₦airaland Forum

Irrigation 101. Let there be water.

Why not get a 4wd pick up truck?

Apart from the fact that it gets through all terrains, it also has the added advantage of hauling needed materials to site.

Trust me, you won't want to pack manure with your lexus

Old picture and adverts of vw assembled in Nigeria....

Chibzee2:
Good job man, I'm also a lover of the beetle as it was my father's first love, had it before he met my mum and cruised it for 27 years after, before my crazy cousin had it blown up due to one wicked electrical connection during the early 2000s while I was out of town. Loved the car especially cause of its unique nature and metal body, whenever we cruised it around back then, we were almost invincible to the police (the throttle, clutch and break were just dangerous looking rods down below. ..... no single paper for the car. ... including all of us wey no get drivers licence. ... always hot started it as there was no key hole talk more of a key, so if police stop us and we off car, we just wait around cos after all them no go fit start am talk more of to drive am go station. .... fuel tank was a 10 litre gallon behind the drivers seat. ...... cars behind always gave enough space in between as the exhaust always shot at them). Long story short, I miss it and look forward to seeing you restore yours to glory.

Lol....

Means I am lucky I got a better copy to work with. My fuel tank is still functional albeit a poor gauge. It is always showing empty.

I also have a functional key and a smoke-free engine.

Siena:
[color=Blue]Excellent progress on the Bug, Denn. It's all coming together, I only wish I was in Nigeria to get involved.

The battery negative terminal corrosion is caused by arcing, due to poor connectivity. On the Beetle, the correct lead is a flat non-insulated braided one, and prone to corroding at the best of times. I would replace it with a regular round insulated version with a silver terminal. The original copper-coloured terminals are garbage. Sand the battery terminal with coarse emery cloth, then pour boiling water onto it to kill the corrosion. Finally coat it with grease.

Your horn issue will be due to a bad switch. The contacts are shot. Don't forget the horn is triggered by a negative signal. Look between the steering wheel and the actual column, you will see a single metal spring contact. Make sure it isn't bent out of shape. If it's too flat, the horn will be intermittent due to poor contact.

If there is too much tension, it will be making contact with the steel plate it is insulated from, causing the horn to inardvertently operate each time it gets a jolt when the vehicle is driven on rough roads, or when turning the wheel.[/color]

Thanks boss...

Please I also noticed the negative battery terminal is have a lot of corrosion. It has so much corroded the battery terminal and the connection.

What could be the cause?

What is the solution?

Thanks

In addition, I intend to ensure all the lights are working properly.

Next stage...

I will get the vehicle to another body workshop to be properly 'sanded'.

By sanding, I mean all the excess weld points and old potty on the vehicle would be removed with an electric grinder.

This will allow a fresh paint job to proceed.

If I take the vehicle to a paint shop in this condition, the best they can do is to use sandpaper and water to manually scrape off. This gives an uneven and untidy job at the end

Major issues with the Beetle...

The panel beaters have done a lot of wire mix up as regards the lights. The headlight switch puts on the amber indicator on the left. Brake pedal brings up the reverse lights etc... To be fixed by a 'rewire'. No wonder they are called rewires... They wire and rewire everything...

The horn does not work properly. It is either not working when pressed or works on its own at full blare when it hits a pot hole.

The radio is dead....really dead and awaiting cremation.

The upholstery needs a touch from an angel. Initially, I was thinking of changing the leather to a brand new red but I will still keep the black. I don't want firm areas pulled out only to be fixed with inferior workmanship.

thr left headlamp has lost all its reflective powers. There is even visible rust particles. They tried using a volkswagen transporter headlamp but it won't fit. Need to get at least one headlamp.

I had a small issue starting the Beetle this morning.

The engine turned but won't start.

I removed the contact set (hope I got the name right) and sanded the points, still nothing. I drained the fuel in the house electricity generator (hope wifey isn't reading this) and added, thinking it was low on fuel. Nothing.

Upon further inspection, I found out that the small capacitor in the engine bay had a loose connection, wires twisted together.... I retwisted and the bug purred to life.

Remember the vehicle rear wheels had a 'bow leg' formation.

We got an old mechanic who claimed he had expertise with classic beetles. He was told to lower the rear side that was initially raised back to default.

He did a good job IMHO. He also adjusted the steering wheel clearance. He replaced the worn bushings in the rear.

Sorry for the long break.

Real work issues have been top on the agenda for some time now.

Picked the vehicle from the panel beater yesterday.

Panels have been 'repaired' and a lot of patches now on the vehicle.

Our welding technology in Nigeria needs some prayers.... Cotonu is far advanced with neat weld seams.... That's another story.

I asked wifey to help monitor during the panel beating process as I was not around. Permit me to say that wifey is not fully interested in this project. She sees it as an old car.... Simple.

Anyway, wifey took pictures and forwarded to me and I made some corrections while I was away..

Work done:
All rusted panels repaired.
Underbody panels were reconstructed.
An anti rust solution (I think tar) was applied to the Underbody, and inner seams. The whole under parts beneath the fenders were also coated.
The side steps were repaired as much as possible though they still look like fossils.

Updates....

fraud....

needful:
My Rav4 refused to start. I went to bank with it, came back and parked it. When I wanted to go out again, it refused to start. Pls can someone tell me what the problem is?

Thanks

You did not post clear symptoms noticed.

This will assist in proper diagnosis.

Thank you

AutosBay:
Jump start your battery. And clean the terminal heads thoroughly.

Did you ask for the symptoms noticed before recommending a jump start?

jokotus:
Hi All,
I bought LG satellite TV last year with in built decoder I have done all the connection but the satellite does not work all connection and the dish was done
can somebody help. God bless U

were you able to resolve it

nurey:
A race car champion is not in my league, I am the god of race.

in the temple of racing, you are just an observer....

SAVEDBABA:
Brotherly,I go cry ooo

Bros....

Apologies.

Work is ongoing but I am currently out of town working....

Will be home this weekend to give updates

Is WiFi towing the reigning thing now?

I am getting old.... No tow cable.

Towing is more than pulling on a levelled Road.

What will happen when the road steeps upwards?

Maximum tow capacity of a Toyota hilux is 2,500 kg for braked.... Unbraked is way lower at 750kg (probably the Camry alone)....and that is for the 4wd variants.

http://www.toyota.com.au/hilux/features/performance/towing-capacity

That hilux will probably need a new transmission build in the nearest future...

please i need to ask.

how do you determine a land that is suitable only for fish pond?

Land clearing....

location is important

DID YOU KNOW

Planishing (from the Latin planus, "flat"[1] is a metalworking technique that involves finishing the surface by finely shaping and smoothing sheet metal. This is done by hammering with a planishing panel hammer or slapper file against a shaped surface called a planishing stake that is held in a vice or a mounting hole in a blacksmith's beak anvil,[2] or against hand-held, shaped, metal tools that are known as Dollies or Anvils.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planishing

The above is a skill usually called 'panel beating' in commonwealth countries like Nigeria.

In America, panel beaters are called 'Auto Body Mechanics'

SAVEDBABA:
boss hwfr with the project,pls post pictures to keep us posted

apologies bro....been really busy. will update once i have time in lagos...soon

this vehicle shares almost the same instrument cluster and audio as my yellow beast....

i was on the same road today...didnt know a jap lover was in yankee....

Bossforeva:
Thinking aloud "A Class tho, i wonder if Mercedes was reallz behind that concept b4 it was pushed to the market" meanwhile am gladly overtaking Lomomike driving denn's Bug with Siena's hilux and wishing the volkswagen a happy custom ending.

Relax mate.... The race is 5 laps and the bug is on the last lap.... You are on the first lap....

Problem has been diagnosed already and faulty switch isolated.

Replace the contact switch that trips off in the hood.

As a quick and temporary solution so as to prevent your car disturbing neighbouring couples trying to have twins, remove the switch and join both wires together to close the circuit. Vehicle assumes hood is closed all the time...

lomomike:
Just passing by in Denn's' humble VW beetle 1500 flat engine R-RWD config.

Don't deplete the fuel o.... I know you have a heavy foot when on the gas pedal.

nurey:
why wont it hibernate when its tired of chasing tomorrow

hnmmmm

how is the mobile kiosk doing?

A lot of Nigerians think it is a taboo to own a very old car. It is on this premise that wonderful antiques like the forgotten morris, lada, 404, Datsun 120Y, Nissan BlueBird, 504, Mercedes 'flat booth' series etc that once graced our roads have all gone extinct.

A lot of us would be surprised on first trips to saner climes to see 50 year old vehicles being more expensive than a brand new Range Rover.

It is not 'backward' to drive or own these vehicles.

Reminds me of a story of a Nigerian girl who was met on an ATM queue and was asked if she was the last on the queue. She retorted that 'She would never be the last in Jesus Name' and rejects any demonic interaction to make her the tail...