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designing the rear storage cabinets, drop down doors double as cooking shelves.
the rear doors will be cut to allow for the liners.

these will fit any 70 series rear doors.
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getting the frame ready to head off.

i will take a pic of the weak spot in the 70 series frame.

the side windows removed and patterns made.
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removing the inner rubber protector
interior panels are like new
rust proofing on the walls
template for the interior cabinet storage the opposite side is a mirror image.
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thanks Falco and everyone that has commented and appreciates the volumn of work here.

excited. i have plans for sand ladder roof rack combo. the sheet of 2" thick 2"X2" anti-slip coated squared grating should be here tuesday then i can start to play with an idea i have had for quite a while. the ability to safely traverse 3' wide non-supported trenches with sand ladder combinations ... i LOVE trying new ideas.
 
Yeah, show us some more kittens!;)
 
crushers said:
getting the frame ready to head off.

i will take a pic of the weak spot in the 70 series frame.

the side windows removed and patterns made.
Click to expand...

What's the story behind the 2nd piccy. The one with the 4 bolts in the chassis.
 
Subscribed!!! Great build .... on the truck and the broad!
 
G'day all,
what a great build, I too have a troopy and use it for prospecting in the outback of Western Australia. I have been following this remarkable build since you started and now that you have got to the inside, I'm curiouse how you are going to use the space. But I notice you have stopped for a litte while now, is everything alright, or have you taken a hint from the kitten and curled up for a little rest.

regards
gaffa
 
well, i live in the country and have had my first experience of water issues. i decided to do the work myself, i had some decent help and ... theoreticly ... it should have been back up and running in a day.
but
living in a 150 year old school house with some interesting PO mods can lead to some interesting repairs.

long story short, 6 X 10-14 hr days and the water was back up and running with more pressure than ever and nice clean water
then
the wife says we have a leak next to the pump.
"it can't be that bad" famous last words as i walked into the room and bent down to take a look at the bottom of the pressure tank she decided to blow and i got soaked from head to foot so another day was shot.

i am waiting for the brand new disc brake rear diff from Japan, aluminum from the city and the cabinets back from the machine shop.

we were able to test out my idea for "bridging" the sand ladders and it works like a damn. he can now span an open area 64" with no support underneath. this week i will be working on the end to end couplers so he can do 8', 12', 16', 24' or an assortment of lengths for actual sand or mud ladders. we also tried them out in the sand lot next door and what a change. we tried to idle up the sand in 1 wheel drive and got stuck, locked the front and tried again but got stuck, then placed the sand ladder on the path and idled up in 1 wheel drive.
these should help reduce any broken parts due to lack of traction.

the sand ladders will be part of the roof rack design. on the 78 you can see that the same design would work and these pics give an idea of the length of the troopie verse the 4 door versions.
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we tried a 4' section coupled to an 8' section:hhmm:
and
an 8' section coupled to an 8' section :hhmm:
to see the difference in flex. the flex was the same but i do feel more comfortable with 8' on 8', this was spanning 73" from touch to touch :cool: . the rating was 30" single for 1200 lbs of pressure.;)

it takes about 10 mins to bolt the sections together the first time but once you get a system down you can cut that time in half. all you need is the kit and one 19 mm wrench.

we used the PZJ78 as a test vehicle since the front end is pretty close to the same weight as the troopie when finished. :meh:

we also tested the ramps at home using the front of the dodge cummins to see the flex, both flexed the same. and that is one heavy front end, cummins ain't light engines.:eek:
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Gaffa,
when i designed the side compartments a allowed enough room under the drop doors to install a sheet of plywood or aluminum as a base for a bed platform with lots of storage underneath. the plan i had in my head was the water compartment would be behind the cargo barrier, under the bed platform and centered in the vehicle for ballance.
then at the back a set of slide out drawers could be fitted easily as per usual design. you could even hide a compartment between the drawers and the water cell for those things you didn't want people to have easy access to.:hhmm:
with a truck this size it is easy to have tons of small storage spots.:bounce:
i try to think things through as they are being built but ... mistakes can happen. :whoops:

Gaffa said:
G'day all,
what a great build, I too have a troopy and use it for prospecting in the outback of Western Australia. I have been following this remarkable build since you started and now that you have got to the inside, I'm curiouse how you are going to use the space. But I notice you have stopped for a litte while now, is everything alright, or have you taken a hint from the kitten and curled up for a little rest.

regards
gaffa
Click to expand...
 
What material are those sand ladders made from?
 
after a camping trip a few years back my friend was thinking of doing this with the bridging.
The 78s bumper has grown on me a bit. Nice truck! Keep it until you find your dream 77!
 
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