Self adhesive silence

I remember the first ride, when I was driving my Daihatsu F50 all the way from Lappland. It was totally different to any other car I ever had before. One of the more noticeable things was the noice! Now, since this is actually my daily driver - no kidding - I have set out for a quest to make this car as silent as a Mercedes S-klass. Or at least less noisy, let's settle for that.
So, here's what I have added earlier on.
- Bitumen noice reduction mats to the inside of the doors.
- 30mm foam padding to the sides under the rear side windows
- Covered the rear doors with MDF-panels and a piece of bitumen mat.
- Wrapped most of the trunk area with mats.
- Attached sheets of bitumen in the footwells.
- Put a cotton ball in the glove compartment ;-)

Skateboarding - My new portable ramp

Here's my latest ramp.
It's a tiny quarterpipe that fits perfectly in my Daihatsu Taft. It's 90cm wide and 26cm high. It's got steel coping and epoxy paint used for garage floors and such. I'll get back with some "action photos" later on. Haven't tried it yet.

Just invented the cordless screwdriver that never needs to be charged

Oh what a day! I have just invented this revolutionary tool. Toss your fancy rechargable screwdriver in the bin because this is the new deal!

I like to build portable ramps and various obstacles for skateboarding. I have made all kinds of shapes and constructions over the years.

Two weird problems and a good laugh!

I always try ty fix things myself. It's not that I don't trust real mechanics but rather that I want to spend my money on something else - like sushi and a new shirt - and I find great pleasure in learning new things. But this time I was just about to give up.

Daihatsu Taft - PRADA Edition

I recently made a trip to Stockholm since my wife needed to do some shopping. I found a parking spot that was almost legal so I decided to wait in the car.
Imagine my surprise when I look to the right and see that Prada had a Daihatsu Taft on display!
And it was almost identical to mine, except theirs was a left hand drive, mine is right hand drive.
Wow. I knew they where classy and all but I had no idea that they had reached to such extreme levels of refinement.
Prada, I salute you for your exquisite taste in automobiles and I also think that your handbags look alright too. Keep it up!

I didn't see any pricetag but I'm sure it was way to much for a regular Joe like me.

;-)

A tribute to Tintin

I guess you are familiar with Tintin - right? Well, I'm (still) a big fan.
A while back I started on an illustration of my Daihatsu Taft. I drew it in Adobe Illustrator, just for fun, had no plan with it.

Storage solutions

  

I bought this vintage toolbox while visiting our daughters in Oxford. I had this idea about having it stand on end and making a cabinet out of it.

Zigzagging between castles and runestones

Today is a beautiful sunny day here in Stallarholmen so I had to take a ride on the island.
Yes, we live on an island called Selaön and it's quite large, situated in a lake called Mälaren. I love to follow random roads and see if I can find something interesting. That isn't to hard since this part of Sweden is jam packed with old castles and runestones. Today I headed for Mälsåker Castle, it's just a few minutes away from our home and it has become one of our favorite places for a picnic. You can check it out at www.malsaker.com if you like.

- Sir, your Daihatsu is ready for you at the gate.
- Oh, thank you Jeeves. Don't forget to wash it when I get back.
- My pleasure Sir.

One thing that makes Sweden special is its vast woods.

Adding flair and functionality to the back doors

This car is so easy to work on, it's almost as if it was made of Meccano.
There are no flimsy plastic panels and almost everything is bolted together rather than welded, so almost everything can be taken apart and serviced or repaired.

Mmm.. looks cozy.

Here's a little something about some details and improvements I've done on the back doors.

Nice car, but where's the cup holders?

Yup, this ride came without cupholders. Actually, it came without pretty much any gadgets or fancy extras, and I think that's part of the beauty. Just a bare bones rugged 4x4, created to cross deserts and climb mountains.
But you got to have your cupholders, right?

Since I am a product developer/inventor by trade I find great pleasure in making my own stuff. Although, the main obstacle wasn't how to make it but rather where to put it?
After a while I came up with a pretty cool idea. I took off the ashtray - don't smoke anyways - and decided to use the sliding rails that held it in place under the dash.

My Hopps cupholder

I just love to incorporate stuff that gives me that feelgood vibe, like skateboard parts and vintage bicycle components - preferably Campagnolo.

New mirrors

Before and after. Styles for miles!

This car came with just one exterior mirror when I bought it - don't know if that's common in Australia?
The original mirror was clamped to a steel rod with a plastic bracket bolted to the door. That bracket wasn't very sturdy so the mirror would start vibrating at higher speed. It should have come with a message printed on the glass - "The ten cars you see are actually just one" ;-)

New paint and stickers

In its original state.

Time for some TLC.
The apperance wasn't exactly mint. The hood had been sprayed with a grey rust protector and then a second layer of the pale yellow. I guess the paint came off during the harsh winters in Lappland when they scraped ice off the hood. It was primerly used with a snowblade to clear a track on a lake, so the look wasn't top priorety.

How we got ourselves this amazing little Daihatsu Taft

One sunny day we were just riding along in our Renault Modus when a cab driver got distracted and hit us by the right side - boom!
The car got smashed up so badly that it had to go to the scrapyard. Well, that led to the obvious need for a new ride. My wife - Pernilla - and I decided that the criteria for the next car should be that it should be fun to ride and it should make you smile when you look at it, that was pretty much it.

Photo from the ad.

It was Pernilla who found the 1979 Daihatsu F50 Taft on the web. It was for sale way up north in Lappland, a thousand kilometers from us! Even so, we both decided that this is exactly what we wanted.