Build
Diary
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I
mainly concentrated on getting the back lights working and the rear
of the car finished and I pretty much succeeded. I started by fitting
the caravan reflectors I'd bought in line with the two existing
lights on each side of the bull bar. Then I plugged the rear part
of the wiring loom into the multi-plugs in the cab and started connecting
up the lights one by one, testing them as I went along. I did the
indicators first, followed by the running and braking lights. I
didn't have any fog or reverse lights at this point so once I'd
got the main lights working I started to tidy up the rear wiring
by connecting everything properly with either soldered or spaded
joints and taping up the loom. I also fitted the rear number plate
at this point and decided to use the bolts fixing this as earths
for the lights. Once all this was done I removed the bull bar so
that I could finish painting the back.
Once I had the back lights working I constructed a conduit so that
it could pass through the back of the cab. Originally, the wiring
passed through a slot cut in the bottom corner of one side of the
cab and was liberally sealed with silicone sealant. I wanted to
do something a bit neater so I cut and bent an aluminium panel,
cut a hole in it to take a large tank connector (a plumbing fitting)
and bolted it into place at the back of the cab.
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| Once
I'd got hold of a reverse and fog light I carried on with the rear
wiring. The lights were bolted to brackets I'd welded to the bull
bar for this very purpose and quickly connected to the existing wiring
and tested. They worked straight away so I tidied up the wiring by
taping it up and tie-wrapping it to the bottom bar of the bull bar.
The bull bar was also finally fixed in place. At this point I also
decided to fix the Panda 4x4 badge to the rear panel to complete the
look. |
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| Once
the rear wiring was sorted out it became clear that I'd have to do
something to protect it as it snaked all over the boot floor so I
decided to make a floor using something I had readily to hand, fencing
timbers. Once constructed it looked like a pallet but painted black
and fixed in place it really suits the rugged utilitarian look of
the car. I also incorporated two heavy duty right-angled brackets
with two of the fixing bolts to provide tie-down points on either
side of the boot. |
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| Another
job I started was making a headlining panel for the roof of the cab.
I cut a piece of plywood to the right dimensions to fit into the roof
and fixed two right-angled brackets to the chassis above the rear
window to provide mounts for it. For the front I cut and bent a piece
of aluminium chequer plate which also provided a suitable mount for
the rear view mirror/interior light assembly. The plywood will be
covered with light gray cloth, as will the other interior panels when
I get around to making them. |
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| Throughout
the work carried out this week I did bits and pieces of painting,
mainly last thing at night so it would be dry for the following day.
It's just brush on Hammerite in Smooth Black and Smooth Silver but
it looks pretty good from a short distance, although close up you
can tell it's brushed. I don't think there's any point in spending
a lot of money on a flashy paint job for a vehicle like this as it's
probably going to be damaged, scratched, scuffed etc on a regular
basis. At least with Hammerite I can touch it up any time I like myself
for very little cost. |
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| On
the last day I did a final small painting job in the morning before
cleaning and tidying the garage ready to put it back into storage
(it's stored in a different garage to the one I use to work on it).
It was a lovely sunny afternoon when I put it away, perfect for a
few last pictures to show progress. Visually it's really progressed
a lot and from outside looks pretty much finished. |
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