GRIZZ’s English 2001 S10 Extra Cab 4.3 V6 Truck

[Grizz1963]

John the lodger took his V-Max trike to a friends house yesterday.


Came back in the afternoon with @craigrk ‘s wheels that will go onto a yet to be built, garden wagon that can be hand towed or behind a garden tractor.


The rims need some bashing, and they do need two hubs.





Being disabled, losing a leg etc certainly does not mean unable or unwilling


Next thing he came down with a 160cc proprietary engine that had been fitted to a kart, and abandoned by its owners.


I had offered £10.00 for it.


Worth a try at that money.


@nickwheeler had his own opinion on it, which may prove to be correct.





I have stashed it in a dry corner of the carport for now.


Future fodder for the barstool racer.


More Rezin Rockit time today.

[Grizz1963]

You know those days…..?


Loads planned, loads done, not much to see….l?


Yes, one of those.


Nick came over by midday.


During the week he had rebuilt the loom into something lighter and more flexible


With its ancillaries


Looks a lot less threatening now.





Scrap from the loom totalled up to 3kg





I had spent some time being a nice boyfriend, and then time doing little jobs like cleaning the paint off the chassis where to chassis numbers are punched in, not very clearly.


Spray painted over it in black.


Then made up a complete new plate that will be attached elsewhere too, much more legible.


After that I started working on bringing the heater matrix, box and blower fan together.


Nick carried on with the pedal box, clutch master cylinder relocation, minimal space but got it perfectly fitted. BIG FIDDLY JOB, TRUST ME.





Carrying on with the easy stuff, the heater box needed some thinking too.





Cut, fold, fit.






Starting to resemble what it will be.






Also made and welded a support and holding bracket inside.



Front strap bracket made using @nickwheeler ‘s Riv-Nut tool.

Absolute magic.



Finally did the last trimming on the blower unit and then bonded the parts together.


John the lodger was on hand to pump out the Soudal Crystal glue/sealant for me.





The actual holes for the heated air to be directed into the footwells will be made one final fitting of the blower, wiring loom, ECU etc has been decided.



More in a bit.


Coffee.

[Grizz1963]

In-between making coffee and doing cosmetic stuff, Nick was beavering away.

First big win was getting the clutch master cylinder into the bulkhead after trimming a bit from the brake system brackets, and the mc base.

Minimal when you look at it, but a ton of work to make it fit and look right.

You can see it fitted in the last photo.


Firewall clearing continues.






I hope @nickwheeler comes and describes what happened here, he is more capable than me.


Suffice it to say he hoped that this amount of adjustment would save on some fabrication…..



Errrrrrrrrrmmmmm……?



NOPE !



Buggerrr !!!





Resulting in the whole assembly coming out once more, and Nick taking it all home to remake.


Similarly for the throttle cable where the beautifully made cable ends needed to be remade possibly 0.5mm bigger holes to fit the cables.


I guess that is the kitcar boogie, two steps forward and three steps back.


I ordered a gearbox shifter boot on Friday, yesterday, less than 24 hrs later……l



DELIVERED.





LOADS OF LUBE……..



Fitted.





Removing the brake master cylinder and trying to make its rusted, seized parts move, failed.


So now we have another brake system part to find.


But it will potentially see the whole braking system being new and rebuilt.









Eventually we ran out of jobs to do.


John caught Nick and I sitting going through next jobs and tasks.


@pedalcarjoe Ernie likes a happy photo.





Closing shop at 18.30 felt early, but was a good time.


A rubbish night, netting me 4 hours sleep in total, sucks.


Also hoping to take delivery later of Sally’s new fence panels after the storms destroyed some.


Thanks for checking in.


Breakfast next.

[Grizz1963]

What a day.

Guess that’s what a day job is about.

In between meetings, clients etc, I also raced around doing about 55 miles to go get stuff in various places and dealing with a hysterical friend whose best friend (long term cardiac issues) was found dead at home yesterday.

Anyway…….

Back to Sunday.

I started earlier than usual, more brackets, fine tuning and fitting for the heater blower done.



Also made a clever little spring loaded seat for the fan unit to sit on, along with that bracket.

Then a small tab for the front end as the exits still need to be decided and planned, then cut and fitted once the dash is built.

Around lunch time @nickwheeler got here after spending the morning in Rochester Cathedral.

He brought gifts….. made these overnight, clevis, lengthened clutch actuator and some squirty things…..



For the screen washer, new Cortina items (I think)



Also brought this tool.

I had never seen or used one.

But I needed it as I had managed to create a use for it.

Spectacularly tactile and a true lifesaver.

Nick was telling me (I forget the make) he had bought it to work on a Russian airplane and his them boss was blown away seeing him extricate himself from a wing structure to report that he had repaired a load of faults, using it.

10 virtual beers for the guy who identifies what it is and used for.

It fixed my problem in less than 5 minutes while Nick was making up a braided hydraulic line.





While I carried on with other jobs, Nick sorted out the brake and clutch pedals and assembly.

The recessed tray for the blower in the transmission tunnel was sealed and bolted in, blower set up to allow for spacial planning.

Also edited the gear stick hole a bit more.

It still needs a gaiter to either be made up, or even an existing one to be edited to fit.



More in a bit.

About the proverbial hitting the fan, thanks to Karma.

[Grizz1963]

So the thread file was used to tidy up the gear shifter thread, as I had managed to damage it slightly when removing a very tight collar from in and miscalculated my hammer angle.

Fixed now.


Right……


Back to Sunday and the Kitcar Boogie.

You know the one, two steps forward and three steps back.

It had become time to fit and fix the windscreen frame so that ECU,,relays, fuses and wiring loom can be fitted and fixed, as well as heater pipes, controls and then the firewall plate and its embellishments.

But Karma had other plans.

When @nickwheeler had done the pedalbox, actuators etc, it all went together relatively easily, as if he had been dealt a bonus card.

So I cut and prepped the bolts that became the studs to be welded into the Land Rover screen that @glenanderson had donated to the build.



I drilled the holes for a tight fit, cleared all the galvanising away for welding, magnet placed and then Nick tacked them all.



Trial fitting the 5 studs showed one hole needed a 3mm sideways elongation.

No problem, I did that while Nick welded up the studs.

Perfect.

Errrrrmmmmmmm…. Nope. FAIL.


Though we did not know it at this point.




So next step was get the Nyloc nuts in there and tighten it down with a high density foam sealing strip.


HA HA HA HA HAHAHA.


When we assembled the support, I will take the blame here, the angle was welded in the wrong way around, and despite drilling, noticing it all, I had forgotten.


Look closely at my KING SIZED COCK-UP.


Can you see the problem yet?




Yes, no way a nut and socket will be going in there.

Space is tight, very tight.

So a variety of options were considered, including a tungsten carbide bit to whittle away 25mm of each holes obstruction.

In the end I drove to Aghabridge and saw this display when I got there.




Explaining my dilemma through the medium of a few photos, Karma smiled and an engineer found me some 15mm pipe with 11mm inner diameter hole, cut me some and sent me on my way.

FOR THE TOTAL PRICE OF FREE.



From there I went to get some replacement M10 bolts and extras for the firewall work that still has to follow.

Hopefully this will come together on Friday when I have a day vacation.

More to come.

[Grizz1963]

So where were we.

Cleaning up my act.

Monday evening after work I ended up in the garage because Sally was knackered and had gone straight home after walking the dog.

So I started on some nice, easy win jobs that ultimately need doing.

Cleaning, Flap Wheeling, Scraping, Masking, HEATING And Painting a few pieces

Clutch MC and reservoir ready.



Pedal box.

Manky as hell.

Needs new rubbers.



Flap wheeled.



Better.



Dirty Big Donut.








Much happier with them all uniformly painted.

Have also ordered a £64.00 new Brake MC to fit.

Heating each part before painting when it is 7’C outside meant slower going, but it beats sitting around indoors.



Came in after this lot.

Happy so far.

[Grizz1963]

Remember these bonnet/hood latches that were seized up and rusted away.




Well, thought I would try open them, if they broke….. hey, meant to be, if not…. Money saved.

I really like their design and they suit the car.

Bench vice, spanner…….

Cleaned up the steel bits with a small “Knotwheel of Truth” @pauly ©️ and painted.

Used some Autosol to try polish up the handles a bit.

Not great, but improved.



Halfords wheel silver paint.

Hook tab shows condition before when removed from the bonnet/hood.




AND REASSEMBLED

Saving myself a bit of cash, plus I could not find new ones in the usual places.




Cleaning stuff is certainly therapeutic as they are small wins that take time and makes a difference.

[Grizz1963]

So the screen, or is that scream?

Removed the studs.

Bought longer units, cut some spacers.



Tried them, should be fine.



Then decided @nickwheeler would love this look.



Done.

And yes, no paint where the new studs will be welded up.




While I was on the cleaning up run, I decided to buy a nice new, working brake master cylinder.

£64.00 delivered..

Hope to rescue to reservoir from the old unit.



Work today.

Vacation tomorrow.

Saturday spoken for.

Sunday has opened up again for a bit of poking and shoving.

[Grizz1963]

Godzilla is alive.

My friend JB sent me a short clip of his first start up of his 861bhp Cobra with Godzilla 7.3 liter motor.

So I called him at 4.00am Oklahoma time, he was driving to gym, before heading to work.





Video:

https://youtu.be/k_1Rm5qlsOA

Should move along nicely.


Work owed me some time.

Planned on getting a few things done at the garage, but ended up distracted by a few friends randomly popping in for various reasons.

So got some tools and wood together and went over to Sally’s house to fix her fences that were damaged by the recent storms.

Time flies, but by 5.00pm as I was leaving, she got home with the dog in tow.

Dog is really unwell, vets had nothing to say, gave some meds but thats it.

Sally likes the new fences and some changes I made.








Bonnie the pup does not look sick, but totally listless and not interested in food, play or anything.




Friday today.

Vacation day reserved for the garage.

All day, so maybe a bit of progress.


Later.

[Grizz1963]

Another day in the garage, having the day off helps.

@nickwheeler and I were busy from 11.00 to 18.30 with a load of fiddly jobs.

Some necessitated fitting and removing between 5 and 15 times…….. let that sink in for a moment.

After removing the original studs welded to the screen, I prepared the parts and started again.

Some gentle cursing, but eventually mad laughter and almost a high five.








I repainted the screen in position late in the day to get its second coat on.

Also the glass fixing strips.







Remember the kitcar Boogie?

Still dancing.

Pedal rubbers came, look great.

HOWEVER……

Brake master cylinder came too….. not right.

Everything is the same, except mounting face and lugs WTaF ??






Lovely.




Another great job Nick got on with was creating the earth straps for the engine and also the dash supports.

Brings new meaning to the term “over engineering” but, plastic cars can be pigs for earthing.

Threaded bungs he made, drilled, welded into the chassis, then all bolted together, gearbox mounting bolt for the engine.







Some Heat shrink in size large needed.




Of course all this gets disassembled once the fuel tank and exhaust are built in.


Maybe after that a final body bolt down.


Maybe.

[Grizz1963]

Along with the other jobs he was doing, Nick was wrestling with copying all the holes, mounting points etc in the firewall.

Most of the complex stuff sits to the drivers side.

So making up the template was done section by section and then stuck together one by one.

Patience of a saint…… Saint Wheeler.



Eventually part 1 was done, and Nick was jubilant as a kid at Christmas, came charging in where I was painting trim pieces to show me.

Bloody nice to see that piece together.

Much more to come.

Happy Chappy.



One of the reasons for now making a full,new aluminium firewall is the stupid hole cut in over the transmission tunnel.

More cardboard added here to get is covered over.



Cut around and filled.



Screen frame in place too.



Just before closing up, with the cardboard template in place, a selfie.

Today I will go add a couple more holes, for the main ECU wiring loom and the heater hoses in the centre and to the right.

Then transfer the wibbly wobbly cardboard template to some thin Chinese ply I have rather than a single sheet of hard cardboard which I do not have.

Once that is completed and CHECKED AND CHECKED AGAIN, @nickwheeler can CHECK IT AGAIN before transferring to the aluminium sheet and at that point I will cut it out and add the holes for all the mounting points etc.





LASTLY……


BONUS PICS.


NICK INSISTED WE TREAT OURSELVES TODAY.


SO I ASSEMBLED THE HEADLIGHTS AND WE TUCKED THEM IN, USING JUST DUCKTAPE TO HOLD THEM AND BALANCE FOR THE SIDE LIGHTS.


LIKING THIS A LOT.





And semi-side view.





It has taken a while to get here.

But keeping in mind it is a weekend build……….

Chuffed as……

[Grizz1963]

Today was a total loss, timewise and financially, and it is not yet over.

Bonnie the pup is back with the vets, being kept in hospital till Monday.

Already just the initial bloodwork, drips, antibiotics etc are making my eyes water.

Unexpected expenses are a pain, but we love our animals a whole lot, so it will be as it is.

Looking back to about September last year…..

Never anticipated going this far at polishing this turd.



And today we are this far down that rocky road.



So I cleaned up the aluminium that was left over from the Grizz Pod Teardrop Trailer build 12 years or so, ago.



Cleared some more holes and prepared the ply that will become the master template with all the correct holes, cutouts etc for the aluminium



And then did the basic cutout.

Loads of holes etc to be made.

Also cutting to fit nice and tightly.

The fenders and firewall are a curved piece, so one needs to keep to the flat surfaces.



Getting there.

More tomorrow.

[Grizz1963]

Today I will probably only get into the shop around 11.00 as Sally stayed over, as the dog issue had her emotionally tired out yesterday.

So a late, lazy breakfast, maybe bacon and eggs on toast……..

Then get the shop open and get going on the rest of the firewall template I started yesterday.


If the day does deliver as planned……..


Wishfully, this tool may get rolled out (see what I did there)





A nice finish will always be a nice finish.


And an early-ish one too.

[Grizz1963]

After last weeks sand storm from Spain, dropped a load of Sahara sand on everything here, I washed the truck early this morning.

Nice.

Clean suits this truck.




.

[Grizz1963]

So the pup has parvovirus, Sally had no insurance and it seems these residential vets have no scruples. Dog has cost a serious lump of cash and still alive.

She is collecting Bonnie at 7.30 this morning from the “after hours” vets.

Lets hope she gets better.


Part 2 of the plywood firewall template fine tuning and fit started at 12.00

Some may ask why it needed to be done.

Well, with the amount of holes and bolts in it, plus wanting it to be very neat, it had to be more accurate than a patch panel under a rusty MOT failure.

Eventually happy with the tidy, tight fit.

There is a 1.5mm tolerance on all the holes.



Then transferred to the aluminium sheet.

A lot of cutting and drilling ahead.

@nickwheeler had brought his electric shear for a tidy cut on straight lines.

Curves I attacked with the small power file and hand tools.

A lot of hand tools used all day.



Cut out, filed to shape.

Starting to look like it should.



And first loose trial fit.

Starting to look like it should work.



Amazingly that photo was taken at 16.25 after starting around 12.00

Hard to believe how time flies when you are fitting and removing repeatedly.


You know those tools you buy, knowing the concept is good but never actually get to use?

No

Well, part of this build has been the car fighting back, a lot

But…… Yesterday, one of these tools came into play, a few times.

Meet Mr Dodgey, around a corner drilling attachment.

Worked a charm.






More about that process in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

Remember the Bead roller?

Me neither.

In the end in order to stiffen up the bottom edge of plate, Nick put a return in there.

17.15 now…… time flies.

Quick, efficient and functional.

Start with glazing pliers to pull back the planned section.



Then some supported hammer work.



And tighten it all up with some dolly work.

And just like that, no more Rolf Harris jokes.



Next up 101 holes for all the retaining bolts and Nyloc nuts.

Measure, mark, punch, drill, grind back burrs, try all holes………



Holes all holed.

Long way to go yet.



Because the sheeting was from a build 11 years ago, surfaces were damaged.

So a belt sander with used belt was run over the surface.

Followed by me on sandpaper to get even consistency, and Nick on Scotch pad duty to get it looking more brushed than scrapped.



Followed by loads of cleaning with thinners and panel wipe……. Standing back, waiting for it all to dry and the new surface to appear.

A few silly grins, a mini-high-five and then time for commitment, well, we really should have been committed a long time ago.

I opened the Polyurethane adhesive and spread it generously on the old, holed firewall.



Nick had the pleasure of slipping the new plate in place while I took a photo, unfortunately I was a tad slow, so just imagine his manic grin when laying the plate against the adhesive, never to come off again.

More holes, a ton of parts and bolts fitted.

Some clamps to reinforce some load bearing areas’ drying tightly.



And looking down, so much tidier.

A whole day spent on doing it right.



So at 19.30 we shut shop, came inside and I cooked some rather nice chicken thighs with Cajun and plum sauce on rice, along with a celebratory beer for Nick and my usual rum and Pepsi.

A long day, but great results.

Nick ticked the job list off, we are over halfway, but being held up by the fuel tank that is not yet made, and a few other issues.

But we did agree, it would have been easy to just throw this all together in a week, but at this pount, this is a great little build.

Monday morning and it is Back to reality.



Later gang.

[Palf70Step]

Lots of good work there Rian. You guys are really getting after it!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Lots of good work there Rian. You guys are really getting after it!

Thanks Bill,

Yes we are, time is limited, but it needs to get done.




Friday, and the week from hell ain’t over yet.

More training and bo110x from 9.45 onward, but hey………

Tomorrow’s Saturday.

Got nothing done this week except screwing with screws.

Windscreen screws painted as I could not find 40 new ones to hold down the strips I painted last week.



Removed the clamps and pushed the centre loom through the firewall.

Two more looms to get fitted over the fenders.

Really happy with how tidy it has come out.

Compared to what we started with.



In other news, the puppy is back, still in isolation, but seems fully recovered.



Looking forward to the weekend, still a few hours to go.

Onwards as our friend @pauly says.

[Grizz1963]

Good morning after a very short night.

I cooked Nick, John the lodger and myself a lovely chicken curry last night, and in my own case, drank way more than I should have.

Well, a second rum is a rare thing. But usually results in a restless night. But it tasted so good.

Yesterday was one of those MANY JOBS MAKE A DAY kinda days.

Fettling a piece of wood for 2 hours etc.

Started like this.




Sorted some stuff, tidied up stuff and got tools and materials out.

Nick was early, no ringing bells afaik.

By 11.00 I had to run to the village to pick up another brake master cylinder ordered on Friday. £70.00 or about $100.00 at a guess.

Also pharmacy to get some Actifed for Sally who has been sick most of the week and something for me.

Bolted on.

Shiny.



We had hoped the Ford reservoir would fit…..

Looked like a good fit, even initially back to front, but alas…….. the legs are too big to fit in the new holes, which means it needs a different, new reservoir.






Next up, we started to lay the wiring looms for the umpteenth time.



Fuse box and clutch hose mocked up and made up.

Looking encouraging.



Progress.

Looking tidy.



Nick had brought treats for around lunch time.

Short bread cookies.

Time to stand back, discuss, grin, gloat, coffee, plan, enjoy the progress.

Loads of stuff happening in the background, not captured.



More in a bit.

.

[Grizz1963]

Another of those fine tuning, redesigning as you go along jobs.

I had a full sheet of 6mm ply from when I built the teardrop trailer 12 years ago.

And was loathe to cut it up…… Nick insisted that it was what I had saved it for… to be used.

Transferring the layout from the original cheap n nasty ply to the final version took a lot longer than planned.

But we know these jobs take just as long as they should.

It went in and out no less than 10 times to make the basic shape fit, and also for the steering column shroud to fit around and leave room for the vinyl and foam covering.



In Out In Out In Out……..

In Out In…….

Drivers side is slightly lower to cover fuse boxes, pedal boxes and various bits of low hardware.



Next up.

Fitting the instrument cluster.

That took forever.



Eventually happy, very happy.

Switch gear and side panels next.



At some point John the lodger came back home and as always, came to look, advise, help, poke fun.

And took some pics neither @nickwheeler nor I knew he was taking.



No, I have no clue either, but obviously busy with something that consumes time and necessitated being on my knees.

Still not done.

[Grizz1963]

Amazing how much time goes into planning.

Thinking how to solve a problem.

What materials to use.

Finding the right materials.

Making a template.

Copying it it onto steel.

Cutting, shaping, drilling, screwing, shaping, grinding, fitting, tack welding, dismantling, full welding, test fitting 6 screws, celebrating.



John the lodgers pics help tell a story.



And mocking up.

Brains go here.

ECU

Keep in mind, the original engine wiring loom needs to come here and be connected to control things.



Welding.



NIIIIIIIIICCCCE !!!

Secure, high and dry.

Ready to be plugged in and tested (much later)




Remember those other little jobs that consume an inordinate amount of time?/

These hinges needed to come off, be cleaned, wire brushed, prepped, painted and refitted later.

Typically one of the countersunk head bolts/screws refused to budge, so drilling out the head with three different drillbits was necessary.

Where does time go?

Two of each of the replacement screws will hold up hooks to support and keep the wiring loom tidy and out the way……

Tempest Fugit.





Last engine bay pic for the day.

Diagnostic plug mounted on the opposite fender , allowing for some symmetry in design.

Loads more to happen today, Sunday.



And lastly……….


A QUESTION TO YOU ALL.


DID WE ACHIEVE ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES?


85mm








Breakfast next.


.

[Grizz1963]

And in other news.

Raffle Tickets available for this new build at US $39.00 per ticket today.

Built in the Philippines to all out Driver Style.



Loving this car.

[Grizz1963]

Nipples.

@nickwheeler has been looking forward to to this so much, he even remade them once.

Throttle cable measured, cut, soldered and finished up, fitted and functioning smoothly from the first fit.

All about the planning.

Old vs New.



It also became a day of tying some smaller loose ends, making mini looms, welding in forward earth mounts.



New Side lights/indicators are smaller than the previous ones, so getting them fitted became a wasted hour…….

Plan B will be employed.



Making up retaining clips ultimately failed to deliver a secure mounting for the lights.

On to Plan B.



Next up Nick added the new LED headlights and tested the functions.

Headlight Buckets got to meet Mr Hacksaw.



With the result being rather rewarding.








This in turn resulted in a good outcome that will necessitate removal of the existing radiator mount points, and remaking the retaining top brackets.

Remember them from a few weeks ago??

Now with the headlights bowls reduced in sheer size and depth, allowing the LED lights’ heat sincs to work fully, the radiator and original fan should fot.




More little jobs were done and I did woodwork mostly through the day.

More about that later.

Nick had to head home after 4.00pm for a family gathering, so I carried on till about 18.45 with woodwork and bracketry before shutting shop.

With the clocks changing on Sunday, it felt weird closing shop with some daylight still visible.

Oh, and Sally had been feeling a bit rough the last few weeks.

She tested positive for Covid.

Perfect.

[Grizz1963]

I guess the question does come up: “So what has Grizz been up to while Nick is seen working?”

Yesterday I carried on with those jobs that progress the build invisible, not just coffee and biccies, but fitting, unfitting, measuring and cutting, filing, screwing, unscrewing etc.

Have raised the bottom of the instrument cluster to allow a full, clear view of them all.



Then destroyed the binacle.



Too late for tears.



Ultimately, it was a failure.

Number two for the day, after the side light mounting failed to deliver fully and securely for Nick.

Sandwiches for lunch, coffee, biccies etc…..

More planning, cutting, fitting, hoping.



Happy with the positions of dash switches.

Yes, that’s the lot.

I hope.



More cardboard and masking tape work to create the templates for the kick panels and tunnel panels.

Odd shapes and non symmetricalfit means it all takes time.

And more time.



Then transferred to the hardboard and a load of filing, cutting, shaping.

In and out.

Resulting in this.



At which point I pulled the plug on the day and came in.

My back was saying it was enough, and to be honest, no jobs needed doing.

A good weekend again.

No massive big bang progress shots, but many hours filled with small jobs.

Progressing.




PS. I need an MX5 Fog light switch, seems the one from the car is broken somewhat.




Have a good week all.

[Grizz1963]

Having tried to make the cluster work as it is…….

A nights sleep, relook at 06.30 this morning, had me dismantle the dash again and bring the cluster indoors.

A couple of people including @kevins and @redratbike made suggestions along the same line.

I decided to dismantle it.

Will need to get some clear polycarbonate and frame it.



And thickness



I think there is a load of mileage in redesign here.

Will look again tonight after work if I get time.

Later gang.