Thread: Expedition Home-build - AU to IE

Originally Posted by WedWon

Great threasd Mike!!!

But don't skimp on the details of the trip itself. It sounds phenominal.

Which route are you planning to take? How long do you anticipate the journey will take you? Are you going to try and get sponsorship and document the trip with a webpage?

Info, info, info.

Love the truck build though

Jason

Well the plan so far is to spend some time travelling around Australia itself, before shipping the Defender to New Zealand. I'll spend about six months there I think, before shipping it on to South America, where the big trip begins. Maybe a year or more in South America, then on to Central and North America, Canada and Alaska, before heading on to Europe.

Depending on whether I can pick up work along the way to supplement my pretty meagre funds, I'll be at least a couple of years doing this I think. And bearing in mind that I left Ireland about two and a half years ago getting here. Once I'm home in Ireland, I will of course start planning the return journey - at the risk of sounding all hippyish, my dream for a while now has been to do a wound trip of the globe.

Sponsorship... yeah, that's a tough one. I didn't try too hard at the start of the year - with the financial crisis being what it is, writing to companies asking for help was a waste of time. Now that things have improved somewhat, I'm writing off every day now, hoping fro a response. In addition, I try to get in contact with suppliers of 4WD gear, in the hope that they might sponsor the use of some equipment. My luck hasn't been great so far. I'm not looking for a free ride, it's just a matter of mathematics - without help from people, I simply won't be able to do this. But people are slowly getting interested. I've gotten a write up in a couple of newspapers at home, so it's a start I guess....

So if there are any big business out there willing to throw anything my way, feel free to get in touch!

Originally Posted by cewilson

Take the sliding windows out and put in one that opens to the outside - like the canopies on a ute. It will secure better and is a lot more user friendly.

The thought had occurred to me, and I kept an eye out for something that would do the job. Haven't seen anything at the wreckers yards so far that's suitable - I am open to suggestions though

Originally Posted by cewilson

Take the sliding windows out and put in one that opens to the outside - like the canopies on a ute. It will secure better and is a lot more user friendly.

can't you just swap them over then in side out and then remount the locks?

Originally Posted by mike_ie

Had to work for a while today, so didn't get too much done. Did pick up the fixtures and fittings for the fuel system though - $150 worth of brass fittings...

But despite appearances, it is coming together...



Started marking out the overhead console. 6mm ply should give it the rigidity that I'm looking for, without it being heavy,



I've cut the new roof panels to size, and am using the Defender roof itself as a former for the curves. The panels are 3mm MDF, wetting them down, then lining them up and slowly jacking them into position over the course of a few hours ensures that they don't split. They amost follow the curve of the roof perfectly now - after a few more days they'll have taken that form permanently, and I can line the sheets with marine carpet then.



I'm looking for a few opinions on this one. Seeing as the two sliding windows are one of the weakest points security wise, I'm toying with the idea of putting some security mesh in the back windows. While this will never stop anyone determined enough to get in, it does deter the opportunist, and it means I can leave a window open at night while sleeping, without some light fingered git helping himself, or while in slow traffic, etc.

My options are wither mesh on the outside, or mesh on the inside. Mesh on the inside is far easier to install, it can't actually be grabbed in order to rip it off. However, it does make it difficult to open windows and such. Mesh on the outside solves that problem, but it's not as easy to fit - I'll have to make up a frame for it, and I risk my Defender resembling a riot squad van

Any suggestions? Should I even bother at all?

Great thread.

Why the mdf? Why not just glue the marine carpet straight to the foam? That is what I have done to the roof of my IIA ute and it has been fine.

These are an option instead of the windows, but they are $$$:
LR Def Gullwing Door TD - Dolium Pty Ltd

If you put the mesh on the inside, it will make it harder to open the windows, however it will help stop the tinting/glass getting damaged by thing inside the vehicle.

If you put the mesh on the outside, it will likely be more of a deterrent.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

Great thread.

Why the mdf? Why not just glue the marine carpet straight to the foam? That is what I have done to the roof of my IIA ute and it has been fine.

Simply, because I didn't think that glueing the carprt to the foam would be solid enough; I figured that it needed backing of some sort. And for $20 worth of MDF, it wasn't that much more effort. Glad that glueing it straight to the foam worked out for you though.

These are an option instead of the windows, but they are $$$:
LR Def Gullwing Door TD - Dolium Pty Ltd

Yeah, I really like these - I'd love to put one on one side of the Defender - that way you could cook inside, and pass stuff outside, or access gear and equipment form the outside. I'd be sorely tempted if it weren't for the price...

Originally Posted by mike_ie

...Any suggestions? Should I even bother at all?

Mate, I think you are better off having internal access to the outside rather than the other way. Chances are, at least in Oz, you'll want an easy way to get some creepy-crawly out while you are snoozing without having to go outside.

Great thread by the way! Has given me confidence to have a go at my leaky ex. man. gasket!

And, not a hint of Irish accent!

Originally Posted by discomuzz

And, not a hint of Irish accent!

I know - perhaps I should have said "Musha begorra - should I even bother at all at all??"

I know boat windows are another option but still not as secure, have seen some with mesh on outside, as in security door alloy and a frame around it, maybe you could do it on outside with the locking device on the inside so the window is opened then unlocked the security window all accessible from inside.
so if anything goes wrong you can get out.

Well it's been an interesting couple of days. Did a job for a guy in town yesterday, turns out that he works at a laser cutter, and may be able to help me out in cutting out anythign that I need. Early days but we'll see how that pans out.

Anyhow, seeing as I am adding to the fuel system, I needed to make up some brackets to keep it all together. I like a tidy engine bay, it makes it easy to see when things go wrong, so I spent a bit more time than I should have on this. The main components are the fuel filter and the heat exchanger - the fuel solenoids are on their own bracket near the injector pump.

all primed and ready to go...



Bracket in place. It's bolted to two of the manifold studs, and is stabilised by the EGR blanking plate bolt.



Everything temporarily bolted up. The reason I wanted both heat exchanger and filter in this location is that it's sheltered, and heat from the exhaust system can be used to keep the filter and heat exchanger warm. It's also solid enough that it won't break when getting bounced around the place off road - that heat exchanger, full of oil and water, is pretty heavy. I'll do a proper write up of the SVO system later, when it comes to gettin it up and running.






And finally, new glow plugs. Thank you eBay UK - four new glow plugs for less than the price of one here, if you are willing to wait a week for delivery.



Started welding up the cross struts on the rear roof rack, but the arc welder I have access to is a cheap one - two settings, 2.5mm or 3.75mm steel, take your pick - and the braces are too thin, so I need to find someone with a tig welder.Anyone in the Adelaide area willing to volunteer half an hour of their time??

To make a change from bashing bits of metal with big hammers, I made a start on the roof console this evening. 1/4 inch ply is the material of choice - it's thin, but strong enough to span from door to door, and a lot lighter than MDF. I'm going for an across the windscreen console - I think in the defender that it's a lot less obtrusive than one running down between the seats. I'll bring a small t-section out from the shelf to house the radio, and whatever else I get around to adding.

All marked out. The shelf isn't overly wide - the defender doesn't really allow for it without encroaching on your headroom or field of vision.





Always room for adjustment before cutting I made sure that the t-section was wide enough for a din sized mounting, and tapered it out to make it look less boxy.



Luckily for me, I have access to a decent wooodworking shop, so there are no shortage of tools. I drilled out the radii, and cut the rest on the table saw, but a jigsaw would achieve the same result.





The edges are bevelled to 25 degrees, more for aesthetics than anything else - I don't want the end result looking like a coffin



Now you get an idea of the basic shape of the console.



I'm putting a backing strip on the joins for two reasons. One, it makes it far stronger, and two, I want to route the corners, and still have material left to hold the carcass together.



Temporarily together, to get an idea of its shape. I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow - it's getting too late to be messing around with a table saw - I like my fingers attached