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Well it’s been a while since I’ve been around here. Finally got a working rig again. I never liked red phuckin’ Jeeps, but one managed to find its way to my house. I may have helped guide it here… Damn, I have missed wheeling

I've been keeping my eye on a new cabinet since we moved into this house. Home Depot has this one that they get in randomly and only once or twice a year. I don't think it ever goes on sale - it's just a "special order" product that you can get while it lasts. Husky 52-inch W 20-inch D 15-Drawer Tool Storage Chest and Cabinet in Textured Black | The Home Depot Canada I was really looking for like a 46" box, but this Husky one was cheaper and had all the features I wanted - soft close drawers and power in the box. Now my overflowing 24" box I had since my first vehicle can be repurposed ... for something.

Bit of an update on the rear brakes. Unfortunately the Mitsubishi rotors are not going to work without major reworking, because they are too tall and a bit too deep to fit the caliper within the 15 inch rim..clearance is tight!!. No big deal as they were super cheap, so worth a shot. Because of MVI and the fear of an inspection seeing DIY brakes, I decided to buy Sky's Offroad Design caliper brackets and pre-modified Chevy rotors, just like Clarence's. If I factor in materials, my free time, which is pretty limited right now, it works out about the same cost as making my own brackets, buying standard Chevy rotors and paying for them to be turned to fit. So, excuses out of the way, I've got one side offered up, and made some brake line brackets. Next step is to chop out the other side and do the same. One thing I have learned is, the GM metric calipers with ebrake are an absolute PITA to setup. There are videos with various techniques to get it done, so no worries there.

We close the cottage at the end of October. It’s not winterized. Then back at the rigs - l hope! LOTS of maintenance and upgrades done at the cottage. Mama bear is happy, so I’m happy!

Took an early morning drive to Lynds in Truro and got what I needed

Just to finish this off - I had a bit of delay ordering the wrong parts, but the right part finally came in yesterday so I got it installed. The media hub for the 2018+ RAM is a different shape - short and wide vs. square. The media hub from a 2017 Chrysler 200 is nearly the same size as the original 2015 RAM hub. Just requires a little bit of plastic trimming to make it fit. The new media hub is required because there is some sort of chip in it for CarPlay. Got it all fit up, looks OEM. Super happy.

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Also got a new shop toy to play with, a very used but functional tire machine. Iv always had access to tiremachine, but since iv gone self employed I don't have that perk anymore. So here it is, tried it out on the spare tire for the Nissan, remove and reinstall lol. I'm happy with it, sure beats swapping tires manually lol.

It's official, I'm full time Towing full time for myself, FireballTowing and recovery! It's crazy leap, especially since I just committed to buying a new er car for Tracey after she flipped the Xterra. But I feel great, like a huge weight was lifted and scared at the same time! If anyone needs a tow, 902-329-3440 , or a heavy objects moved, I delivered a brand new snow blower and more odd non car related items. FireBall Towing and Recovery ! I'm so excited

So this happened, couldn't pass it up , it came home with me. It's a 1986 Jimmy, lifted, 35" tires, 350cid,700r4 and a transfercase? Sitting for a bit, originally from the west, very minimal rust. I'll fix this one because it's much better Condition, and use the 1980 as a parts truck. It has a hidden winch in the front bumper, stainless braided flex hoses on the brakes, all spring lift , no blocks, real nice rig, but needs some mechanical repairs, more to come on that

Hey @TomWood! Good to see you. The Ranger with the color, light, and rally decal just SCREAMS 1984 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 4x4

Sold this truck today, going to a good home.

Installed! Looking back - Princess Auto rack for a full-size: And removed before the BackRack:

my favorite photo was this

One for Eugene.... if you haven't watched it already. Derek is a hoot to watch, and his vehicle revivals are hilarious @sar4x4

Fancied a change of wheel colour and can't afford new rims. Initially went with white, but it was too bright, so changed it to a sand/beige

Search for new fishing spots led to some impromptu wheeling. Like I really need an excuse though...

DEATH WOBBLE After replacing tie rods and swapping tires for MVI, the Zuk has suffered with immediate death wobble, even on smooth flat road. I had the whole steering apart, adjusted the tracking a dozen times, swapped tires and still death wobble. These Duratracs have airsoft beads in them to balance them out, and the street ride was always always shakey after 80kms. Sometimes it would come and go as the beads moved around. And the highway was plain miserable. So, I had the beads removed and tires balanced problerly. No more DW, and no more shakes I suspect the tire in the photo was bad enough to cause it.

Got bored last night and decided to run the Lucasville - Rifle Range trail solo for the first time in like 20 years... Not the same easy trail it was back then for sure

Hey fellas just saying aloha for the first time. New member from Beaver Bank, been wheeling trucks, 4 wheelers, and dirtbikes for 30+ years but only recently got back in a rig after a 10-15 year hiatus and noticed I've forgotten a lot of the trails locally in Middle Sackville/Brushy Hill/North Beaver Bank areas. If anyone could help me out with some rudimentary trail maps or at least directions to get to trailheads/landmarks I would be eternally grateful, possibly bubbly about it... Running a 1994 YJ Wrangler wallet-destroyer, 33's, 2" shackle lift, 2" body lift. SYE kit, 8000lb winch and zero f**ks. Liking the site so far, except the lack of some sort of trail maps, which would be outstanding for someone like me who's forgotten more stuff than I learned in the last 20 years in the last 5 My Heap:

Little trip up to north Beaver Bank on Saturday afternoon to make Granddaddy Hill my *****.... Ended my day with a torn off shock but fun nonetheless

Got invited to an impromptu tour of Ellershouse and convinced the guys to take Matt's hill. It was still very steep, and a lot of the trail was wider than I remembered. Anyways, I was happy we took my suggestion as it's a really fun trail

I bought the YJ from Bill. Good buddy of mine.

Hey that Samurai passed me on Sackville Drive today... Looks sweet!

Decided to drive this truck for awhile and to that end might as well do a few things I always wanted / wished it had. To start, I picked up a Customtronix Jailbreaker Enzo which is a little box that sits inline with the head unit and the rest of the harness in the truck to intercept signal and inject stuff based on how it's configured. I'm using it to add the front camera signal and to do the conversion between the new CarPlay head unit and the old BCM and gauge cluster in my truck. It also adds a feature called "park pro" where the front camera will automatically come on under 12 km/h and turn off again when over. I think I like it? The camera I chose is mounted in the front grill emblem. It's stock-ish looking so I'm happy with it. Clear enough. I've also learned that the different head unit makes a big difference in the brightness and clarity (the same camera on my new HU is MUCH brighter than the old one). So in 2018 RAM changed their 8.4" head units from Harman Becker to Panasonic and with that added CarPlay. They also changed the "media hub" (the usb ports) to add some sort of chip that enables CarPlay so you need both of these components to do the conversion. These Head Units are like hen's teeth so I've been scouring car-part.com for awhile now. I finally found one in BC, jumped on it and had it shipped with the media hub. I also needed a media hub conversion harness (different plugs on the back of the new hub) so I picked up one of those too from a guy that builds them on one of the RAM forums I'm on ... support "local" I guess. When the HU arrived it was in nearly perfect condition (for a used 2018 HU). The screen has some normal wear and tear and unfortunately one of the "Fakra" connectors on the back was missing - the one for the radio antenna. So I had to order a pigtail and wait for that to arrive. With all the supplies ready to go I set out last night in the freezing cold and pitch black dark (optimal time to do electronics work) and set out to getting this thing installed. Pulling the console apart in the RAM is pretty straight forward. I have the console with bucket seats so you remove five screws around the "tombstone" and then yank up the trim (just clips) on the centre console. Once that is out of the way you yank the "tombstone" off the front and then everything is ready to be disconnected. There are no less than six wires connected to the back of the tombstone that you let go and then it's out of the way and the HU is exposed. HU has four bolts holding it in and then there are another five or six wires connected including the big harness. For style points I decided to wrap the Enzo harness in fabric tape to look like the OEM harness. I also had to disassemble the console lid to get the media hub out - I think there are 7 hex screws holding it together. You pop the hub out from behind, put the conversion harness on and reconnect the new harness. I'm going to try and source a 2017 Chrysler 200 hub as it nearly fits perfectly in the 2015 RAM hub hole. The 2018 hub is MUCH wider than my 2015 so I'll have to cut it up to make it fit. If anyone knows where I can source a 2017 Chrysler 200 usb hub please let me know. Swap the process to re-install, but this time I put the Enzo in between the truck and the HU. Button it all back up and voila! The new HU did require a dealer PIN as it was locked - no big deal, I made sure to get the VIN from the donor truck. It also required three resets to "learn" the features my truck has. From what I can tell - all is working great now! At the end of the day I have a "factory" install and ALL of this was cheaper than buying an aftermarket head unit and the necessary harnesses, dash kit, and HVAC controls / converters. The truck's HVAC is controlled by the head unit so if I replace it with aftermarket I lose those features (or some don't work or the hardware buttons don't work, or the controls in the aftermarket HU are hard to access, etc.). They actually make entire new HVAC controls for the truck when you replace the HU - new dash panel, new physical buttons (or sometimes touch screen) just to make it all work. And then there is the issue that my truck has the Alpine "premium" stereo which has an amplifier, etc. that aftermarket HU's just **** the bed with. It's a hassle.

Will also use this as a off roading rig, be back in the woods again

Here are some pictures of the parts iv been accumulating for some time now. It all looks like junk, but it's all pretty solid , and has the right amount of beef. First pic is the frame I'll be using, I have to add a couple crossmembers to it and put the new cab perches on it. The front suspension will be removed and tossed, it's TTB d44 HD and of no use. Next pic is HP d60 front, nothing special, will be adding a leaf to that set of springs along with new bushings, and total rebuild, adding a locker and regearing. Tossing the 4.10:1 aside and installing 3.55:1. Next is the 8.25r16 military tires on steel wheels Picture of the black truck, it will give up it's front clip, hood, fenders , grille etc, Pretty rust free bed, and a super hard to find rare rad support , it's the HD version for the front end I'm using, a 1 Year only piece, and it's rust free And the white cab I'll be using. Power is coming from a Ford 6.6L inline 6 turbo diesel, backed by a Eaton fuller 6 speed and a divorced np205

The "DUKE" got it's new headgasket, along with the rest of the gaskets needed while pulling the head, also did rear shocks, new muffler, intermediate pipe, new tail pipe, new side mirrors, new rear brakes and wheel cylinders, fixed the inoperative wipers, fixed the inop reverse lights, installed really ugly license plate light, swapped tires with the Nissan and gave the Duke it's identity back by installing the proper GMC grille. When removing the head, found a broken head bolt!? Was broke for a while, had bit of rust on it, and found bent pushrods. !? Didn't see anything to cause those issues, and the pushrods weren't kinked , but had slight" wow "when rolling them on a flat surface. Straightened the pushrods for now, I have a complete new set on order. Truck has badgas, so bad to the point I'm amazed it ran at all, had a completely plugged fuel filter, and looks like the tank must have some rust in it. Iv ordered the parts to do a complete fuel system rebuild, including , the fuel injector, injector seals, fuel pressure regulator rebuild kit, throttle body rebuild kit , new fuel pump and fuel pump sock , and a new throttle position sensor, it has a dead spot on the gas pedal in the same spot regardless of engine rpm.

Alright, this build has some direction, iv had a chance to give it a good onceover it and see what's what. I purchased it without much history or information. Tcase is np208. The transmission, 700r4 is only "sitting" in place, only two bell bolts in, and not tight, starter hanging by the wires, flexplate has a bolt into the convertor, no exhaust other than rotten headers. 350 Engine and engine bay look complete and intact. Body wise it will need rocker sills, and a couple minor spots in the quarter panels along with 2 spots on the jimmy tub. Overall very happy with body condition. Another positive is the front winch mount, there is a 9000lb magnum brand winch with a fairlead through the front bumper. Iv also acquired a chrome front bumper to replace the rusty painted one. Onto the suspension , it looks like a quality full spring lift kit in the range of 6", with a raised steering arm, and beefy 1ton tierod and ends. The brake flex lines are all stainless braided lines, and proper securing clips, axles are corporate 10 bolt diffs front and rear, I haven't checked gear ratio out yet, wheels are factory rally wheels with 35x12.5r15 bfg rubber. My plans and reasoning lol: There is a questionable history on the transmission that's only partly installed, possibly confused with time. So rather than take chances on that, I have in my possession a nv4500 5speed(still currently installed in a newer bodystyle truck behind a 6.2gm diesel). I have a np205 round pattern 32 spline transfercase iv been holding onto for probably 13 years, that will mate to the nv4500. Found the clutch and brake pedals from a guy in the valley that removed them from a parts truck he had, and it's for the hydraulic clutch setup. Planning(hoping) to leave the 350 as is, just tune up and get running, and do the required body work. And get that winch working. This Will be a daily driver/wheeler One other mod is a spare tire mount. I'm thinking the swing out style bumper mounted tire carrier will be the solution to that. Now that there is direction, I'll keep progress updated. The black 1980 jimmy that started this thread will now be used as a parts truck for this one.

post wheeling maintenance.... front brake pads replaced, readjusted the rear brakes, replaced rotten diff breather hose and greased up the suspension arms. 20211127_133125_1.mp4

AFAIK they don't check passport there.

i use Dis

Sold other vehicles so the Ram Raider will stay.

Brakes are in, just need to hook up the parking brake lines. Took me a while to bleed them as they cannot be bled in place as the bleeder isn't at the top. Had to make the hard lines, which are toyota bubble flare to GM double flare.

Plasti Dipped my grill

Ebay rear brake conversion calipers came in today. 1980 Eldorado rears. Unfortunately my bracket is for a landcruiser, so too big to bolt on the axle. So I'll see if I can modify it, or just make new. I haven't worked out rotors yet, but I do have a set of new fronts for a 1984 toy truck.

Ive got the whole week off work this week, so been talking advantage of the nice weather with a lot of Zuk road time. I could spend all day driving around...anyways.... Took Tracey out to an appointment, and on the drive I picked up a clicking/cracking noise. Turned out to be a bad rear wheel bearing. I don't think they're meant to stop dead on a spin like this lol Lucky I caught it this week, and not on the drive down to Fox Mountain!! Thankfully I already had a Trail Gear bearing set on the shelf InShot_20210810_163655718.mp4

Thanks. I should rename from Tango to Microlander now lol Covered the privacy shelf with rubber mat and added some tie-downs for a cargo net. It's camping ready now Also switched out the restricted intake coupler for a 3" flex pipe. Should get at least 0.356HP gain now LOL And welded up the rear bumper so the tire carrier is back on now.

Bought a used bench grinder, what a great tool that is!!! Shaped and painted the intake braket. Noticed the intake coupler has a nasty kink in it, which might be restricting air flow. On the hunt for a better one now.

lol re: ugga duggas. I don't remember where I heard that first, but it cracks me up each time. Looking at this reminds me how much I need to give the Heep some TLC. So many other priorities around the house though.

The last of my steering and suspension pieces came today, except the tie rod, they substituted it with a paper oil filter!? Anyway trying to get that sorted out. Also got some new warn premium hubs too. Almost ready to pull the trigger and start yanking wrenches on this rig.

WooHoo , shiny stuff showed up today

FYI - these are on sale again (ending today!). Picked up a set for the Heep ... will be good for the fam too if we're out doing things I guess.

LED light bar is installed! Works Great! Forgot what it was like to have good off road lighting

autumnwalker

I dont see any pics, so it can't have happened

More Progress, and interesting find, I found the original keys to the truck, they were sitting in the glove box haha, oh well, at least I found them before I changed the door lock cylinders, saved some time there. I tore apart the front diff long side axle tube, replaced a snap ring, freed up the stuck shift collar and now the Duke has 4x4. tried it out around the yard, worked as it should, no issues. got it in for undercoating, I pulled the grille, headlight bezels, door vents and taillights in their parking lot, and they did an awesome job for me , got everywhere with it and lots of it as this truck was dry, very happy with the undercoating job. Installed a spare tire on a spare wheel, now I have a spare, Picked up new upper rad hose, I'll install that tomorrow, and I have an original s-10 BAJA faux rollbar. Going to mount it tomorrow too. It's got one original light still on it, looks kind of goofy with only one, I'll mount an led light bar on it

Refurbished the power steering reservoir

lol I love the **** you bring home ... one of these days I might get you to help me find some cool old junk. To answer your question, I just use a snow blower. I'm looking forward to using it in the new house as I don't have to be concerned about neighbors - I can fire the snow wherever I want!