POR-15 on the Chassis and on with the axle!
With the difficult painting out of the way, it was time to get the chassis ready for some
serious treatment. Hours of scraping, brushing, and soaking with detergent finally got the bugger
in some semblance of order. Some sections were sandblasted down to the bare metal, others just
roughed up with steel wool. But after weeks of prep, the steel was ready for the chemicals.
I learned my lesson from the first go-around with POR-15, and this time bought the 6-pack, which
came in 6 smaller doses. It worked perfectly - by the time I was done with each can, my arm
needed a break, and I did not have to worry about sealing it back up. 4 little cans were enough
for 2 full coats on the chassis as well as touch ups on the front axle. I then followed up with
a thick coat of black rustoleum, to keep the UV light from breaking down the POR-15. It
turned out magnificently!
At long last, it was time to get the front axle on! The dolly worked perfectly as I lined the
axle up, and slid it into place. The only hiccup was prepping the chassis for the new bushings,
since it took a fair amount of time and sweat with the die grinder to get them smooth and the
exact right size. Keeping the bushings in the freezer helped as well.
The front springs and shocks went on with no major drama, and everything went very smoothly.
And the timing was perfect, because I deployed for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM 2 days after
getting the axle on. My goal was that if my wife needed to move the truck, she could bolt
the wheels back on, and have some friends push it around.
I did take my Rover Notebook with me to the Middle East, and did fill up some of the down time
with productive Rover Thinking. Specifically, I took copies of my wiring diagrams, and re-did
them in a neat and orderly fashion. Then I talked to some of the electrical types there, and
made some changes to the wiring scheme. I have a good working plan for when the harness gets
purchased from Painless Wiring!
The fate of the engine...
created and maintained by
Matt Atkins
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