Lower control arms sorted... Pity about the gauges!!

It's been an interesting couple of days at Booger Mobile headquarters (aka Damian's shed). Regular reader's may recall the gauge saga... Well, Damian took a visit to the shop where the gauge was ordered from (and paid for), only to be told that the gauge doesn't even seem to have been ordered yet... *sigh* Hopefully it will arrive sometime before the esCarpade...

Next on the agenda was a visit by Malcolm from ACTUM Consulting (one of Team Booger Mobile's silver sponsors), who wanted to check out Booger Mobile in the flesh (well, the steel) while he was in Brisbane visiting his family for christmas...

After that, it was time to resolve the lower control arm ball joints - the ones where a couple of the holes didn't line up... Well, turns out that Damian's brother (Jason from Jason Sheather Plumbing - Team Booger Mobile's latest gold sponsor - watch for the official blurb in the near future) had just purchased a brand new set of you-beaut metal-drilling bits for his drill... So it was off to visit Jason with the control arms and ball joints in tow!!

First - attach the ball joint and line up the hole that was correct, ready to drill the hole out...


Action shot of the drilling process!!



Due to the nature of the hole to be drilled (basically it was halfway on the existing hole, making it very difficult to drill), as much as could be done with the drill was done, and Damian completed the holes by hand using a file (triangular... would have been better if it was round)!!

Damian laid out the bits to be installed, and got to work...

Here's the driver's side - upper and lower control arms and radius rod all installed!!

Next cab off the rank was the passenger side...

And through the magic of the interwebs, here it is all completed!! Note the creative use of the spanner on the left hand side of the upper control arm to hold it in place for the photo!!

Here's the passenger side again, as seen from the perspective of road kill!! Note the pretty red bushes (and ignore the beautiful dent in the sump - it just adds character Damian says)!!

Damian couldn't install the sway bar, as the bushes that are now available (of course) aren't quite the same size as the ones that used to be made, so he needs to adjust the size of the brackets - using an ANGLE GRINDER!!

Having cracked his head four times already while installing the lower control arms and radius rods, Damian figured that using power tools was out of the question until after he had a sleep!!

As you can see in the image below, Damian only needs to take a couple of millimetres off each side of the bracket... what could possibly go wrong????

As 2009 winds to a close, it's timely to reflect back on how far Booger Mobile has come over the past (almost) 11 months, and to commence panicking about how close the 2010 esCarpade is, and how the next 9 months are going to fly by!!

Damian and Scottie would like to thank everyone for their support throughout 2009, especially their sponsors (listed at right) and the many people who have donated money to Camp Quality to help the boys on their way to their $4500 minimum (over 1/3 of the way there now!!).

Lastly, a special thank you to the blog followers, and particularly those who add their comments (Kaye, the boys are looking at you!), as these really give the boys a great deal of encouragement - especially when the going gets a little tough...

Enjoy your new year's eve everyone - let's make 2010 the year of Booger Mobile!!

Scottie's on holidays, Damian's working unsupervised!!

Scottie is away on holidays with his family down the Gold Coast (great weather for it - NOT), so Damian has been working unsupervised in the shed on Booger Mobile...

He decided it would be good to get the front end back together, now that all the various bits and pieces have arrived, and are pressed in, cleaned, painted, whatever was required...

So, first up was the lower control arms... Damian unwraps the new lower control arm ball joint and places it onto the lower control arm... Regular blog readers may be familiar with the saga thus far with ball joints not being the correct type etc... These ones were collected especially, and visually, look identical to the original ball joints...

Of course, as has been the way all along with Booger Mobile, things aren't quite what they seemed... As you can see in the image below, five of the seven holes line up fine, but two don't!! Of course, which two are required to bolt on the front bar thingy (yes, that's the technical term) - one of the correct holes, and one that's not right!! OF COURSE!!

If you look closely, you can see the mark on the control arm going diagonally from the lower left hole to the upper right hole - that's where it connects!! Naturally, this will require some sort of adjustment...


As you can see, the hole needs to be drilled in a slightly different position - time to find someone with a you-beaut drill press capable of drilling this kind of steel!!


Putting the lower control arms aside, Damian moved onto the upper control arms... First, he bolted on the ball joints (which by some kind of miracle, actually fit!!)



Next came the spring saddles (which again, fit like bought ones!!)

Last but not least, Damian installed the upper control arms into Booger Mobile, remembering to install the shims front and rear as labelled (so that it sits somewhat correctly until the wheel alignment is performed). Here's the driver's side...

And here's the passenger side!

So that's about the extent of the work done tonight - oh, that and attempting to fit the new braided line for the oil pressure gauge that Scottie insisted is right, but it doesn't fit! Looks like the boys will need to get some sort of adapter for it, as the connector on the back of the gauge is far smaller than the connector on the braided line, so it's back to the shop they go!!

Merry Christmas from Team Booger Mobile

Damian and Scottie and their families would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!! Under the tree this year, Damian found a mysterious gift addressed to Booger...



Turned out to be the braided line for the oil pressure gauge!!

Damian's dog Tonka discovered Damian's almost full cup of coffee, and proceeded to drink the entire cup full...

The upper and lower control arms with pretty, pressed-in bushes were returned, ready for fitting!

Damian received a new clock to hang up on the shed wall - yes, that is a real circular saw blade, and is metal, and very sharp!!

And to top it all off, Damian also received a bright green mini-wheelie-bin for the shed!!

You can tell when something is beginning to reach critical mass when everything else in life starts to be referred to in the same way... anything bright green is now referred to as "Check out the booger mobile *insert item name here*"

As the countdown continues to the 2010 esCarpade, the blog posts will be getting more frequent, and the stress level will be rising for the boys!!

Hope Santa was good to everyone, and that you all get the chance to spend some quality time with your loved ones!!

Gold Sponsor - Jason Sheather Plumbing

Team Booger Mobile are proud to announce their latest Gold Sponsor - Jason Sheather Plumbing!! (Owned and operated by Damian's brother, Jason... but don't hold that against him!!)

Jason Sheather Plumbing specialise in Commercial Plumbing and Shop Plumbing Projects, and pride themselves on completing fitout and finishing off projects on time and within budget.

If you have commercial plumbing or shop plumbing needs, contact Jason on 0422 031 361, or contact him via the web at http://www.shopplumbing.com.au/

STOP PRESS!!! 2010 esCarpade Route announced!!

This just in from Josh (organiser extraordinaire of the Camp Quality esCarpade).

"Here in the office we are tying up loose ends from the 2009 event but have also progressed in our planning for 2010. While I can't reveal the complete route just yet, I can tell you we will be starting in Tamworth and heading north up to Hervey Bay and then back down south towards the NSW border."

So there you have it, Queenslanders!! We'll be having a significant portion of the 2010 esCarpade in Queensland, so get behind your local Queensland team!!

Meeting with secret sponsor... shhhhhhhhhh!!

Damian spent the morning having a very productive meeting with a secret sponsor... Lots was achieved, including collecting a couple of new sponsors (details to come as they become concrete), planning some fabulous fundraising activities for 2010, and collecting many helpful hints for preparing Booger Mobile!!

It's all very secret squirrel at the moment, but all will become apparent as time progresses...

Many thanks to the secret sponsor (and his staff) for taking time from their busy day to meet with Damian!

Progress slow, patience thin...

Well, starting off the day, the boys have received an image from one of the blog followers, who suggested Booger Mobile deserved the following award:


Have to say, the boys tend to agree!! Unbiased, aren't they?

While Damian waited for Scottie to arrive, he finished painting the front springs.


And started to make sense of the bits and pieces that were supplied for the front end shenanigans!!

Just for a touch of colour, the front stabiliser bar has been painted in the alternate green colour - apart from the springs, all other suspension/front end components that have been painted are black... should be a nice contrast!!

The lower control arm bushes are meant to be pressed in and out - Damian found that they weren't that hard to remove!! Sadly, the upper control arm bushes are, so that was where that experiment ended... Damian will have to take the control arms to someone with a press and get the new bushes fitted...

The other bit of disappointment was that the supplied lower control arm ball joints aren't the same as the ones that were removed, so Damian will have to chase those up... also, there was only one set of inner and outer tie-rod-ends supplied - there should have been one set for each side!! Apart from that, all the other bits and pieces found happy homes...

Meanwhile, Scottie was busy removing the firewall padding and cardboardy stuff to make working on the accelerator cable/pedal setup easier.


Damian decided to make himself busy with commencing painting of the rims - there are six to be done, so he needs to get onto it!! The first test coat of the alternate green colour was uninspiring - the boys decided it needed a little something else to spice it up - but what???

Perhaps the rainbow look?

Naaaaaaaaah... How about a pink centre and silver rim to brighten things up?

Nope!! What about a blue centre?

The boys didn't think so!! What about silver?

Ewwwwwwwwwww... NO!!

In the end, the boys decided the only spicing up needed was the silver around the rim, just to break up the green colour a little...


While this was going on, Scottie continued to work on the custom accelerator arm/control mechanism...

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, several attempts, much welding, cutting, grinding and cursing, the bracket was finally ready!!

And with a coat of black paint, it looks just like a bought one!!! Great work as always, Scottie!!!!!

Here's the accelerator pedal fitted (but not yet bolted to the floor - baby steps!!)

And a close up of the bracket, where it pulls the accelerator cable through the firewall to get the petrol flowing in the carby!!

Always the artist, Scottie provided a glimpse into what the gauges might look like when mounted... here's the oil pressure gauge...

And of course, the first rim, after receiving the second coat of green paint... The silver around the edges needs to be completed, but the boys think you will agree that the colour choice is the best of the options trialled!!

Damian is meeting with some potential new sponsors on Monday, so hopefully there will be some more news on that front... With christmas upon us all, there probably won't be too much work done on Booger Mobile over the coming week or two, but rest assured that the blog will be updated every time there is!!

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Booger Mobile innnnnnnnnnn SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!! (Said with the voice of the Muppets "Pigs in Space" for best effect!!)

Gauge Shenanigans...

Well, Damian was contacted by Autobarn to advise that the temperature gauge that had been ordered on the weekend (to replace the one that didn't have the right size connection) had arrived...

Damian trundled down there and collected it, only to find that the connection on there was too large (as per the original issue), and that the adapters that were included with the specially ordered part were all LARGER!!

Turns out the boys will need to use an electrical (rather than mechanical) temperature gauge... one has been ordered (after Damian checked the size of the connection on one of the same brand but different colour that was in stock).

Just another example of the luck to be had by Team Booger Mobile!!

Painting, cleaning, ginning around!

Having gotten home from a christmas party much earlier than he had anticipated, Damian was up early and into the shed, installing the flash new carby bolts before Scottie arrived.

There was lots of running around to do, gauges to purchase etc, and since the front end parts hadn't arrived, the boys decided to do some incidental stuff, like remove the old column shift lever and continue working on the carby linkages.

Scottie sanded back the shifter pot, opting for the brushed alloy look.

One of Damian's boys decided to help out, doing a great job cleaning the springs ready for painting...

And here's one of the springs painted in the alternate green colour...

Meanwhile, Scottie taped up the steering column ready for painting...

Here it is, all painted up and ready to go. The funny part is that Scottie (after finishing) decided he really wasn't happy with how it had turned out... Damian likes it though!

After starting the engine to hear that sweet sound (and testing the newly installed oil pressure gauge - must mount that somewhere!), Damian decided that the sponsors who already have their stickers on Booger Mobile should get a bit of exposure...

In no particular order, here's Special K from WA, Complete Treatment Plan Services and ACTUM Consulting.

Cadist Consulting...

Jason Sheather Plumbing...

Blow-In Shopfitting...

Drift Bodyworx...

Not to forget those who havent provided their stickers yet... Acreage Driveways and CMK Financial Solutions.

Hopefully the front end parts will arrive during the week, so next weekend will be a flurry of activity!