The Phantom Of City Sadar Road

[fouadhafeez]

This set of pictures will give you an idea of the size of this beast. In the second picture, Jamil Ustaad's "chhota" is seen, handling the doors (and a cup of tea). He's just a little shorter than I am (6ft 3 inches).

Whoa!

[fouadhafeez]

[hsumbal1]

Great Nice to see the pics rolling again.

Wanted to point out somthing.
I hope that the rear door of the Phantom will not look similar to the front.
You need to change the window frame and give a lil bit of the wheel arch to the rear door.
I am sure that will be in the plan.

[fouadhafeez]

@hsumbal

Absolutely, brother.

These last two pics show the fitting of a squeezed door onto the Phantom.

The rear door will be shorter, and will conform to the wheel arch (as per original plan). This will (hopefully) make the cabin's shape more aggressive, more compact, and less monotonous.

Of course, this door (in the photos) is just a saancha. The actual one will be brand new, and made from gleaming, sparkling sheet metal, Insha Allah!

Judge the results for yourself.

[hsumbal1]

Now that looks like a rear door. I knew that you will not compromise on attention to the detail.
What bout the engine and gear box?
Do you plan the mock up simultaneouly?

[fouadhafeez]

The engine and the gearbox are still, safely housed in my home. I have no plans for now, to move them to the area where the rebuild is taking place.

The coachwork will be taking at least 2-3 months. I am probably going to shift the engine-tranny a couple of weeks before the coachwork will finish. We'll synchronise it in such a way that the TLC (tender loving care) for the engine and gearbox, takes about as much time as that coachwork to finish. We'll put the engine inside, immediately thereabouts.

After the engine is bolted on, and fixed to perfection (Insha Allah), the Phantom will be undergoing extensive T&A (test and adjustment). Suspension, gearing, steering, brakes, diffs, fuel, electrical, mechanical...in short all the systems are going to be thoroughly tested and trialed, for not less than 3-4 weeks. Then, we're going to strip down everything to the tiniest part once again, and paint / chrome / buff everything to perfection.

Only then, will we get the finished product...which in itself, is a contradiction of terms, since it won't really be finished until the ergonomics, the aesthetics, and the visuals are completed.

I know...this sounds like an intense job. A thankless, laborious, long drawn out job. But to quote McDonald's...

I'm LOVIN' it!

[fouadhafeez]

[fouadhafeez]

[SuhaibKiani]

That looks really nice! Jamil Ustad is truly an artist with a hammer and a blow torch.....

[fouadhafeez]

That looks really nice! Jamil Ustad is truly an artist with a hammer and a blow torch.....

This is just the first fit, Suhaib Bhai. Unfortunately, I was under strict orders to "get back home RIGHT NOW, Fouad"...otherwise I might have stuck around for a little while longer. What we're going to do is shave the flare a little more. Possibly by an inch or so. Since the rear springs have their shackles at the back, the tyre will be travelling UP and BACK, rather than forward. So about an inch more of space between the tyre and the "flange" of the wheel well, should serve us nice enough.

We're concentrating on just one side for now. Once we have the right pattern for one side, reproducing the other should be fairly simple.

[fouadhafeez]

And with reference to your remarks about Jamil Ustaad. He's an absolute genius. And I've never seen a denter so caught up in his work. After the initial set of briefings and discussions...he's pretty much on autopilot. It's a pleasure watching the man at work!

What I HAVE told him, is to make an exact blueprint of this beast, so it can be reproduced accurately. I have at LEAST 3-4 more friends (who aren't regular PakWheelers) who're following this rebuild carefully, and have 1984 FJ40s standing in their homes, just waiting to be turned into mini-Phantoms!

[fouadhafeez]

While the coachwork continues, I have a question for some of our brothers who are experienced with SOA conversion (yes of course, this is a specific reference to ehsankiani and tareen, amongst others...LOL).

The Phantom is a big, tall beast. Like I've mentioned elsewhere, there's been quite a shift in its overall dimensions. It's total height gained is approximately 14-15 inches. It's been widened 20 odd inches. It's been stretched by about 30 inches, overall. The body sits very high, due to the SOA and the height of the tires.

The gear ratios have been changed, so that the engine delivers optimum power to those big, big wheels. In theory, at least, the vehicle will have a a very efficient amount of torque, indeed.

My questions pertain to:-

1. How do I ensure that axle wrap is avoided?

2. How do I ensure that all possible power is adequately passed on to the wheels?

3. Owing to the increase in ride height, how do I make sure that the vehicle remains stable, when there's so much (potential) articulation going on?

4. There's a total of 8 inches "travel" possible between axle and bump stop. There's a total of 9 inches "travel" possible between tyre wall and mudguard. This implies that the suspension will sooner hit the bump stop, an inch earlier than the mudguards will rub against the tyre. Is this enough? (I should have taken the bloody pictures to illustrate all these points, dammit)

Your viewpoints are solicited, please.

P.S. You guys know how incredibly non-technical, and how non-knowledgeable I am. Replies in simple, non-technical language please! LOL

[ifoo_786]

Good going janab

[fouadhafeez]

This Phantom rebuild is certainly affecting my mental health.

Aaj subah se, mein apni 350cc Suzuki Quad King 4WD ATV ko maani khez nazron se dekh raha hoon. It'd make a pretty hot custom rebuild, too.

[fouadhafeez]

I bought the Impala!

[fouadhafeez]

Is there a more beautiful car in the entire world, than the 1965 Chevy Impala?

Perhaps.

But I really don't think so.

[Cateyez]

Fouad bhai, the Impala looks sexy. Did you buy the same 2 door model - if yes then its very very sexy.

[fouadhafeez]

I'm afraid not, Azmat. The Impala I've managed to lay my hands on is pretty much a complete dhaancha. It's one of the four door, pillar-less versions, though...which still lends it possibilities. In any case, it's quite bereft of fittings, and it's going to be a monumental pain in the a$$ to import all those stock parts from abroad. So from the very start it's going to be a restomod, rather than a restoration, per se.

That is why, this four door may VERY WELL end up topless, chopped, and shortened slightly, to a coupe. Let's see how things turn out. For now...I'm just gathering ideas (like I did with the Phantom rebuild) and generally feeling pleased at the purchase.

Cheers.

[fouadhafeez]

um...if I promise to install an off-roader's engine in the Impala's rebuild, can I keep its thread here, in the 4x4 / SUV segment, rather than moving it to another section where people talk about Suzukis and Kias and Hyundais?

[hassanazeem]

Congrats on the Impala purchase... even though i am not against a resto-mod... but would recommend that you NOT turn it into an off-road machine...

I guess it would look better if it was turned into a low riding hot rod with some serious muscle and grunt...

Just my 2 cents...