Blog Archive

Jan 29, 2016

Home-built Overlander DIY: "Gascan-trashcan"

Feed me Seymour, feeeeed me... trash.


My rear swing out rack is a gas can or water can holder with a table. That’s great, but what about trash. I have used an ammo can I had for a trash can. Amazingly, there isn’t an ammo can or anything else that fits in a jerry can holder exactly.

So, I figured I’d take an old Jerry can and turn it into a trash can. Some good friends in the old pueblo (Tucson) had one laying around rusting away so I stopped by to check in and pick it up. This sucker was really rusted out, but in my eyes it just had a nice patina. Simple enough.

A. Cut off the top. (If your can has been used for fuel in the last century or so, you should fill the can with water while cutting it. Throwing a bunch of sparks at gasoline fumes isn’t very smart! Fill it with water and just let the water spill out as you cut. Be careful of where your grinder or sawzall’s cord is!!!! Water + Electricity = Excitement. Excitement may be =/< death...)

B. Weld on a hinge. (I used a cheap, but over-sized gate hinge)

C. Weld on a compression latch (available at any Hardware store, again I used a cheapo because it doesn’t need to hold a lot of weight)

D. Weld on some guides so when it’s shut it stays shut in line. (You could put an inner ring of thin metal that could follow the contour and it would work even better, but this was an after thought that I did once completed to keep it in place while offroading)

E. De-burr the edges, redneck sand blast the inside (not a fancy sandblast, but throw some sand and pea sized gravel in it and shake the HELL out of it to de burr and de-rust it a bit)

F. Lastly, paint the inside and the bottom.

That may sound like a lot, but it was easy. I just painted the inside and the bottom to prevent further rust. I left the outside because I like it. It has character. I am going to let the new hinges rust up and then maybe I’ll clear coat the whole thing.

This was about an hour job.



The great part is, almost all Jeeps or trucks have some sort of way to carry a standard gas can. That means you should be able to use it for future trucks or sell it to anyone if you need to.
Big thanks to Brent as always for the help and work on the 4runner and the gas can. He’s helped me built everything I’ve ever put on a truck of mine.



Simplicity at it’s best. (Note the half assed cut near the latch. I was in a rush to get this done and was using a cutting wheel)
Now, get out and use it!!

Jan 25, 2016

Car Show Season, AZ: (Pavilions Car Show)

The Pavilions car show has been happening every Saturday, without a break, for 20 years.

In summer, when the nightly temp is 110 and the sun doesn’t set until 8PM, you may only see 15 or 25 cars here. The week of all the local car auctions? It swells to the thousands. Instead of showing up at 4PM hundreds are cars start pulling in at 8AM.
It’s a sight to see. There isn’t much organization so it’s best to just check it all out. I try to walk every row.

Fair warning, this is basically just a big photo dump from my Saturday afternoon walking the isles. Any attempt at organization was half hearted and mostly a failure.

You can’t really encompass the entire place without a drone. Even then, the cars are moving in and out all day so it’s hard to not miss at least 50% of what showed up and then left before you noticed.
There is something about old drag slicks I love. I don’t know what it is.



Ready for the BS Awards? I just decided what they are and these folks win.


The winner for the “Owner who most looks like his car”
The Two-tone award:
The original Overlander... award.
The I WANT I WANT, Award.
Comes with a free Bra.
The car most likely to make you say “I wish I would have bought one when they were cheap” in the near future award, goes to all of these.
The alien antenna award goes to....
The “Uncut just feels better even though most cut it.” Award.
The, “I want to believe”, but those aren’t real Fuchs and I think it’s not a turbo” award.
The “New and improved Ford Fusion Coupe.” award:
The coolest old plate/long forgotten hotrod club Devil decoratiom, award...
The “Cocaine can take us back in time!” award.
The “coolest homemade muffler” award goes to the guy who said to me. “Does it have baffles?! What do you think the weld marks are on the side..?”
Opps, sorry, Duh award, goes to:
The “Oh shit, I shouldn’t mess with the Volvo enthusiasts parking area”
Lotus?
Lotolvo?
The car most likely to make you say. “I wont drive that without a lot of LSD.”
Gasser:
Urals are cool, I don’t care who you are. They fake out a lot of people.
The, “I feel smarter than others when they think my bike is old” award goes to:
“WOW! I bet it’s a pain int he ass to find parts for that old thing!!” -The guy next to me.
“It’s 2006 so I just go to the dealer for parts.” -The owner.
Mmmm, I love Targa’s. I like hard top 911s more, but the Targa’s are sure pretty in their own way.
The, “don’t judge me, I like it” award goes to:
Let’s pause this award ceremony to look at just the tips of these cars. Mmm, I sometimes realize that for a half hour I’ve only taken photos of grills and hood ornaments...Sometimes one is not enough.


The “Oh shit, those do exist?” award goes to:
A Willy’s Aerowing. I’ve never actually seen one of these before.
The “Everything I need and nothing I don’t. I don’t need you, I just need my thermos and this Triumph. That’s all I need!” Award goes to:


The “I was born this way and I’ll be damned if I’m going to get braces just because you are staring at me, underbite” award goes to:

The “Fire domes to the each of us”, award goes to:
The “I WANT YOU, IT’S LOVE IT DOESN’T HAVE TO MAKE SENSE!” Award goes to:
I’ll buy a car with an obsolete water pump just so we can hang out.
The “I have a gated shifter, but I don’t drive it so the next guy can” award:
The “It looked good on paper!” award winner.

The “it makes me tired just thinking about cleaning and waxing it” award goes to:

The “I’m bald, but my car has a nice head of hair” award goes to:

The “I am not afraid of commitment” award goes to this Colorado Coolaid fan:
The “I want it, maybe just a little because no one else loves it” award goes to:

The “That F-350 is sure cute and short” award goes to:

The “I don’t care if it has 2 scoops of raisins, I hate sugar scoops” headlights award goes to:

The, I love old cars because of details like this award goes to:
The 4 door winner.
The “I don’t like muscle cars that much, but I love this one. So what, I’m unamerican, they just do nothing for me. Shut up. I’m sorry” award goes to:
The “DON’T EVER LET IT GET PAINTED OVER” award goes to:
The perfect patina award goes to:
I love this strange and wonderful Vortech Supercharger for the Gremlin.
The paint on this 280Z was mesmerizing.
We’ll file this thing under crimes against vehicles. I don’t actually hate on the ones I put in this category, but they are just the ones that I don’t like and I want to destroy with fire and lava. IMHO.
The “Most likely to make my Porsche purist friend throw up.” award goes to this something with a fake slant nose and the a body gap big enough to load luggage through.
Did I mention it’s got a V8? Hid your eyes.
The crimes against messing with a good thing award goes to:

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