The Phantom Of City Sadar Road

[Saaduk]

Yes it was pinstriping very carefully done. I dont remember exactly but it had 7 or so thin layers coats of paintjob

[fouadhafeez]

@Saaduk: Kudos, in that case. It looks very distinctive, indeed. And I can imagine how much hard work must have gone into the planning and execution.

[Saaduk]

Thank you very much, indeed too much hardwork and dedication was involved. This LC was completely built at my home from top to botton to engine swap and even paint work. No workshops involved and this BJ was actually very stable and had awesome climbing abililty. It was sold alongwith both soft and hard top.

[fouadhafeez]

I have the feeling that eventually, the choice for painting the Phantom is going to boil down to using a stock colour, OR something really outlandish (like those zebra stripes).

Given the fact that our aesthetic sensibilities aren't really geared towards high contrast graphics and stripes and camo patterns on vehicles, it's probably MORE likely that a stock colour will be the choice, after all.

Within these stock colours, I'm quite partial to Rustic Green, Freeborn Red and Nordic Blue...which are lovely, rich, vibrant colours that look exceedingly beautiful on the stock FJ. Whether or not these actually look AS good on a vehicle that is quite FAR removed from stock, is debatable. I suppose at the end of the day, the proof of the pudding will lie in its eating. I have this feeling that I'm going to end up applying a coat each of different colours onto various panels and body parts, just to see which one looks best!

[fouadhafeez]

Thank you very much, indeed too much hardwork and dedication was involved. This LC was completely built at my home from top to botton to engine swap and even paint work. No workshops involved and this BJ was actually very stable and had awesome climbing abililty. It was sold alongwith both soft and hard top.

From just its very STANCE, that FJ appears to have been a true-grit hardcore machine. Did you construct a metal sheet hardtop, or an FRP one?

[fouadhafeez]

Dear 4x4 Fellows,

I just got into business buy picking up CJ-5. Need help from all you guys regarding the best tires availability. The terrain I want to cover is Northern Areas of Pakistan from chitral to shandur to Gilgit. Can some one recommened me good tires for the said journey and the location from where I can find it... I have 15" Alloy rims installed over my CJ-5.

Thanks,

"Best tires available" is a thoroughly loaded question, Brother!

You'll find people who swear by Super Swamper TSLs. Others are strictly BFGoodrich MT/AT fans. Yet others will swear by Yokohama Geolanders, or Dunlop GrandTreks, or Bridgestone Duellers, or Saveros, or Maxxis, or Nittos, or Toyos.

Inevitably, a debate will also be triggered regarding the most desirable tire width, tread pattern, aspect ratio, specialised usage, and the like.

To be honest, thus, I would advise you to study the requirement you have (mostly road travel, I gather from your post), look hard at the budget available to you, and most importantly be aware of the capabilities and shortfalls of your vehicle. If you're keeping it stock, putting oversized tires onto it, is questionable. If you're planning on using it for road use, a mud terrain / bogger will be absolutely pointless. If most of your driving (after Chitral-Shandur-Gilgit) is going to be in muddy, clay-type terrain, getting a pair of Desert Duellers, is likely to serve you nothing.

Tires and wheels are influenced by YOU and your SPECIFIC needs. Not really by what anyone else may say, or advise. Contrary to popular belief...YOU really WILL be the best judge of that, yourself. NOT an armchair "expert".

As a guideline, though, the tires mentioned above, are all good-to-decent ones, which should serve your purpose admirably. I hope that answer serves as a basis for your further research into the subject.

P.S. For locations, Saddar Bazar in Pindi is a good area. As are the Nila Gumbud and Faisal Town areas, of Lahore. Off-roaders in Karachi and Peshawar would be able to advise you on the tire-selling hotspots in their respective cities.

Cheers.

[fouadhafeez]

Hardcore off-roaders are some of the nicest people in the world.

Through Guru Ji Aamir Bhai, a while back I had made the acquaintance of Talat Bhai, in Karachi. Talat Bhai, is a thorough gentleman and sporting enthusiast from Karachi, who also happens to be one of our leading experts on shocks, struts and stabilization solutions. I was just on the phone with him.

The shock absorber / stabilization solution to the Phantom is on its way!

We're getting a solution comprising of six long-travel Rancho 5000 shocks for the front and rear (four to be fitted, and two spares), and three Monroe Gas-Magnum steering stabilizers / dampers...all for a ridiculously low price...at our doorstep.

Who says there is a dearth of gentlemen in business circles?

Thank you, Talat Bhai!

[fouadhafeez]

After much discussion on the shocks, Talat Bhai managed to convince me, that the way to go was to opt for the RS5000 Shocks by Rancho, rather than the much-more-expensive and only-marginally-better 9000XL shocks.

The XLs are adjustable shocks, which can be controlled via an in-cabin wireless remote. His logic was: "your beast doesn't NEED to have its ride adjusted. It's more a case of full steam ahead"!

Irrefutable logic!

Here's a shot of the RS5000 shock.

Sexy, [I]hai na?

[/I]

[fouadhafeez]

Monroes.

EQUALLY sexy!

[fouadhafeez]

Long Distance Update

Today, the Phantom left its den at Chateau Jamil at City Saddar Road, and travelled a short distance to the opposite side of Gawalmandi Road, using a 4HP engine. In this case, 4HP stands for the "engine" ka power output...4 "Human Power", as it took four people to push it for the half a kilometre to where it now stands at Imran Ustaad's workshop.

The engine and transmission have been perfectly mounted onto the frame, and the radiator has occupied its designated position behind the front grille. Tomorrow, we will spend some time fixing the steering box, building the brake line and fuel line, adjusting the brakes, and making sure the pedals are adjusted and work right. Talat Bhai will courier the shocks and steering stabilizers, which should reach us the day after tomorrow, or the following day. These will be affixed to their respective places, and following that, we should have a fully functional (albeit still-incomplete) Phantom!

After the all-important, crucial first start of the engine, we'll give the monster a bit of a run over the weekend, I think. Only to make sure that it gets rattled just enough for us to see what parts need tightening/loosening, and what jugaar has to follow, thereafter.

I don't believe it. This project IS coming to an end, slowly!

[SuhaibKiani]

After much discussion on the shocks, Talat Bhai managed to convince me, that the way to go was to opt for the RS5000 Shocks by Rancho, rather than the much-more-expensive and only-marginally-better 9000XL shocks.

The XLs are adjustable shocks, which can be controlled via an in-cabin wireless remote. His logic was: "your beast doesn't NEED to have its ride adjusted. It's more a case of full steam ahead"!

Irrefutable logic!

Here's a shot of the RS5000 shock.

Sexy, hai na?

Talat Sahab at Kashmir Autos is a gem of a person and looks after his friends and customer's interests very well. Very knowledgeable on shocks and suspensions. The 5000s are a good choice...

And BTW you would need two of those Monroe steering stabilizers

[fouadhafeez]

Talat Sahab at Kashmir Autos is a gem of a person and looks after his friends and customer's interests very well. Very knowledgeable on shocks and suspensions. The 5000s are a good choice...

And BTW you would need two of those Monroe steering stabilizers

Hi, SK. Good to "see" you, as always.

We had a bit of a discussion about whether there was actually a requirement of the third shock for the steering stabilizer, and decided to order the third "just in case" we needed it at some point in time. Nikku Ustaad has in mind some triple-shock stabilization setup which he'd like to try, so as to ensure that the drive remains smooth and trouble-free. In this regard, I think giving him "artistic license" may be a good idea. In the eventuality that the shock isn't used, it's always good to have a spare.

[akifjanjua]

You dont need so many Steering Stabilizer shocks if the steering geometry is correct!

Hint: A vehicle should track okay without any stabilizer shocks! There should be no shimmy/Death wobble etc if the steering geometry is correct e.g. correct caster! Google death wobble shimmy/caster correction/steering geometry for lifted SOA setups.

Dont install the steering stabilizers on Day 1 as it would cover up geometry issues.

[fouadhafeez]

You dont need so many Steering Stabilizer shocks if the steering geometry is correct!

You're probably right, brother. I'll stick to this steering stabilizer solution anyways, because I've read up in more than one place that as the wheel size increases, so does the need for such an arrangement. With the hub acting as the fulcrum / centre point, a smaller force on the edge of a larger wheel will invariably produce more wobble than the same force applied to a smaller wheel. Simple physics at work, there.

Hint: A vehicle should track okay without any stabilizer shocks! There should be no shimmy/Death wobble etc if the steering geometry is correct e.g. correct caster! Google death wobble shimmy/caster correction/steering geometry for lifted SOA setups.

Agreed. The correct steering geometry is vital. Absolutely essential. Like I said above, though, you nearly always WILL need steering damping / stabilizers for larger wheels. The wheels on the Phantom are about as large as they get!

Dont install the steering stabilizers on Day 1 as it would cover up geometry issues.

Another priceless piece of advice. I hadn't considered this, before. Thank you for the very timely reminder, and your interest in general!

Cheers.

[fouadhafeez]

The first engine start has been planned for mid-day tomorrow.

We've managed to get everything sorted out, thus far. The engine, transmission, shafts, the brake line, the fuel line, the radiator, the cowling, the airflow, the essential fluids...in short, pretty much everything. What's left is the power steering pump, and the makeshift exhaust (yes...the upright stack exhausts are STILL on the cards), which will be connected tomorrow. Hopefully, we should spend the early part of tomorrow bringing everything to perfection before the first crank.

[Bilal_Z]

Hope it all goes well and you have a successful first start and many more Insha Allah

[fouadhafeez]

Hope it all goes well and you have a successful first start and many more Insha Allah

Thank you, brother!

[hsumbal1]

The first engine start has been planned for mid-day tomorrow.

We've managed to get everything sorted out, thus far. The engine, transmission, shafts, the brake line, the fuel line, the radiator, the cowling, the airflow, the essential fluids...in short, pretty much everything. What's left is the power steering pump, and the makeshift exhaust (yes...the upright stack exhausts are STILL on the cards), which will be connected tomorrow. Hopefully, we should spend the early part of tomorrow bringing everything to perfection before the first crank.

Sir we were expecting some videos. I am itching to hear the sound of this six cylinder Diesel.
In my opinion no diesel engine sounds better than an in line six.

[fouadhafeez]

@hsumbal1

Sir, yakeen maanein ke mein aap se ziyada betaab hoon! This moment has been a LONG time in the coming.

[fouadhafeez]

Long Distance Update

I was just on the phone with Nikku and Imran Ustaads. A great deal of the discussion focused on steering geometry, traction bars, steering stabilizers, and the like.

In my eagerness to get things set up just right, I think I MAY have been guilty of jumping the gun somewhat. Thankfully, though, the duo of Ustaads talked better sense into me, by insisting that we wait until the Phantom gets a bit of a road / off-road trial. That way, only THOSE modifications will be carried out, which are REALLY required...rather than spending time and money on a PERCEIVED need, which may NOT be needed, after all.

Logical advice!