Paul McCleary

'Dodgy Bob' even made it home safe and sound without a breakage!

And some more:

Well it all went swimmingly well with 'Dodgy Bob' performing quite well, in fact far better than I thought. It needs personalizing. I don't like some of the way things have been done, so it will be getting a make over and a raft of mods in the new year. I also stand corrected on the TOR advert. My mate scanned what he thought was the ad and sent it to me and obviously it wasn't the car. I checked my TOR's in work and there was 'Dodgy Bob'. I have to say I wouldn't have paid 3 grand for it!! Some pics.

This Bob isn't the one in TOR, but I did have to take a second look! Very very similar looking motor. I now own the Bob.The previous owner made me an offer for my Manta Courtenay Turbo that I couldn't refuse, so I didn't. One rear Pro-comp shock is knackered, the N/S/F Hubseal is leaking, the front prop is badly worn, and it needs a general tidy up, but it is better than I thought it would be. Not that any of it matters, as I was only treating it a the basis for a bit of a project anyway. I've made myself a little shopping list of things that I'd like to replace, like the axles for example. I'm told its got a 200TDi gearbox and defender transfer box instead of the original auto, they seem fine, so they can stay. It flexes reasonably well and managed to bottom the front and rear shocks easy enough. The tires measure 32 inches tall and crowd up in the arches really well, so they can stay too. I want to use the Bob to tow my other off roaders to events and play days, and act as a tow motor should the need arise. I'm off to give it a test in the morning at a friends play site. I'll probably break it, so I'll report back wth photos of shame. Paul.

I got my hand slapped on 'Difflock.com' for that mistake last night. Don't you just hate the 'Copy and Paste' option. 10 Splines it is then. Paul.

I have been offered a bobtail as a swap for one of my other cars. The spec is as follows: 1989 RRC 3.9 V8 on gas, 12 spline axles, Scorpion springs, Rear links, dislocation cones and front shock turrets and wheel spacers, Camber corrected Hockey sticks, 33" Fedima Siroccos on Modulars. K+N filter, CB, QT diff guards and steering guard, Pro-comp shocks, Tube bumpers, Superwinch EPi 9 I'm told?? It was built for an Italian chap called Paulo. His family owned a body shop in Deeside and it was built for him by them. The chap who has it now I have known for a number of years and we share mutual friends, so I have been given it full and colorful history including the bad bits (and there are a lot of them). As it stands it need the body tidying up, Rear pads and discs, front pads and a front hub seal, O/S + N/S rear shock absorber top bushes, a front prop, a rear arch section re-fitting, and some of the interior plastics need re-fitting. It comes with a load of spare panels inc some bob tailed replacements in a bobbed roof panel, a number of axles and another set of RRC alloys with BFG Mud's fitted. Also,it is taxed and MOT'd. Its not mint, and it does need work. What do you all think? Paul.

That looks like an ideal size to keep in a support truck. Not very clear in the picture, but I assume it has a 'gap' in the top so that you could slide a driveshaft in etc? Paul.

There is a reasonable write up on an anti wrap bar here. Paul.

All the specs are here. I would buy the largest lens size I could get. Just helps you see the 'job' a bit better. I hate the welding through a letterbox feeling. I think the biggest difference between the models is the shade variation. Some of the lower shade masks can be fitted with a tinted inner filter to move the shade up a number or two. Make sure you buy the clear protective lens covers, as they will make the mask last years and can be lobbed away when it gets a bit splattery. Paul.

I purchased my Speedglass XL over 11 years ago. I use it almost every day and it has never let me down. I think it is still on the original batteries! Mine has a manual and auto setting. If used in auto it darkens as soon as it detects sudden light change, i.e simply looking at the lights in our pit will trigger the mask. If used on the manual setting you can sellect how bright a light source is needed to trigger the mask. Very handy if you need to grind something as it saves removing the mask to fit goggles so that you can see what you are butchering, sorry, tidying. The biggest gain is not having to flick the mask down, therefore freeing up one of your hands. What you do with your spare hand is up to you! Paul.

Ha, ha. Point taken, but not everyone drags a laptop with them when they off road just in case they get a fault. So things that can be twidled back into life with a screw driver can have their uses. As it turns out. the chassis and shell I have decided to use are from a 1994 car, so carbs is out of the question due to emmissions regs that I will have to comply with. I've done a bit with Emerald, Motoec, Autronic (self tune option is awesome), but never Megasquirt. I no longer have access to det cans or a wideband lambda, so have been a little hesitant about getting into mapping again. I do have a removable HKS Knock monitor in the EVO so I could use that if needed, but its not as good as a proper set of cans. Is the Megasquirt stil a banked system (wasted fuel) , or is it now fully sequential? What do you think the complete puchase cost of a Megasquirt system would be? I think I will get the truck running on the original EFI system so that I can iron out any issues that might crop up with the suspension or the portals. I will then make a manifold to suit Bike throttle bodies and run a mappable ECU. The rasp of air passing eight throttle butterflies has a certain appeal to it. B) When I'm happy that the system will run correctly and has sufficient headroom, then I can build a bigger capacity motor. With the above in mind, any squirt tips are welcome. Paul.

I'm fitting a RRC 3.5 V8 into one of my projects. I was wondering what was the best way to go with my inlet options. I would like to keep things as simple and reliable as possible, but any power gains available would be a bonus. The V8 EFI is fitted with the standard flap type air flow meter at the moment, but I'm not sure this is the most reliable option to go with. I quite fancied a Boxer Quad SU manifold, because of the simplicity of a carb set-up and the fact that they seem quite good at running when on an incline. They seem very expensive for what they are though. I was thinking of fabbing up my own manifold to suit the SU's or even one to suit bike throttle bodies, but then the ECU becomes very expensive. The truck is fitted with an injection fuel tank and I have a carb spec fuel cell with an8 fittings that I could use. General opinions and experiences are welcome. I've not fitted the motor yet, and I am still juggling ideas, so its pretty much a blank canvass. Paul.

To change the offset,the drop boxes simply un-bolt and the front and rear casings can be swapped, as can the diffs. The extension housings are a seperate casting, and can be un-bolted. I'm not sure what engine and gearbox I will be using yet. I was going to go the RR V8 and Auto route, but I want a lot more power and I do prefer to drive a manual box. I'm thinking petrol turbo motor with about 400bhp and just over 300lbft. Those figures give me a good choice of reliable Japanese engines and gearboxes to fit in front of a divorced transfer box. I might have to go for one of the Milner boxes or similar as the Suzuki and Niva transfer boxes may not be strong enough. Paul.

They are very well built axles. I know, as I put my back out loading them on to the trailer, and that was with an engine crane. I used a Forklift to remove them. As suggested the drop box is quite inset, so not as good clearance at the hub end of the axle as Mog or Volvo, but they are very cheap. I doubt that I will break my set, as they seem very over engineered, and make the Volvo axles look quite weedy. The standard tyre size they come with is 10.5 R20 Military pattern. They stand about 38" tall. They measure 76" wide Wheel stud to wheel stud. They will need a fair amount of damping as they are more than double the un-sprung weight of an average 4X4's axle. Mine are being fitted to a.......wait for it.......... Daihatsu Sportrak! Well, I will be using 'some' Sportrak parts! As you can see below, they are nice and wide. The axle is probably heavier than the Sportrak Chassis and shell sat in front of it. Paul.

I purchased the above advertised set earlier this week. I am led to belive that the Malaysian off roaders are quite fond of them as they are very strong. And they are not shy when it comes to abusing their vehicles. When I get back to the workshop next week, I'll post up some detailed pictures with a few measurements etc. They probably aren't the best portal axle out there, but they seem to be the cheapest. Paul.