What did you do with your Grenadier today?

[Lollo050968]

Can upload both (if I can figure out how to again!). Tried attaching the 2 files but for some reason they are "greyed out: and I' unable to upload, I must be missing something here?

@Stu_Barnes could you help @wakeo ?

 

[Jean Mercier]

Moldavia, the best car to drive off road?



A Lada ... no this wasn't an abandoned car

 

[AngusMacG]

Met up w/ @Krabby and saw a nice Defender

 

[Brandtnm]

1. Used the cup holder,

And
oil change (break in @800mi)— FYI, bolt is longer than usual and flow pushes to passenger side so orient your catch pan accordingly.

 

[Krabby]

Met up w/ @Krabby and saw a nice Defender

It was great meeting @AngusMacG and seeing that awesome Puma, ahem 1984 D130.

 

[Catpaw4x4]

1. Used the cup holder,

View attachment 7859708
And
oil change (break in @800mi)— FYI, bolt is longer than usual and flow pushes to passenger side so orient your catch pan accordingly.

View attachment 7859718

Love the front bumper ... Purpose built ... many purposes!

 

[Znarfgh]

Rather then replace the Transfer Cable bracket in its entirety (I also had an issue early on where the transfer case lever was hard to engage and having looked underneath the rubber grommet had dislodged from the Ineos installed bracket) decided to prototype a plate that can be added to the existing bracket.

This one simply comes over the top of the cables and will hold them in place. At least that is the plan when I make the final plate out of stainless or aluminium. The images show a laser cut piece of 1.6mm timber ply and fits very snugly inside the inner diameter of the rubber grommet and sits flush with the wall of the Ineos bracket. One prototype shows only one hole for bolting purposes (maybe even a rivet) and the other shows 2 holes with slightly longer adaptor plate "legs" as I was trying to determine the best location for the hole to be drilled in to the Ineos bracket.

I figure with a small offcut of stainless or aluminium the cost would be less than a few dollars and some time with a drill etc as the plate size is approx 65mm x 28/30mm.

Unfortunately I don't have access to a metal laser cutter only one that does plastics/polymers and timber.

Will post some details of the metal plate adaptor when I have time to get stuck in to working with some metal.

Happy to share the .dwg file or an .ai, adobe illustrator file for those that may want to take this further. Could try 3D printing one as well but.....

Great idea and something worth looking into. I know someone who has a sheet metal business with all sorts of precision machinery that would be able to make these in bulk if required. If you are able to supply dimensions or the dwg file I'll look into it.

 

[wakeo]

I have compressed 3 files, 2 as a .dwg and 1 as a.stp file into respective zip folders.
The 2 .dwg files have a protoype with 2 holes for securing to the original bracket and the other one has just the one hole.
Hopefully this works?

 

[Jean Mercier]

Yesterday I drove to the Southern part of Moldavia and reached the city of Cahul. I wanted a hotel in the center to have also a good meal at a restaurant, but all hotels are full. Ukrainians occupy most of the rooms (refugees). Finally a young Ukrainian guy who spoke very decent English, helped me (by calling around) to find a small motel at the outskirts of the city. No restaurant, therefore I cooked myself.

I saw quite some huge abandoned and ruined remains of the former Soviet Empire. Huge abandoned factories, a huge Sports Center in a small village with a swimming pool (I had to go in to discover what it was), remains of Kolkhoze (state farms), etc.


And then, I said thank you to the Soviets for this remain, that permitted me to go under my car in an easier way than to crawl:

I could remove a huge quantity of dried clay blocks from under my rear protection plate, due to my "mud stuck and winching experience" of some week ago.
And I have my front bumper that is slightly bent at the right side (but I knew this), this is clearly not a steel bumper like in North America or Australia.

 

[NoAge Hunter]

Yesterday I drove to the Southern part of Moldavia and reached the city of Cahul. I wanted a hotel in the center to have also a good meal at a restaurant, but all hotels are full. Ukrainians occupy most of the rooms (refugees). Finally a young Ukrainian guy who spoke very decent English, helped me (by calling around) to find a small motel at the outskirts of the city. No restaurant, therefore I cooked myself.

I saw quite some huge abandoned and ruined remains of the former Soviet Empire. Huge abandoned factories, a huge Sports Center in a small village with a swimming pool (I had to go in to discover what it was), remains of Kolkhoze (state farms), etc.
View attachment 7859816
View attachment 7859815
And then, I said thank you to the Soviets for this remain, that permitted me to go under my car in an easier way than to crawl:
View attachment 7859817
I could remove a huge quantity of dried clay blocks from under my rear protection plate, due to my "mud stuck and winching experience" of some week ago.
And I have my front bumper that is slightly bent at the right side (but I knew this), this is clearly not a steel bumper like in North America or Australia.

Hi Jean, very interesting pictures - I schedule a trip going via Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania to Moldavia and return via Hungary back for next year. (Therefore is already quite booked ) Therefore - thanks for your impressions of that area .

By the way- I have the same „new design“ on the front bumper and really it takes not much of an impact (just mud) to get it …..

Looking forward to read more of your experiences during this trip.
Good travel!

 

[ECrider]

Yesterday I drove to the Southern part of Moldavia and reached the city of Cahul. I wanted a hotel in the center to have also a good meal at a restaurant, but all hotels are full. Ukrainians occupy most of the rooms (refugees). Finally a young Ukrainian guy who spoke very decent English, helped me (by calling around) to find a small motel at the outskirts of the city. No restaurant, therefore I cooked myself.

I saw quite some huge abandoned and ruined remains of the former Soviet Empire. Huge abandoned factories, a huge Sports Center in a small village with a swimming pool (I had to go in to discover what it was), remains of Kolkhoze (state farms), etc.
View attachment 7859816
View attachment 7859815
And then, I said thank you to the Soviets for this remain, that permitted me to go under my car in an easier way than to crawl:
View attachment 7859817
I could remove a huge quantity of dried clay blocks from under my rear protection plate, due to my "mud stuck and winching experience" of some week ago.
And I have my front bumper that is slightly bent at the right side (but I knew this), this is clearly not a steel bumper like in North America or Australia.

Nice photos comrade Jean

 

[Voader - Oudersopzwier]

And I have my front bumper that is slightly bent at the right side (but I knew this), this is clearly not a steel bumper like in North America or Australia.

European cars have fluffy bumpers made of sponge cake to cuddle pedestrians and green cargo bikes.
Australian and American cars need bumpers to push angry bulls from the road

 

[Tazzieman]

Australian and American cars need bumpers to push angry bulls from the road

I've never happened upon a bull - angry or calm - on a public road.
Roos, possums, cows, wild pigs, deer, sheep , goats and the occasional horse. Yet to hit a camel.
I have a roof rack, in case a tiny meteorite hits. I have a small chance of survival.

 

[TheDocAUS]

I've never happened upon a bull - angry or calm - on a public road.
Roos, possums, cows, wild pigs, deer, sheep , goats and the occasional horse. Yet to hit a camel.
I have a roof rack, in case a tiny meteorite hits. I have a small chance of survival.

Plus snakes, goannas and birds esp. emus - all of which I have hit (birds but no emu).

 

[Voader - Oudersopzwier]

@Tazzieman @TheDocAUS The European Commission has that all covered for us with there laws. All creepy animals were expelled or exterminated. The worst thing that can happen to me is that I drop my pen, and accidentally fall on it. But that would be entirely my fault. For the rest we are completely safe here.

 

[Tazzieman]

@Tazzieman @TheDocAUS The European Commission has that all covered for us with there laws. All creepy animals were expelled or exterminated. The worst thing that can happen to me is that I drop my pen, and accidentally fall on it. But that would be entirely my fault. For the rest we are completely safe here.

I just spent 3 weeks in Ireland , mostly on country roads. Go there.
It's very pleasantly unsafe and nobody local (or Tasmanian) cares.

 

[ECrider]

Plus snakes, goannas and birds esp. emus - all of which I have hit (birds but no emu).

and flammin galahs on the wrong side of the bloody road!

 

[ECrider]

I just spent 3 weeks in Ireland , mostly on country roads. Go there.
It's very pleasantly unsafe and nobody local (or Tasmanian) cares.

define unsafe (over there), did you have plenty of the black stuff?

 

[Tazzieman]

define unsafe (over there), did you have plenty of the black stuff?

Enough Guinness to get me from day to day and cliff to cliff and island to island.

 

[CRH]

I just spent 3 weeks in Ireland , mostly on country roads. Go there.
It's very pleasantly unsafe and nobody local (or Tasmanian) cares.

We went to Ireland a number of years ago and found the traffic light system very different to the UK.

Green - Go
Amber - Keep going
Red - Floor it
3 seconds after red light first shows - Stop

scared the life out of me and started to adapt to the new rules encase we got hit from behind