The story of our Red T2, Jiggly (Project thread)

[Blocky10]

Well, I feel a lot better now... Nice new clean ticket, with no advisories..

Congrats:thumbs
Great feeling, especially with no advisories.

 

[jims-terrano]

Great news about the mot.

Got to say I always have someone close by on fire watch and I insist to be there when my son is welding too.

So what's next on the agenda for the trucks?

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Congrats:thumbs
Great feeling, especially with no advisories.

Thanks, you are so right.

Great news about the mot.

Got to say I always have someone close by on fire watch and I insist to be there when my son is welding too.

So what's next on the agenda for the trucks?

I lifted all the carpets, and I have an old tread from an aluminium caravan step, which has curved edges, meaning the tread part is about 40mm up. I put that over the weld area, so nothing can drop back down, and then as I mentioned, have a bucket of water on standby, and after seeing a tip on Youtube, I have the air nozzle from the compressor to hand, to cool the welds, and blow any flames out. I didn't do it this time, but with the stick welder, I had one of those 3litre pump up garden sprayers filled and primed, they work great at putting out small fires, but it was a cheap one, and stopped pressurising the last time I went to use it. Must get another one.

I still need to do a bit more Waxoil on both of the cars, but that is such a messy job, and I want to paint the Sills with Black Hammerite on Jiggly, I did it on mine, and I like the look..

Now I have my welder, I am looking to make a new and improved suspended false floor for the ferret cages. The one I made from aluminium sheet, and pop rivets, has worked well, but has had many mods over the years, and we have learnt a lot from it. It now needs to go back to the design stage to make it work even better for us, so I will be looking at making the frame out of angle steel, so it is stronger, but takes up less space.

I am also upgrading my DLR lamps, as the ones I fitted were cheap ones from Halfrauds, and have started flashing. I am going to fit a set to Jiggly as well, just deciding on where to put them, I fancy using the cut out in the bottom of the bumper, but trying to find a light that will suit the location is proving interesting.

I am also watching Tdougs radio mod with interest, as I want to change Jigglys radio to an Android one like Brian's (britrb) when funds allow.

Other than that, it's a case of enjoying them and the caravan for the remainder of the summer...

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

I have gone through the thread, and hopefully updated the pictures away from Photobucket, to my own hosting. Trying a new package, so time will tell how good it is

Fitted a set of DLR light to Jiggly yesterday. I am pleased with the look, they actually look like they do belong in there.

 

[Blocky10]

I have gone through the thread, and hopefully updated the pictures away from Photobucket, to my own hosting. Trying a new package, so time will tell how good it is

Fitted a set of DLR light to Jiggly yesterday. I am pleased with the look, they actually look like they do belong in there.

I like them. Have you a photo of them before fitting. I think that's the size I want under the back of my roof rack. :thumb2

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

I like them. Have you a photo of them before fitting. I think that's the size I want under the back of my roof rack. :thumb2

They are Ring Lyra Dual Function LED Day/Night Lamps BRL0398.

I got them very cheap, as the guy who purchased them, wanted to use them as courtesy lights in his van, but they are not any good for anything but DLR's, as they work in a very strange way...

Basically, they have the 3 wires you would expect, 12v, Ground, and Side Light sense, but the 12v wire needs to be a permanent live, even when they are off, and it then senses the battery voltage, to know when to come on and turn off. It also stays on for 15 seconds or so, after you turn the engine off, they say "as a way to find your way to the front door", but I think it is in reality the time it takes for the battery voltage to fall again.

Unfortunately, there is no way to turn them on without the voltage being raised by the alternator charging the battery.

 

[Blocky10]

They are Ring Lyra Dual Function LED Day/Night Lamps BRL0398.

I got them very cheap, as the guy who purchased them, wanted to use them as courtesy lights in his van, but they are not any good for anything but DLR's, as they work in a very strange way...

Basically, they have the 3 wires you would expect, 12v, Ground, and Side Light sense, but the 12v wire needs to be a permanent live, even when they are off, and it then senses the battery voltage, to know when to come on and turn off. It also stays on for 15 seconds or so, after you turn the engine off, they say "as a way to find your way to the front door", but I think it is in reality the time it takes for the battery voltage to fall again.

Unfortunately, there is no way to turn them on without the voltage being raised by the alternator charging the battery.

:lolback to the drawing board

 

[terranosaurusdoug]

:lolback to the drawing board

You seen this site yet?

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

:lolback to the drawing board

I ordered these to go on the front of mine
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/High-Quality-DRL-Daytime-Lights-Front-Daylight-Lamps-5-LED-CREE-HQ-V6-D/142032987117?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Not fitted them yet, as I need to do some fettling of the headlamp surrounds to do it.

I tested them, and they are very bright, and if you look in their shop they do many other types and shapes as well.

 

[Blocky10]

You seen this site yet?

What site's that T-Doug :naughty

 

[terranosaurusdoug]

What site's that T-Doug :naughty

http://www.lightbar-shop.co.uk/LED-...QYlHrRfGlkHh4SqViuiUmrmphoCmkXw_wcB#/home.php

Sorry, I was having a bald moment :lol

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been making up a way to mount Suz's roof light bar in the same position as it is on my car.. The problem was, I thought mine was a 48" light bar, so was happy when I got a great deal on a 50" one for Suz... Trouble was, Mine is only a 46" light bar, and that extra 4 inches makes all the difference.

I made up some brackets out of stainless steel, and mounted the light, but it had so much sideways movement, it was no good at all... Eventually, I found a way to make it all nice and rigid, with the added benefit that It now has a nice row of running lights along the top as well.

After lots of fitting, and removing, to get everything set up, and then many days of painting it... I hate painting!!!... today I fitted it and wired it all up.

I mounted the running lights low down, so while you can see them from a distance, as you head towards the car, they disappear behind the light bar, so they can't dazzle anyone when up close.

The connections are via 2 waterproof "Deck" sockets,

Just need to paint the end covers now, and I am very happy with the result.

 

[Blocky10]

That is a job very well done. :bow

Could you link me to the deck connectors please

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

That is a job very well done. :bow

Could you link me to the deck connectors please

Deck Connectors

You can get them cheaper from China, but I thought I already had a couple of spares in the box, then discovered I only had 1, so wanted to get them quickly. I have some on the rear of my car for the top lights, and they have been on there for 4 years. I just undo them every few months, and stick a bit of Silicon grease in them.

I seal them down to the roof with a some Silcaflex as well, I don't trust the rubber gasket on it's own.

 

[Blocky10]

Deck Connectors

You can get them cheaper from China, but I thought I already had a couple of spares in the box, then discovered I only had 1, so wanted to get them quickly. I have some on the rear of my car for the top lights, and they have been on there for 4 years. I just undo them every few months, and stick a bit of Silicon grease in them.

I seal them down to the roof with a some Silcaflex as well, I don't trust the rubber gasket on it's own.

Thanks. Have some ordered:thumbs

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

I got a lovely present from my Wife today, a brand new compressor.

A few years back, not knowing anything about compressors, I purchased a 25l compressor from Costco. It seemed like a bargain, but it has been a disappointment pretty much since day one. I wanted to use various power tools, but insufficient air is generated to actually run the tool, and even once the reserve tank is full there is not enough to run the tools for more than a few seconds. It's been fine for waxoiling, and using a air nozzle for cleaning filters, etc, but most of the tools need a lot more air.

I managed to find a tiny air grinder/polisher that would run for a small amount of time, and often used that. Then the other day, the compressor started making a strange noise, sort of like the big end's were going, and a few mins later, it stopped producing air.

So the time had come to look into getting a new compressor that was more suitable for my requirements, and after spending many hours researching online, we settled on a 50litre 14CFM unit with good reviews. She ordered it Sunday evening and it arrived this afternoon.

I also got a lot done today on Jiggly.

I had to fit replacement DRL's, as the Ring ones I previously fitted were rubbish, and kept turning off. I got some the same as I fitted to my car, and the same control box as well, but these take a lot more wiring in than the Ring ones. Now, they come on bright when the engine is running, dip when you go onto dipped beam, and they have a couple of extra features, where they strobe when you hit the horn, and flash on the same side as the indicator, to make it even more obvious when you are indicating. All wired up with water proof connectors.

While I had some of the dash board out, to get to wires, I decided to look into why the heater controls has stopped illuminating. That's a fun job, as you have to remove a substantial part of the dash board, to get the heater controls out. Once out, I discovered one of the LED bulbs I had fitted, had gone sort circuit, and had burnt out one of the tracks on the PCB. The LED was one of those tiny ones I had purchased off of EBAY, and when I took it apart to see what had happened, one of the wires had come off the back of the LED, sprung over and touched the other. I repaired the track, and sorted out the LED, making my own, so that can not happen again.

Now, since I had most of the dash out, and I also used those same LED's in the main dash, I decided to take them out and double check all of them as well, putting a short bit of sleeving on each of them, to make sure they can't do that again.

 

[solarman216]

Sounds like a worthwhile mod Clive, yes you can never have a big enough compressor, I have a sand blaster and if I want to use it un-interrupted I have to run two 3 Kw compressors hooked together, Rick

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Sounds like a worthwhile mod Clive, yes you can never have a big enough compressor, I have a sand blaster and if I want to use it un-interrupted I have to run two 3 Kw compressors hooked together, Rick

I have seen the size of your compressor, it would take up half my garage... :lol This one is a bit of a compromise. I have limited space, and only a normal household power supply, so, the one we have gone for has a 3hp motor, V twin cylinders, and can supply 9CFM at 90PSI, which is enough for the majority of tools I will want to use. Anything else, and I will just have to put up with start/stop.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Well the other night, as I sat drinking a cup of tea, I heard a tractor being reversed into the drive way!! The lights shining through the front window curtains implied it was my wifes car, and the time of night suggested it was the time she should be getting in from work, but that racket could not be from any car that I looked after.... Surely...

Then the front door opened, and in came Suz, looking a little more harassed than she usually does after a day at work, and then an hours drive battling with the M25 drivers.

She looked at me, and says, "I'm really sorry, I think I have broken my car." "No kidding" says I.

Now I should say, I am suffering at the moment, the joint pain is back, and affecting what I can and can not do quite badly, but I need to go and check out the car, so I wrap up, and head out to look her over. Suz is all for trying to find somewhere to take the car, but between my own experiences, and what I have read on here, I am loathed to let anyone else touch one of our cars, and especially hers, as I like to know what ever is done to it, is done properly and safely.

Just to recap, a couple of days before the MOT, the flexy joint on the front down pipe decided to go, so as time was limited, I tried to be lazy, and just cut the flexy out, and install a replacement clamp in one... Well that went badly, firstly, you still have to remove the front cross member to be able to cut the flexy out, next, the flexy would not seal, then once I had it sealed, and put it all back together, the clamps hit the cross member/floorpan/chassis etc, no mater where you angled them. Finally, I gave up, took the whole front down pipe off ( as I should have done in the first pace) and welded the flexy into place. Even that is not as simple as it sounds, as you have to make sure the exhaust stays lined up, and you don't put a twist in it. Finally, it all done, back together, it was no longer blowing, or hitting the car, and she passed her MOT...

So back to now. I looked under the car, and discovered that the blow was at the front, and my first thoughts were that my welding had probably let me down, it was after all one of the first things I did when I got my new welder. I then discover that it is the actual flexy joint that has gone, right on the top, and in fact my welds are still fine.... Luckily Suz is working from home the next day, so I pop round the corner, and order a new front downpipe, which they inform me will be in by 3pm that afternoon...

Now here's the really annoying part, the front Flexi cost about £25, then there were the clamps, plus after I took it all off to weld it into place, new gaskets, and all in, it came to about £30(ish), and about 8 hours work... New front down pipe with gaskets, £35, and took about 3 hours, and even that was only because one of the manifold studs kept trying to cross thread, so I had to re tap it, which is a very fiddly job.

Moral of the story, "there is no such thing as a cheap short cut".

Now to try and get my hands, wrists, and shoulders to stop hurting....

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

We decided to change some of the light switches in the house, after the burglary, for time switches, so popped round to our local electrical wholesaler to gets some bits. The road they are down, is quiet narrow, and at the entrance to the road is a Jewsons, that has these 40foot curtain siders that pull up to deliver. So there is just enough room between the wall, and the side of the lorry to squeeze through, but the wing mirror is brushing the curtains of the lorry, where they are hanging out. Just as Suz got to the last one, there was a bang, and the mirror folded round into the drivers door...

The mount was smashed... Well I decided for the sake of marital harmony, especially after the week Suz has had, that now was one of those occasions to play this down.... "no problem, I'll fix it"...

Yeah right.. it was well knackered..

We are doing a lot of motorway driving at the moment, so I need to sort it as quick as possible.

First job, to take the door card off... the pozidrive screw/bolt that holds the inside handle on is totally shredded and I can't get the screwdriver to bite... After goodness only knows how long, I finally find a 10mm socket with a thin enough wall that will go up the hole in the handle, and fit onto the outside of the bolt, but even then, it's cross threaded, so is very hard to undo, and I have to re-tap the thread and find a new bolt for when I re-fit it.

So I go onto Ebay, and find a person breaking a T2, the same colour, and just a year newer, and order up the mirror.. The trouble is, the picture was of the whole car, as he was hopping to use the listing for the wing mirror to advertise that he was scrapping the whole car. Fortunately, the listing said that it was the one with a 5 way connector as opposed to the 3 way one and as I needed the 5 way connector, it looked perfect...

Doh.... Not sure how many on here know, but there is a 3 way connector, (e.g no heated mirror) and there are at least 2 different 5 way connectors...

The one that arrived is the "Other" 5 way connector.

Then I notice that Suz's mirror has a colour coded cover, and the mirror surround is black, the one I have just got is all red, and made in one piece.

2 hours later, I have managed to produce a hybrid mirror from the 2 and set to work re-fitting it all back to the car.

"Sorry hun, I hope I did not create too much work for you, I know you are super busy at the moment"... "No.. it was easy 5min job, I just had a few other things to sort out in the garage!!" :augie :lol