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Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 5:42 am
by Warwick-Lowlight
MrHappypants wrote:Stopped the pan from rusting any further until i save up for a welder to be able to fix the small holes. Will be using the pan like this until further notice ... its not the work some of you guys are doing but its at least better than it was! and for me, thats progress.

Used a paint scraper, hand wire brush, wire wheel on a drill, NS1, NS4 and NS8...
Dude that pan looks Awesome
Maybe leave some well positioned holes in the back for drainage - for the scale washdown after a good outing :lol:

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 10:10 am
by MrHappypants
Warwick-Lowlight wrote:
MrHappypants wrote:Stopped the pan from rusting any further until i save up for a welder to be able to fix the small holes. Will be using the pan like this until further notice ... its not the work some of you guys are doing but its at least better than it was! and for me, thats progress.

Used a paint scraper, hand wire brush, wire wheel on a drill, NS1, NS4 and NS8...
Dude that pan looks Awesome
Maybe leave some well positioned holes in the back for drainage - for the scale washdown after a good outing :lol:
Shot man! ... after its first outing this weekend, it definitely needs a good wash down inside ... so much dirt on my clean refurbed pan :twisted: :hangloose:

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:11 pm
by MrHappypants
So a fishing trip had been planned for Easter weekend ... leave on Friday, come back Sunday ... this was planned on the 23rd of March while we were on another fishing trip! ... and I wanted to drive MY buggy there ... The chap that is busy spraying 'Olive' was taking his sweet ass time, last week another buggy came up on gumtree without a motor for a bargain and it had the exact same shape body as Olive so i jumped at it and purchased what is now known as 'Dirty-Eddi' ... The next week was set aside for D-E and this is his story ...

Monday the 25th

The final top coat of NS8 was painted onto the suspension and pan that is being used from the Blue Lady. The seal between body and pan was put on. Dirty-Eddi's body was taken off his old pan (thank goodness the chap that built D-E used stainless floorpan bolts, he came off no problem). And D-E was put onto his new pan (which he wont be on for too long).

A few pics of the "partially restored" chassis That D-E went onto:

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Tuesday the 26th

My first-ever attempt at wiring ... Armed with a few wiring diagrams, a new ignition switch, a new 8-blade fuse box, a few fuses, my first crimper, a new roll of solder, a couple meters of different coloured wire, a tester light, new headlights, new indicators, new breaklight/indicator clusters, new flasher unit, an on/off toggle switch, an on/off/on toggle switch and last but not least ... a moerse load of DETERMINATION!!! I DID IT! ok, i ended at 1 the following morning, but i rewired my first beach buggy in 1 day flat! ... it does need a bit of tidying up, but nothing serious ... idiot lights work, driving lights work, indicators work (that took me the longest to figure out), Speedo lights work, fuel gauge comes on but unfortunately sits at one position the whole time. All joins were soldered then wrapped in insulation tape and all connectors were soldered then crimped onto copper terminals. I also put the drivers seat in. Anyway ... i now have a running buggy with no windows ... please excuse the lack of photos as that was the last thing my brain was thinking about.

Wednesday the 27th

Phoned around for a windscreen to be fitted ... PG wanted to charge R1500, I nearly died :finger4u: phoned MyGlass ... R310 fitted with new rubber ... They can do it this afternoon ... and they are literally around the corner, 700m from where the buggy is! Sorted!
I also mounted the breakfluid resevoir and made sure the breaks are working. Centered the steering wheel. Put the plates on. and a few other odds and ends ... Wednesday night and im driving my buggy around the neighbourhood testing it out ... running like a dream but not idling so lekker. I think to myself... thats tomorrows job. So i had a couple beers and admired my work so far :drunks:

Thursday the 28th

Set the Carb ... idling like a champ ... driving like a champ ... what a pleasure! I put the rollbar in with new U-bolts ... how that is suppose to help with anything i have no idea? ..Mounted to a fiberglass body its worth less than a 5c mainstreet hooker. Will be sorting a decent one out for Olive, thats for sure!
Now i need to pop-rivet all other windows in ... took a while but all sealed with silicone. I Put the roof rack on and mounted the spare wheel. I also riveted my aluminium rod holders on the roof rack which my grandfather had made for me :D . its now 7 O'Clock and realise we are leaving at 10 tomorrow morning, better go get the Old Brown Sherry, Beer and Brandy! oh and food aswell :mrgreen: ... i do my usuall fishing trip check .. rods are good, reels are good, got all other terminal tackle. Time to check the weather ... OH SHIT, its raining and windy until next week ... Dammit, but luckily i siliconed the windows! ...... Then it hits me, what a dumbass, i havent sorted any wipers out yet ...sorting these out took me longer that the indicators ... i ended at 2 in the morning as i had to make a running set of wipers from 2 wiper units that were both tired and in an unworking condition. But that DETERMINATION i had got me through the head-scratching moments!!!

Friday the 29th

D DAY!! ... was awake early besides going to bed so late ... the excitement was indescribable!! Will this buggy that i have put together in a week get me the 140km there and back safely in this wet and windy weather! ... What else had i forgotten?? ...it was reassuring that i would be travelling in convoy with 2 other buggies though, also technically minded chaps.

Load up all the supplies... snap a few quick pics before i leave and off we go!!

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...YES!!! it made it there with NO PROBLEMS!! Drives like a dream off-road, and the few sand patches that we went over it handled without concern! Also went over some slippery mud slopes as it was raining ... not a problem!

On the way back it started mis firing and a quick stop to check revealed those huge tractor tires on the back were kicking up water onto the distributor...a good spray of WD40 sorted that out one-time! ... The canopy leaks where it is bolted to the windscreen and in a few other places ... but nothing serious. We had an awesome weekend! A few pics for you guys ...

First fish caught:

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And braaid in a pan:

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Some prawns we cooked that were netted in a river a few days back:

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A small shark caught:

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A nice size fire to keep the heat up:

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Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:29 pm
by Tony Z
nice one.... well done on the wiring!

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 1:39 pm
by Retro13
Congrats on the record fast rebuild, the buggy looks really good.
I don't know what it is but there's something about this pic that really appeals to me:
MrHappypants wrote:
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Must be the 'patina' paint or something...

Glad you guys had such a great trip. :hangloose:

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:55 pm
by buggyfan
Big up to you for achieving all of this in such a short amount of time,this goes to show that you can build a buggy over a weekend :drunks: :drunks: :drunks: :hangloose: :hangloose:

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 10:09 am
by MrHappypants
Thanks guys!!!

@Retro13 - I quite like that patina style, nice and rough!

Took the buggy for a cruise yesterday to go check out how Olives body is doing... 85% complete! The next body, I do myself!! ... Once i get Olives body back home, she will sit in the garage until i have built and wired her exactly how i want, then will do a swap from Dirty-Eddie to Olive.

Here are some pics of Olives body ATM (note there are water drops):

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Why the windows in the doors were not taken out and the door handles and hinges were not taken off, i will never know, because i will never ask ... some peoples children ... :roll:

Thats it for now ... taking the sides from dirty eddie to be sprayed as Olives original ones were in a very poor condition. Matt black with olive green stripes ...

:hangloose:

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:53 pm
by Ron&Gill
Please tell me you put the shark back in the water unharmed... :(

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 3:59 pm
by MrHappypants
Ron&Gill wrote:Please tell me you put the shark back in the water unharmed... :(
Yes, the shark was put back unharmed. Although i have eaten one before ... they make great steaks for the braai! I only keep what i will eat, and i stick to MCM rules and regulations.

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 4:32 pm
by Ron&Gill
Cool. I never thought I would become a fan of sharks, but since I have been diving I have seen them and I have learnt about them, and I have realized their importance and how endangered they are.

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:49 pm
by piesang
Yip, building or rebuilding a buggy get under one's skin. (daai goga het my ook gebuit)

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 8:27 pm
by kts customs
hi my wife wants to know if u released the shark lol

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:37 pm
by MrHappypants
Ron&Gill wrote:Cool. I never thought I would become a fan of sharks, but since I have been diving I have seen them and I have learnt about them, and I have realized their importance and how endangered they are.

Sharks are awesome ... amazing creatures ... some are endangered and even prohibited to catch (Great White) but not all species. The one in the pic is a Dusky (or Grey) shark, and there are a fair amount in our Eastern Cape waters.

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:39 pm
by MrHappypants
kts customs wrote:hi my wife wants to know if u released the shark lol
Hi, as i posted earlier in response to ron&gill, the shark was safely released.

Re: DoubleD ... The Life

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2013 11:42 pm
by MrHappypants
piesang wrote:Yip, building or rebuilding a buggy get under one's skin. (daai goga het my ook gebuit)

hahahaha thats for sure! that goga bit me hard.