Sunday Drive and Tailgate

Tailgating

Put a new tailgate on the van a couple of weeks ago, and learned something interesting:

When you buy a new ute tailgate (reproduction, made in Taiwan as they all are), you will need to so some modifications to get the tailgate to fit a panel van.

The mods need to be done at the top right corners of the tailgate - the corners need to be cut out to fit into the rear pillars of the van.

Fortunately, I did a trial fitting before I painted the tailgate and everything is cool. Could be a trap for the unwary though.

Now I just need to try and get some shine into the painted tailgate - acrylic out of a can isn't the easiest stuff to work with if you want a nice finish.

Long drive

Last weekend we took the van to Traralgon (about 500k return) and she ran beautifully. That was the good news. The bad news is that my in-laws were moving, and it was payback time for when they helped us move. I'm getting too old for this....

Click on the map to enlarge

There's nothing quite like an old Holden V8 which is running well. Quite a few people waved to us - exactly what does one finger mean? :-)

It was a warm drive, and it reminded me that one of the major projects I have lined up is to put some air conditioning in the van. I've got a second hand unit out of a Statesman, and most of the bits, but it still looks like a big job.

If anyone has any hints, please let me know!