ILtis Update

It's been a busy Iltis month. The museum Iltis move with the tarp setup took quite a bit of time. Unfortunately, my personal Iltis decided to blow a head gasket which I was forced to research and replace. However, that was not the end of the Iltis saga! I'm not sure why, but the temperature microswitches decided to stop working after the head gasket was replaced (or maybe they stopped working prior to the head gasket issue or maybe they caused the head gasket issue) Whatever the cause, my Iltis couldn't drive without the radiator fans operating to keep the engine temperature down. With some research I devised a toggle switch system to turn on the fans. while the switches worked, it was rather annoying to continually keep an eye on the temperature gauge while driving.
Additional research led me to the Bombardier Iltis Canada Facebook page which provides a considerable library of information and member stories. In no time, new switches were ordered from the Iltis shop in Belgium and the toggle switches have been removed!
Which bring me to the next Iltis story....

That's the Museum Iltis on the left and my Iltis on the right. Mine's rather sad looking and definitely in need of a paint job. In my mind that involves spray paint, spray paint booths, technical skills and knowledge about industrial grade paints. All of which I'm sadly lacking. It's rather difficult to even find the correct paint as the original paint was CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) compliant with a high degree of safety processes required when applying. Did I really require CARC on my Iltis? Not really. I just want it to look good. Fortunately, my research lead me to an Iltis restorer that used simple household paint available at Home Depot! It's lasted him through 3 winters and I thought I would conduct an experiment on my Iltis in the West Coast rain forest. 

Wow! Big improvement over the top photo. I won't mind if I have to repaint every year. It looks sharp and only took a day with a pait sprayer and an unskilled painter.