Anybody want a peanut? Meet Fezzik.

[dr1665]

Man, I haven't done a proper build thread in ages. Here goes nothing.

First, a quick background. The weekend before Labor Day, 1996, I walked into a Jeep-Eagle dealership in Wichita, KS, to order a 97 Wrangler. Hard top. Full doors. AC. I drove home in the base model (hub caps, no stereo, crank windows) 97 Eagle Talon they had on the showroom floor. Cut my teeth on that car. 214,000 miles in 14 years.

Moved into a 1991 Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Then sold "Daisy" (the Talon) to fund the purchase of a second GVR4, this time a 1992. The GVR4s were number 195/2000 and 464/1000, respectively. Both are bound for rally stages with their new owners.

Got tired of complicated, turbocharged vehicles. Bought a simple, 89 Pajero. I was surprised to see all the turbo car vacuum lines condensed into a single cubic foot around the Mikuni feedback carb. Ugh. Still, I loved "Rocinante."

Deciding I wanted something with four doors (and air conditioning, and maybe a locker), I sold Rocinante to buy Fezzik, my giant, gen 2.5 Pajero in April of this year. Happy Birthday to me.

The seller (in Los Angeles) neglected to mention he'd removed the CEL and SRS bulbs, resulting in a bit of a scramble to pass emissions here in Phoenix. Fortunately, the bad O2 sensor CEL went away - and passed all the triggers - to pass emissions for two years before coming back on a week later for a cat issue.

I drove it back to California within a month to volunteer at the High Desert Trails Rally outside Ridgecrest. Pictured below, at a meeting point for courseworkers.

Not long after getting home, I replaced the blown, adjustable suspension with an OME kit. Still need to fit the rear springs and crank the torsion bars up front. Seems like he also needs new ball joints and tie rod ends, too. Creaking and popping, pulling right even after an alignment. Driving me crazy.

I pulled the jump seats to start building a sleeping platform. Been hanging onto these old server rails since I worked in the data center for just such an occasion. Might not actually use them, though. Hmmm...

It's not much further than this so far...

... though I've slept on it a couple times already. It's a work in progress.

No particularly fancy gear going with it. (My student loan payments are on par with my mortgage, so the kit has to stay inexpensive, unfortunately, though that's not necessarily a bad thing.)

 

[dr1665]

My little camping buddy loves the mountains and wants to get back out at least weekly. I'm working on it.

On August 2nd this year, I took some blue painters tape and a can of spray-on bedliner to the hood. The glare was pretty bad. I'm pleased with the result, though wish I'd left a white stripe across the front for maybe some bold, red MITSUBISHI lettering. (I'm fully in the ichimai iwa crowd going on 20 years at this point.)

On August 19th, my co-conspirator, @Chazz Layne coordinated the installation of a proper livery package, seen here minutes after install in the Overland Journal garage. Having started an online magazine in 2009 - and now starting another one - it was pretty cool to have Scott Brady, Head Honcho, at Overland Journal, and dude who has driven around the world in far cooler rigs, take a look inside, and say "These are the real deal."

August 28th, 2015, cooking dinner at SoCal Mountain Rendezdous on Dad's 30 year old Coleman stove and pots, fresh out of storage, where they'd been since we moved to Germany in 1989.

The Rendezvous was our first overnight outing across state lines with Fezzik and he did great. Not the most powerful or the most efficient, but faster and a helluva lot cheaper than the 1990 Delica I *almost* ordered from Right Drive up in Toronto this spring. I still want a Delica (it's the DSMer's Westie, after all), but I'm loving my new truck.

The best is yet to come. I've got a few smaller projects up my sleeve for this winter, plus some engine maintenance.

Feels good to be back behind a build thread.

 

[Phoenix]

Inigo Montoya: That Vizzini, he can fuss.
Fezzik: Fuss, fuss… I think he like to scream at us.
Inigo Montoya: Probably he means no harm.
Fezzik: He’s really very short on charm.
Inigo Montoya: You have a great gift for rhyme.
Fezzik: Yes, yes, some of the time.
Vizzini: Enough of that.
Inigo Montoya: Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?
Fezzik: If there are, we all be dead.
Vizzini: No more rhymes now, I mean it.
Fezzik: Anybody want a peanut?

 

[TangoBlue]

That little peanut behind the wheel is a darling! What a cool shot to cherish.

 

[woodienut]

Damn, I wish I would have taken time to look at your rig at the Mountain Rendezvous. But you know "beer happens", thanks BOB!
Next time for sure.

 

[dr1665]

@Phoenix lol.

Miracle Max: I'll call the Brute Squad!
Fezzik: I'm on the Brute Squad.
Miracle Max: You are the Brute Squad!

Biggest vehicle I've ever owned. I've actually had people roll up next to me in traffic and shout "Incontheivable!" Haha.

@TangoBlue thanks, boss. She's the apple of my eye and all that.

@woodienut no worries, mate. Beer happens. Next time, for sure.

 

[The_jayhawker]

Wichita..My former home town. I was looking for a Monty when I stumbled across my Land Cruiser. I scoured the surrounding states to find one that was an SR or the gen 2.5 with the winter package (rear locker). Had 2 prospects, one in Chicago, one in St. Louis. Before I committed to looking at either, I saw an aging CL advert for an LC locally. So I`m a Toyota owner now. I admit I`m still curious about the Monty but my LC has really stolen my heart.

 

[dr1665]

Flint Hills. That takes me back. Always remember the rush of excitement rolling into Lawrence. I was *this close* to attending KU.

There's a lot about Kansas I flat out despise, but Lawrence and KU are among the gems I truly miss.

Rock chalk.

 

[The_jayhawker]

And here I am in Manhattan. With a KSU alum bride no less. No regrets there but I too remember "the buzz" when heading up to Lawrence to party or crash with friends while attending a concert in KC. Odd thing is, some of them are still there!

 

[Phulcrum]

are there rocks ahead?

 

[Herbie]

are there rocks ahead?

If there are, we'll all be dead.

 

[dr1665]

 

[dr1665]

PROGRESS!

I've got to replace all the ball joints and tie rod ends on the front of my truck. That's a solid day of work. Fezzik needs new Iridiums and and cam seals, too, but considering the intake manifold has to come off for that, it's another solid day of work. No time yet.

Maybe I can get the transmission and diff fluids changed out on the day I finally install my OME coils, crank the torsion bars, and finally remove the running boards for that extra 3" of ground clearance, too. Some day.

Yesterday, however, I had some low hanging fruit to address, starting with the tailgate latch. You see, last weekend, I finally got V to climb into the back and get a sense of the sleeping in the back of a Montero. I went around back to open the tailgate and show her how it's easier to climb in from the front, when SNAP! The tailgate handle broke.

I usually buy my replacement parts from CarPartKings, but they wanted $60 for the part and I found it on Ebay for $25.

For once, a repair went so quickly and smoothly, I didn't think to take a picture! So I moved on to this:

In the lower left corner of the driver's front door on a 2nd gen Pajero is this motorized solenoid. I suspect contemporary J-tin might share this technology. Turn the key once to unlock the driver's door. Turn it twice to unlock them all. Inside the case is a gear-driven cam which triggers the power lock solenoids based on limiting plugs (rubber stoppers).

BEFORE: (limiters are extreme right corners of the interior, look like black rubber)

AFTER: Carefully shaped with a precision screwdriver. More putty than actual rubber.

I should have stuck a sliver of plastic or something in there to really firm it up, because while it's a whole lot better, the act of turning the key will eventually smush the putty back down. The problem has already returned intermittently. It's very irritating to use your key to unlock the passenger front door, only to have all the doors re-lock immediately.

PROGRESS.

 

[Dave]

 

[dr1665]

PROGRESS

(Sorry. Ran out of time earlier.)

With the tailgate and door locks "fixed" (the tailgate might need a latch adjustment, and the door locks are still trippin' about half the time), I set my eyes on the front brakes.

The evening before SoCal Mountain Rendezvous, I rolled my window down in the Arby's drive-thru and heard my front right was down to the squealers. No time to fix then. This being Phoenix, I've got my windows, AC, and radio up most everywhere I go in the truck most of the time, so I never really heard it anyway.

Now that it's cooled off (70s!), I'm rolling with the windows down more often and, between the hydraulic lifter tick and constantly squealing front right brake (as in, makes the noise when you're not applying the brakes), it's embarrassing. Time for a quick fix.

Front right was a piece of cake. Pull the wheel, remove 17mm guide and lock bolts, and the caliper slides right off. Pads were worn to about 1/8".

Since I haven't had any pulsation under braking, the rotors looked okay--and I didn't have time/money to tear down the hubs to get them off anyway, I just swapped out for the old, reliable Duralast Gold from AutoZone. Maybe, one day, I'll have the means to indulge my inner rallyist, with proper brakes--drilled rotors, Porterfield R4 pads (nice to share brakes--and engine--with the 3000GT), braided lines and Motul, but for now, lifetime pads I can keep taking back for free replacement works for me.

The "problem" corner fixed, I pulled the FL wheel and grabbed my 17mm wrench.

What an unpleasant surprise. PO rounded the guide bolt. Probably because he didn't grease the sliders. As evidenced by the lock bolt, which was not stripped, but still required hammer taps on the wrench all the way out due to rust. It was even missing the little plastic bushing on the end. Frakking mongrel.

Here it is after I cleaned it up with a wire brush, 500 grit, and 1200 grit sand paper, thoroughly bathed in Brake Kleen.

Look at that pitting. Ugh. It always bugs me to hear know-nothing mouth-breathers bashing Mitsubishi as unreliable, when the predominant cause of probably 99% of all automotive failures in the last 20 years are the result of owner irresponsibility. But not as much as having to do my brake job this way.

Makes me a little insane to think I jerry-rigged a brake job--a brake job, of all things--but I wasn't about to put dead pads back on the FR and roll the dice on a weekend between now and Xmas when I might have $500 to replace both calipers.

Fezzik stops better than ever though. Surprisingly well, I might add. Maybe I'll ask Santa for some manual hubs and red caliper paint while there's still time...