Plugger and The Camel

Homestar - thanks for the kind words. Definitely not in the budget. And I kinda want him to drive it with the drums anyway. I think it will make him a better driver. If he can drive a 50yo Landie without power steering and drum brakes then he should be able to drive anything (maybe not a Massey!!)

Dennis - good idea. The internal light isnt very strong!

Stealth - never head of it but will look into it.

News - well the procuring process took a hit this week. Paddock spares have come back to me with the front parabolics as not in stock and they dont know when they will be restocked. Also, on top of this, the freight for the two rear parabolics and the four shocks is 160 pounds. So that means that the total for the rear springs and shocks only is 578.41 pounds - or AUD$982.80 :( Thats way too expensive seeing as the fronts are still to be costed and sent. I have cancelled the order with them and will look elsewhere.

I might have to resort going back to the original idea of having the front springs reset and matched (cheapest option, as I have already purchased the complete set of bushes, U-bolts and new shackles etc) , or look at importing some springs from the USA.

I will keep you all posted whatever happens.

Cheers,
Andrew

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Archangel007

Homestar - thanks for the kind words. Definitely not in the budget. And I kinda want him to drive it with the drums anyway. I think it will make him a better driver. If he can drive a 50yo Landie without power steering and drum brakes then he should be able to drive anything (maybe not a Massey!!)

Dennis - good idea. The internal light isnt very strong!

Stealth - never head of it but will look into it.

News - well the procuring process took a hit this week. Paddock spares have come back to me with the front parabolics as not in stock and they dont know when they will be restocked. Also, on top of this, the freight for the two rear parabolics and the four shocks is 160 pounds. So that means that the total for the rear springs and shocks only is 578.41 pounds - or AUD$982.80 :( Thats way too expensive seeing as the fronts are still to be costed and sent. I have cancelled the order with them and will look elsewhere.

I might have to resort going back to the original idea of having the front springs reset and matched (cheapest option, as I have already purchased the complete set of bushes, U-bolts and new shackles etc) , or look at importing some springs from the USA.

I will keep you all posted whatever happens.

Cheers,
Andrew

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If you want Plugger to experience drum brakes and no power steering to make him a better driver then reset the leaf springs you already have and make him appreciate the comfort of modern suspension. It brings you back within budget and will do him good.

I bought my parabolics locally as when I looked into getting them from IS the freight was a killer. I paid around $1,250 (I think, would have to check exact amount) for front and rears delivered to my door.

My fronts went on back order as well - there seems to be a shortage of them as every supplier I contacted had nill stock.

I got an email from my supplier last week saying they should be in the next container they get in a few weeks, but thankfully I'm in no rush, I've left the old front springs in until they show up so the vehicle stays mobile (ish).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stealth

If you want Plugger to experience drum brakes and no power steering to make him a better driver then reset the leaf springs you already have and make him appreciate the comfort of modern suspension. It brings you back within budget and will do him good.

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Yep, that's the plan Stealth

Homestar - I think I will relegate the parabolics to Phase 2 - Improvement. I think I just concentrate now on getting Camel on the road and within budget.

Cheers,
Tricky

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Archangel007

Yep, that's the plan Stealth

Homestar - I think I will relegate the parabolics to Phase 2 - Improvement. I think I just concentrate now on getting Camel on the road and within budget.

Cheers,
Tricky

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Good idea if your budget is tight or fixed at this point. Save your pennies as there will be other unexpected things that will pop up to swallow your money.

Thanks again for sharing this journey with us. Fascinating read. All the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Walruslike

Thanks again for sharing this journey with us. Fascinating read. All the best.

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Thanks mate, what a nice thing to say!!

Well all the paint has cured on the front suspension parts through the week so its ready to put back together. Unfortunately this being Grand Final weekend, assembly will have to wait. Plugger and I decided that we would take this weekend off and sit in front of the tele for some of it - a bit more father-son bonding!!

Anyway, through the week some more goodies arrived.

I have been watching the interweb intently for deals on tyres. The rubber on Camel is old and worn down to the wear markers so it was time to purchase new shoes for him. Tyroola had a special on Toyo Open Country AT tyres in 215/75R16 at $145 a pop but they were out of stock. What was in stock however was BF Goodrich AT's in the same size for $153 each. I could not find them anywhere else for under $200, so I pounced. And this is what rolled up mid-week:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1475407072

So new tyres - great!! However the Landie rims looked very second hand. I had a mix of SWB and LWB rims on the Camel - 2xSWB and 3xLWB. A quick phone call to British Off-Road secured three more '601' rims. It seems that owners of old Land Rovers don't like to strip off paint when they decide to change wheel colour - some of them had two or three different layers of paint on them.

I took the old rims down to my local Bridgestone Tyre Dealer at Burpengary to have the tyres removed so I could send them off to be powdercoated. The guys at Bridgestone charged me $0, yes nothing, to remove and dispose of the previous worn out and old tyres - how great is that. Will definitely go back there to have the new tyres fitted. So, with the rims bare, it was off to the powdercoaters.

The old:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1475407072

The new:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1475407072

So, where are we with everything?? Paul at Redcliffe Spring and Suspension is on holidays until the 10th October so I will have to wait until then to have the front springs reset and matched. That's ok, plenty to do until then - next up, lets look at the engine (but that's another adventure you guys will have to wait until next week for!!:p)

Cheers and thanks,
Tricky

Looking good. :)

That rubber will certainly make the young bloke build some muscles up when he's parking down the supermarket. ;)

Once the front end is back together, you'll probably have to adjust the steering stops as well to stop them from rubbing on the chassis.

Thanks for the photos.... I paid particular attention to them.

Um, er, I hate to point out such an obvious mistake to someone who appears to know so much more mechanically than I do... but in good conscience I can't let you get it so wrong.

All the LR vehicles I know of come with four wheels and a spare. You only have two wheels, and three tyres, so you're going to be in trouble balancing the vehicle on that lot. :)

More seriously.... it's looking great.... going to be a ripper vehicle.

Well spotted Walruslike and thanks for the kind words....

I actually ordered the tyres in two lots, to spread the cost over two weeks, and got the wheels powdercoated in two lots to spread the cost as well.

Here is a pic of the 2nd lot of three wheels off to the powdercoaters this week:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1475484696

And here is the whole ensemble united together at last:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...1&d=1475484696

The budget for wheels and tyres was $1,500. We are now sitting at $1,310 with just the fitting and balancing to go (that will be this Saturday hopefully) - so, budget met!

Cheers and thanks,
Tricky