Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

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AndrewT
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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other b

Post by AndrewT » Sun Sep 23, 2018 1:57 pm

I slipped under and grabbed a photo for you:

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El_Freddo
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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other b

Post by El_Freddo » Sun Sep 23, 2018 8:56 pm

Thanks AndyT! Got some good clearance there.

Interestingly, your kings (raised?) have 9 coils, the honda springs have 11... Kings don't make raised springs for the L anymore :???: Oddly, they don't make lifted springs for the hondas either...

Last night I was burning the midnight oil on the camp cargo setup. More to come on this later. I'll let you in on that it's got a fridge slide for a 41L engel :twisted:

More working the arse off coming tomorrow before we depart Tuesday (at "sometime" at this rate :neutral:)

Cheers

Bennie

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other b

Post by AndrewT » Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:49 pm

From memory (and that's a big ask these days) I think these are standard height ones. I believe they were the factory listing for the RX Turbo Sedan and I bought these at the same time as the KYB shocks they're on.
But I could be wrong, this could be whatever was in this wagon when I got it - I really can't remember if I even swapped them!

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other b

Post by El_Freddo » Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:20 pm

SO added this before the last trip - it delayed our departure two days but ended up being well worth it.

Image

Image

This revolutionised how we operate out the back of the L when out bush. I’m starting to feel that I’m near the end of sorting the setup and just enjoying it :D

Cheers

Bennie
Last edited by El_Freddo on Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: image resize

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other b

Post by AndrewT » Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:00 am

How's the durability of those plastic joins? I've seen that system at bunnings and have often thought of making up a drawer system with it! Looks like it'd be very functional, great job.

I was always a bit confused with how I would run drawers over the top of the "L series hidy-hole" without wasting that space. But I think I've solved that now - thinking of running a permanently mounted on-board compressor, and also fitting a winch in there, to go out and through the rear bumper.

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other b

Post by El_Freddo » Thu Oct 18, 2018 10:03 pm

AndrewT wrote:How's the durability of those plastic joins? I've seen that system at bunnings and have often thought of making up a drawer system with it! Looks like it'd be very functional, great job.
Thanks mate. As for durability, time will tell. I’ll be putting a rivet through each one and have corner braces to help with strength.
AndrewT wrote:I was always a bit confused with how I would run drawers over the top of the "L series hidy-hole" without wasting that space. But I think I've solved that now - thinking of running a permanently mounted on-board compressor, and also fitting a winch in there, to go out and through the rear bumper.
That’s a neat thought. Just don’t over work the winch ;)

I can still access that space when the fridge is extended out, and hopefully the same when the kitchen cabinet slides go in. I put a bottle of water that we're using under the fridge and other random bits of gear in there too. This time around our alcohol went under the kitchen side.

Cheers

Bennie

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by El_Freddo » Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:57 pm

I’ve been wanting to post this pic for ages but it was locked up with the iPad - and we're lucky that it wasn’t scorched with the rest of the photos and data on the unit.

I think you can see why I’ve posted this pic:

Image

:D

Cheers

Bennie

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by El_Freddo » Wed Jun 12, 2019 10:27 pm

Good times - just got this video finished!

https://youtu.be/sUvVfKnML8U

:mrgreen:

Cheers

Bennie
"The lounge room is not a workshop..."
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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by El_Freddo » Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:56 pm

So I picked up a little item in the post late last year.

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Paint inspired by Subarino - even though he's too busy to be on a crappy old forum I can still drop his name in here!

Image

The diff copped new O rings and side seals while the bearing carriers were out.

It's yet to be fitted to Ruby Scoo, and before I can go all out on it I need to swap the steering rack out for a spare one. There's something seriously loose that I'm not confident about so it's got to go.

Cheers

Bennie
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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by Bumpty » Tue Mar 10, 2020 1:24 pm

oOh delicious diff!

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by Phizinza » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:16 pm

So the male stubs with bolt for these lockers?

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by El_Freddo » Mon Oct 12, 2020 10:40 pm

Phizinza wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:16 pm
So the male stubs with bolt for these lockers?
It’s not “that” easy, but it’s easy enough. The stub axles bolt into a retainer plate that applies pressure on the inside of the spider gear that the stun axle slots into.

You need to knock these retainer plates out. Then spend some time bashing them in and out to help loosen them up in how they seat.

When putting the locker in the diff you need to also slip these retainer plates inside the guts of the auto locker and get them in position. I held them in with the stub axles in place until I had to remove them to fit the diff centre into the diff housing.

And that’s it really.

I’m still yet to check out how this goes - I haven’t swapped the steering rack out yet. I found my foot wells full of water earlier this year. This diverted maintenance time to strip time. No interior in the car from the back seat rest forward. Now everything is dry I can put it back in then swap the steering rack.

Once the rack is swapped I’ll do a cam belt kit replacement and finally go for a long overdue drive. Then fit the diff locker and go for a jaunt off-road to see what the difference is.

Cheers

Bennie
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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by Phizinza » Wed Oct 14, 2020 12:37 pm

Awesome. Thanks mate.

Imagine a life time to get all this done in a timely matter... My car is still limping around 2 years on as I haven't gotten around to properly fixing it.

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Re: Bennie's EJ conversion into Ruby Scoo, plus some other bits too...

Post by El_Freddo » Sun Nov 01, 2020 8:42 pm

Well I finally got around to swapping the steering rack out for another one in good condition. Old one had a shot rack end joint, there was a small amount of play detectable with some manual manipulation.

New rack is in, lines done up and the rack ends mate’s to the tie rods. Before I put the exhaust back on I decided to do something about the crap factory Y pipe from a Gen3 Liberty/SF foz that dad put on as a fix for my unequal length Gen1 unit essentially rusting out or at least breaking from (most likely) abuse. Almost made it ten years with plenty of bashing on rocks etc in that time.

Here’s what I started with after removing all the heat shields:

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After a pile of cutting, grinding, hammering and frustration from kids, I managed to get this bit sorted, it’s one of two technical sections and is yet to be welded:

Image

The other technical part is the join where the left and right bank pipes come together. I don’t have the machinery we used when doing the ones on my sister’s Liberty. That was done in a full exhaust shop. This one is being done in the driveway.

Check back in six months, I might have it done by then :???:

It was good to get busy on Ruby Scoo though. That was good.

Cheers

Bennie
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Re: Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

Post by El_Freddo » Fri Nov 20, 2020 6:00 pm

Last weekend’s efforts. I have a new found respect for exhaust builders! Lots of chicken shit welding that will require a decent amount of time on the grinder to make it look any good... this is where I’m at - missing centre piece welded in where the angle holds the two bends together. Welding different diameter pipes together isn’t fun! And the second bend ended up angling up a little more than it is in these pics. Not ideal:

Image

Image

Now to get another bottle of gas for the mig and work out the next bit of pipe between the two bits you see in the second pic. It’s not going to be easy...

Then to build the collector - further complicated by less access than o have directly under the engine for the front section. Fun.

Hopefully Ruby Scoo will have the Subi beat after this and not have an overly restrictive set of extractors from my handy work.

Cheers

Bennie
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Re: Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

Post by Bantum » Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:41 am

Love your work Bennie, as always ...

What's the saying :
Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
comes to mind when welding - gotta clean up those surfaces before hand ... :)

Cheers, Bantum ...

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Re: Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

Post by Silverbullet2 » Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:12 pm

Inspirational Bennie 8-) Keen to see how that diff lock works in Ruby Scoo, I've been eyeing those diff locks off for a while but didn't pull the trigger since the car isn't even road worthy yet.

Top effort on the exhaust too, it is certainly not easy. I'm doing the same thing, from scratch on the wagon project but all 304 stainless and TIG'd for another level of difficulty.

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Re: Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

Post by Subyroo » Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:14 pm

Bantum wrote:
Thu Dec 03, 2020 1:41 am
Love your work Bennie, as always ...

What's the saying :
Prior Planning & Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
comes to mind when welding - gotta clean up those surfaces before hand ... :)

Cheers, Bantum ...
Fixed! There are 7 x P's, well there was when I was in the Army. ;) ;)

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Re: Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

Post by El_Freddo » Mon Dec 28, 2020 7:11 am

Silverbullet2 wrote:
Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:12 pm
Top effort on the exhaust too, it is certainly not easy. I'm doing the same thing, from scratch on the wagon project but all 304 stainless and TIG'd for another level of difficulty.
There’s definitely some effort (or f’it atm) factor, it’s no where near “Top” though! I can see why my exhaust builder mate’s Dad wanted to do a one piece pipe on my sister’s liberty to achieve the same result. We did this years ago now. Mine has fifty extra weld points in comparison.

Bantum, everything is fresh steel, no rust etc. It’s just me trying to work out this basic MIG. It has a wire speed dial and two switches for the settings.

It’ll get there and hopefully a) sound the way I want it and b) clear the bash plate. If it doesn’t clear it’s not really a big deal, I’ll knock something up that’s better than the mess I have on there atm (two L bash plates bent, one cut down the centre and the three pieces welded together. Then plates welded into the holes to help air flow through rad. Not pretty, not light).

Cheers

Bennie
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Re: Ruby Scoo’s epic build, ten years and counting...

Post by El_Freddo » Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:56 pm

Not much happened with Ruby Scoo until about a week ago. I got the interior back in - and found where the leak is. I say “is” because it’s still leaking, just not as much. But I’ve worked out that the water is getting in via a crack in the rubber of the side mirror triangle pieces. The crack in the rubber runs along the window when it’s fully wound up.

This crack allows water to pass behind the rubber door seal and into the car where it drips onto bits lower down, then runs down the inside of the door and onto the floor. Now to work out how to fix this bit of the rubber seal. A temporary fix to try out is a bit of black tape. The current solution is to park Ruby Scoo under a tarp...

Exhaust mods... back to the almost equal length factory Ypipe that I don’t want - just to get her going again. Time will tell on what happens here. I do want that UEL effect for the unique Subi beat!

Lastly, in other news this is in progress. It started back in 2016 when I got a set of rear hubs from Dfyol:

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What I need now is a set of front struts (need to collect from M&D’s), ream out the front ball joint mount to 10 degrees for the EJ ball joint and work out what driveshaft I need for the job. Subarino and I have thrown around some idea and think we have what we need. But further investigation is needed. Once this is sorted it can all go on Ruby Scoo ;)

That’s all for now.

Cheers

Bennie
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