Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT Mixed Grill - From London , England - GRIZZMAKES world

[gooned]

Skoda Cube Van….??

Restoration?

Yup, I have started on removing the rust and replacing it with fresh good steel.

Progress.

Not setting it alight yet

just occurred to me, you are very literally polishing a turd here…

 

[Duisky]

I also got some sew on patches in the post from Tony

I did wonder if in this day and age of electronics, getting a run of 50-100 vinyl stickers in about 80 to 100 mm diameter made up to sell at cost of plus postage would garner enough interest. But done in the green, white and red colours.

Let’s see what happens next.

Grizz, as always observing from afar.
Rather than making stickers you could make a 'grille badge'? I've just done something very similar - family business turned 50 this year so to commemorate it I've made a pile of badges to hand out to clients. Once you've got the method they can be knocked out pretty quickly and a handy skill to have to recreate makers plates, badges or create a stamp/brand.

It's simply etching aluminium. The process: make a vinyl mask, dip in etching solution - cheap from amazon/ebay etc. - and then painting the relief by hand.

Below is one I knocked out for the World Cup:

 

[Grizz1963]

Grizz, as always observing from afar.
Rather than making stickers you could make a 'grille badge'? I've just done something very similar - family business turned 50 this year so to commemorate it I've made a pile of badges to hand out to clients. Once you've got the method they can be knocked out pretty quickly and a handy skill to have to recreate makers plates, badges or create a stamp/brand.

It's simply etching aluminium. The process: make a vinyl mask, dip in etching solution - cheap from amazon/ebay etc. - and then painting the relief by hand.

Below is one I knocked out for the World Cup:

Congratulations on your teams performance last night.

 

[Grizz1963]

So back to the wheels.

John came around on Monday to collect some parcels as he uses my address for a more secure delivery destination.

I had planned to be welding but se started talking about the wheels.

In the end we removed to rivets from the wheels in a painfully slow process.

I ordered 100 rivets for about £33.00 online.

Centrr caps, also ordered will hopefully be on their way from Temu.


VIDEO:

Next will be cleaning up and painting the wheels.

Another job now in limbo of course is the process.

I ended up spending about 4 plus hours working next door yesterday. The neighbours are very capable in many aspects of life, but they are just not experienced gardeners and I am.

So a load of ground levelling and clearing up the building site that is their back yard.
Followed by a couple of hours mowing the lawn and cutting back some beds.
With a two year old ruling the roost, their garden had not been touched since August and had now overwhelmed them.

So today is day two of the recovery.

Skoda and wheels can wait.


More soon.


.

 

[gooned]

I ended up spending about 4 plus hours working next door yesterday. The neighbours are very capable in many aspects of life, but they are just not experienced gardeners and I am.

So a load of ground levelling and clearing up the building site that is their back yard.
Followed by a couple of hours mowing the lawn and cutting back some beds.
With a two year old ruling the roost, their garden had not been touched since August and had now overwhelmed them.

So today is day two of the recovery.

Skoda and wheels can wait.

Wow, you a true hero Rian

I hope your neighbors know how lucky they are

 

[Grizz1963]

Wow, you a true hero Rian

I hope your neighbors know how lucky they are

Well…..

Fat guys shouldn’t work like demons in a neighbours garden.

But two days and we’re done.

Knackered.

I don’t think they really understand my mentality.

Where they came from nobody helped each other.

I was aware that with a two year old demon daughter, and two boys around 8 years old, one the sone, one being a terribly damaged foster child with so many more problems and baggage than a child of his age should carry……. Gardening is just not a priority, though it should be.

Lucas works incredibly hard as a “Super Scaffolder” he is a beast, brutally strong and super fit, but he doesn’t know the one end of a rake, mower or garden spade, from the other.

He has offered to clean my roof gutters because he knows I hate ladders, not the going up them, but rather falling and possibly landing on my head.

So I just needed to get in there with my mower to get it them started, of course all of that suddenly turned into a two day ordeal (not really an ordeal) and now it looks incredible.

Last weekend we also cut down the hedge down the side of my garage, then Lucas wrestled all the stumps out. Later today I went into this area and with flat a pick axe I managed to level it all. Then Lucas added membrane and we (mostly him) got all the left over building rubble, stones, ******** etc down this alley too. It will get levelled tomorrow or so when I have recovered and then we will run the compactor over it.
Covering it will create a great storage space of about 28 x 8 feet. Or 9 x 2 meters.

There may be more to do later.

But for today……

Done.


.

 

[Grizz1963]

 

[ChefRex]

A friend I used to ride with had a V-Max anytime we went under a overpass he would lite up the rear tire, if you were not ready for it it would scare the heck out of me thinking a car was skidding towards me

 

[Grizz1963]

A friend I used to ride with had a V-Max anytime we went under a overpass he would lite up the rear tire, if you were not ready for it it would scare the heck out of me thinking a car was skidding towards me

Tunnels and underpasses are great for antisocial acoustics.

 

[Finallygotit]

Tunnels and underpasses are great for antisocial acoustics.

So are parking garages!

 

[Grizz1963]

So are parking garages!

Absolutely

 

[Grizz1963]

Progress is slow on the Cube.

The more I grind and swear the more I realise it should have been CUBED

Amazing how knotwheel of truth can remind you hours later that it is in charge.

9.30 pm after a shower and food last night, watching a new episode of Ambition Strikes on YouTube and chatting with a friend, I stroked my leg where I have a big bruise from the gardening weekend. Felt something scratchy and on inspection, found this pretty much fully embedded in my calf.

Just shows you what force this thing works at.

George came in shouting for food at 5 minutes before midnight. ****.

So this morning he was sitting outside the patio door like an orphan, shouting for breakfast. Does he forget that he has a door of his own ? ****.

Time to neuter him despite the fact that he is convinced nobody will own him. Cartoon of Georges thoughts by Bryan



Yesterday some unidentified person also sent a beautifully boxed set of metal signs.
Nice thing is he tried to delete and cover over the return address, not realising that I have an interesting if dark past. So Mr Land Rover, I may have to visit you in the Prime Minister’s road. IYKWIM

Some of us do struggle to leave **** alone.

Guess it’s back to trying to set myself and the Cube alight simultaneously.



.

 

[jbmatth]

Very cool gift, and the cat drawing is pretty neat as well.

JB

 

[Grizz1963]

Removing Rust, Rebuilding Sills.

Skoda Cube is progressing.

Repairing “Bodyshop” Bodges.


Identified a load of rust, and untouched damage. Cutting, Fabrication, Welding, Grinding and finding more work to do has seen progress on the underside of the little pickup.
I also had to repair some of the previous bodyshop bodges.

Shameless that they just weld plates over existing rust, and even worse, plating previous plates with more steel.


I have found three skins in places.


Beats Four Skins I know.


But disgusting that people take unknowing customers’ money for a bit of shiny paint.


At least I know what I have done is an improvement. Way too much effort for a stupid disposable rare little van.


Saturday morning.


Time to go get to welding on the rear inner wheel arches. More double skinning to create.


VIDEO

More soon.



.

 

[gman007]

Rian
Great progress and nice job and thank you for video.

If I may make one suggestion though. Even watching you kneeling on hard surfaces, make my knees hurt.

I used to do same and have paid dearly for my mistake. Finally a few years back I bought a pair of decent knee pads and omg, what a huge difference they make. I now wonder, what took me so long to see the light. So my advice is to spare wear and tear on your knees. YMMW!

 

[gooned]

Rian
Great progress and nice job and thank you for video.

If I may make one suggestion though. Even watching you kneeling on hard surfaces, make my knees hurt.

I used to do same and have paid dearly for my mistake. Finally a few years back I bought a pair of decent knee pads and omg, what a huge difference they make. I now wonder, what took me so long to see the light. So my advice is to spare wear and tear on knees. YMMW!

I can vouch, my knees are trash after years of bare concrete kneeling

 

[Ralf99]

Me too - I don’t use knee pads so often, but regularly use those high density foam kneeling pads for working on concrete as well as gardening.

 

[Grizz1963]

Rian
Great progress and nice job and thank you for video.

If I may make one suggestion though. Even watching you kneeling on hard surfaces, make my knees hurt.

I used to do same and have paid dearly for my mistake. Finally a few years back I bought a pair of decent knee pads and omg, what a huge difference they make. I now wonder, what took me so long to see the light. So my advice is to spare wear and tear on your knees. YMMW!

I can vouch, my knees are trash after years of bare concrete kneeling

Me too - I don’t use knee pads so often, but regularly use those high density foam kneeling pads for working on concrete as well as gardening.

I won’t be using ********’s

But I used yoga mats when I built the Rezin Rockit

It helps a lot.

 

[Grizz1963]

Go Fund Me page not created.


BUT…….



Happy with advice or functional working parts to be sent down my way.


The Question is obvious: Think about it.


The answer is:

To lower a 1999 Skoda Cube Van (mechanically a Skoda Felicia Van/Pickup, model code 6U), you need to modify its traditional coil spring suspension setup on both axles. Unlike full-sized commercial vehicles that utilize rear leaf springs, this lightweight van features front MacPherson struts and a rear trailing-arm coil spring setup, meaning it behaves like a standard hatchback when modifying the ride height. [1, 2]
The primary methods to achieve a lower stance on this vehicle require distinct parts and installation steps for the front and rear assemblies.

Front Suspension Lowering [1]
The front end uses standard MacPherson struts.

• Lowering Springs (Budget Method): You can install aftermarket progressive-rate lowering springs, such as those made by MTS Technik or Cobra Suspension. These typically yield a clean 30mm to 40mm drop while retaining your stock damper struts. [1, 2, 3]
• Coilovers (Performance Method): If you want an extreme drop or adjustable heights, swap the entire front strut for a height-adjustable coilover kit. While direct 1999 Felicia van kits are rare, Volkswagen Polo 6N or Golf Mk3 front setups can sometimes be adapted with minor hub modifications.[1, 2]

Installation Steps:

1. Loosen the top strut mount bolts inside the engine bay.
2. Raise the front of the van, support it safely on jack stands, and remove the wheels.
3. Disconnect the brake lines and unbolt the lower strut base from the wheel hub spindle assembly.
4. Remove the assembly and use a specialized coil spring compressor tool to safely compress the factory spring.
5. Unbolt the top hat, remove the stock spring, swap in the shorter lowering spring, and reassemble. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Rear Suspension Lowering

Because it is a "Cube Van," the rear setup features high-load coil springs rather than leaf springs. [1, 2]

• Felicia Hatchback Springs: Because the van version left the factory with taller, heavy-duty springs to accommodate cargo, swapping them out for standard Skoda Felicia hatchback rear springs or aftermarket hatchback lowering springs automatically drops the rear of the van by roughly 15mm to 30mm due to the lighter spring rate. [1, 2]
• Rear Hub Drop Plates (Custom Method): For extreme lowering without destroying ride quality or reducing suspension travel, enthusiasts use custom-fabricated rear hub drop plates. These plates bolt directly between the rear trailing arm and the wheel stub axle, effectively relocating the wheel higher up into the arch and dropping the body by up to 80mm on stock springs. [1, 2]

Installation Steps:

1. Safely jack up the rear axle and support the frame on heavy-duty stands.
2. Remove the inner rear wheelhouse liner screws to gain full access to the upper shock absorber mounting bolts.
3. Support the rear trailing arm with a floor jack and unbolt the bottom shock mount.
4. Lower the jack slowly to relieve tension on the rear assembly, then safely pull the old spring out.
5. Install your shorter spring (ensuring the rubber top pad is correctly seated) or bolt your custom hub drop plates into place. [1, 2, 3]

Critical Build Notes

• Brake Bias Adjustment: The Felicia platform uses a mechanical load-sensing valve on the rear axle to regulate braking power depending on how heavily loaded the van is. Lowering the suspension tricks this sensor into thinking the van is full of heavy cargo, which sends unsafe, maximum braking power to the rear wheels. You must manually readjust the load-sensing valve arm after lowering to prevent the rear wheels from locking up prematurely under normal braking.
• Avoid Heating or Cutting Springs: Do not use a torch to heat the springs until they sag, and avoid cutting the coils with a grinder. This ruins the structural tempering of the steel, leads to MOT test failures in the UK, and risks unseating the spring entirely over harsh bumps. [1, 2]

 

[jbmatth]

It is interesting the car has an automatic brake bias sensor, I didn't even know what was a thing. That is a very common suspension style, I would think finding springs from a similar car with a lower spring rate would help lower it some, but may make it ride very soft and increase the chances of bottoming it out.

JB

 

[gman007]

• Avoid Heating or Cutting Springs: Do not use a torch to heat the springs until they sag, and avoid cutting the coils with a grinder. This ruins the structural tempering of the steel, leads to MOT test failures in the UK, and risks unseating the spring entirely over harsh bumps. [1, 2]

I chuckled when reading this warning!

Any US fans of shows like Roadworthy Rescues and Full custom Garage will loudly contest this statement!

And here in the US, we think that there is too much government and "Big Brother" interference in our lives!

We don’t know how good we have it compared to the rest of the world. MOT test failures? LOL, in Michigan, we don’t even have emissions tests.

Does the UK MOT also stipulate the maximum number of times per week one can sleep with his wife and in what positions? How about how many bowel movements a day one allowed to have?

I swear, personally, I would suffocate and feel claustrophobic in such a society.

 

[Tommo3]

I chuckled when reading this warning!

Any US fans of shows like Roadworthy Rescues and Full custom Garage will loudly contest this statement!

And here in the US, we think that there is too much government and "Big Brother" interference in our lives!

We don’t know how good we have it compared to the rest of the world. MOT test failures? LOL, in Michigan, we don’t even have emissions tests.

Does the UK MOT also stipulate the maximum number of times per week one can sleep with his wife and in what positions? How about how many bowel movements a day one allowed to have?

I swear, personally, I would suffocate and feel claustrophobic in such a society.

That info is from AI not the MOT handbook in reality they would only fail the springs if broken or unseated. Coil springs break with monotonus regularity on UK roads

 

[Grizz1963]

It is interesting the car has an automatic brake bias sensor, I didn't even know what was a thing. That is a very common suspension style, I would think finding springs from a similar car with a lower spring rate would help lower it some, but may make it ride very soft and increase the chances of bottoming it out.

JB

I need to find someone who has done it before.

Also some research.

But once again my love of weird and quirky leads me down the path less traveled.

 

[Grizz1963]

I chuckled when reading this warning!

Any US fans of shows like Roadworthy Rescues and Full custom Garage will loudly contest this statement!

And here in the US, we think that there is too much government and "Big Brother" interference in our lives!

We don’t know how good we have it compared to the rest of the world. MOT test failures? LOL, in Michigan, we don’t even have emissions tests.

Does the UK MOT also stipulate the maximum number of times per week one can sleep with his wife and in what positions? How about how many bowel movements a day one allowed to have?

I swear, personally, I would suffocate and feel claustrophobic in such a society.

Yes you have no idea.

I should have opted for a corporate transfer to America in 2002 when I asked for England.

But we need to take responsibility for our own choices.

 

[Grizz1963]

That info is from AI not the MOT handbook in reality they would only fail the springs if broken or unseated. Coil springs break with monotonus regularity on UK roads

Correct.

 

[Grizz1963]

Those Dare R/S wheels.

Escalated fast.

Sand paper, wire brush, paint stripper and centre caps……

Why do I even do this to myself??

Aaahhhh football and beer….. can’t be bothered with wasting my life on that.

Once again thankful that I have spent my money on tools enabling me to create and fix stuff.

Pictures.



.

 

[gman007]

Great job, Rian. The pain was worth the gain.

Ps
It seems inspector John was there doing the quality check!

 

[gman007]

But we need to take responsibility for our own choices.

Unfortunately, people like you are a rarity!

Instead of looking inward, realizing and admitting their own mistakes, and learning from them, many people will blame everything under the sun but themselves!

It pains me to no end when I see this kind of behavior!

 

[Grizz1963]

John b

Great job, Rian. The pain was worth the gain.

Ps
It seems inspector John was there doing the quality check!

John became a good, loyal friend after staying here for 7 months a few years ago.

He has a really calm manner and will often discharge my frustration and anger with a sensible comment.

He actually has a key to the house for collecting his parcels.

Where he lives, not even the smells from the kitchen is safe.

 

[Grizz1963]

Unfortunately, people like you are a rarity!

Instead of looking inward, realizing and admitting their own mistakes, and learning from them, many people will blame everything under the sun but themselves!

It pains me to no end when I see this kind of behavior!

My dad once told me he was proud of me, because I was fearless and that my integrity would dictate my actions, regardless of outcomes.

I guess taking responsibility for my acts and omissions is something my parents taught me.

When I was in the military, I carried some responsibility and that came back to me in buckets from the guys I worked with, in the form of respect and also protection.

Life is good.

 

[Grizz1963]

And a happy picture.

And another

Both French.