Laid off with the other 8,000 employees - mods, here I come

[jessef]

I've been laid off from IBM along with the other 8-10,000 employees across Canada.

I've been humming and hawing about quiting or taking a break for the past few months, so the timing is great.

This is a good thing for us because we're in a good financial position for now and I can resume the design programs in school that I've been wanting to do for the past year.

The other plus is that I can start working on the modifications on our Delica for our south america trip.

The modifications I'd like to get done are among the following :

- Full width front steel bumper with integrated winch mount

- Rear bumper with swing away tire & jerry can holder

- Transfer case steel plate guard (lowest hanging/exposed point)

- Differential steel plate guard

Looking forward to it !

[delicat]

Glad you can enjoy being laid off... might not be the case for many others! But time is very precious, you'll have fun I'm sure!

With all the mods you're planning, have you considered mods for your engine as well? (ie. intercooler, larger turbo...) With all the steel bumpers, steel plate guards, gears... your van's weight will be getting up there... It's name "Turtle" will become very appropriate!

Good luck with the projects! I'm sure I'll be pointing my nose at the shop...

David

[Delicanadabc]

Good luck with the mods! I am sure now that you have even more time, you'll add to your already staggering number of posts. Then again, maybe not as they are now presumably done on your time. lol ! Let me know if you need a hand, as I too will have some time off at the end of march and I am keen to see what you are up to.

Ttyl,
Daniel

[jessef]

Will do guys.

David, I'm not concerned about the weight gain.

With that said, I'd like to put an intercooler on without question. One of the simplest mods to gain some pulling grunt.

I'm going to have Jesse go over the design to maximize the impact into the bumper and frame instead of the crush zone where the headlights/passenger empty footwell space is.

As for the rear. I think it will be a mix of thick steel (casing) thin steel (design) addon's.

The transfer case plate will be as thick as it can get. That has been on my list to-do's since I looked at a Delica the first time. It's in a prime spot for a nice crunch right in the middle of the Delica.

Everything will be bolt-on for the exception of the front bumper. Depending on what my eng buddy Jesse comes up with, may weld some reinforcing plates to spread the impact zone. I'm not sure yet on that.

[dpd]

Congratulations on your good fortune? :)
I am totally interested in a rear swingaway tire/can bumper. Only I would want the mirror image of what would be typical, opening left not right, because I have a stowaway swingout cargo box:


Two suggestions, which you've doubtless thought about already: leave clearance for a terzo ladder to stay on, and put s 2" receiver in it!

BTW, the swing out cargo box is a great solution for anyone who needs more cargo room. It hasn't upped my fuel consumption and departure angle is only a tad worse than normal as the box sits quite high. I'm really glad I chose it over a roof pod, but it was more expensive.

[Luna-Sea]

Hey,
Talk about looking on the bright side of things!

Keep us (me) posted as to what project you are on, I am interested in most of that stuff.
I have two pathfinder spare wheel swingers if you want to integrate or start from scratch let me know.
Just want to watch your weight vs. skookum factors of course.
I have a penchant for skookum myself ,its a precarious balance.
The raw power centerfuge site is showing a 12v one now too. (for your trip)

Plasma cutter eh? Sweet!
intercooler ya ya!
Right on

[loki]

the armour plates on the bottom are of interest to me :) I would likely have to do it up myself at my dads shops to make it cheaper but I would be interested in any pics/design drawing you would be willing to part with after all is said and done (I wouldn't try to start making and selling them btw, at least with out talking to you about it first :))

[dfnder]

I hope that all goes smoothly with your transition from working into school/projects etc.

I would be interested in a rear swinging tire with 2" receiver as I'm planning on running Veggie and will prolly have the tank mounted where the tire now is. I haven't heard much more of the plantdrive mod to keep the tire underneath so the swing out mount is the option I'm looking for.

[Erebus]

I've been laid off from IBM along with the other 8-10,000 employees across Canada.
{snip}
- Transfer case steel plate guard (lowest hanging/exposed point)

Congratulations on your new "job". Glad they assisted in your decision-making.

When you get to doing the transfer case guard, keep me in mind. I agree it is the fragile part. Now, how to make it without losing ground clearance

Best of luck!

[jessef]

When you get to doing the transfer case guard, keep me in mind. I agree it is the fragile part. Now, how to make it without losing ground clearance

Just need to implement it

[EnviroImports.com]

nice to hear of people putting some armour onto the L300, but as much as I know what you mean about protecting the transfer case, have a look at the bottom of the rear a/c controlls, one of the members on here went over rock and with out knowing it, cracked the fitting, bled out all his coolant and warped the head, I think the block ended up being warped also, at any rate, if your worried about the T-case, have a look at the coolant hose conectors for the back, chances are its more fragile than the transfercase and can also leave you stranded .
Noel

[jessef]

nice to hear of people putting some armour onto the L300, but as much as I know what you mean about protecting the transfer case, have a look at the bottom of the rear a/c controlls, one of the members on here went over rock and with out knowing it, cracked the fitting, bled out all his coolant and warped the head, I think the block ended up being warped also, at any rate, if your worried about the T-case, have a look at the coolant hose conectors for the back, chances are its more fragile than the transfercase and can also leave you stranded .
Noel

Glad you pointed that out. It's definitely something that needs protection as well.

[jaggedfish]

Enjoy your time while you can! Kinda jealous about that but I'm not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth on my end... jobs are hard to come by in the architectural world these days...

I would be greatly interested in the under-armour specifically and a lift but other items could be cool to upgrade as well.

I have pix of a Volkswagen Syncro 4WD in White Rock with what looks to be an exoskeleton of sorts - utilizes gutter mounts up top with integrated rack and a motorcycle rack on the back plus mounts for what look like tool boxes and fuel tanks..... hmmmmmm...... very expedition-like....

I took the pix for future reference. Will see if I can get them off my phone and on here if interested...

Keep us posted!

[jessef]

Enjoy your time while you can! Kinda jealous about that but I'm not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth on my end... jobs are hard to come by in the architectural world these days...

I would be greatly interested in the under-armour specifically and a lift but other items could be cool to upgrade as well.

I have pix of a Volkswagen Syncro 4WD in White Rock with what looks to be an exoskeleton of sorts - utilizes gutter mounts up top with integrated rack and a motorcycle rack on the back plus mounts for what look like tool boxes and fuel tanks..... hmmmmmm...... very expedition-like....

I took the pix for future reference. Will see if I can get them off my phone and on here if interested...

Keep us posted!

I know the one you're talking about. Right up on the hill. Does it ever move ?

[BCDelica]

Great attitude Jeese, when life gives you lemons make Delica mods – or something like that.

Looking forward to the build pictures. Any ideas what you'll do to attach the front bumper/winch? With the front bumber removed there's access to the frame tubes, but they're small square cross sections sitting kinda high off the ground.

Cheers,
Kevin