Hi, Pete, I just cruised over to your website and your M416
project, VERY COOL! I've been playing with an M416 project for
about 8 years, started out with a fairly decent one bought from CS
Coleman's, a big surplus place in PA. 8 years and four states
later, I'm getting close to finishing up, all it needs are minor
details and for me to get off my butt and install a freshwater tank
I got for it. 

Modifications include a spring-over conversion, a custom axle to
match my Land Cruiser's lug pattern, lengthening of the tongue, a
custom steel lid, a custom tailgate, expedition tent mounted on
top, custom heavy-duty fenders, a cooler rack mounted in front of
the tub, custom storage net inside the lid, Scorpion lined
interior, all SS hardware, custom wiring harness, etc... Keep in
mind I've been building this thing for years, I even spent two
years in AZ, where it spent a lot of time in the desert behind the
Cruiser! 

I don't know if you have a fast connection or if you're even
interested in pictures, so I'm attaching just one of them, parked
right in front of my garage while airing out the tent.

In any case, it's nice to stumble across the website of another
M416 fanatic! Nice paint job, BTW, I see yours matches the towrig
as well!

Cheers! 

Henry Cubillan 

Pete Elton wrote:

> Henry & Kate Cubillan wrote:
> > Hi, Pete, I just cruised over to your website and your M416
> > project, VERY COOL!
>
> Thanks.  As you know, it was a lot of work.

Looks great!

> I'm interested in how this was acomplished.  There is a lot
> of discussion about this on the Bantam Trailer group.
> One guy says he did it just by asking the guy at his local
> trail place for 10" drums with the bolt pattern he wanted
> and the spindle size.  Is that all there is to it?
> Is it just a simple swap?  I tow mine behind a TJ which
> has 5 on 4.5 versus the trailer's 5 on 5.5.  I probably
> won't do a conversion at this point since I already have
> new tires on the existing rims, but I'd still like to know
> the details of how this was done.

I debated this long and hard, at first I wasn't sure how to do it,
I really wanted to keep the hand brake so I toyed with the idea of
having a machine shop redrill the new pattern into the hub flange
and brake drum and then weld-up the original holes. In the end,
the decision to spring-over the trailer was what did it, I paid
$125 for a complete new axle, and that included all new u-bolts.
It was built to my specification, using 3,500 lb. trailer spindles
with the right bolt pattern, and cut to match the exact width of
my Land Cruiser's rear axle. The only downside was giving up the
hand-brake, but to me it was much more important to have the bolt
pattern matching, I only wanted to carry one spare and this way if
I'm ever in a real pinch I can use the two tires off the trailer
on my Cruiser as well.

>
> Is this a Lofty Shelters tent or some other brand.
> It looks great.

It is a MARE tent, sold in Venezuela by Geo 4x4 Expedition
Outfitters. Hard to find in the US but very attractively priced
and VERY well built.

>
> These look very cool.  Did you make them yourself?

With a friend of mine who has a tube bender! The original fenders
were in decent shape but they didn't really fit with the 35's and
they had gotten tweaked by contact with trees and rocks. The new
ones aren't overbuilt, but they fit better and I think will take
the abuse a little better as well.

> I have never heard of Scorpion liner.  Is it a DIY liner
> like Herculiner or Durabak, or something else?

Nah, I had a pretty bad experience with the DIY stuff, which I
used first (I used Wurth SKS). At first it worked fine, but after
a couple of wheeling trips it started to peel off and fade, turned
out into a nightmare. I decided to sandblast the inside of the
trailer (again) and finally came across a good deal for the high
pressure application coating Scorpion Liner. It's like a cross
between Rhino Lining and Line-X, not quite as soft as Rhino, not
quite as abrasive as Line-X. So far so good, I put 300 lbs of
limestone pavers in there the other day and after I spray washed
it, I couldn't find a single nick on the liner.

>
> I definitely interested in pictures.  The one you sent
> is very cool.

Here are a couple more detail shots!

> Yeah, I knew going into it that I wanted it to match.
> I really lucked out that I found the Rust-Oleum paint.
> It's not an EXACT match, but it's close enough and at
> $18, the price was right.

Wow! I sprayed mine in the parking lot of my apartment building in
AZ with a cheap gun and a borrowed compressor, I used generic
automotive paint in Code 012 Chevy super white (cheapest white
paint I could find), doesn't quite match the Cruiser either but it
came close. I think the total cost was under $80, not quite $18
but decent.

>
>
> Do you have a website detailing your work?  I'd love
> to put a link to it under my "Others' Projects" section.
> If not, send me a couple more pictures and a paragraph or
> two and I'll throw up a quick page for you so that others
> can see your hard work.

No, I used to, but it got too big and they were charging me too
much money, so I dropped it. Thanks for the offer, I'll send you a
few more pics for now and see what you think!

Cheers!

Henry Cubillan