Damn it was cold in the shed today! Was wearing 5 layers of clothing to keep me warm. I had to keep moving and working tho' cuz otherwise I would not have survived :)
So the guy we're renting the shed from hadn't installed the lighting fixture yet. Damn, how much work can mounting two screws and a cable + plug be. So I decided to do it myself. Fortunately I had an old vacuum cleaner lying around of which I could use the cable. Et voilá, 35W of cool translucent light!
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After some more tidying up, it was time to put my Midlock 1300 spring compressors to the test. Some advise to use vice grips to prevent the compressors from 'walking', or even 3 spring compressors. Since it was my first time using these Midlocks, I tried the vice grips, only to find out that it isn't necessary, with Midlocks at least. Can't speak of the cheap spring compressors, but my Midlocks are rock solid. It did take quite a few alternating turns but in the end it worked out really well. When you remove the centre lock nut, jam a screwdriver between two bolts to keep 'em from turning.
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I tried to remove the gland nut by clamping it in the bench vice but I didn't have a long enough bar to make it budge. So I moved on to the front sus instead. Had to stay warm!
The nuts and bolts looked absolutely awful and promised lots of hard work. And again I wasn't disappointed. Fortunately nothing broke off, nor did the front fall from the jacks :) I only got to removing the front anti-sway/stabiliser bar and both tension compression rods cuz I had to be back home on time to do the cooking and pick up my little girl.
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A pity but on the other hand, after 5hrs in the cold I was longing for some warmth!
The last couple of days I've been talking to John from Baddog parts about the availability of some parts listed on his site. Looks like I'll be the owner of some good,straight door panels ($35 ea.) and a good steering rack ($60) soon. I was planning to make the frame rails myself, but in the end it'll be less hassle if I'd buy John's frame rails. Waiting for the final quote and then I'll place the order.
With the engine out of the way, the chassis sits a lot higher and there's more light, making inspection a lot easier. The front frame rails are completely gone :/ Gotta do some serious reconstruction and welding work. Darn, if I would have to do this again, I'd buy an empty chassis from Az or Ca!
