, and Kylie. One follows laser pointers and reflections like a cat, one eats sh*t, and the other is a couple genes away from being a feral dingo.
Girlfriend snapped this picture at dusk. Instantly a favorite of mine.
Not too long after this I wrecked the cruiser....
I painstakingly researched available tire brands and treads and compared those to my dwindling bank account and settled on the 315/75R16 Cooper ST Maxx. Load range E, 3 ply stiff sidewalls, silica-compound infused rubber; beefy boys they most certainly are. The ST Maxx's tread pattern are between a mud and AT pattern, commonly called a 'hybrid.' Best of both worlds in my opinion. Enough void-space for some mud-slingin' hoopties and enough edge/siping/rubber contact so that you're not sliding around like an elephant on ice skates. The sidewalls are tough, so rocks and tree branches aren't much of a concern. Though you do have to air down to about 13-psi to get a good wide contact patch on sand for enough flotation. Any lower and you risk de-beading. (Flash forward->As this cruiser is my daily, I've put some serious miles on them in the last two years. 65k mile update: These tires wear like iron. Still have more than a third of the tread left. I attribute this to mostly highway miles, and because I run em at 45psi, much to the dismay of my tailbone.)
Sandblasted the wheels to remove the sh*tty Plasti-dip job that was flaking off. I coated them with Al2O3 afterwards to keep them from rusting.
Quick trip up to Big Bear for an evening,
and then met up with some friends and onto Joshua Tree for another night. Went in to the park for the day and got to witness our first snow day there! Not enough to stick, but was still a blast climbing (by hand, not wheeling) the sandstone rocks in the desert with the joshua trees in the background while it was snowing. Camped outside the park to the north in BLM land for night where we had an excellent fire-grilled meal, and a frigid ight sleep in sub-zero conditions. When desert camping, you should ALWAYS bring extra blankets. Whoops.
Meat and potatoes. Anything more is just a garnish, in my opinion.
We had quite the menagerie: Seika, Nacho, and Kylie. One follows laser pointers and reflections like a cat, one eats sh*t, and the other is a couple genes away from being a feral dingo.
Girlfriend snapped this picture at dusk. Instantly a favorite of mine.
Not too long after this I wrecked the cruiser....
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- Thread starter
- #25
It was only a matter of time that I would be rear-ended in infamous LA Traffic. A Buick SUV impacted my rear with such speed and force that it wrenched my hand forward so hard that I spun the volume knob up 4 notches instead of the intended 2 as I adjusted the radio. Once I returned to my senses about 30 seconds later following this horrendous collision, I noticed another driver honking at me and motioning me to pull over. Thinking that he wanted to discuss the sound levels of my stereo playing Katy Perry at full volume, I decided to pull over. It was then I noticed the Buick with crumpled hood, radiator spewing coolant on the freeway, and the decidedly sketchy dude wringing his hands and looking all shifty-eyed at the traffic around him.
Totalled. Am surprised he walked away from this one.
And the damage to the cruiser:
There, you see it? No, no, look closer.
There. He scratched my patina right off. You know how long it takes to get rust to look that uniform?! All for nothing! Now I have to sandblast the whole thing and start from scratch, so that hopefully it can look as good as it did right before this. The bastard even had the GALL to leave pieces of his paint on my bumper. I mean, what kind of sicko does that? Hopefully the insurance doesn't total it out, but if so I hope I get a fair value for it.
The other driver showed me a driver license that looked like it could have maybe belonged to a distant cousin of his, and mumbled something about registration and insurance papers. I noticed there weren't plates on the front or rear. I mentioned I wouldn't be contacting my insurance; he smiled, and we both drove off our separate ways. And by separate I mean right back into traffic on the 405 until he had to pull off at the next exit as he was overheating and had to try and find a suitable place to ditch the likely stolen ride before it left him stranded on the freeway.
Next up, painting the bumper!
NOT.
Totalled. Am surprised he walked away from this one.
And the damage to the cruiser:
There, you see it? No, no, look closer.
There. He scratched my patina right off. You know how long it takes to get rust to look that uniform?! All for nothing! Now I have to sandblast the whole thing and start from scratch, so that hopefully it can look as good as it did right before this. The bastard even had the GALL to leave pieces of his paint on my bumper. I mean, what kind of sicko does that? Hopefully the insurance doesn't total it out, but if so I hope I get a fair value for it.
The other driver showed me a driver license that looked like it could have maybe belonged to a distant cousin of his, and mumbled something about registration and insurance papers. I noticed there weren't plates on the front or rear. I mentioned I wouldn't be contacting my insurance; he smiled, and we both drove off our separate ways. And by separate I mean right back into traffic on the 405 until he had to pull off at the next exit as he was overheating and had to try and find a suitable place to ditch the likely stolen ride before it left him stranded on the freeway.
Next up, painting the bumper!
NOT.
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- Thread starter
- #27
@rons1957 'It's just a flesh wound.'
Drove back up Joshua Tree area again since it ended up dumping snow and thought that would be an excellent time to test out Kylie's new sweater.
Any excuse to do some snow wheeling.
Didn't actually go into Joshua Tree this time, but instead turned off the main highway before the park entrance and drove up to Pioneertown, which is a small cluster of desert homes with a 'Mane' St running down the center that was built as a backdrop for 1940s, -50s western films. But the most important spot in town is, of course, the pub Pappy and Harriet's. They regularly get unscheduled visits from more notable musicians and performers who enjoy small, laid-back venues. Unfortunately they were closed when we stopped by at 9AM on a Sunday (how can they expect to stay afloat when they're only open during sensible hours??) but fortunately I had a few salty beverages I'd stowed away for emergencies. I believe they were Blood Orange Wit's from Refuge in Temecula, CA. Excellent brew. Didn't even need a cooler to keep 'em cold this time!
Set up our 'basecamp' on this arctic, remote expedition to the unknown about a hundred yards from the highway.
Fast forward a month and I finally get to use my winch! Drove up to Central CA to the family property for a week with a couple buddies. Sometimes the road on the property is washed out, overgrown, booby-trapped or littered with anti-personnel mines, but this time we just had a big, ~100-yr old pine across the road to clear.
After snickering at my friend's 12" Ryobi saw, I pulled out the mack-daddy Makita 20" chainsaw to make quick work of it. (Hush you Oregonite loggers. Ya'll are just overcompensating.) I spooled out the winch cable and wrapped it around one side of the log to pull it to one side of the road. The Warn 9500Ti pulled it right along with nary a hiccup. Unhooked it once it was dragged into place and rolled the log down the side of the road. Saved us about an hour's work from cutting the log into smaller pieces to move them by hand.
At one point we decided to try and fly a new quadcopter drone that one of us won at a company Christmas party a couple months back. The conditions were perfect for it; clear skies, no obstructions within 100 yards, and 15-20mph steady winds. Five minutes later and....
It survived the tree impact, but didn't survive the 30ft fall to the ground. Poor engineering on the designer's part I'd say. Deserves a 1-star Amazon review.
Drove back up Joshua Tree area again since it ended up dumping snow and thought that would be an excellent time to test out Kylie's new sweater.
Any excuse to do some snow wheeling.
Didn't actually go into Joshua Tree this time, but instead turned off the main highway before the park entrance and drove up to Pioneertown, which is a small cluster of desert homes with a 'Mane' St running down the center that was built as a backdrop for 1940s, -50s western films. But the most important spot in town is, of course, the pub Pappy and Harriet's. They regularly get unscheduled visits from more notable musicians and performers who enjoy small, laid-back venues. Unfortunately they were closed when we stopped by at 9AM on a Sunday (how can they expect to stay afloat when they're only open during sensible hours??) but fortunately I had a few salty beverages I'd stowed away for emergencies. I believe they were Blood Orange Wit's from Refuge in Temecula, CA. Excellent brew. Didn't even need a cooler to keep 'em cold this time!
Set up our 'basecamp' on this arctic, remote expedition to the unknown about a hundred yards from the highway.
Fast forward a month and I finally get to use my winch! Drove up to Central CA to the family property for a week with a couple buddies. Sometimes the road on the property is washed out, overgrown, booby-trapped or littered with anti-personnel mines, but this time we just had a big, ~100-yr old pine across the road to clear.
After snickering at my friend's 12" Ryobi saw, I pulled out the mack-daddy Makita 20" chainsaw to make quick work of it. (Hush you Oregonite loggers. Ya'll are just overcompensating.) I spooled out the winch cable and wrapped it around one side of the log to pull it to one side of the road. The Warn 9500Ti pulled it right along with nary a hiccup. Unhooked it once it was dragged into place and rolled the log down the side of the road. Saved us about an hour's work from cutting the log into smaller pieces to move them by hand.
At one point we decided to try and fly a new quadcopter drone that one of us won at a company Christmas party a couple months back. The conditions were perfect for it; clear skies, no obstructions within 100 yards, and 15-20mph steady winds. Five minutes later and....
It survived the tree impact, but didn't survive the 30ft fall to the ground. Poor engineering on the designer's part I'd say. Deserves a 1-star Amazon review.
- Thread starter
- #28
Performed a bit of maintenance on the engine. I've been chasing a P0401 code since I bought it, and decided that I just couldn't live with the check engine light anymore and wanted to fix my baby up all nice and do the right thing for her and keep her running in tip top shape!
Meaning: smog was due.
Since the 80 was flagged as a potential gross polluter, STAR station it was. This means it's much harder to simply slide a benjy across the counter to pass smog..... Or so I hear. P0401 could be busted or loose vacuum lines, VSVs, EGR valve, EGR port clogged or vacuum modulator for EGR. Or any combination of said Commiefornia smog parts or sealing surfaces of those parts.
Removed the throttle body and upper intake runner (those bolts were worse than the PHH. By FAR)
Replaced all of the vacuum lines (PN: 90999-92003 gets you 24" for about $2. Just buy a bunch)
Practiced my blowing and sucking technique on the VSV's in the order as per FSM.
Found a new EGR valve on eBay for about 1/2 stealership cost. Installed that.
Re-shielded the wiring harness with additional heat-shield wrap. Harness wasn't burnt.
Very little crap in the EGR port.
Dropped the injectors off at RC in Torrance. (They know their stuff. These guys deal with pro performance racing injectors day in and out. Our cute little injectors are child's play to them. That said, once I went back to pick them up next day, they had a full-page print out showing flow rates and spray patterns before and after cleaning for each injector. Mine were mostly in the 30-55% range. Well worth the time/cost ($25/per) to get them done)
Put it all back together again aaaanndddd.....CEL!!!
Son of b*tch.
Bought a new vacuum modulator. Solved it.
Replace the easy things first! It's likely just that. In my case, I actually noticed only after I replaced it that the vacuum modulator on the engine wasn't a Toyota part, but a Vatozone replacement. Doh! Took that junk off and installed an OEM part. No more CEL.
Also took a trip up to Apple Valley with my brother and picked up a set of these beauties for the cruiser and his Tacoma. Buy in bulk and save, people! It's the Costco way.
Optioned for DOM because I'm accident prone and a sucker for an upsell.
Also picked the lesser, 10 deg option because I knew I was going to be using these as a step as well. Put on some skate deck tape as well for some grippy grip when you've got muddy shoes. Works a treat.
Saw this 80 in the parking lot at REI.
How do you 'TRED LYT' in a 8k lb elephant that thinks its a car? My guess is airing down to 13psi?
Drove to Slab City for a weekend to get weird. Wasn't disappointed.
The TV Wall 'sculpture' in East Jesus, Slab City. An odd collection of sculptures made from forgotten junk makes up the art installation of East Jesus. The curator, 'Mopar,' is one hell of a character. This was much more interesting than Salvation Mountain: a mound of millions of gallons of spilled paint at the entrance to Slab City. Don't make the mistake of stopping there to take your instagram pictures and keep moving. The treasures of this alternative, lawless town are in its artwork and people; both of which are creative, fascinating, and a little bit....off.
We stayed for a couple nights and explored, meeting some of the last remnants of the seasonal snowbirds, a few locals, and plenty of friendly, scraggly-looking desert dogs. Make sure to plan your trip so you're there for a Saturday night at The Range. A makeshift, open-air stage set up every Saturday night in the winter hosts local talent and any visitors willing to share a talent, any talent, to the non-judgmental crowds. The stranger the skill, the more well received you're likely to be.
Bring some beer, snack on some shrooms, smoke a little weed, get on stage and show the crowd what you've got. Free to enter, though the hosts will never turn down bud or a Bud in appreciation.
Meaning: smog was due.
Since the 80 was flagged as a potential gross polluter, STAR station it was. This means it's much harder to simply slide a benjy across the counter to pass smog..... Or so I hear. P0401 could be busted or loose vacuum lines, VSVs, EGR valve, EGR port clogged or vacuum modulator for EGR. Or any combination of said Commiefornia smog parts or sealing surfaces of those parts.
Removed the throttle body and upper intake runner (those bolts were worse than the PHH. By FAR)
Replaced all of the vacuum lines (PN: 90999-92003 gets you 24" for about $2. Just buy a bunch)
Practiced my blowing and sucking technique on the VSV's in the order as per FSM.
Found a new EGR valve on eBay for about 1/2 stealership cost. Installed that.
Re-shielded the wiring harness with additional heat-shield wrap. Harness wasn't burnt.
Very little crap in the EGR port.
Dropped the injectors off at RC in Torrance. (They know their stuff. These guys deal with pro performance racing injectors day in and out. Our cute little injectors are child's play to them. That said, once I went back to pick them up next day, they had a full-page print out showing flow rates and spray patterns before and after cleaning for each injector. Mine were mostly in the 30-55% range. Well worth the time/cost ($25/per) to get them done)
Put it all back together again aaaanndddd.....CEL!!!
Son of b*tch.
Bought a new vacuum modulator. Solved it.
Replace the easy things first! It's likely just that. In my case, I actually noticed only after I replaced it that the vacuum modulator on the engine wasn't a Toyota part, but a Vatozone replacement. Doh! Took that junk off and installed an OEM part. No more CEL.
Also took a trip up to Apple Valley with my brother and picked up a set of these beauties for the cruiser and his Tacoma. Buy in bulk and save, people! It's the Costco way.
Optioned for DOM because I'm accident prone and a sucker for an upsell.
Also picked the lesser, 10 deg option because I knew I was going to be using these as a step as well. Put on some skate deck tape as well for some grippy grip when you've got muddy shoes. Works a treat.
Saw this 80 in the parking lot at REI.
How do you 'TRED LYT' in a 8k lb elephant that thinks its a car? My guess is airing down to 13psi?
Drove to Slab City for a weekend to get weird. Wasn't disappointed.
The TV Wall 'sculpture' in East Jesus, Slab City. An odd collection of sculptures made from forgotten junk makes up the art installation of East Jesus. The curator, 'Mopar,' is one hell of a character. This was much more interesting than Salvation Mountain: a mound of millions of gallons of spilled paint at the entrance to Slab City. Don't make the mistake of stopping there to take your instagram pictures and keep moving. The treasures of this alternative, lawless town are in its artwork and people; both of which are creative, fascinating, and a little bit....off.
We stayed for a couple nights and explored, meeting some of the last remnants of the seasonal snowbirds, a few locals, and plenty of friendly, scraggly-looking desert dogs. Make sure to plan your trip so you're there for a Saturday night at The Range. A makeshift, open-air stage set up every Saturday night in the winter hosts local talent and any visitors willing to share a talent, any talent, to the non-judgmental crowds. The stranger the skill, the more well received you're likely to be.
Bring some beer, snack on some shrooms, smoke a little weed, get on stage and show the crowd what you've got. Free to enter, though the hosts will never turn down bud or a Bud in appreciation.
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- Thread starter
- #29
I finally decided to paint the rear bumper. Had all of it sandblasted and powdercoated satin black. Also added my first sticker. (I relocated my license plate later, once I was finished going through all the toll roads and speed trap cameras.) I modified the swingout with the 3 can basket to accommodate a 10lb propane cylinder, at the cost of one jerry can spot. I didn't want to mount the cylinder above, as that creates a large moment from it's COM to the swingout arm. When I'm running the Baja 1000 going 125mph through the whoops, I don't want any excess deflection there. I also didn't want to mount it below the basket (keeping mind the incident with the Buick ramming his nose all up in my business) and didn't want to chance a fiery ball of death out my backside. This isn't a Pinto after all.
Moved up to Sacramento in Sept of '19, and brought Elmo and the 40 with me. I searched a long time until I could rent a place with a two-car garage. For some reason, they seem to have built thousands of 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car houses. Blows my mind.
Shortly after, I decided Elmo needed another friend. I scored a field find cruiser on Facebook Marketplace. Non-running, sat for 15-20 years, but all original and rust free.
Yeah right.
What I got was a titled '73 with a '75 number plate and a '78 2F engine. All the wiring was chewed through, no brakes, Whatever. For $3k, I'd say it was a steal. Took me about $500 and a month (mostly waiting on parts) to change out the basics (plugs,, wires, starter, radiator, stat, oil, points, cap, H2O pump, belts, carb etc) and now she runs like a champ! The other cruiser with an F engine is jealous. Anyone have another cruiser for sale? I have one more spot in the driveway...
Green one is the new guy.
I decided to work on the front end of the 80 for a bit and fix that gaping hole in the grill. I knew I wanted to do something in steel, but couldn't find the woven wire mesh in the size opening and wire diameter size that I wanted, locally and without exorbitant shipping costs. Basically I wanted it cheap and I wanted it now. I ended up finding some of this SS punched mesh on the jobsite, about 1/8" thick that would provide protection to the radiator, and still have sufficient void space to allow enough air past it.
I also added a pair of Hella Rallye 4000 Euro driving lights. Had to shim them slightly but they mounted right up to the ARB bumper. During this time I also changed the stock headlights to DEPOs and installed SLEE's upgraded wiring harness to give the H1/H4 lamps some more juice, reducing the wire resistance and heat away from the stock wires. Also blacked out the chrome trim and grill surround by using some 220 grit and satin black Rustoleum. I had previously mounted the Warn control box to the passenger side mount on the bumper, so I welded on a small flat bar horizontally to the vertical webbing on that side. Drops it out of view and out of the path of fresh air to the grill. The last thing was the swapping of the orange side marker lights on the ARB to 6" white LED bars. Should through some more light down low and to the sides.
Moved up to Sacramento in Sept of '19, and brought Elmo and the 40 with me. I searched a long time until I could rent a place with a two-car garage. For some reason, they seem to have built thousands of 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car houses. Blows my mind.
Shortly after, I decided Elmo needed another friend. I scored a field find cruiser on Facebook Marketplace. Non-running, sat for 15-20 years, but all original and rust free.
Yeah right.
What I got was a titled '73 with a '75 number plate and a '78 2F engine. All the wiring was chewed through, no brakes, Whatever. For $3k, I'd say it was a steal. Took me about $500 and a month (mostly waiting on parts) to change out the basics (plugs,, wires, starter, radiator, stat, oil, points, cap, H2O pump, belts, carb etc) and now she runs like a champ! The other cruiser with an F engine is jealous. Anyone have another cruiser for sale? I have one more spot in the driveway...
Green one is the new guy.
I decided to work on the front end of the 80 for a bit and fix that gaping hole in the grill. I knew I wanted to do something in steel, but couldn't find the woven wire mesh in the size opening and wire diameter size that I wanted, locally and without exorbitant shipping costs. Basically I wanted it cheap and I wanted it now. I ended up finding some of this SS punched mesh on the jobsite, about 1/8" thick that would provide protection to the radiator, and still have sufficient void space to allow enough air past it.
I also added a pair of Hella Rallye 4000 Euro driving lights. Had to shim them slightly but they mounted right up to the ARB bumper. During this time I also changed the stock headlights to DEPOs and installed SLEE's upgraded wiring harness to give the H1/H4 lamps some more juice, reducing the wire resistance and heat away from the stock wires. Also blacked out the chrome trim and grill surround by using some 220 grit and satin black Rustoleum. I had previously mounted the Warn control box to the passenger side mount on the bumper, so I welded on a small flat bar horizontally to the vertical webbing on that side. Drops it out of view and out of the path of fresh air to the grill. The last thing was the swapping of the orange side marker lights on the ARB to 6" white LED bars. Should through some more light down low and to the sides.
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Always a treat to read through your updates. Man after my own heart wheelin’ and brewin’.
Anything fancy for the lightbar fit? I’ve been considering a similar move for my ARB, but haven’t really found something the right size nor output. Typically only seeing LED indicator retrofits, not actual light.
Cheers!
Anything fancy for the lightbar fit? I’ve been considering a similar move for my ARB, but haven’t really found something the right size nor output. Typically only seeing LED indicator retrofits, not actual light.
Cheers!
- Thread starter
- #31
@spazzyfry123 Here's the amazon link: Kawell 6" LED Spot or Flood. Check out the examples of light output in the review section. I just had to drill a hole on the top of the ARB and used a 1/4-20 (DONT quote me on that. Could have been metric) and a spacer to get it in the right spot. These don't seem to be very waterproof from the factory (big surprise) so I ran a bead of clear silicone between the lens and housing for a good seal. No water ingress so far after 1 year.
Any updates? Writing style makes for good reads.
