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

[Grizz1963]

Progress…?

How do you define it when you are so close that things blur in your line of vision.

I guess the latest order off eBay is a bit of a refocus.

Still a ton of cosmetic and setting up things to do, and for anyone who has not done this sort of thing themselves, or judge progress by the money they pay others to do the work only to then show off “their build” it is never going to be easy to understand why the car was not started over Easter or last weekend, or last night.

Still, it will happen.

@nickwheeler are probably as tired of fitting and removing the wheels, axle stands, wiring loom etc as the onlookers.

Sally is a saint, putting up with it all, allowing me to go play most times I want.
Remember the Moonwalk some of you sponsored her so generously for?
That is on this weekend, and all I am contributing is to pick her up at the station on Sunday. Poor show from me.
A very good friend (whom I have never met in person) gave me a real wake up call yesterday, pointing out where my priorities should lie.
And he is right.

But in the mean time, progress I guess can be defined by ordering 3 meters of carpeting for the car.

Ohhhh, and buying £51.18 worth of Unleaded, that is 31 litres or thereabouts.

Optimism is good.




Hope to get to Car Builders Solutions to get the radiator hoses and bends after work today.

Almost the weekend.

[Grizz1963]

Right.

So where were we in this build?

A never ending list of smaller jobs, all taking up time.

The floors on the body have a weird diagonal join in the front footwells and revised resin and matting which brought a 15mm height irregularity into play.

I had got a load of fiberglass matting and resin from a member on UKGSER last year with all intent to use it to create a level and stronger floor, but fiberglass is ambarsteward to work with and ultimately I decided to go for a plan B solution to the floor and position of the pedals.
So the fiberglass matting and resin is again up for grabs if someone can use it and wants to collect it. PM me please.

So yesterday morning I spoke to Mickey over the fence about some thick ply offcuts he may have, Failed, he had none, but knew where two 4x6 foot “used” sheets of 15mm ply was dumped at his sons home.

So we jumper in the S10 and headed off to go scavenge and collect them.

One was unused, rectangular and missing a 400mm strip the other must have done duty as a floor in a van, one side grubby, and a load of dried out paint on it, plus random cuts to it.

Some more loose bits came home too.

Love my Chevy, don’t use it enough but it is always ready to work.

Treasures, and free money again as they were headed to a skip. The better sheet was already stashed in the garage for future reference.



So the usual CAD work commenced, keeping in mind the two sides are completely different.



Then transferred to the ply that I had cleaned up of the paint with a grinder and flap disc.

Thanks @nickwheeler for photography duties.



What the initial wood repaired and levelled, along with some brutal grinding down.





Pedal view.

There is another complete sheet of cut to size ply covering all of this mess, with the carpeting attached, going in and that will be like a bung, holding the transmission tunnel carpet etc in place.

Bought a yoga mat this morning to use as padding/insulation as there was nothing waterproof that I have direct access to to fit to the ply and to absorb the wear of heels under the pedals.

All of this has added a good 20mm or so to the floor, making the pedals easy to reach and use.




Foot rest to the left was cast in Oklahoma in 2019 on the road trip and has been waiting to be used on something interesting.




More in a bit about the rest of yesterday’s expectations and actions for those awake enough to have read this far.

Later.

[Grizz1963]

Absolutely love this green.


May be a good colour choice for the Rezin Rockit.


Seriously.

[Grizz1963]

Bought some supplies on the way home.

Fresh Light Bulbs for the rear lights.

Impact glue for the carpeting.





Marked out on the yoga mat.

Glue on both surfaces.

20 minute drying time, while I removed the masking tape from the body tub.



Fits.



And with the inserts in place.

Plus the padded kick panels in place.



Waiting for Sally to come over to make some cheese and onion wraps in the grillerI sanded back the fiberglass filler that went on into the press stud holes months ago.

Rubbish stuff to flat back, but will need to be done before paint anyway.



Last night I taxed UncleBob’s Bedford truck on an old J reg, Free Road tax of course.

He insisted on me sending a receipt and proof of completion.

So I put it in a frame for him.

Tonight Sally brought me the frame back, and in it a pic UncleBob had sent me.

I love the fact he was ready to bat it straight back at me.

Not clear, but a load of information in the pic.

Love it.





Happy?

Yes.

[Grizz1963]

FRIDAY 13th


BOOOOO…. !!




Not that that is a problem in itself, but time is counting…..

Or something like that.

Hoses bought for the radiator and cooling system, £60.00

Fitting, priming, antifreeze etc, Weekend job.





Mate @Craigrk is flying to India for work in two weeks time.

I asked him to look into alternative LED headlights for the Rezin Rockit for me while out there.

I can get these for around £80.00 each here in the UK.

BUT - Aliexpress who do not shop to the UK it seems (I am often wrong) will supply them for around £30.00 each in India.

Watch this space.




Summer seems to finally be here.

Hedges need to be cut, lawn mowed etc, so a load of non car build jobs to be done.

Have a good day, it is Friday after all.

[LT7A]

The coolant overflow tank looks like it's snugged in there pretty well. Congratulations to Sally, that's a huge accomplishment. The walk and the fundraising! Funny that you mentioned the la cucaracha horns. My grandparents gave a set of those to my dad, he installed them on our Suburban, and he loved having that. My grandparents had a set on their car which my brother and I now have, that plays the bugle notes for an infantry charge.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

The coolant overflow tank looks like it's snugged in there pretty well. Congratulations to Sally, that's a huge accomplishment. The walk and the fundraising! Funny that you mentioned the la cucaracha horns. My grandparents gave a set of those to my dad, he installed them on our Suburban, and he loved having that. My grandparents had a set on their car which my brother and I now have, that plays the bugle notes for an infantry charge.

Yes, I thought it could be fitted to look at home.






Interestingly, the quote below was from Nick who I pay around $70.00 a day to come play as pocket money (he is unemployed) and he seems to like spendingnot his own money in various ways.

You might just as well as refitted the original off its blacksmith's bracket. That was just ugly; it wouldn't have annoyed you every time it ruined another MAF sensor.



Not sure I understand the MAF comment.

But the other bracket comment is possibly aimed at extending the time he is here on the build, getting easy money.

[Grizz1963]

A hectic day, including 2.5 hr national meeting in which I was mentioned twice for different things, both good.

Left early and saw this threatening signage, wonder why a road being resurfaced, needs CCTV

What a screwed up world this has become.



Afterwards I needed a bit of random distraction.

So took the seats out, cleaned the inside of the car and masked off parts of the tub, then painted.



Masked



One side.



Both sides.

Just looks tidier.



I also painted all sides on the floor boards.

Just to help weather proof them a bit.



And all done.



Binned the sponge roller I had used and cleaned up my hands, pushed the Rockit back under the roof and shut shop.

Before I left, I noticed this nursery of new baby spiders.

I wonder how long average house or garden spiders do live.



I prefer not to mess with them.

[Grizz1963]

So it has turned out that there are a few people who really wanted to see Napalm Nellie as baptised by @pauly rolling down Route 66 and others looking for interesting cars, trucks and life in general in the 🇺🇸

A few screenshots from chats with Dennis and JB Math again confirmed that like @alistairk experienced, there are helpful people out there.

Needs to be read in sequence.














Speaking with Dennis yesterday it turns out there is no title for the camper.

So I think this plan will be shelved.

And confirmed by JB Math as well.




So for now, it seems Napalm Nellie has to be put to the side.

Something else will surely pop up.

Who knows.

[Grizz1963]

Painted the lower kick panels black this morning, they may get carpet or not



Nick had suggested, rightly so, that I add some padding or insulation type material to the flooring to which the carpet will be attached and wrapped around, to prevent it wearing through in days, weeks, real fast, due to heel action.

So the yoga mat will hopefully be useful.





After work I pulled the thick ply out, cut some templates (the two sides actually differ a lot) and drew on a pattern to cut out.

Shaped, ground back, fitted……




Paint to follow later.

The hole at the rear is where the roll bar will be mounted through onto the chassis.

And yes, different for a reason, the seats are completely different and mounted differently.



Small job done, but it saves an hour later.

.

[Grizz1963]

Facebook never forgets.

9 years ago I went on a long distance ride through and around South Africa with my brother for my 50th birthday.

REPORT HERE: https://wilddog.net.za/threads/grizz...videos.106063/

An awesome trip, loads of places revisited from my youth and past.

This morning was 9 years since I went to look at the first house I designed and built in Simonstown, near Cape Town.

The builder did the columns it stood on and the shell, then I moved in and completed it.

Seems I have a bit of a masochistic streak in me for longer than I recall.



At 07.30 this morning I was out, painting the two sections I made last night with more battle ship grey, textured floor paint.

Leaving it to dry all day.



Result.



Back home tonight After work I bordered all the edges of the tub in black, keep in mind, there are black carpets going in.

Should blend nicely.



I also gave the rear floor sections a coat of black over the textured grey paint.



Took Bonnie the crazy dog for a walk on her new 10 meter, 30 foot lead and saw the first Poppies of the season.



So a bit boring tonight, but more jobs that have to happen by magic, taking up time along the way.

Thanks for checking in.

[Grizz1963]

I saw this and instantly heard young @nickwheeler grinding his teeth in disdain.



They are horrible things.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

I saw this and instantly heard young @nickwheeler grinding his teeth in disdain.



They are horrible things.

I have heard (read?) that the benefit to these is that if the hose compresses under the clamp, that this type of clamp will take up the slack since it remains in tension.

Nice house in .za. Tell us a little more about it if you like.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by LT7A

I have heard (read?) that the benefit to these is that if the hose compresses under the clamp, that this type of clamp will take up the slack since it remains in tension.

Nice house in .za. Tell us a little more about it if you like.

Thank you.

Long story short.

My first house, designed it, had a guy build me a timber frame home when timber frames were rare and unknown in South Africa.
People build in brick and mortar there.
Lived and loved it for a few years, then sold it to move 50km across town.
I loved it, my first wife hated it, as she wanted a completed 2 bedroom home, I prefered bigger and doing all the finishes myself.










Was chatting with Dennis, and also Alistair, and it is interesting to see how prices are all over the place for flights.


[quote author="@alistairk" source="/post/2733616/thread" timestamp="1653581945"]@grizz I've no idea. Ticket prices seem to be up and down all over. Jiggling a few days either way seems to sometimes affect the prices quite a lot, or going a week earlier or later. Obviously avoid peak school holidays, etc. and special events in either UK or US (like thanksgiving or 4th July whatever)

Just play with Skyscanner / Expedia whatever and see how it shapes up.

I think my tickets were like £460 but the swine then said that didn't include hold baggage! BA is becoming EasyJet... I paid £50 for my return home bag but I took a seat upgrade with free bags on the way out as they made me a nice offer

Also be aware BA have told me "car and motorcycle parts" are prohibited items in hold baggage now...

So a bunch of stuff ended up coming home in the boot of the LTD. Hopefully it all makes it here OK...[/quote]


You are right, prices are erratic.

Agreed, they become sneaky.

I was just chatting with Dennis.

Then went onto Google for direct flights to St Louis,

However, not available.

At £683.00 though, I am going.

BUT……

The price is cheaper right now, were I to buy (got to sort a new passport and ESTA visa) than in 2019 when I went.

[Grizz1963]

Report back from Nick tonight.

Old and New brake lines..



Fitted the rear one.



Onto the coolant elbow.

Some heat and gentle Dremmel work.

Gave this.



Tapped M10 and filed flat with most of the repair piece.



Repair piece screwed in so Nick can clock the hose (which he still needs to make and solder in)





And there you have it.

A highlight of the week, on a Monday evening.

Chuffed yes.

[Grizz1963]

So at last.

Carpet time.

Transferring the shapes to the carpet…… know how to do it?

Use blackboard chalk, draw the edges, and push the carpet down on it.

Cut out.

Job done.



Prepped the hold down as well, as I do not have any more vinyl left over, and am not buying a massive piece just to get a small 12x12 inch pice to cut out.





Next up………..

Glue time.

Contact glue is an absolute barsteward.

But the first tunnel section was down, after getting the safety harness bolts ready, cutting the holes in the carpet.



Fine threaded bolts with thin heads.



Using the Hooker Harness on the drivers side and the Simpson on the passenger side meant different fixings.

Fortunately it all works.



Passenger side.



One small job to do was to seal all the original MX5 gearshift plate to the transmission tunnel.



Next up was the big butterfly piece.

Thankfully David was out for a smoke, so I pulled him into the job as it needed four hands.

The contact adhesive is strong, and goes off really fast.




Pleased with the outcome so far.

Then Sally came and I came indoors to cook dinner.

Mote in a bit for those awake, interested, bothered to check in.


Back in a bit.

[Grizz1963]

Well.


Alllll the way from Mumbai (Bombay if you are older) via Shropshire…….


New headlights.






I really do hope they look as good in reality as it did in concept.


We will see, later.

[Grizz1963]

Went out to walk Bonnie tonight.

Up,a lane I saw a pile of scrap.

And a nice wrought iron bracket.

On the way back, I went and knocked on the door and asked if I could rummage in the junk.

Yes of course came the reply.

Walking back toward the car, carrying this lot for 2km had Sally taking a pic of just how good I look scavenging.

Do I care?




Back home I checked it out.

Thermometer one side,



Clock, that works and barometer on the other side.

And it all works.



Chuffed for sure, a nice thing to hang somewhere..

[Grizz1963]

Went for a walk with the dog out toward Cliffe and Cooling.

Saw a few intersting things

Last on the road in 2017

Dodge Polara.

Is it valuable, covetable? Who knows.



Empty barn near it.

I could fill it fast.



Some real beauty out there.

Also a few retros in farm yards with a lot of long grass around them.

I may investigate some more in future.











Part of the walk passed Cooling Castle.

Owned by Jools Holland.

For the uninformed……..


https://youtu.be/_A1VAsl_4TY


A nice place to call home.






Also walked through the Parish Church yard.



Home to some history.





And description below.






Spoke to some other interesting people on the walk.

One guy with a few motorcycles inside his house in the lounge and large entrance.

I am not the only one then it seems.

[Grizz1963]

Sally sent a pic.

Bonnie the mad dog, loves water, and having had a couple of baths after being in mud or stinking after farm walks, now jumps in the bath herself and waits for a bath.

.


She is a ray of supercharged sunshine.

[Grizz1963]

Random update.

Mate Andy in Oklahoma is building a house fir a friend.

Well beyond 70, he has always got a ton of stuff going on.

Sent me an update yesterday.

This overlooks a river too.









Have a good weekend.

[Grizz1963]

I keep saying the same stuff over and over again, but dayjob is a pita so I need to grab bits of time to do even the most arbitrary of jobs just to get away from it.

Yesterday was Teams meetings, strategy (I hate it) and admin tasks.

So my very late lunch/earlier weekend resulted in a whitewash. Hence the Billy Idol reference to bleaching.


Another flashback to what was delivered on 11th September 2020

Time flies.









I had tried hand buffing some of the rust stains away with G3 compound.

Resulting in this.









Not that impressed.

So maybe a machine mopping will help, also to remove some of the grinder dust that has rusted to the flat surfaces on the body over the last 6 months of working on it.

Typically, back to work, and then when I wrapped up for the week, I headed out and unpacked the car completely, sealed up exposed wiring looms and plugs etc.

The pulled out the bleach, a bucket of water and a washing cloth.

Big brush, bucket of bleach gel.

Ideally spray the body and apply gel over water, this allows activation and oxidation to get going.

Kills moulds that grow in the exposed fiberglass.



Rinse.



Dry, drill out drain holes for potential future puddles in the footwells.

Put away and go walk the dog for 3 miles.



Looks a bit cleaner.

I think.

[Grizz1963]

Another job I did late last night was to clearance the hood/bonnet to fit flush around the wiring loom grommets.





And went for a 3 mile walk with Sally and Bonnie the dog……

Saw this road, down which we walked…… report in the Chevy S10 thread elsewhere. Or to followon other forums.

Maybe it is a sign.

Hell, I do hope so.



Time to get this thing wrapped up, but we know there are loads of jobs.

Yes, they keep coming.

[Grizz1963]

Went for a 3 mile or 5km walk with Sally and the Dog Bonnie.

Walking down this road, I hoped it was a sign.



WW2 pill box.



Zooming on, on the Thames river banks.



Weird patterns of death in the wheat fields.



Sheep, should taste really good feeding on the salt marsh grass.



Amazing stuff the tides bring in.

Just not easy to access, and a long walk to carry home.



And the tide washed up a truck.

Tempted to carry it home…..

Sally just laughed and laughed.



Back on the Rezin Rockit build today.

[Grizz1963]

Yesterday was one of those extremely rewarding days.

Very little to show for it.

But a big step forward toward getting the car safe and on the road.

Remember the 5 point racing harnesses Dennis sent me recently?

Time to break them out.

After all……

Safety.





For all the zoooomers you can see the basic profile for the roll bar drawn on the blue card.

So the shoulder straps get bolted to the shoulder high cross bar.

Lap straps are bolted to the chassis through the transmission tunnel and on the seat where the original seatbelt locking cable used to sit.

Floor mounted crotch strap is again bolted to a cross brace.

With all of these points established, it was time for what turned into a big job, small evidence, but great outcome, like a 1 carat diamond engagement ring.

10mm steel plate that has been on standby for 12 years, retrieved and cleaned up.



Big ass grinder fetched from the darkest corner of the garage, safety boots pulled on, new steel cutting blade attached.

Cardboard template copied onto the steel, hearing protection, glasses.

Footplates Cut.



One Cleaned up.



Pair of them.



Then more measure, plan, cardboard, copy, cutting.



Try for size



Much drilling, bolting, visualisation

Paint can caps representing a large diameter roll bar welded onto the mounting plate.





Next up, cut the heads off some bolts to leave decent studs.

Chamfer rears to ensure good contact and penetration of weld.

Weld into place, test roll bar mounting plate fit, grind back welds.





Disassemble and set up in modern spray booth for paint.



Paint, walk away, allow to dry, return, flip over paint and leave to dry.



Very happy with this result.

Close shop at 6.15, pour a heavy gin and tonic in a pint glass, drink, go shower, pour another pint of mothers milk.

Relaxxxxxxx.


Then John the lodger got in around 7.30 and offered to buy us a take out Indian curry meal.

I was certainly not going to cook, offered to pay my way, he declined.




Dinner was good.

Sleep was not.

Awake by 3,45 and out to a disappointing bootfair by 05.45

But managed to get 11 pairs of safety glasses for £10.00 and also some foam squares to glue to the inner scuttle/firewall 4 for £1.00



Should work a treat.

Breakfast next.