Volvo C304 4x4 Build/Restoration - WR002

[fullthrottle]

So Dave, you keeping the colour a secret?

Nice to see it move from it's resting place. Looking awesome man.
You'll need to build a couple of miniature seats for the cats

[geckoadventure]

:mrgreen: you must be grinning
Cant wait to see the paint.
Good looking workshop too. Is it close to the ocean? Doesn't seem to take long for bare metal to sheen over?
Sad in a way that the builds nearly over, but will be watching with great interest for the "using it" thread

We are miles from the sea (roughly 60-90k) itst the climate here 80%+ humitidy and 24-35c each day and lotsa rain means everything rots or rusts if left bare.

This is a normal day out lol and the Volvo will be here again where it has been previously doing charity work. I cann't wait. Full video on this charity trip coming its a balltearer.

[geckoadventure]

2 NOVEMBER 3024

OK quick update I not been around much

no pics

1. Rollcage is undercoated main coat still to be done
2. CHassis has been painted black
4. Cabin still waiting for us to ind someone who sandblasts here and does not use steel balls to strip the paint - sigh.

Updates from me are few and far between at present im on REST by orders from the cardio after spending 3 days in hospital with ATRIAL FIBULATION again or irregular heartbeat. no sign of heart attack or any heart damage. they just cannot find out why its occurring we believe its to do with the LEPTOSPOROSIS effects from 2 years ago sigh.

been 4 weeks now and 6 days out of 7 are fine its that one day when everything goes to shit. e.g. Tuesday picked up a 196kg drum of biodiesel out of the landcruiser rolled it onto land and tipped it up and move it to its resting place - OMG Heart went to 200 beats (220-my age of 55 leaves max at 165 plus my known extra capacity of 11 beats over normal) and took a few mins to come down to 190 and then stayed nothing under 150 for the next 8 hours while I felt like crap. LUcky I have been wearing a HR monitor it really does show you to slow down rapidly and stop any more damage. Worse is when it varies from 30 to 150 beats you just feel like crap.

All I can do is REST - go to work and come home and REST. Work has made it easier by making me work 2 days a week at home. Hence no jungle trips nothing grounded.

[geckoadventure]

11 December 2014

Quick visit to collect my new boat trailer and then check on the Volvo at the same time.

Progress has been made.

Chassis has been painted black
Rear cabin frame has been sandblasted and undercoated
Front Cabin is to be split and sent to a sandblaster who uses softer blasting material not steel pellets like was used for the Rear Frame.

Chassis painted - sorry about the pellet etc on top but no time to move it.


The Cabin with more touchup brazing done.


THe rear cabin frame all undercoated


Wiring loom is all tubes up ready to install

Next is top coat for frame and cabin after blasting this week, I have to pass the paint code to paint shop also asap.

2 months they say drive away from workshop.

Heart is ok sort of. On Cardio's orders no more whitewater activities. No more 4x4 Competition driving or wenching, no more endurance kayaking or cycling. Tablets keeping the heart stable.

[Filthy4x4]

Have you broken the bad news to Brett about adding extra wiring into the loom?

[Taz]

Can we start a Thunderbirds countdown yet?

Look after that heart man! I hope it's not a white water raft boat trailer you just nabbed

[geckoadventure]

Have you broken the bad news to Brett about adding extra wiring into the loom?

I did he said the lights can go inside the cabin the wiring is finalized no amendments lol.

[geckoadventure]

Can we start a Thunderbirds countdown yet?

Look after that heart man! I hope it's not a white water raft boat trailer you just nabbed

Nope Trailer is for my new 19.5' footer alloy inland fishing boat (narrow and fast as its only 120kg all up) which I can stick in 2 kayaks so I don't have to paddle as far anymore. Promised myself I am doing 1 weekend of fishing each month next year out of the boat.

[geckoadventure]

29 December 2014

Dropped into the workshop yesterday on my way home from a wedding to collect a VHF radio, One inverter and on 6' hi lift jack.

Volvo is still being stripped all the under seal still being stripped. 1 more week before painting.


STrange yes the floods here are so bad I spent XMAS day preparing my Landcruiser with goods and headed off as part of my volunteer work with Malaysia Emergency Disaster Rescue Force - Elite 4x4 Rescue squad. Went to Gua Musang late 26th was one of the first vehicles to drive all the way up as the road only opened at midnite. 5.00am Gua Musang was a ghost warzone. MUD and No Power or people no fones no water running no sewage only blue lights from working car alarm systems flickering/

Made our way to the RV house. Morning revealed the full horror. 300+ houses in this little area 8 left untouched. Cars slammed into houses etc Delivered the water and biscuits. THe lady at the RV point cooks me up a meal she is so impressed a foreigner is helping them. The RV ppoint is a hive of activity register done people getting water delivered out. 5 tonne truck turns up turned back from Kuala Krai it cannot get through water too deep. We unload 400 litres of water and 240 packets of biscuits from my jalopy then the 5 tonne truck.

Gave away all my personal food and water leaving me with 2 litres and 26th evening heading back to KL 2k out of gua musang and 3 4x4s coming the other way flash me - damn I know those vehicles. Stop turn around and chat. It's my fellow Elite rescue squad guys "Cicak" come with us we have a group of charity workers missing in the jungle no report for 3 days. OK I go.

Being late we get given a church porch to camp under 1 packet of 2 minute noodles is dinner. 1 packet breakfast and off we go. Our contact a young pastor takes us to the medical centre at the trailhead and there in the medical centre is one of the people we are looking for they have walked for 17 hours after loosing the 2 4x4s in a river. THey are further up the road. WE go meet them and then drop of 400 litres of water the village is awash in a ocean of mud.

Carry on into the jungle next Orang Asli village unbelieveable a safe area is awash in MUD huts swamped some off there foundations. Carry on. Then a recovery needed vehicle with 400litres of water is bellied out on a uphill I rescue. WE leave 2 4x4's behind and carry on. 3k later a little side track and OMG MUD and devastation. A small village has copped a 15+ meter full force of the flooded river as it sweeps around the bend.

We take stock I decide im coming back in 5 days time 1-4 January. they are literally hiding 3 meters up a bank 100 meters back up the trail. WE give them the 400 litres of water and whatever food we have left we have nothing now.

We give fuel away and get news the next village impossible to reach the log bridge is swept away more new they had on 22/12/2014 1 can of sardines and 1 packet of 2 minute noodles each. We gotta get there asap. Also hear a villager dropped dead with a heart attack watching his hut get washed away.

We leave and take 6 kids to an orphanage 2 hours drive away and I leave the rescue squad they get another call for HELP with their boats I have to be in Penang 700k away for a wedding on 28th.

my BLUE landcruiser (fully kitted) I lent to a mate to go to his wedding 100k away last Saturday night he ended up finish the wedding early and joined the local rescue squad sent the new wife back to Kuala Lumpur and has been there since doing rescues and food relief work. THe town is now isolated from the resot of Malaysia.

I'm fitting the new radio and inverter for the Volvo to my Landcruiser asap to get ready.


Now its the 30th convoy of 7 vehicles and a 3 tonne truck being organized.

PIcs later im just too busy with work today and preparing vehicles and convoy organizing my fone cannot stay charged.

[lax2wlg]

Epic!

[catalystracing]

Awesome work, makes me want to join and help. Is there anything we can do from here??

[Big]

Awesome work, makes me want to join and help. Is there anything we can do from here??

ditto mate.. I hear ya.

[LR90NZ]

Awesome work, makes me want to join and help. Is there anything we can do from here??

ditto mate.. I hear ya.

This is a start .............
https://www.facebook.com/events/1589427 ... pe=regular

[Filthy4x4]

I have set up a Give a Little page (will post details onces its approved), and have also made a dedicated donation account for us to donate into.

Each international payment costs around $30-40 from most banks. If we all donate into an NZ bank account I will pay the international transfer fee so we can get these guys more donations.

http://www.offroadexpress.kiwi/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=42932

[Filthy4x4]

David had to run, but sent me the pic of said Volvo to post

[geckoadventure]

Back for 5 days after 4 spent assisting from Jan 1-4 31st December was spent buying goods courtesy of work giving me the day off to prepare.

I'm working as part of the Malaysia Emergency Disaster Rescue Force - Elite 4x4 Rescue Squad

Took one convoy of 12 4x4's all loaded up those who Know Stiven Sim of 4x4 SHoppe closed up his business to just take goods for the trip 10 tonnes we collected in 1 week - Stopped counting the goods going into the mighty TROOPY at 750kg and then kept filling it from a 3tonne lorry load delivered to my house then loaded up 130l diesel and more goods and then my camping gear and finally loaded up the passenger seat to the roof.

My Convoy took 7+ hours to go 280k traffic was so bad convoy's of 4x4 pickup heading north I counted over 10 and trucks loaded with kit. 8 of the trucks are RFC capable the others soft.

Eventually we reached base CAMP 4pm where 10 tonnes of goods was already unloaded by by STivens convoy the previous morning. There is 7-8 4x4s already there and 1 motor bike in our COnvoy an Aussie on his way from Ozztralia to Iceland but has got stuck in Malaysia for 2 years - woman struck lol.

Friday morning convoy starts 9.16am all reloaded max 500kg for the 2 troopies the rest max 200kg 8 vehicles line up and 2 motor bikes (the other I will not say much he was an annoying idiot who endangeroured our lives which started with i'm going for a ride at midnight just after he arrived into the darkness of the jungle stupid farking fool)

Stivens convoy is also loaded up and going to other Orang Asli villages to the left of our camp i'm going RIGHT goal 20k away to a village called Kg Tohoi which called on 22/12/2014 saying out of food and water rising.

10 hour later we have battled our way across 1 broken bridge bypassed 2 bridges which need serious repair and the troopy has smashed its way across 2 landslides hacked out felled trees chainsawed trees swept over the road (left them cut long for bridge building on the way back) through mud 12 inches deep we are exhausyeand have all the numbers of villages and damage and dropped off food on the way. A group comes up behind us 3 v3ehicles loaded with manual labor saying they are going to fix the broken bridge - I laugh have you seen it - NO - here is the pic as we take a peek in their trucks - 1 new chainsawy - 2 brandspanking new shovels - all wearing brancd new Colombia shirts with pacling creases and new BOOTS, Robo the Kiwi army engineer walks away laughing - THey join our convoy on the bypass route - One bridge bypass takes 2 hours the 3 vehicle rescue squad behind us chickens out and turns back

Everyone is heartbroken. THe last bridge OMG last time through here we ran through the river as the bridge was gone and climbed the 15foot sandbank this time the bank is gone and filled with soft mud. THe water too swift and no anchor point there.

Motorbikes can get through and villages coming back in complaining of exorbitant food prices for 50rm they can barely get a bag of rice and a drink . Makes us more determined.

WE write a note and give to a villager to the plantation manager we know is on there come and meet us tomorrow to help with a vehicle if you can we will return.

MEantime the idiot motorbike guy disappeared at 10am and has not been seen since - fark him he never signed my indemnity form.

We head back and decide to miss the 2 hour detour and fix the bridge it's now 7pm 20 mins to darkness. I'm confined to myTROOPY my heart rate is sitting on 160 and had been all arvo The risk of heart failure is too great. 7.07pm the idiot turns up saying he is back to save us he has been in to Kg Tohoi and back to base camp - Hmmmmmm why did we never see him.

Bridge fixed dodgy as I am the first one across and get stuck winch cable out as the 3 wenches get stuck in the thick mud hooking the cable to the power pole 30 meters away lol.

On way back we drop of goods and also find another bypass after the other TROOPY had to rescue a and rover from a busted bridge escorting 2 of them out before rejoinging us.

Back abase camp 8:52pm exhausted hungry and wow dinner is all cooked and waiting for us unbelieveable support

Then we get the story - the idiot rider went back to camp and told them he saved us . What he did not tell us was he told the villages to be at the river at 7.00am to collect the goods from us. Fark idiot some 25 RFc's Borneo safaris 10-25 years of jungle experience each and this idiot on his first trip has saved us bible bashing evangelist idiot. I ask for him to be removed from CAMP and never wanna see him again.

day 3 out we go again loaded up and rolling 9.00am we reach the temp bridge fix from last night quite fast and the bridge builder is there from the loggers. Chainsaw as tall as he is. Man of few words he is waiting for fuel. I give him my chainsaw petrol and 2 stroke. He is happy then they ask for another chainsaw and they have the logs we dragged down yesterday and start splitting them longways with 2 chainsaws into 3" slices. 2.5 hours later we have a bridge repaired. Hey wait a minute why is there some 20 montorbikes waiting for US. then the impact of the idiots visit is apparent he got to the village and told them 7am we would be here. THey left their village 5am We send them to base camp to get fuel and food for their families.

I'm first its all ok. THe 2nd troopy at the back wrecks the bridge - repair on way back.

Finally at the bridge I won't mention the 100 meter mudhole and the 200meter logging skid pan sideways fun.

There is a group waiting for us one Hilux pickup and 1 4x4 tractor. We ask them to go get the plantation tractor and come back - we wait and have lunch.

If you wanna see pics before I add them here go to FB and look for elite 4x4 search & rescue squad or you can join me on David J. Stewart on FB

MORE and a better story and some pics later tonite when I am fully rested.

THe FLOOD - River Gallas comes from Cameron Highlands where all the illegal landclearing has occurred for past 20 years. THe rain exceptionally bad this year. 1000mm+ in 3 days. Sungai Gallas runs through Gua Musang up to 40feet rise . THen it runs down past Orang Asli villages this time it rose and went over some 50feet high - terrifying. THen Gallas meets 3 other rivers all of which backed up due to logging - sigh . Places we thought safe camping spots - NEVER AGAIN. It has totally made us rethink our camping places.

Everywhere is either a landslide impacted or 8-12" in mud

[nivaman]

Time to rest?.

[geckoadventure]

No time to rest must help those affected by the floods.



rebuilding the bridge which got washed away for about the 5th time the one we rebuilt on the saturday was pulled out by the loggers to build this one on the sunday

The water camp up to over the hilux on the background and was actually over the exposed clay bank behind it some 60feet high

I will do a short story later on our flood relief mission which has been running for 4 weeks later when I get time to relax.

[geckoadventure]

25 Feb 2015

Quick update

After the efforts required for the massive flood relief and now subsequent food drops and the latest supplying clean water I have not had much time to look at the Volvo.

I heard it was sandblasted and then in paint I sent them the paint code for RESCUE ORANGE as I have offered the Volvo to be a main squad vehicle for the Malaysian Emergency Disaster Rescue Force - Elite 4x4 Search & Rescue Squad hence it now has to be orange.

I will get an update this week and post some pics of the rescue stuff and a link to our rescue story from an outsider.

[geckoadventure]

11 Sept 2015

Latest update its been undercoated and the top coat is due to be done next week.



More updates when I get a PAinted PIC.

[Cameron]

NICE! any idea on completion date now?
Has been a slow process for ya, bet you're super keen to get back into the old girl

[geckoadventure]

So Dave, you keeping the colour a secret?

Nice to see it move from it's resting place. Looking awesome man.
You'll need to build a couple of miniature seats for the cats

Nope colour is going to be http://encycolorpedia.com/ede7e0 and then find the Chrysler beige way down the bottom.


Don't laugh we have 4 cats now. The now 7 KG monster 2 year old stray kitten picked of the street ginger Chesire (extremely entertaining and destructive) and the idiot cat Fury and a 2 OUTSIDE strays Gunther (the street terrace house roof cruising bruiser) and Millie the shy timid old starving cat). WIVES who love cats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. The BOX lasted 3 weeks before it was 3 pieces of shredded flat sheet.



I want it finished by 1st Nov ready for the FLOODS and maybe to go to the 1st 2 days of the Rainforest Challenge to take Filthy 4x4 for a drive in a REAL 4x4.

From the desert storm colours we have selected General motors Beige (a long way down) then we will put a slam alah desert storm camo fleck through it once all completed.

[geckoadventure]

NICE! any idea on completion date now?
Has been a slow process for ya, bet you're super keen to get back into the old girl

Yes I am keen to get it back on the road:

So I can finish other projects including my proposed comp truck.

[Filthy4x4]

Looking forward too it... Shame we cant catch up this time, have a good trip

[geckoadventure]

22/9/2015

More delays we are having trouble getting the paint.

[url="http://encycolorpedia.com/ede7e0"]http://encycolorpedia.com/ede7e0[/url]

I selected the GM Motors Beige way down the bottom they are having trouble sorting it out.

[geckoadventure]

22/9/2015

More delays we are having trouble getting the paint.

http://encycolorpedia.com/ede7e0

I selected the GM Motors Beige way down the bottom they are having trouble sorting it out.

Doesn't matter Japan beat South Africa lol.

[wjw]

Doesn't matter Japan beat South Africa lol.

been fun at work we have a good amount of South African's.

[geckoadventure]

Status of the Volvo is total chaos. We are really struggling to paint it. For the past 4-5 months we have been trying to sort out colour and a paint shop. We have had stupid quotes such as 5-6K local which i basically like saying USD 6,000 to paint a cabin only which only needs to be lightly sanded as its already undercoated.

Then we get oh my workers have run away due to the currency devaluation (the ringgit has drooped some 30% against the USD this year) .

Also the builder is now away at the Malaysian 4x4 Rainforest challenge for the past 9 days it it finishes tomorrow so maybe Wednesday he will be back unless they win and he will be drinking lol. We had a long chat on last Sunday abou it his mates there also giving him a hard time get it finished lol. The paint shop across the road from the workshop wants to bodyfill the car even though there is nothing wrong with it. He's getting them to look at it on Thursday and explain what I want no FILLER. Then we wait for the rediculous quote yet again.

[geckoadventure]

12/12/2015

Well the builder run me Thursday come up and see me I'm sick of the painters quotes.

So Saturday took the trusty Isuzu and attached the boat and trailer, had a swiush breakfast and then headed to the workshop 190K away. Fark me holiday traffic and 3.5 hours later.

Reversed the trailer in for the addidtion of rollers to combat the issues on steep boat ramps and a dry pull out and to make it 3 feet shorter. No the dog is not the trailer tow dog. He is also still deciding whether to rebuild the new fuel tank/seat which has leaked again 3 weeks after the boat shop repaired it looks like the did mig welding and not tig on the fuel tank so its split - YIKES!



Then onto to the real purpose of the trip the Volvo.



The final requote they got was $4800 and oh we will do you a favor we will paint it in the workshop for you. 4800 just for the cabin and the roll cage its laughable.

So it was decided. In the workshop we will get our own painter and paint it in the same area they paint the trailer axles So sometime in the next 10 days it will be painted and assembled. The winches and all the chassis stuff will be attached in the next 10 days (Winches and wiring etc). I marked all the areas which need a little putty before the top coat is applied.

Before you ask the beast beside the Volvo is a 2WD 400HP Nissan V6 powered Landrover Alison gearbox etc and yes it goes. No its out of scope for this story line lol.


The Build has recommenced the target is before my birthday in March.

[geckoadventure]

24/12/2015

Good news cabin split in two and removed from chassis to do the touch up welding and putty work.

So next week almost ready for painting.

So merry XMAS to you all from me and my friend Mr Cheshire.

My little friend Cheshire happily sleeping on my chest. So go give your pets a hug for XMAS.


Honest it was me that made this mess it was the black cat at the door "Fury" is his name. Yes the mess was really made by Cheshire.


May all your offroad trips for 2016 be action packed. Laying out the practical course for charity group 4x4 driver training lol what they never saw lol.