Well then, I had to give up Brit cars on the instructions of my Doctor because of the addiction ... and that nasty rash. I still have an MGB-GT and enough parts to build 1.5 more festering in my garage. But, projects is what we do, so I looked around for something completely different.
Because anyone will tell you the the end of the world is neigh, I too needed something with 4 wheel drive but it had to be something a little better about gasoline then your Binky. Of course it had to be a roadster and it had to be green and completely hilarious. This is the best i could come up with:
I've named him Henry, after an old tune that was popular back when I was in Richard Milhous Nixon's army a long, long time ago. You can listen to the tune if you'd like ... but you gotta say YEE HAW before you start it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPeeTXN44sM
Being precious relics (insert roll-eye icon here) , the purists absolutely HATE what I've done, probably the way Mini purists hate yours.
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:20:54 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 11:57:37 PM
I had to drive all the way to West Virginia in the dead of winter to purchase him and I had to bring along a soft top. A big plus - Henry has the same style take-off top and bones that an early MGB has, and its just as difficult to erect in a cold rain.
Like yours, my project started with a bit of metal removal.
As a matter of fact, quite a lot of stuff had to be removed, including it's MASSIVE bed, 6 MASSIVE ti(y)res, a MASSIVE rear differential, a MASSIVE rear suspension and nearly a ton(ne) of various bits of metal.
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 04:56:02 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:07:53 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:10:05 PM
I had to purchase a replacement bed. It came surplus from the US and A Army in the form of an M-105 trailer. Its big but certainly not MASSIVE. The trailer bed came with its own take-off top and bones and is extremely difficult to erect in a cold and freezing rain ... just like the MGB's. The best part? The trailer had to be dismantled just as Henry was. :
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 04:49:02 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:09:18 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:12:21 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:14:17 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 11:58:49 PM
I did paint it. The painting took longer than the building. The colo(u)r is the same bilious green these things wore back when I was in Richard Milhous Nixon's Army. I got the paint from Homboy Depot here in these here United States. It's exterior flat house paint, and the black is Rustoleum Satin Black.:
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:20:04 PM
... and he's not just another pretty face. Henry is my daily driver and my primary hauler.
Henry started out in the US and A Army 2 years before I did or 19and68 as a M35a2 2 and 1/2 ton(ne) truck, aka a deuce and a half. When I bought him, Henry had but 12K on the ticker since his total rebuild by the Army in 1990. Shortly after his rebuild, he got sent off to a reserve unit where he was largely ignored for the remainder of his time in service. I paid less than 42,00 for the truck and trailer ... and sold all or scraped almost everything i didn't need ... my total out of pocket dropped down to $800. But then I did have to buy all that green house paint.
I've pared him down to a slim 4.5 ton(ne)s, and shortened him by 48 inches. He's about the same length as one of the modern twin-cab pickup trucks. I don't regard him as a hi-performance type, he's more tall than hi. He's not very fast, but quite strong, and now fits into just about any parking space.
As I mentioned, Henry is a bit better than your Binky about gasoline. Although his engine (125hp, 350 torque, all at about 2,200 rpm) is a diesel ... it's a MULTI-FUEL diesel. These trucks will run on just about any petroleum product except straight gasoline. The 5 years I've owned him, I've run him on waste motor oil, ATF, 90 wt transmission lube, and various hydraulic fluids.
We get between 12 and 15 mpg.
-- Edited by Ted on Saturday 18th of June 2016 05:44:24 PM
dammm thats a nice truck, what are you doing with the Toyota parts ?
They are Jeep CJ-5 parts. That was yet another project. I was going to cram a Mercedes Benz diesel engine into it, cut everything off the body behind the front door post and build it into a woody wagon. I actually had a reason for the project, that diesel can be run multi-fuel as well. However, I took on yet ANOTHER project and sold the Jeep off.
I'll tell Henry you said Hey. I regard Him as an old army mule and my traveling companion, As I said he's my daily driver and he and I go off and have great adventures. In the five or so years since I've owned him, we've done over 25,000 miles ... which is pretty good for a pair of guys in retirement.
We've got no radio, so me and Henry hum together as we go along. Well, I hum ... Henry hums, but he also rattles, bangs, roars, clanks ... you get the idea. I was able to work a number of MGB parts into this project. The license plate light, for example, comes from my old MGB spares.
Were you able to make out the writing on the tailgate? Hint: it's the breakfast of champions!
-- Edited by Ted on Tuesday 21st of June 2016 04:05:31 PM
-- Edited by Ted on Tuesday 21st of June 2016 04:08:06 PM
Coming from someone who drove one of these in the same Army as you..I see nothing wrong with chopping up this truck.
Interesting fact - every vehicle every developed is faster than one of these.
