RexR Baja Build / Update Thread

RyanB · Post by **RyanB** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:25 am

Right on! Great looking work there! I tend to be the same way when it comes to working on my stuff. I decide there is something I still dont like and I rip it apart to "fix" that and decide I found 3 other things when ripping it apart again.

rexr · Post by **rexr** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:21 pm

RyanB wrote:Right on! Great looking work there! I tend to be the same way when it comes to working on my stuff. I decide there is something I still dont like and I rip it apart to "fix" that and decide I found 3 other things when ripping it apart again.

Thanks Ryan...

Holly cow ain't that the damn truth.. My wife and my friends always say just leave it alone and drive it...

I can't... It's a sickness... I need to go to tinkerers anonymous....

SpazMO · Post by **SpazMO** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:45 pm

Don't feel too bad. Looks like yours has spent less time out of action than mine. I've own'd her for about 1.5 years, and driven her about 10 times. Rest of the time, she's been sitting, waiting on money for parts, or time to install said parts. She's almost done tho... then I'll start a new one.

Post by **Leatherneck** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:58 pm

To all those nay sayers, what would have happened if God had just left man alone, what would of happened if Henry Ford had said well the horse is fast enough, what about the pistol,rifle, and bombs, yea we have to mess with stuff just to make em better.

bajaherbie · Post by **bajaherbie** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:17 pm

yesterday my wife came out to my shop and said, "why do you take it all apart all of the time? did you break something?"

i had to explain that i had to take the rear wheels and shocks off so i could cut out a few pounds of useless weight that i should have done two years ago when i converted the rear to coil-over...

petew · Post by **petew** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:54 pm

Hi, my name's Pete....[scuffs feet and fiddles with fingernails]

and....umm, and I'm a TINKERAHOLIC

THere I said it!

BTW, I so know this argument. My wife has asked me repeatedly why I couldn't have just bought a car "that worked" to begin with. I tried to tell her that toyota and ford don't make cars like mine in their factories. Ie, cars that suck too much money and never quite work the way you want....lol

Hang on, may be I should be crying about that last bit, not laughing.

aw, I give up, back to the shed.

rexr · Post by **rexr** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:38 pm

rexr · Post by **rexr** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:40 pm

I got to work on the car a bit this weekend..

I started by putting the beam back on.. It still needs to be sanded and painted so i will probably take it apart and get it cleaned, painted and regreased..

I also started putting the wiring back in.. I have a run of 8 wires connected to terminal blocks running down each side of the car so I have 16 wires going from front to back.. That should be plenty of wire..

Then I decided to go crazy and tackle the rear luggage area replacement..

So I started taking the bad stuff out.. I used a step bit to drill out the spot welds.. It worked really well.

Then I used by angle grinder with a conglomeration of cutting wheels, grinding disc and 40 grit sanding discs to strip the sealer and paint off of the seams..

I still need to take the remaining sides and bottom of the panel out but I thought I would wait until I had the replacement piece before I cut out any of the good metal. Plus I didn't know what I might need to help me line everything back up..

Wow what a task.. I am having fun with this and am amazed at how these things are put together..

I am going to stop by Wolfsberg West tomorrow and pick up the replacement sheet metal so I will hopefully have some more progress this weekend..

DesertGuy · Post by **DesertGuy** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:48 pm

Definately very clean work, looks great. Oh... Like the Flammable cabinet in the background, always meaning to pick one up.

Post by **Hedrock** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 8:50 pm

Looks really good

You're right... the more you workon them the more fun they are. Keep the pics coming

rexr · Post by **rexr** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:01 pm

DesertGuy wrote:Definately very clean work, looks great. Oh... Like the Flammable cabinet in the background, always meaning to pick one up.

Thanks DesertGuy.. Coming from you that is most definitely a compliment..

There is story behind the cabinet is...

I used to work as a computer tech for an not to be named company.. One day I was at one of the sites planning a large computer move and the facilities guy said and that cabinet will be thrown away. I said "No it won't.. Do you mind if it ends up in the back of my truck?"

Well as you can see.. It is now mine.. That was a sweet find..

Post by **Leatherneck** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:02 pm

Keep it up. looks good. Yes might as well do the beam, replace the bushings and start fresh.

rexr · Post by **rexr** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:04 pm

Leatherneck wrote:Keep it up. looks good. Yes might as well do the beam, replace the bushings and start fresh.

The beam is actually new.. Well fairly new.. I bought a rebuilt beam about a year ago so it has a very light season on it.. One of the zert fittings is broken from the tow bar so I need to replace that but other than that I think I am just going to clean it up and paint it..

petew · Post by **petew** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:05 pm

woo wooh! that front end is looking sexy now. not surprised you got carrried away and cut up the back. I went out to tighten a screw yesterday and came back in after I'd trimmed the steering wheel boss and an 86ed front sway bar. now all I have to do it put the bar back on higher.

BTW, while your at it, you may as well chuck a subaru motor in.

rexr · Post by **rexr** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 5:53 am

petew wrote: BTW, while your at it, you may as well chuck a subaru motor in.

Oh Pete.. If you only knew....

If I thought that I had even a smidgen of a chance of getting away with that I would have already started...

Actually my plan is to build this car for the wifey..

and then start my long term project that will be something similar to DesertGuy except I would like to keep the roof on.. Something like a class 5 car with suby in the back.. May have to go a-arm though..

I gotta get a second job..