Jrally
Adventurer
Yeah, I know, not a rally web site, but it will be an adventure. Once again, the Expedition Celica will be doing Course Closing (Car# 999) duty, making sure everyone makes it out safe. I've taken a que from an off road race prep company, and built what I think is a VERY cool fire extinguisher mount. The flimsy one latch band clamp that came with it just wasn't cutting it for a 10lbs bottle. I'll take a picture, hopefully tomorrow, but I'll try to describe it. I used square tubing, 1-1/4" and 1" to make a pin/receiver type set-up that's stable. The receiver end is short and pivots up to make sure it'll come out quickly. The other end is just a short piece of the 1-1/4 with the top face cut out and a through pin hole through it and the 1" rib.
Along with that, the automituve grade adhesive that came with my Garmin GPS mount apparently isn't Arizona rated!! It worked for about 8 or 9 months, then continuely kept falling off. So, I made a small aluminum plate to screw to the back of the mount, using it's assembly screw holes, then 4 mounting holes on the four outer corners that stick out from under the mount.
While scouting new rally roads with a friend, down by Florence about a month and a half ago, things got a little too fun. I got a bit too into the smooth roads, not knowing what was coming, we hit several large jumps faster then I would have normally. Eventually, the passenger side front strut mount failed later in the day. The only sign was a turned steering wheel. Easy enough temp fix, jack the car up, high enough to put the mount and top of the strut back together, then set the weigh of the car back on it. The Celica is a tank. As long as I kept it on the ground, meaing not letting the chassis rise more then about 5 or 6 inches, the strut stayed in the mount. I drove the 70 plus miles back home, highway speeds, without any sign of a problem
I've replaced that top mount, thinking I'll change the other one this coming weekend, since it saw just as much abuse, but then keep it in the car as a spare. I'm also thinking limit strap up from might be a good idea, limit down forces at full droop, and if the mount did break again, at least the strap will keep it in place..? (Catch 22 really, I might break the mount, without me knowning it, then it might get to the point where it could be dangerous, rather then letting me know, so I can take it easy until it can be fixed.)
-Jon
Along with that, the automituve grade adhesive that came with my Garmin GPS mount apparently isn't Arizona rated!! It worked for about 8 or 9 months, then continuely kept falling off. So, I made a small aluminum plate to screw to the back of the mount, using it's assembly screw holes, then 4 mounting holes on the four outer corners that stick out from under the mount.
While scouting new rally roads with a friend, down by Florence about a month and a half ago, things got a little too fun. I got a bit too into the smooth roads, not knowing what was coming, we hit several large jumps faster then I would have normally. Eventually, the passenger side front strut mount failed later in the day. The only sign was a turned steering wheel. Easy enough temp fix, jack the car up, high enough to put the mount and top of the strut back together, then set the weigh of the car back on it. The Celica is a tank. As long as I kept it on the ground, meaing not letting the chassis rise more then about 5 or 6 inches, the strut stayed in the mount. I drove the 70 plus miles back home, highway speeds, without any sign of a problem
I've replaced that top mount, thinking I'll change the other one this coming weekend, since it saw just as much abuse, but then keep it in the car as a spare. I'm also thinking limit strap up from might be a good idea, limit down forces at full droop, and if the mount did break again, at least the strap will keep it in place..? (Catch 22 really, I might break the mount, without me knowning it, then it might get to the point where it could be dangerous, rather then letting me know, so I can take it easy until it can be fixed.)
-Jon
