Grunt's Papaya HX Sandman 18v 308 4 speed Project

[Grunt]

Noice work. I can see the amount of time you've spent there just masking up. I've done a couple of dash fascias now (including my own) and boy, they take some time to get just right. Are you going to install the floor loose or fix it down in some way? In my ute I have a 3mm sheet of sealed MDF that is the right shape for the panel behind the seats, which fits in the front of the ute well with just some out of sight adhesive velcro strips. Sits up off the ute floor enough that any moisture shouldn't worry it - along with some of that compressed grey cloth fibre insulation in behind the vinyl trim behind the seats they both quieten the inside down quite a bit.

Interesting idea with the RTS badge!

Regards,

Dave.

Hey Dave thanks for your comments. I am just letting the floor float, I spent so much time getting it dead straight I dont want to drill into it. I made templates and its a snug fit so hopefully with carpet on the bottom it will protect the finish.

I have lots of sign equipment so I will have a go at the badge and stick it there with blu tac to see how it looks. Im amazed that out of all the dashes to copy the desinger in their wisdom deceided to include the location dimple for a RTS badge when it only appeared on one model, probably some late HX had them but the majority were blank (HJ HX) .... even if you had a HZ you could work out the placement without a location bump so why include it.

As you know the dash surface is textured so I couldnt even sand it out

[thatotherguy]

Excellent work, its great to see someone doing the majority of the work themselves.Winter is a good time to clean/restore interior trim and vents,dash etc, i take mine inside and clean bits while watching tv

[Grunt]

Excellent work, its great to see someone doing the majority of the work themselves.Winter is a good time to clean/restore interior trim and vents,dash etc, i take mine inside and clean bits while watching tv

Yep agreed, nice in the warm workshop doing all the fiddly jobs

oh yes that reminds me to re do the vents !!

[jennie285]

Excellent work, its great to see someone doing the majority of the work themselves.Winter is a good time to clean/restore interior trim and vents,dash etc, i take mine inside and clean bits while watching tv

Dishwasher also works wonders on vents etc.

Interested to see grunt restore that fascia. All that effort. Yes I have no idea why rares put that stupid rts raised part, they were only on hz so why not leave it off We have one which came with a dash we bought from eBay had stickers instead of painting Portland grey as well, so it's Back on the shelf and will either be either given to someone or put back on eBay. I have a couple of restored dashes, as spares Absinth did, which will come in handy one day.

[thatotherguy]

Dishwasher also works wonders on vents etc.

Interested to see grunt restore that fascia. All that effort. Yes I have no idea why rares put that stupid rts raised part, they were only on hz so why not leave it off We have one which came with a dash we bought from eBay had stickers instead of painting Portland grey as well, so it's Back on the shelf and will either be either given to someone or put back on eBay. I have a couple of restored dashes, as spares Absinth did, which will come in handy one day.

i have heard of people putting parts in the dishwasher but doesnt it get too hot?

[jennie285]

i have heard of people putting parts in the dishwasher but doesnt it get too hot?

I put relief vents in but while they are apart not with the little rubbery bit. Also the a.c vents or dash vents if no a.c, and the seat side pieces. Anything hard plastic has been okay. There is a thread on here under oxbox workshop which shows how to clean certain things, which I put up ages ago when doing the two vans.

[Grunt]

Fitted a concealed head unit in the glove box, nothing special, remote control, radio CD, DVD otput, memory card, Iphone input and USB just enough to play some cruising tunes. Not being a daily driver it does not need competition sound.







I located a remote control extender so I dont have to open the glove box to get the head units functions, even switching it on. Has a very small sensor that goes in front of the head units IR sensor and another very small sensor that you can place pretty well anywhere that you aim the remote control at.

All tested and works well

[Grunt]

Vent cleaning and resto time. Hot soapy water and a tooth brush and paint brush did the trick. Read about the dishwasher thing but with 35+ year old plastic I would rather use some TLC and clean slowly and thoroughly. I had the origional vents and some others laying around so I cleaned them all and I will pick the best out of these.





After cleaning off the old foam I have some very thin new foam tape which works a treat and firms the rotation up just nice



Here is a solution I found for some of the vents that had sun fading, I used some Mothers Back to Black and it brought them back like new. 2x Thumbs up for this product. Just pull the vent apart and rub some on with a rag. Comes out a white liquid and some how makes it black again

[HK1837]

Hey Dave thanks for your comments. I am just letting the floor float, I spent so much time getting it dead straight I dont want to drill into it. I made templates and its a snug fit so hopefully with carpet on the bottom it will protect the finish.

I have lots of sign equipment so I will have a go at the badge and stick it there with blu tac to see how it looks. Im amazed that out of all the dashes to copy the desinger in their wisdom deceided to include the location dimple for a RTS badge when it only appeared on one model, probably some late HX had them but the majority were blank (HJ HX) .... even if you had a HZ you could work out the placement without a location bump so why include it.

As you know the dash surface is textured so I couldnt even sand it out

I think you'll find teh plastic was done by the OEM provider to GMH so the design thay had was the final design ie WB so they went with that.

[Grunt]

I think you'll find teh plastic was done by the OEM provider to GMH so the design thay had was the final design ie WB so they went with that.

thanks for the info, still sad they went for this version.

Also the OEM manufactures quality has certainly gone to the pack over the years, the facia was very rough and needed a lot of work to bring it to an acceptable standard