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Steering, Steering Steering.... I had modified the bottom arms to get more lock, (they were fine until I bolted the calliper on and the mounting bolt hit the arm) forgot to model that in CAD! So I was always going to remake them and the top arms before it was finished, I had also moved the anti roll brackets a few times and they looked a bit rubbish. Well I remade them a few weeks ago and here they are,   SO they all got fitted on and set the tracking and camber etc, Did I get better Lock..... Did I F%ck  Well a little better but not as much as I wanted. my old dodge RV was 6 foot longer and had better lock so I have been looking for a front clip off a P30 for a while now as the Bentley engine's sump was in the way before hence having my own arms etc on the front, But now with the Ford lump in instead there is clearance for a decent cross member, and in the states they tend to use the P30 chassis a lot for COE builds, just not that many over here unfortunately , I did buy the old green RV for this but it was just to good to cut up in the end, but had done all the measuring while i had it, just in case, Anyways I bit the bullet and a road trip to Bisley in Surrey one day..   Bit of grinding and cutting later  And its on, Thought I may need to get some dropped spindle when I was measuring ever thing up, turns out step vans and campers have 1" raised spindles compared to C20's and 30's so you can fit them for a 1" drop or get 3" dropped spindles also,  But it turned out ok in the end for now , Also Had to buy some new wheels as its 8 stud now and I couldn't redrill or make adapter's coz the PCD's are to close, but the new wheels look pretty good and they are 16's so the tyres fit, Now the steering needs some tweaking, as in I need to move the engine mounts now as they are in the way and the engine needs to move up a bit for clearance, make an new steering column to mate up to it all, make the new bag mount plates etc etc... But I'm sure it will all be fine  and I will make it to RetroRiders Weekender |
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Last Edit: Feb 27, 2024 8:27:29 GMT by atomman
Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Also found someone to alter the old Beford RL army truck canvas to fit properly, in exchange for a bit of CAD work   Just needs some more tie down straps adding and a good coat of new water proofing stuff |
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Oh wow, that was quite the front end overhaul that you played down a fair bit there haha
Days are getting longer, sun is breaking through a little more... Almost time for some cruising and adventures!
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Oh wow, that was quite the front end overhaul that you played down a fair bit there haha Days are getting longer, sun is breaking through a little more... Almost time for some cruising and adventures! Yep managing to get down the workshop after work now rather than just closing the curtains to shut the rain and dark out, Just a couple of hours a night makes a difference, It was a bit of a mission to sort the front clip, well still ongoing lol, about ready to move the engine mounts this weekend so the steering has enough clearance to fit but I have made the air bag mounts for it and test fitted them last night  So I mite be able to plumb them in to and see how it all works, May not go as low now with the bag in there as the other picture was with no spring at all, |
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Engine mounts now moved and engine sits up more and looks a lot better in there probably closer to its original potion when it was new with a Y-Block in there, had to change the air filter so that now sits in the dog house, also didn't go low enough with the bags on there, And the back is all done so didn't want to redo all that again, So ended up getting dropped spindle from the USA which are 3" but actually lower it 4" as mine are 1" higher than a stock C30...   Also these came up on my Instagram feed, they just slot in and a R-clip holds them in place and when you get to a show just air it up and take them out and the bracket stays there, pretty good idea and a bit of safety, rsrbuilds.com/products/pre-order-63-87-airsafe%E2%84%A2-emergency-support-kit-for-air-ride-suspensions?variant=47735717134624So I knocked some up to fit my set up, which means if a bag goes pop these bump stops stop it dropping to the floor, so I can find some where to fit the spare bag I carry under the seat,  Also seems to a lot of COE's coming up for sale recently over here and in Europe for some reason ? 5 in the past 2 weeks ! these came up on the USA to $4k each and he had a pretty cool tow rig ,  just the brake lines to finish off, had to order some imperial brake fittings for the flexi connections, run a hard fuel line on the chassis and modify the steering column to meet up with the new box, oh and the Ford ranger anti-roll bar i brought ages ago , looks like its the right width to mount on the front which is nice, looking forward to the (second) first test drive with the new front set up and hopefully a lot better steering lock |
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Last Edit: Mar 12, 2024 10:18:14 GMT by atomman
Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Very cool, i'd never really considered the risk of a bag blowing out, makes perfect sense to have a contingency plan if that ever does happen! Are bags considered as a serviceable item? Swap out every couple of years? That tow rig is incredible! There is a guy close to me who brings in loads of US trucks, mainly big stuff, quite a few COEs and the likes. Last time I was up his yard I absolutely fell in love with this...  Never knew this existed and oh what a thing it would be slammed into the ground and with a little truck bed on the back. |
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Mar 13, 2024 10:19:51 GMT
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Very cool, i'd never really considered the risk of a bag blowing out, makes perfect sense to have a contingency plan if that ever does happen! Are bags considered as a serviceable item? Swap out every couple of years? That tow rig is incredible! There is a guy close to me who brings in loads of US trucks, mainly big stuff, quite a few COEs and the likes. Last time I was up his yard I absolutely fell in love with this... Never knew this existed and oh what a thing it would be slammed into the ground and with a little truck bed on the back. That is SO awesome! don't think Ford ever made a 4 door COE , Seems to be a thing in the states to modify them into 4 doors though, Where is he based? I think if I went there I wouldn't be leaving empty handed though.  here's a better view of the safety bracket thing, Bags do go, usually if they rub on something or are over inflated , but I suppose they have a life span to, A friend has a transport truck that he take caravans up and down the country and has always told me to carry spare bags, like he does "Just in Case" |
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Mar 13, 2024 12:47:45 GMT
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Yeah better to be safe than sorry with those sorts of things! Especially is the suspension has the ability to drop to the floor in the event of a failure!
The truck chap is based just outside of Milton Keynes, he goes under 'ajkperformance14' on ebay. Brings a lot of stuff in for films so often what's in his yard never makes it to ebay, or take a long time to turn up depending on if it is rented or sold for filming and so on..
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Apr 16, 2024 11:49:06 GMT
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I know this is probably tempting fate but , I have done about 50 miles so far this Sunday and seems OK, It now gets round the mini roundabout at the bottom of the estate no problem and I even had it up to about 70mph on the local dual carriageway and the rear canvas didn't fly off ! A couple of squeaks and bangs but that was with the rear bags inflated a bit to much with no load in there, So just been trying different settings to see how it feels and rides, Helps it stopped raining in Wales for the day to, So I could drive around with the windows down listening to ever sound it made and went back to the workshop after even little drive to check stuff over then back out again a little bit further, but all seems ok and I am building a bit of trust in her now, Touch wood You can now drive it pretty much on the floor with the new clip but the anti-roll bar is the lowest part then, no good round here with the potholes everywhere though, So may modify the mounts to take it up a bit more to be safe, Also managed to get some paracord and mount all the sides and stuff, hopefully may even be able to drive with these down to,  Re-CAD'd the front spikes after the clip change over & they looked a bit pony so re-designed them this morning, to look a bit chunkier, print some of tonight and see if they look better,  Here she is in all her glory. , with the sun out just to prove it doesn't rain all the time in Wales, oh and it just about fits on my driveway which is Nice |
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Last Edit: Apr 16, 2024 12:00:59 GMT by atomman
Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Davey
Posted a lot
Resident Tyre Nerd.
Posts: 2,348
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Apr 16, 2024 12:03:49 GMT
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Great to see this finally getting on the road!
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K11 Micra x3 - Mk3 astra - Seat Marbella - Mk6 Escort estate - B5 Passat - Alfa 156 estate - E36 compact
Mk2 MR2 T-bar - E46 328i - Skoda Superb - Fiat seicento - 6n2 Polo - 6n polo 1.6 - Mk1 GS300
EU8 civic type S - MG ZT cdti - R56 MINI Cooper S - Audi A3 8p - Jaguar XF (X250) - FN2 Civic Type R - Mk2 2.0i Ford Focus - Mercedes W212 E250
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Apr 16, 2024 13:25:48 GMT
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i’d have to spray up that bumper to look like teeth/fangs
looking fantastic , big old beast , a real presence on the road i bet
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Apr 30, 2024 13:36:07 GMT
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been getting the shakedown miles in, 70 down so far went to a local Harley Davidson dealer with a few other local yank cars the weekend    then I went to Lidl and B&Q to do the weekly shop and get some stuff, can fit loads in the back lol but also get some funny looks |
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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250 miles in now  Engine is running in nicely and brakes work well now bedded in, put some more rivnuts in the rear bed to stop it banging about so much, and some general checking of mounts and bolts to see if everything is cool, Actually turned the stereo on while driving the other day so must be growing in confidence with it |
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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May 13, 2024 18:26:53 GMT
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Cant believe I'm finally posting this but made it to the weekender in the truck !! This was the scene 8am Friday morning  Went thought every suspension nut and bolt spannering up and making sure stuff was cool for the trip, Drove over with some fellow RertoRiders from Swansea at a steady 55 on the M4 then cut down the A27 as I was still trying to run her in , apart from losing a couple of 3D print wheel spikes there was no drama's, we all got the campsite around 7.30pm and what an awsome campsite it was, So many cool cars and people just having a good time,  set the truck up into camping mode and had some beers and just walked about checking out all the RaD stuff around us, and there was a lot of stuff, later some guys showed me some pictures they took of my truck with the northern lights above it , they looked so awsome wished I had given my number to them so i had a copy, but I had drunk a few beers by then and wasn't thinking, hopefully then will post them up on here sometime,  Up early Saturday morning and ready to go into the show,    some very nice people took some photo's of my truck that makes it look so much cooler than I could with my skils , All I can say it is THE BEST show of the year and the attitude and appreciation for every type of retro is second to none, I had a great day checking out stuff and talking to some very cool people about the build & catching up with old friends and meeting new one's, unfortunately I had to drive back to Wales Saturday night so missed Sunday but I'm gonna make sure I stay all weekend next year!!  now she's on nearly 700 miles ,it's time to change the oil and filter and plan some more adventures |
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Last Edit: May 14, 2024 10:41:01 GMT by atomman
Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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May 14, 2024 12:45:31 GMT
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You were camped opposite us & I meant to come over for a chat, but it was so busy over the weekend I never managed it - sorry!
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May 15, 2024 11:07:38 GMT
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You were camped opposite us & I meant to come over for a chat, but it was so busy over the weekend I never managed it - sorry! Ah me to, I did think it was your Pop but got waylaid with everything and had to go back to Wales on Saturday afternoon unfortunately |
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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May 23, 2024 15:18:21 GMT
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Ah man, I am really liking this.
The COE suits this look very well!
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Good morning all, Truck is now on 1143 miles, Took it to Bristol Volksfest last weekend and all was good apart from a little split in the vacuum line to the gearbox modulator on the way home, So it would only change UP gear at like 5k! But all sorted with a new bit of pipe, Also explains why I was messing around with the idle and timing on Friday before I left,   Also in other news , remember its little brother I got a couple of years ago ? Well I have finally started it now that the COE is on the road, I do still have a to do list that needs doing but can do that with it on the road now in-between other stuff is the plan, I have been off work for a week or so and the sun was actually shining in Wales so managed to get a bit done, Engine out , front suspension off, new Mustang II front mocked up and also the 302 to manual box slung in there to make up mounts etc, anyways some photos will explain better,           Its now on air to and hoping to get it on the floor , well the running boards on the floor when its aired out, Still gotta knock up some new engine mounts and finish boxing the front rails in and fully weld all the front end in, but need to get the new back axle in with the 4 link next and getting it sitting right just in case I need to tweak the front a bit more before hand, I have learnt a few lessons from the big truck along the way It still amazes me how slamming stuff just makes it look So much better though |
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Last Edit: Jun 11, 2024 9:57:12 GMT by atomman
Play'in round with an old Datsun & a Ford COE
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Jun 11, 2024 14:16:52 GMT
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I can't be the only one thinking that the perfectly placed rust hole in the front wing, would be most excellent if it had a little turbo screamer pipe poking through just a little... |
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and I will make it to RetroRiders Weekender 
