GRIZZ’s ‘79 - 2WD BLAZER Challenge over in London, England. “~It’s not a Project~”

[Grizz1963]

Advice from Bob Heine in Boca Raton

Even found a U.K. based eBay ad.

Originally Posted by Bob Heine

Rian, your beefy steel framework looks like it was made for a nice chainfall. I took the liberty of searching for one in GB. Lifting the cab or even the whole frame would give clear space underneath to set jackstands to whatever height you need. Found this one about an hour from you in Chelmsford.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Dut...8AAOSwlMJfNqGv

I don't remember seeing one in your thread but your new structure is begging for one.

[Grizz1963]

So the steel guys were gone by 13.45 which men’s they spent a total of 5 hrs on site.

What was amazing, and experienced by me too, was how the whole thing just bolted together so easily.

Keep in mind, I had done the foundations and upright posts, and between me and the lodgers, we had cut and welded the top plates twice and still delivered a base that was squared up on four corners, despite the posts not being equidistant from each other.

Pretty impressed, even if I say so that it came out that well for a start.

Followed by Wayne getting all his structures to just fit together without a drill.

So last night, after they had gone and my day finished at 5.00pm this was the view.



High enough from the front to get a tall thing in, and then some.



From Mickeys side.



Roofing next.

[Grizz1963]

So.......


For those taking a look in to see progress.




Not a lot today.


But managed to move all my junk Back into place.



Much better.



Then carried on with little jobs, well not that little.

Decided to paint all the uprights as well, to go with the rest of yesterday structure.

I also gave all of the upper structure a second coat of paint as it got damaged and dirtied in transit and erection.






Much happier.

.

[flashed]

Dang Rian , that looks great

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Dang Rian , that looks great

HimJohn,

Good to see you here.

Thank you.

It’s a 10 year dream, almost to the day.


So typical of weekends, @CraigRK and I were chatting by 06.00 on WhatsApp about our weeks and then progressed to more important stuff.

Like the roof and what materials were needed.

It did not take long before we were in video more and getting sizes down.


So steel structure depth

At 4950 plus a 50mm overhang at the rear and a 500mm stabilised, but unsupported overhang to the front, it gives me a 5.5 meter deep carport.



Rear width on Mickeys boundary, overhanging the woodwork shed by 200mm is 5500mm including a 100mm unsupported overhang to the side.

On the front I offset the one post in order to maximise front access and that is 6500mm or 6.5 meter wide

For those who need to know, the shed overhang and front roof will be getting a small gutter and down pipe to catch whatever run off there is.



Front beam height is 8’1” or 2450mm on the garage side and about 2x or 40mm shorter on the shed side, as the roof is horizontal but the paving drains away gently toward the garage.



Rear beam is 7’5” or 2250mm high on the underside of the beam.




The plan we ended up with to do the quantity calculations.




So black is steel frame.

Red and Green are timbers, all 47x200mm high end C24 carcassing

Orange noggins were planned to be screwed into front timber and then also to blue 50x50 aluminium box section to stabilise unsupported front over reach roofing sheets.

Roofing unfortunately shows a 4-6 week lead time online, so I will call the supplier in the morning to see if there is any way of expediting my small order.

Roofing sheets will be Box Profile Sheets 32/1000 Rib - 0.7mm , PVC Plastisol coated and in Juniper Green.

Basket

Box Profile Sheet - 32/1000 Rib - 0.7mm - 5500mm x 1000mm - PVC Plastisol Juniper Green
Delivery 4-6 Weeks
Sku: BP32-947
£377.40

Foam profile fillers
£28.08

Barge boards
£65.48

Wood purlin screws
£34.84


Metal sheet stitching screws
£18.76

Screw colour caps
£10.62


Box Profile Sheet - 32/1000 Rib - 0.7mm - 2700mm x 1000mm - PVC Plastisol Juniper Green
Delivery 4-6 Weeks
£30.87


Summary
Subtotal £566.06
Shipping £78.00
Today's Discount £113.19
Order Total Incl. Tax £644.06
Apply Discount Code


The timbers need to be ordered locally.

Timber should be around £250.00 delivered.


Now headed out to try get the screen off the Rezin Rockit without destroying it.


Wish me luck.

[flashed]

Good Luck Rian

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Good Luck Rian

Thanks mate.

Kinda failed, but still had a good weekend.


Been a busy weekend.

Out for dinner, loads done with Sally, and also on the carport frame.

This afternoon I made some chilli oil, using 8 scotch bonnet chillis finely sliced and added to a litre of oil

This will get to steep for a while and get better with time.



Then down to the garage for a bit at 2.30-ish.

The Cortina dash lip fell off in my hand when I tested it.



Pretty rotten, and not looking great.

HOWEVER....... I really like it and will be reinstating it once I figure out the best way to do it.

All of the mounting bolts, which were moulded into the rear, were rusted away significantly





Next up I tried to undo the passenger side mirror, reaching up inside the A-pillar

Had to escalate the process and remove some stainless tabs used to hold the kick panels in place.

Ultimately I broke out the grinder to clean up the rusted studs broken off on the dash, and to remove the ones keeping the stainless tabs that were in the way for trying to get to the mirrors.



Result.



Ultimately I did not get the mirrors off]

They are fixed up the A pillar, And I had a walking date with Sally, so packed up tools by 4.00pm

Next time the mirrors will hopefully come off.

Looking up the A-pillar, circled where the mirror bolts are.

The angle iron is part of the window frame support.




Weekend over, again.

[Grizz1963]

Found these videos.

I still think we are headed in the right direction

Antisocial?

https://youtu.be/DPTE4x_WbT8

Read between the lines

https://youtu.be/sjFblOmO6Hw

And not my taste but different enough

https://youtu.be/wlSwfumjXIo

Enjoy

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@glenanderson" source="/post/2635906/thread" timestamp="1602933031"]I might have a spare chain hoist. Don’t spend any money until I have checked. [/quote]


Thought I may have one.

However........ No idea if it works or not.

If it is US then it’ could be why I have it in an old plastic bag, under the welding table.

Needs a clean up...... and if it works, then I will investigate a pulley system for it.







Mate Martin popped over today and left me with this.......


Seems it is part of a specific look (no, not disabled or crippled)



Quick release.



Soft grip.



As seen on here.



And here.

[Grizz1963]

Rezin Rockit getting closer to progress.

As in carport, dry work space, and as @PaulY observed today, its almost winter.

Ordered the timber by 11.45 yesterday and delivery was by 08.45 this morning.

Here is a lesson...... the big companies, big websites etc, do not always give the best service.

I managed to save £66.00 just by looking around a bit, using my phone. Ordered C24 grade timber.

Amazing service In pouring rain



Next up, dry the timbers and then paint them all, grey.



Also ordered my roof sheeting and fixings.

Unfortunately lead time is 4-6 weeks.



Still, it will be done.

Soon enough.

[Grizz1963]

Today, before work.....





And




I also got this message from a member on here..... happy for him to expose himself.

Hi Rian,
Have you found yet if your winch is in working order ??
Only asking because I have a "girder trolley" (?? if that's what they're called lol) just wants a coat of paint,
Yours for if it's any use to you, (in the spirit of Grizz,) FOC
N*****

So I went to the garage when I got back from the hospital after this:

MRI of my lumbar and sacral spine which is a bit (lot) knackered.



And cleaned and tested the 500kg block and tackle I had rescued at some point.

Tested and found to be working perfectly well, untested on a load though.



Cleaned up



After cleaning and masking the block, I added a first coat of orange, next coat in the morning.



And lastly.........

Should, could these work on the rear end of the Rezin Rockit as a name?




.

[Grizz1963]

Got a message from @alpina99

Hi Rian,
Have you found yet if your winch is in working order ??
Only asking because I have a "girder trolley" (?? if that's what they're called lol) just wants a coat of paint,
Yours for if it's any use to you, FOC (in the spirit of Grizz,)
Nigel

Adjustable.

Perfect as the main beams are 135mm wide and the smaller ones 100mm







So it has been established that the block and tackle works well.

Gift accepted to be attached to the roof beams.

Clean up and go.

[Grizz1963]

Many coats later.

Paint is quite translucent





Happy with that.

[Grizz1963]

Today progress.

Thanks to @CraigRK and Mickey for advice, help, encouragement

Really interesting getting into it.

The I-beams are not the same On top and bottom.

The C-beam against the wall, though a 200mm beam, again has different dimensions.

So cardboard templates were made up, cut out and then copied onto the beams, all were different.

Starting on the rear, followed by the front ones.



With fine tuning needed to hammer the beams into the steel with a lump hammer.





Cutting and measuring and using Craig’s grinder with very rough steel grinding flap disc to fine tune the fit.....





Almost there.



And then done.

Caravans swapped around.

Welding caravan parked under the beams and storage van parked on the drive.



A few more jobs to do, including two 1.1 meter steels to manufacture and bolt on to the right side of the frame......



So, very happy with today’s progress, and also good to see mate Craig again, as we did not get to do a USA road trip.

More soon.

[Grizz1963]

Too many options with the Rezin Rockit already.

Mate Craig dropped these off yesterday too.

Not sure what the final look may be like in the end.



Basic was my plan.

[LT7A]

That carport is sure coming together nicely. Do you live in a pretty temperate area? If it's like here, it's the rain that keeps you indoors during the winter, more than the temperature. Having a covered place to work, exercise, play would be a perfect solution. It's going to look good. You are well into the details on the RR and have gotten a lot of options. I'm not clear as to the theme. I was thinking little racer, like the Filipino rides, but the WW2 trenching tool has me confused. I'm not sure you appreciate my cautionary input, haha, but some things are important. You'll want to draw a line from the top of your planned rollbar to the front of the bonnet/hood and make sure your melon fits within that triangle when you're belted in. The windscreen is not going to help hold you up if upside-down happens. I always enjoy hearing about the help that you get from your far-flung contacts and how you propagate the spirit with how you treat the new ones. The guy who could laugh about the shipping on the hinges impressed me.

[Grizz1963]

Can’t remember how long ago I buffed the headlights, but they needed a buff for the MOT tomorrow.

Mate Martin suggested it would be a fail, having opaque lights.

Before



After

[Grizz1963]

Though I would add this bit of a side report.

Some of you know I love a good knife, and buy them when I travel, trade some, find some etc.

A friend, Jonathan in North Carolina whom I have known for years runs Jon Hall Custom Knives for his hand made and hand forged knives and bladed tools.

He has wanted to make me a knife for a couple of years, in a style that I could use.

So this weekend he sent me some photos of what he had started on.

A full size Chef’s Knife, using Damascus steel and Buckeye Burl, stabilised with blue Resin scales





I absolutely love the detail one can get into Damascus steel.



Scales worked back.



By this morning, only final polish and finish was left to do.



Once again, feeling blessed and privileged and chuffed as hell.

I like this knife.

[Grizz1963]

A quote from Mate Fil, who had gone up to Scotland to fetch the Rezin Rockit for me, about this knife.

Originally Posted by sparkplug

The scales aren't to my personal aesthetic taste, but the blade really is!

No question that it's a special knife and has some lovely attention to detail (matching blue resin inside two of the four brass tubes that form the central pin on the handle to name just one)

You radiate good karma Rian, and it reflects back in all sorts of different ways.

Even for a pro that knife will have taken a minimum of 3 days to produce I would think.

Commercial cost? Well, it's not relevant here - but a one off custom hand forged damascus kitchen knife isn't an every day purchase for a reason.

Not one to chuck in the kitchen drawer with the rest. Well, not without a sheath of some sort to protect the edge anyway!

Lovely knife and a very usable one too - not just a show pony.

Not a great pic.

But I took a day vacation yesterday and was running around town buying guttering, collecting building materials etc, and visiting a couple of friends.

Helpful staff and good prices.



Amongst the stops was one at mate Martin with whom I travelled America 5 years ago.

Amazingly, it is exactly 5 years since we stoped at and spent 3 hours in Gas Monkey garage in Texas.

He is selling his house, to move away and to a place with more space and garages for him and his lady.

Some may remember a few years ago, I modified a paralysed fireman’s furniture for him so that he could use the couches directly from his wheelchair etc.

He does track days in a somewhat modified Nissan Skyline GTR and from one of them, this seatbelt support with rose jointed supports were removed.

It ended p on Martins scrap pile, I laid claim to it when he mentioned it, so I collected it.



Plan is to add it to the new roll bar of the Rezin Rockit in order to have a decent mounting point for harnesses.



I quite like the skinny rearward supports too.

[Grizz1963]

You know that feeling before you step into the ring?

Like you know you are about to get your asss whupped.





I will pay a mechanic To replace the brake line

Light bulbs are my job, really interesting, last night I checked the lights, fluids etc, all worked.]

On the way to tha test station I heard the tone of the indicator change.

Welding.......

I will Put the car on ramps and take a look.

See where the yellow chalk of doom marked the rust, clean up, weld up, close up.

Hopefully pass the next time they see it.

[Grizz1963]

Went over to see my nearby neighbour on the way home today.

Weather sucked, and got to be pretty unpleasant. Chilly too.



Video:

https://youtu.be/rV1z1U__nNM

Kevin has been assembling the interior



We were talking about all the holes to fill on the Rezin Rockit when he pulled this stuff out.

Told me to try it on all the holes that need filling.

Anyone use it before?



Seems good on his build.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

That carport is sure coming together nicely. Do you live in a pretty temperate area? If it's like here, it's the rain that keeps you indoors during the winter, more than the temperature. Having a covered place to work, exercise, play would be a perfect solution. It's going to look good. You are well into the details on the RR and have gotten a lot of options. I'm not clear as to the theme. I was thinking little racer, like the Filipino rides, but the WW2 trenching tool has me confused. I'm not sure you appreciate my cautionary input, haha, but some things are important. You'll want to draw a line from the top of your planned rollbar to the front of the bonnet/hood and make sure your melon fits within that triangle when you're belted in. The windscreen is not going to help hold you up if upside-down happens. I always enjoy hearing about the help that you get from your far-flung contacts and how you propagate the spirit with how you treat the new ones. The guy who could laugh about the shipping on the hinges impressed me.

Good to see your reply mate.

Thank you very much.

Temperate if below 6’C or 40’F in winter, often just bloody cold, but wet at times.
Covered space is both protective and weather proof-ish.
Filipino style antisocial tool.
The trenching tool if it is added, will just be a bit of fun, a nod to its origins.
Roll bar geometry makes a lot of sense.
I do want a low profile and more importantly a backward slant visually.
I think the hinge guy was pleasantly surprised by my offer to share postage cost.

I always like to keep my karma books balanced too.

[Grizz1963]

*****ing, moaning, griping about a fail won’t fix it.

So today I took a day off work, I did need to burn off leave or lose it.

Slow start, and certainly some thinking to be done.

I had not actually seen the reason the car had failed before today.

So I lifted it up and crawled under it to see if I could find why it had failed.

And suddenly realised I owed the grumpy tester an apology







At this point I was chatting with mate @glenanderson who responded thus.

😕

Decision time then.

1) Patch it up quick and dirty to get another year’s ticket and spend the last couple of months of next summer looking for a replacement.

2) Do a proper job now, to keep it going indefinitely.

3) Walk away now before you put anything more into it.

I’d be doing 1) or 3).

So after the chat, I decided on a combination of primarily no 2.) and some of no 1.)

I never cease to be amazed at people who take all the time to bodge a job, when it takes just as long to do it right.



And started to clean up........

Loads of mastic welding under the skin.



Yellow chalk of doom evident.







Then cutting disc.



And fetched out my die grinder and it’s quick release discs.



Cleaned up.



Then used my CAD design and cut some plate, folded, prepped and fitted it.





Fine tuned.



Welded in



Other side







Looking at the amount of crud this side produced, I am amazed.



At this point I then added a bit of seam sealer, went to the house for a coffee and to check work emails, because I cannot step away.

Helped a colleague and waited the 20 minutes for he seam sealer to go off.

More in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

So after coffee, I grabbed the Wurth underseal

Sprayed it and tried to blend it with the underside.





So I was happy with the final result and needed to get the other side up







And ground back.

Hopefully the weather will be good tomorrow, so I can do the rest.

Did an initial grind back, more in the morning, and also cit out the rot, followed by making up patch panels.



Hope to get this done before the weather turns nasty in the morning.

After that........

Disassemble the front end in order to fit a side light one side and indicator lamp on the other side.

[Grizz1963]

Found a set of 15” steel wheels with tyres, in a look that I like, two tone, 8.5J wide and 60 miles from here.

Collecting at 5.30 tonight.

Makes it part of the adventure.



Decided to get some adapters.

4x108 to 4x100 which means other wheels are possibly closer to use.

Need two more cheap adapters to make my piggy bank happy.



Came off this.

Like the shopping list on the door.







Happy, yes.