Expedition Home-build - AU to IE

It was not too warm and none too windy today, so I started priming some of the exterior metalwork. A big difference from home, where you might have to wait a week or two fro it to stop raining, so you can paint something :) As much as a pain in the ass as it is, the key is preparation. Poly Abrasive discs are your friend here - $10 a piece from Bunnings, but they will literally save you hours....

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/paint-s...lean&strip.jpg

Auxiliary Fuel Tank. This will become my diesel tank while the main tank will be used for SVO - or of course diesel should SVO not be available. It took a couple of hours to get this back to bare metal, but hopefully with a proper respray it will last fro years to come.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/413.jpg

The various chequer plate cutouts, waiting to be etch primed.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/414.jpg

Holy crap that's shiny!! This was the mother of all cleanup jobs, and took a couple of weeks at a half hour or our at a time - I simply didn't have the energy to face into it all at once.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/415.jpg

Some of the finished items, after one coat. I have plenty more to do, but I ran out of primer so I'll have to pick more up tomorrow. You really can feel the difference in the chequer plate - the acid etch really has keyed into the metal, and has given a far better surface for the topcoat to adhere to.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/416.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/417.jpg

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They'll get another coat tomorrow.

Great Job mike, been looking at the same GULLWING DOORS myself just dont have the dollars at the moment.

I want to install one myself so I have access to our 80lt waeco fridge so I dont have to keep opening the rear door.Also good tips always good to learn from others who do it first.

She's gunna be one nice decked out defender mate keep the pics coming :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by MacFamily

Great Job mike, been looking at the same GULLWING DOORS myself just dont have the dollars at the moment.

I want to install one myself so I have access to our 80lt waeco fridge so I dont have to keep opening the rear door.Also good tips always good to learn from others who do it first.

She's gunna be one nice decked out defender mate keep the pics coming :thumbsup:

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No worries. If you do decide to fit one and have any questions, give me a shout.

Want to see my shiny bits?:D

It's been a couple of days, but work is getting done, and progress has been made. As I said earlier, all of the exterior bar work to date has been primed, and today the wind died down enough to stop my spray paint being spreadhalfway across the Barossa valley.

I decided that satin black metal paint, courtesy of Solver Paint was the way to go - hard wearing, very little glare, and relatively reasonably priced. So far the front bar, exterir and interior chequer plate has been sprayed, as well as the spare wheel carrier and auxiliary fuel tank. The roofrack will get done later once it's welded up. Three coats, each coat cut back with steel wool beforehand. I'm vey happy with the way it's turned out.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/06/1957.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/145.jpg

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Thought I'd breathe a bit of life back into the headlight surrounds while I was at it...
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/147.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/148.jpg

Made a start on the roof panels this evening. Another trip to Clarke Rubber got me some grey carpeting - 2m roll at about $35 a metre, it makes for a pretty cheap headliner.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/149.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/01/150.jpg


The carpet glue is setting as I type this, and is coming up really well. I'll post more photos later of the finished article.

I got around to finishing off the roof today, and it does look good - better than I ever expected it to. I've received quite a few PM's about this, so I'll post as much info as I can.

Here are the panels, ready to be fitted. As I mentioned earlier, I left the mdf panels in place for a couple of weeks to take the shape of the rood, then removed them to fit the carpet. The carpet itself is nothing special - grey corded carpet, straight off the roll in Clark Rubber. it comes from a 2m roll, which works out well for the size of the roof panels, and 3.3m of it was enough for me to cover all roof panels, plus some left over for the roof console. Similarly, the glue that I used was taken straight off the shelf in Bunnings - carpet and tile adhesive. Messy as hell to work with, and seems to never completely cure. When you are cutting the carpet, cut it so that at least a couple of inches can be folded over the back all round. I cut one of mine a little too short in regards to what could be folded over, and it make it twice as hard to fit.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im.../2010/01/8.jpg

Before you put the panels in the truck, mark out the centre line in chalk (all panels will be riveted down the centre), and in the case of the front panel, there are also two roof spars running over the passenger and driver's head. I used a builders chalk line to ping the lines on the carpet. If you are doing the same, check what kind of chalk is on the chalk line, as some builders chalk is permanent. Guess who spent an hour this afternoon frantically scrubbing after reading the back of the chalk bottle....

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im.../2010/01/9.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/10.jpg

If you have cabling to run, plan it out beforehand. I ran cable for speakers and lighting - if I decide not to use them, I can tuck them back into the roof. One trick to follow is to tape your cables on the back of the roof liner, and run your cables in straight lines. This allows you to know where your cables are at all times, and prevents you from accidentally putting a screw through them.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/11.jpg

If you want the rivets not to stand out, you can get anodised ones pretty easily. Or spray paint a bunch of them, as I did :)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/12.jpg

Front panel, riveted in place...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/13.jpg

Middle panel, about to go in. Alpine windows have already been cut out of the MDF - the carpet can be cut to fit later. Lighting cables have been taped in place.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/14.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/15.jpg

Second panel, riveted in....

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/16.jpg

And last, but not least...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/17.jpg

The join in the panels. The join looks a lot more obvious in the photo - I'm guessing because of the flash. In the light of day it's barely noticeable.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...2010/01/18.jpg

It looks good, far better than these photos can do justice, and I'll take more tomorrow in the daylight. Anyone with a sagging roof lining, I'd recommend to do this. It's far more durable than the factory fitted lining, easy to clean, solid, easily replaced in the future. And it's cheap. if you remove the cost of insulation, the materials for the roof came in as follows:

Carpet: $104 (bear in mind I ordered extra for the roof console)
Adhesive: $13
MDF: $30 (3 full sheets)
Time: Lots, but that's part of the fun :)

Mate Reading with interest like everyone.

Curious have you any concerns over the popr rivets pulling through the MDF or the MDF cracking up?

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Originally Posted by mike_ie

No worries. If you do decide to fit one and have any questions, give me a shout.

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Originally Posted by scott oz

Mate Reading with interest like everyone.

Curious have you any concerns over the popr rivets pulling through the MDF or the MDF cracking up?

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Hey mate,

not worried about the MDF cracking or breaking down - it's pretty far removed form the old fibreboard that used to be used, which went powdery and brittle in the heat over the course of a few years. And its a hell of a lot more stable than what came out of it, by the sounds of things.

The rivets I did give consideration to, and I did thing that I would have to get rivets with a wider head - I've seen some with heads of about 15mm or so. But leaving the MDF in place for a couple of weeks has forced it to take the shape of the roof, and the rivets don't seem to be taking any weight. I'll keep an eye on it and will replace the rivets if necessary.

Have I mentioned that I love lasercutting? :) Because I do. Particularly when it comes to cutting out some window guards for the defender. I had originally planned on making up some security mesh and macgyvering something together, but the material being the pain that it is to work with, I soon started to give it some serious consideration. Some design time in front of a computer, and a mate that did some cutting for me after work, and this is what we came up with....

Some experimentation, and I decided that 25x45mm apertures were the way to go. Anything smaller, and it obscured the view too much, anything bigger, and they'd be redundant.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/02/788.jpg

Guards for the rear windows. These will be going on the interior of the vehicle.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/02/789.jpg

The back door guard can be riveted straight on; the side window guards have tabs that can be bent into shape.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/02/790.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/02/791.jpg

Guard for the side window. This will be bolted on to the exterior, to provide a visual deterrent, and to accommodate the sliding window. If I sleep in the back, I want to be able to leave the window open at night, with some degree of security.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/02/792.jpg

These things look much better than even the photos depict. I'll be phoning up the powdercoaters tomorrow to get a price on coating them, and I'll post up pictures afterward. IF people are interested, I may look into getting a few sets cut out.

Lovely work. How much did it all set you back?

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Originally Posted by spudboy

Lovely work. How much did it all set you back?

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A carton of beer ;)

I met the guy a while back, and we became mates basically. When he needed someone to lend a hand with some computer work, I offered to help. He was happy to return the favour. I programmed up the design, and he cut them out on one of the machines at his workplace. The prototype, for want of a better word, exactly fits the vehicle - I was happily surprised at how accurate my measurements were.

I mentioned that I'd be posting pics here, and my mate said he'd be happy to produce a batch if I can get a few people interested. The ones I made are from 2mm steel, which seem adequate to me, but they can be made from whatever you want - 3mm steel, even stainless :D