But does that still involve cutting a hole in the roof? I won’t be doing that.
Rolled up 250k kms. Also… That’s over 10k kms on my watch.
Took it camping. Had fun!
And… Got new windshield installed finally. Mobile guy did it in my garage. The old one was really really bad. Like the worst I’ve seen outside junkyard target practice…
Niiice. It’s looking good, Phil!
Water tank is strapped down.
Work has begun on PTO winch.
Radiator and condenser are 100% FUBAR
Added led lights in Wong compartments.
Trip is 3 weeks away. Truck is apart. Oh boy…
I leave town in 13 days.
You’ve seen my garage.
Rad is recored. RAD! Also, I put it back in, bled it, and drove to work. Several hours on it revealed low overflow and OH CRAP where’s my coolant going? Oh wait, it just fell on my face. Turns out a painted rad neck needs a REALLY tight clamp to keep it from weeping. Problem solved with a fancy turbo hose type clamp.
Pre- fan/shroud…
But now for the really cool stuff? PTO winch is no longer an esoteric mind game. Its installed!! HOLY CRAP!
We pulled a big day yesterday and got it done. Won’t go into deets right now but it’s working and beautiful. Not quite finished but enough for the trip.
Spooled the dyneema this afternoon and she is good to go.
Also applied glass sealer around the perimeter of the new windshield, because the FSM recommended it, and I don’t want leaks. Painted the grille and side mirrors black. She’s still rough paint-wise, but otherwise she’s looking pretty damn tidy I must say. There is still a 1" difference front and back, and not the way you’d want it to be, but I don’t have time to sort springs/shackles or whatever before trip. So I’ll sort that out and many other things come winter…
For now, it’s pretty much time to pack!
That’s so cool, dude. PTO winches are next level.
Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately. So much going on. I just posted all the Instas to help people remember TGP until we’re/I’m back. I think I’ve got some ideas there, but will need to get settled in first.
I need to get caught up. Well, actually I might be beyond that? But here’s a quick update. Truck saw many many miles, and didn’t skip a beat. NOT ONE ISSUE. Not even tiny. Nothing. Unreal.
So once I got back, I started fine tuning again.
Currently have airbags on the bench, so replace the rear bumpstops, above the leafs. Have a high altitude compensator to retrofit to the inj pump. Have all the crush washers to redo all my drain and fills. And I have a valve cover gasket coming to end the weepage.
Other than that, I sold the arb awning and finally got a 270* AND a shower enclosure. This thing is really getting dialled now on setup. Just needs more climbing power.
E: Everybody’s getting bat-wing awnings and I’m over here thinking about getting the basic ARB so I can have an ADD clubhouse on the side.
So um… One day a few weeks back i got a high altitude compensator for my inj pump. But the next day, I found a used 80 series factory turbo for a price I couldn’t refuse.
And then … I found really high quality boss airbags from a 60 series. Now I can level up.
And parts continue to arrive!Woohoo!
Turbonium should add some pep to your steps this winter, eh? Is the garage staying nice and warm?
And don’t you Fluid Film or whatever your vehicles up there? Those rear leafs look dry to me.
I dont fluid film. My drive takes me north of most of the salt etc. Every summer I inspect, hit with spray paint. Rinse. Repeat.
Oh boy. I did it again. I bought another. Oh dear…
This one will be sold on in a few weeks. Didnt see it coming.
Too good a deal to pass up? What’s the story?
Well… It should’ve been. But. Well… I’m not ready to share this story yet. Not my best move.
How bad is it? I won’t tell.
Sounds like trouble…
Well it passed Japanese auction with acceptable levels of rust IE hardly any. It came into Canada and passed the British Columbia inspection with zero deficiencies. I just don’t know how. When I started to investigate after I got it home it had rust in the floor. Rust on the frame. Rust holes through the Rockers. Inner and outer. Sheet metal repairs in the cargo area. And not good ones. Somebody had been cobbling together the rust in the body for a long time by the look of it. And it didn’t stop there. The frame actually has holes…
The seller had no idea and was as shocked as I was. He’s going to refund me some. Not enough in my opinion but he doesn’t have to refund anything technically. And my plan going forward is to swap all the good bits onto my truck which was 75% there anyway. And then part out everything else. I will lose on it, but once I’m finished partying out over time, I hope my losses aren’t too bad, and I will have a truck which is as close to perfect as I could ask for. I’m going to be swapping the axles to factory locking units, the interior, which is in really good shape, and I’m even thinking about swapping the engine and transmission which has way less kilometers and despite the body around it works really really good.
But pretty stressful overall in getting to this point.
Up until now I thought myself a very astute buyer, but this one taught me that buyer beware is not just a cliche. A heavy-duty dose of humility for this guy. It will all work out as it always does but had I known the full story I wouldn’t have embarked on this particular project. Oh well, the engine and transmission run flawlessly with way more power and efficiency than my current setup so I will likely be swapping those into mine and then selling mine.