Modification Tips: Rattle Can Painting’s Preparations At Your Own Garage

Mostly, applying new color to your ride or re-painting it is a part of modification projects. It is important to do since the flawless color of your ride presents a good sight and means you will have so many attentions from people if you choose and do it wisely. Some people choose to use a hired help to do the painting, while some people choose to do it by themselves at their home garage. Moreover, by doing do it yourself painting, you can save your money. After all, why bother hiring a professional when we can do it by ourselves?
However, if you choose to paint your vehicle by yourself, you will have to be careful and go on with the process thoroughly since you do not want to make any flaw after having the final result. Some tips are very important to follow, so you will find any trouble later on. The tips come from an off-road enthusiast from California who had an experience in painting his car by himself. He did a decent rattle can paint job to his 80’s style Jeep back then. He wanted to have an easily spray over job and can be fixed easily once after going through an off-roading adventure in any kind of trails.
To avoid any eye shore view and crappy looking car, he did not want to do a rattle can paint by rattle can painting the color over the original color of the Jeep. He chose the best for his Jeep wisely and thoroughly. If you want to do the decent job of rattle can paint by your own, then you have to do the same. Choosing the right materials are important. First off, you have to make sure that you have a spray gun and cans of paint available at home. If you do not have any, go buy some because those materials are important.
Other materials you need for doing do it yourself painting are automotive primer or rust inhibitor primer or primer with similar types. Regular sandpaper is sufficient even though electric sander is highly recommended as another material for rattle can painting process. You also have to be ready with Bondo to cover tiny holes on your car, plastic tarps to cover anything you need to cover and use it on the floor to prevent any stain after finishing your job, 2 inches wide masking tape, thinner and acetone to clean up anything you need to clean up later on, and latex gloves.

An Off-road Car Modification: 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicorn

An off-road enthusiast from Long Beach shared his experience in modifying his ride by using a forum. In the forum, he wrote that he did some modification for his Jeep JKUR and got help from Rebel Off Road. At first he just wanted to built a lift kit as simple as possible, but then he decided to do some drastic changes to make his Jeep becomes reliable when it comes to face off-road driving form like deserts. He wanted his Jeep to be able to go through the driving form with high speed intact. To fulfill his wish about his Jeep, he added Speed Bumps and King Shocks. Besides, decided to change his basic lift kits into the Teraflex Elite 3” LCG long-arm setup for the Jeep’s right lift.

However, those modifications are not enough to make the Jeep has its great performances for off-roading. He came up with the idea to rebuild the rest of the Jeep’s system. He decided to use JE Reel 1350 driveshafts for the Jeep’s front and rear, a Blistein HD for steering stabilizer, Teraflex inner axle sleeve for the front axle, Synergy suspension combined with a matching front lower arm skids. To solve his electronics issue, he decided to replace the old one with Currie AntiRock with aluminum arms. He also completed his front Jeep modification by adding HD Ball joinst and a Poly HD chromoly tie-rod. For the back part of the Jeep he agreed with Rebel Off Road’s custom skids to have all powder-coated black.

He set his sight also in armor duties. He went with River Raider skids powder-coated silver with Teraflex diff covers intact, powder-coated black Poison Spyder Brawler Rockers and Crusher Flares for front or back with amber LEDs intact. He also replaced 33s on AR Mojaves with 35” Toyo Open Country tires on black Raceline Monsters (17 x 9, beadlock). To improve the performance of his Jeep, he went with Motive 4.88 ring/pinion gears, instead of the Jeep’s 4.10s.

An Off-road Modification: 1999 MM550 XDB Jeep

 An off-road enthusiast from India shared his experience in modifying his 1999 MM550 XDB Jeep. He found the Jeep very functional since he used to drive his relatives anywhere they wanted. But still, the Jeep did not look stunning enough to impress people who looked at it. Because his family expected another car with no 4x4 type, they gave the Jeep to him either for him to use it or for him to sell it. He tried to sell the Jeep, but that did not run smoothly since the Jeep seemed in the very bad shape. Realizing that, he decided to do something to it and the fact that he was fond of the Jeep was an enough reason to keep it with him. That was when he started to modify 1999 MM550 XDB Jeep.
Since the engine and the body mechanicals have been taken care of very well, he did not do anything with those things. However, the body was in a very terrible condition. Thus he went through some modifications, such as replacing the old Battery with Bosch 80amph RS. 6.200, replacing the old glow plugs with RS 1.000, modifying body works and new bushes were installed, painting the Jeep with a metallic kinetic blue shade, and replacing old front bumper, indicators, and tail lamp assemblies with the new one.

The things he would like to be done to make the Jeep in its top performances are changing radiator, engine, and gearbox flushing. He also would like to repair the suspension without replace it with the new one and change the front propshaft since the noise it produced in the certain rpms. Besides, he would like to upgrade the tires since it was the ancient sets of crossplies and he would like to soundproof and heat proof the Jeep since he intended to drive the Jeep around the city he lived in. He wished that 1999 MM550 XDB he have been modified will perform greatly for both on-road and off-road. At least he expected his Jeep to perform 80% well on-road and 20% well off-road.

An Off-road Car Modification: 1997 Toyota Landcuiser

An off-roading enthusiast from Bangalore shared his experience in modifying his 1997 Toyota Landcruiser which he bought from someone he knew in 2012. The Landcruiser was in a state of neglected, so he decided to purchase it and do some modifications. It is fortunate that he got some help from Toyota, not to mention that his father had an important position in Toyota as Head of Service before he retired. Through his father, he got an excellent background about cars and its modification and spare parts.
Using his knowledge about cars, he planned to change the neglected beauty of Landcruiser into an amazing off-road car. Looking at the car when he first saw it, it had 4.2 L 6 Cylinder diesel and manual FIP imported from Japan with original VIN plates. To make the 1997 Toyota Landcruiser had its glory again, he did some significant changes which seems easy for him since he had a background knowledge of Hummer and Toyota.

The first thing he did to modify the car was by conducting the engine overhaul. Then he decided to change the midnight color of the car into a pearl white. He thought that the previous color had many scrapes and the car did not care very well for the last 14 years in the hands of its previous owner. He then installed a 6” Iron Man lift kit with the heaviest springs and foam shocks, castor plates, sway bar extensions and adjustable upper and lower arms with front and rear pan hard bars, etc. He also decided to change the type of tires and other significance interiors for the Landcruiser. Overall, he have done major modification to make the Landcruiser looks better and amazing on and off road.
Since the last time this post made by the Landcruiser’s current owner, he informed that his modification is not done yet. He still looks for some spare parts that do not available in India, that is 33” or 36” Yokohama Geolandar AT typical 315/75R16.

An Off-road Modification: Jigado – Suzuki Jimny Sierra

An off roader from Bandung modified a new style in an off-road and named it Jagado (Jimny gado Dado red) As usual, the style is quite radical modification. Although the basic component, such as chassis and body, modified Suzuki Jimny Sierra, but the other components picked from another vehicle brand, such as the Jeep CJ-7 engines, Garden Mercedes Unimog 4011, Toyota Gearbox FA, the blend between Cherokee Snail and Unimog, and so on.
Hadi Kusnadi or usually called Atung creates a new specification that appears slightly different this time. Because gambot dimensions is invisible on his  Jimny Sierra. This Japanese-made jeep has a quick look as the original. Unimog 4011 election dimension garden is so wide that is balanced by the body and chassis Jimny. Besides, its body design was made simple. Only half of the body that still has a Jimny-look, the rest roll bar welded directly to the chassis Jimny is already in reinforcement. The front and rear suspension can adjust the height level of the stone. The jeep is designed to go rock crawling. In addition to its low ratio crawling, traveling is also a longer suspension. Let the rock climb easier.

Jeep CJ-7 engine is clearly more qualified. In addition to great strength was sufficient torque to creep slowly in stone. Due to the narrow Sierra engine compartment fire wall had to be sacrificed and dibobok. For ignition and carburetor is allowed as the original. Jigado owned supple suspension thanks to a combination coil springs belonging Unimog (front) and Cherokee (rear) as well as the original default sokbreker Toyota Land Cruiser VX. In order to maximize suspension movement, the car is supported by 5 link arm in the front and 4 link in the rear. The dashboard is made of aluminum plate but without the intricate panels. Still wear seat-owned Jimny Sierra has 4 point seat belts. Slightly odd interior makes this is a long stick shift and brake levers that has extra size as well.
20 inch rims combined Unimog owned Dunlop SP7 12.5 × 20 makes ground clearance Jimny Atung higher. CJ-7 power engine mated to a 5-speed gearbox Toyota FA combined transfer care as Sil. Gear ratio of the gearbox Toyota FA 1:7,2. While the transfer case gear low of 1:2,7. As a means of recovery, Atung prefers a hydraulic PTO is believed capable of pulling a load up to 10 tons. 4011 Mercedes Unimog axle not only strong but also has a high ground clearance. In addition it is equipped with hydraulic water locker factory default. Final gear ratio garden Unimog's got 1:7, 56.

An Off-road Car Modification: Bolero Di 4x4

Having Bolero Di 4x4 for a year, Vinshad Aziz commented that his Bolero can be called a very good vehicle for a heavy-duty and no-frills off-road enthusiast. The hard top 5 door 4x4 also provides comfort and security needed while off-roading or daily driving. However, Bolero Di 4x4 has its own drawbacks. The drawbacks include no air conditioning, no power steering, and under powered engine. Besides, the Bolero has a low quality interiors and the driver always have the bumpy road experience even when the car at the stationary position.

Despite all the backwards that Vinshad had been mentioned about his Bolero, the car also has its own good parts, not to mention that the price of the car is reasonable. The good parts of the Bolero include a spacious place inside, a solid and heavy duty driveline, and a good presence and model. Bolero Di 4x4 which owned by Vinshad has the off-roading ability that can be drove everywhere he wants and has a promising security from its hard top and five doors, so that everything looks practical. Overall, Vinshad satisfied with his Bolero, not to mention that the 4WD Bolero is his first 4x4 car from any other two cars he owned over the years. He also stated that when he drove his Bolero, it never stop to attract people’s attentions and he kinds of like it.
To solve the problem of Bolero Di 4x4’s drawbacks, Vinshad did some modifications to make his car more comfortable to use and drive to anywhere. He added air conditioning for the interior, changed his previous tires with Yokohama Geolanders A/T-S 31-10. 50-15, changed to longer shackles. He also added rear custom bumper and rear pintle hook, hella rallye 3003 and work lamps, freewheeling tubs. 

Check his build thread here.

An Off-road Car Modification: The Former School Bus, 1992 Chevy 1500 Suburban, Turns Into Super Suburban Off-Road Car

It seems a common sense when people think about off-road cars, they will refer to it as a very unique cars and in the end can make anyone speechless. If the owners modify their off-road cars amazingly, others will envy them for having 4x4 and start to take an interest toward it. The living example of this case is Doug Hampton from Pagosa Springs, Colorado, who owned 1992 Chevy Suburban. The Chevy itself is a former school bus with its shocking yellow color and the very big size so people will easily notice it.
When Easter Jeep Safari was held in 2012 in Moab, Utah, Hampton’s Chevy stood out very brightly and bigger than Jeeps which dominated the event at that time. With school bus size and its very bright color, it is no wonder that his Chevy left people around him slack-jawed and awed at the same times. It is known that his ride loaded with super amazing components. Some of them can be categorized as unusual components. The engine type of the Chevy is 5.9L 12-valve Cummins twin-turbo diesels.
Previously, the amazing off-road car spent its life as a school bus in New York. However, as the time went by, the school bus changed into a worthy off-road car with its components, such as Boatec front fenders and fiberglass hood. Auto hood pins functioned to hold the lightweight hood and the fenders pinned with two small bolts and four quarter-turn fasteners. However, the hood and fenders can be removed in only five minutes. Another modification that has been done by Hampton is the Chevy stock unit, so that it can be fitted rig’s tube chassis and Warn 16.5ti winch. The exterior modifications include front and rear receiver hitches and the lighting for the car like Pro Comp HID forward-facing and Hella rear-facing. Tractor lights functioned as rock lights that positioned under the truck’s front and rear.

Source: fourwheeler