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pqd44 My name is Paul and I live just south of Manchester in Cheshire. I am an Instrumentation Engineer and previously worked on oil refinery construction, but now work for myself installing kitchens, AV Systems, Alarms and security, along with all manner of joinery and large decking / landscaping projects. I was looking for a van after my Vauxhall Vectra 2.0 diesel estate cracked it’s engine block, when into the auction came this W reg Daewoo Musso 2.3 automatic, if the truth be told I knew very little about them at that stage. Looks big and strong I thought, great big flat load space with the rear seats folded and a tow bar for my trailer.
The gear change was a little jerky when driving very slowly but at normal speeds was perfect. This is where I found the fantastic SOC website. After downloading the manual from the download section, it suggested there was nothing more wrong than the throttle rate potentiometer signal, (auto box thinks your foot is to the floor and hence the thud change at slow speed). The site also showed me just how loved these vehicles are. So I decided it wasn’t going in autotrader but would help me lug my tools and materials around. First thing I did was get the rear windows fitted out with limo black film, to stop the nosey opportunist thieves.
Next modification was thanks to some searching on ebay. An R reg Ssangyong Musso was up for spares or repare and it had this A-bar on the front. Made the guy an offer for the bar and two days later off I went to collect it. It was not designed for this version but cutting off the original lugs of the bar and slightly bending the plastic on the underside of the bumper I got it to fit and used the original straps, now on the lamp mount on the bar, to fasten it to the bumper. The Musso now looks much better
Reversing a trailer is not something that comes naturally to me and to be honest, not until my small trailer was way out of position did it appear in the door mirrors. OK I need to see what’s going on, so next mod was the wireless reversing camera. The camera is mounted just in front of the tailgate handle above the reg plate ( bit hard to see in the photograph but it’s there honest) with the screen on the rear view mirror. It works a treat but could do with being a wider angle camera. With it you can get within millimetres of obstacles without worrying or listening out for that sickening crunch!
From first purchasing the Musso I always thought the rear fog light looked like a terrible after thought and were finished very poorly, with the lens and body edges showing. So I bought a strip of chrome effect bumper trim and set to trimming them up. What an improvement.
I had some trim left over so put a strip along the tailgate
I still had some more left over so onto to upper side of the sills it went, both sides front to rear. Not seen from the outside but when you open the doors it looks that little brighter.
Had a little bit left, but not enough to cover the sump guard, so I painted that silver with several coats of clear lacquer to protect it
So there you have it…….. stay tuned I have a few more plans yet. See me around Cheshire or the M60 give us a wave or a quick flash. Can’t wait to join in one of the club meets, look forward to some off road adventures and seeing you there. Now get back to main SOC site and happy Musso motoring
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