Pinzgauer Build Up

Why a Pinzgauer?:
In my opinion a Pinzgauer build up makes perfect sense for me. I am a no nonsense type and prefer function over looks. Ill tell you right now Im not building this thing to look good at SEMA, Im building it for a real world trip. I doubt you readers will give me much, if any, style points. Ill be honest, I have tried. I tried to me meticulous and pay attention to "show room" details. But I have an attention span worst than my 5 year old. I want to get the project at hand done, done quickly with the least amount of effort and cost! FUNCTION! FUNCTION! FUNCTION! That is all that matters to me. I dont want to be in the middle on Mongolia with a broken battery holder and saying, "well, at least it looks good". I also am a little stingy when it comes to buying accessories. If I can find it second hand, and it doesnt effect its ability to work for me, I do it. Im trying to save as much money for the trip, so without many sponsors I build it once, I build it right, and take function over looks everytime!

So more about our Rig:
I purchased a 1976 Steyr Puch Pinzgauer model 710k. They make several different variants but the 710k was perfect for my needs. Since we have 5 kids, we needed the side doors for easy entry. We also wanted something short, for easy maneuverability.

Bringing Her Home:
It definatly took a bit to get used to driving her. She has no power steering and was on military Bias Ply tires. It really rode terrible compared to after.

As you can see, it was a radio truck. This thing had 3 large antennas and a table inside for the radios. Im embarrassed of the mess, but this is the only pic I have of the radio table inside before I removed it:

And as you can tell from the pic below, the Pinzgauers huge plus is its ground clearance!

Checking it out:
The first thing I did, after staring at it for what seemed like hours, was wash the windows and pull it into the garage for a closer inspection.

As far as I could tell, the Pinzgauer had very little rust(couple small bubbles) and seemed well taken care of. The brakes looked new as well. There seems to be a small leak from the transfer case. Nothing big but that really seems to be all thats wrong with it. I also removed the radio table and antennas at this time. Alot of emails have asked why remove the table. As it is in stock form, it only seats 5. I needed 7. So the table comes out and seats go in its place.

Getting New Shoes:
The old bias ply moloya tires sucked! They were loud and old so they were also brittle. Im sure they worked well, but I changed over to a TrXus mud terrains. What a night and day difference. This thing rode on clouds compared to the old bias ply.

See how high the floor jacks are just to clear a couple inches? Gotta love it!

The Tool Kit:
Several people have also emailed wanting to know about the tool kit. Since the pinzgauer is simple to work on, I bet I could tear it down to nothing and put it all back together with this kit. HAHA! A little extreme, but not too far off. Anyway, heres the kit: