Aussie Combo B Build

[diggerhole]

Want

[Jesusfreak]

So I started playing with the back of the van in Photoshop because that is my least favourite angle... Got a bit carried away...

Smoothed the bumper, de-badged, frenched the licence plate on an angle, blacked the tail lights & made them LED rounds, added twin exhaust tips with recesses in the bottom of the bar... Kinda went all Mini-Truck


What do you reckon... Should I go for it?

[stanc3w0rks]

If you can do this it would look crazy! In a good way

[psl]

Nice little van you have coming together

[diggerhole]

Just checked ebay for doing the lights. Very possible. In fact loose the plastic and weld up and french them in. But you will need to move the reflector and fogs if you do the above

[Jesusfreak]

I thought about welding up the light recesses & frenching the tail lights, but it's a fairly major irreversible change to the body & would mean too much down time for my work van especially because the light actually carry the ripples from the side through to the back, so that would need to be carried through the new steel... Frenching the number plate in is a different matter, I can just pick up a rear door off a wreck & fit it when done...

The fog lights aren't a huge issue over here, we maybe end up with 3-4hrs of fog each year and it's nowhere near the thickness of what you guys get. I have seen some LED brake-tail lights with central reflectors to keep the coppers happy...

It will be a while before I get to this as the money has to go to finishing the more practical aspects first... This will be the finishing touch... But I'm definitely planning on doing it now

[Jesusfreak]

Nice little van you have coming together

Cheers mate

[diggerhole]

Cool has a look and the ripples would suit 4 lights better. Also saw these http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 52&alt=web

[Jesusfreak]

Hey guys... It's been a while since I last posted... Mainly because of an apparently blind woman who turned left directly into the right lane without looking to see that I was already occupying the piece of road she was aiming for... Grrrrr...






She pushed me into the centre island and snapped the RHS tie rod, ripped the sidewall of the tyre, but somehow managed not to buckle the rim... The insurance company wrote it off, but I brought it straight back at salvage value...

Ended up only costing about 2/3rds of my payout (after buying it back) to buy the panels & have a 2nd hand power steering rack fitted (unfortunately on the PS models the tierods are integrated into the rack)...the panels are now sitting there waiting till I get the time to fit them...

I pulled the rear drawer and panelling out before it was assessed just in case I couldn't buy it back for any reason... While it was out I decided to cover it to save having to pull it out again later...




It still needs the aluminium edging done, but almost there now

Also, I decided to make some use of the cargo barrier...



Hopefully in a few days I will get the fender and door sorted so it doesn't look like a wreck on the outside

[diggerhole]

Not good. I do think if it's third party damage a vehicle should not be written off unless you agree

[psl]

Bummer on the damage but good on ya for getting it back and keeping it going

[Jesusfreak]

Thanks for the encouragement guys it has been a bit of a pain getting everything sorted and from a convenience point of view it would have been nice just to have it repaired... But in terms of $$ I have come out in front be a couple of hundred dollars so I'm not too stressed...

Got the door and fender back on yesterday changing the lock mechanism was a nightmare, otherwise it was all pretty straightforward... Even the window glass and regulator swapped nice and easy once I borrowed a neighbour's rivet gun






I got everything back together at 10pm, then stood back and realised that the trim strip on the new door was about 15mm lower than the old one... My OCD kicked in and I pulled it off and stripped the tape residue using Grease & Wax remover and a plastic card as a scrapper... The G & W remover softens the foam tape up beautifully I followed this up with a hit of abrasive cutting compound, then reapplied the trim strip at the correct height...



Looking good as new door sticker goes back on tomorrow...

[diggerhole]

Pure skills. Looking mint again

[Jesusfreak]

Cheers Digger

Now that the damage is all sorted... Its back to the fun stuff

Got a JVC Bluetooth headunit just before the prang... All installed now with the mic at the top of the A pillar...



Pulled the console light from a mk1 Freelander I'm about to send to the scrappers... It fits nicely, looks cool & gives me map lights & a switch to turn the main light on with doors closed... I put a LED panel in the centre fixture...


I wasn't happy with the yellow light from the map globes next to the white in the centre so I picked up some t10 LED. But the angle of the holder to the lense didn't work with the LEDs... Time for some Macguyvering



New heavy duty black canvas seat covers to replace the worn out cheapies that were on when I got the van...


Also new floormats & a mascot all looking nice and tidy in the cab now

[woodley2010]

awsome build mate , glad i am not the only one doing a combo b build , where did you get them rear interior lights for the back of the van as i really need them for my van for work , i like the front bumper that is looking sickk.