LaughingBeagles Ride.. The Mods

[LaughingBeagles]

Thanks Col. The Double Din has arrived so that's the next project. Appreciated your help with the cable too mate.

See you on Wednesday.

[LaughingBeagles]

Ok, so time for the next mod. This was a tricky one as the previous owner used the bottom left bumper bar lights to power just about everything (kidding but you will see what I mean).

Tools

You will need:

1. Solder and Solder Iron
2. Pliers
3. Crimping Tools
4. Phillips Head Screwdriver
5. Flat Blade Screwdriver

I purchased from Fleabay Rear LED Lights:

I also grabbed:

1. A roll of 7 core trailer wire (again from Fleabay)
2. Left over 3mm figure 8 autowire
3. 5x WIRE CONNECTOR PLUG car truck motorcycle 6 PIN (Fleabay again)

Steps

Step 1

Remove the plate from rear floor to in order to insert the wire from the left hand to right hand side. I used the flat blade driver to gently put upwards pressure on so I could unscrew the clips:





Step 2

Remove the dummy rear tail lights

As all the other posts say, there are two 10mm screws holding the light in. Undo those and gently pull back on the light so it pops out. You may need to use your flat blade (wrapped in tape to prevent damage to the paintwork) to gently pry it loose but I found I didn't need it).

Step 3

Remove the left hand bumper light to access your wiring. Unfortunately, the guy who had it before me, used it for a range of things so it was tricky working out what belonged to what. I found the best way was to make some notes. Green = Indicator, Black = Earth, and so on.




Step 4
I then soldered the trailer wire and noted the colours eg green = indicator = green on trailer wire etc. Once soldered, I removed the little rubber grommet right near the light (you can't miss it) and fed it up to the rear where the light is:



This is where i deviated from the usual ones. Basically, everyone said to go find a Nevara Plug or to a wreckers to get a plug, some got inserts for stereo looms and the list goes on. I tried all that and after a week of banging my head against the preverbal trying to source something that would work, I decided to purchase the plugs and rewire both looms.

So, follow the directions on how to crimp (let me know if you want more details it can be a bit fiddly if you've not done it before). You should end up with something like this:



These then slide into your plug and hey presto, a new plug with no dramas. Rinse and repeat for the light and the right hand side.

Step 5

Once the looms are wired up, take your earth and reverse light over to the right hand side via the removed plastic plate and feed up and through the jack opening:



Step 6

Wire up the other side using the bottom bumper bar loom (as before).


Step 7
Reassemble your lights and hey presto a christmas tree of your very own:



The biggest pain for me was working out what the previous owner did.

[Clunk]

Ahhh the bug has bit ......... looking good Mr Beagle

[skiman]

PRO!

Nice work mate.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[LaughingBeagles]

Truth is, this is a pretty easy install but there was a bit of a tweak that wasn't included in the instructions that made me think perhaps it was worth posting up. Apologies about the quality of the photos. It gets dark quickly this time of year!!

I should also say that I have no affiliation with Drifta but am happy to say I found them fantastic - Luke and the team were incredibly helpful, no question was too dumb, they were happy to discuss payment options and so on. I also love supporting Aussie small business. Now that I have the drawers, I can say I'm not disappointed! Great quality, well thought out and worth every cent.

Finally, the option I chose comes with a fridge slider kit - I've not installed as yet and won't until I get a fridge.

You will need:

1 x set of Drifta Drawers - I went with the Nissan Patrol GU (Y61) Drawer Package.
1x Phillips head Screwdriver
1x 14mm socket
1x 5mm drill bit
1x 5mm self tapping wood screw (extra to what comes with the kit)

Before Shot




Steps (this is following the steps supplied with the kit with a bit of variation)

Step 1
Remove drawers from the carcass and lift the unit into place (I lifted this on my own as my son had not arrived home yet - not highly recommended but doable). The drawers have a spring bolt inside that you will need to release. The unit will fit snuggly between the wheel arches and almost up against the back seats. Drop the side wings in to help square it up and align it inside. They will get the carcass in exactly the right position.



Step 2
The two L-brackets can be fitted to the forward or rear threaded points on the wheel arch (where the seats would bolt in). If you can, use the forward ones as they don't crimp the plastic surround. Use the original vehicle bolts to secure.





Step 3

"Screw the wood screw in from the outside in." This is what the instructions that come with the drawers say. To be honest, it was a pain in the proverbial if you have big sausage fingers like mine. So this and the next step is where I deviated slightly.


Step 3A - the LB method

"Screw the wood screw from the outside in" - sufficiently to hold the bracket in place. Do both sides (you will need an extra 5mm self tapper for this). Then, grab a milkcrate (it is just the right height) or similar object to chock the carcass. Undo the bolts, and carefully lift the carcass forward so that the L-bracket is visible at on top of the back seats. This made life sooooo much easier in terms of accessing that space and so on.



Step 3B - the LB method

Once lifted forward, fix the brackets using the supplied screws. Again worth noting the instructions say in their step 4 "The hole the screw leaves marks the right position so you can drill through from the inside out - easy!! Use 5mm drill." I could not fit a drill into the the small barn door draw (say that ten times fast!) cavity so there was no way I would have been able to follow this step. Pulling the draw carcass forward as described in 3A solved this problem in the most simplest way.



Step 4 - the LB method
Once both L-brackets are secure, slide the carcass back again, and secure using the seat points / bolts as before. All that's left is to drop in the wings and job's done!! Easy as!



Step 5 - the LB method

Fix the side as shown to steady the carcass. This only needs to be done up hand tight.




Bed extension add on.

I also grabbed the bed extension add-on (you can get set up for with or without the back seats removed):



That's really all there is to it!!

[LaughingBeagles]

Will post some pic soon, but installed a catch can and Anderson plug for the front (for the solar panel to the aux battery). With a dual battery, the catch can was a pain in the backside to find a good spot, but got it sorted in the end.


Tap tap tap

[jay see]

Like your work. Nice and neat.

[LaughingBeagles]

Ok, while not strictly speaking a DYI jobby, I am happy to report, United Fuel has installed a Tipan XP 3" exhaust, dawes and needle and 'tweaked' my ERG .

I have to say, the difference was immediate and obvious. The car no longer labours, is smoother, more consistent in RPM's and so on. The before and afters:

Torque Average Before 204 Average after 239 (there are mins and max's as well)
Power Average Before 59 Average after 70.

(average boost is 15.6)

I have a Tunit Chip arriving tomorrow and in the New Year some gauges are going in. All in all, very happy.