New Argo Owner/Fixer in need of advice...

[outsource_mech]

Folks,
I just joined this group a couple of days ago and I am super impressed with the content on here. So my hats off to you all so far.

My friend bought an 8x8 recently and he needs me for the wrench work. My best guess on year is '74-80. It has a 2-stroker in it which seems to run fine, just needs the carb adjusted and a few tweeks. The vehicle is working for the most part, but has had some alterations done to it. i.e. there is a firewall, but it is not the stock one, and I am curious to know if there may be a place out there that might have one for sale.

The other thing is the steering...there is no left and right turning is just ok...the brakes are mechanical type, the discs look fine, the pads look like they have plenty of meat on them, but I got very little grip/stopping power. This is my main battle right now..I want to be able to stop the thing after getting it up to around 40mph...it goes like crazy.

last question for now...can the top of the body be separated from the bottom? It would greatly help my refurbishing efforts.

Any help would be great since I would like to be able to get this thing going really well for him. We are cleaning and painting it now so I will post pics as time goes on. I just really want to be wise when spending someone else's money so I am coming to this community for help.

thanks folks!

[amphibious drew]

Yes you can split the tub. Take the rubber belly band off, and use a putty knife in between the halves and hit the knife with a hammer. That should break the rivits or staples and allow the body to lift up. FYI, the bodies are made of hdpe and do not take paint well. Painting a body only decreases the value of the machine and adds time and money to a restoration. Keep the paint on the metal stuff and use a heat gun on the plastic to bring back the original color if the body is oxidized or Sun faded.

[outsource_mech]

yeah... the painting is covering the old painting that has been done to it. we haven't started yet, but we are looking at just doing the top, I doubt we can get all of the old off of it. And we are not too worried about value...more about functionality for a long time, and yes this is a budget build!

thanks for the heads up on the body separation Drew!