Author Topic: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo  (Read 184 times)

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Offline DennisM

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113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« on: August 16, 2016, 10:25:43 am »
This is the last in the series of ex-military vehicles that I own and have restored since May 1999, or so I thought, more on that later.
113-372 came on the scene back in early 2000, after I had finished 112-501 I was looking for another to restore (I was mad LOL)
anyway I had known of this vehicle as BLR-626 for more than 46 years, as it belonged to a local saw milling company, located in
Millfield NSW, here is an image of it sitting awaiting it's rebirth

it was for sale it wasn't for sale, so I looked a bit further afield and found 112-587 @ Hilton Pollards @ Colo NSW, so I bought it,
about 3 months into that job, my mate Graham D aka the 'Judge' bought it for me, I had to fix it for MOT and he kept it for
me until I was ready to start on it, well it took almost 10 years before I got to picking it up, here are a few shots of 113-372
in a very sad state, it had stood for 8 years in a side street in Morpeth where the judge lived

here it is after removal of the H/top & spiders

and going onto the flat bed for express delivery to my place about 22 miles away one Saturday early in Jan 2010

as you can see the 'judge' had a few of Solihull's finest in his yard, sadly most of them including one of mine went to scrap
about 2 years after that image was taken (more on that later).
I have 3 known in service images of 113-372 in Sth Vietnam during 1967/69, all nice n clean in this image in downtown Saigon

this image taken in the Cholon district during the 'TET' offensive 1968

and this image taken by Stan Middleton on his return to Oz after his 12 month tour Stan runs a website called 2AOD, it has
hundreds of images of Aussies in country, so if any of you people reading this are into re-enacting have a look because the images
were taken by the men who served, anyway back to the image Stan took it the morning after a VC rocket attack on Tan Son Nhut
airbase, he was giving a bit of cheek to the 4 Provo's who had to stay behind, note how dirty and un-kept 113-372 was compared
to the nice n clean shot in Saigon more on that later

Anyway jump forward 40+ years to 2010 and the long laborious task ahead, the vehicle had been maintained mechanically during it's
working life, but sadly the alloy body couldn't cope with heavy machinery (bulldozer parts etc.,) it had multiple accidents mostly on
the rear right hand side it was full of bog, the floor was like the Himalayan mountain range, the tailgate was rubbish, anyway here is
an image taken Sunday morning the day after it was delivered

the tub was set up on stands and the RHS side removed

I had a replacement for it it was no big deal, just a lot of work, the replacement had to be fitted before I could remove the floor, at this point when removing the RHS it became clear to me as to why the vehicle was being used on the airfield and looking grotty, I discovered that it must have been
involved in an accident in Saigon, as the RHS had been removed and replaced by a skilled tradesmen within RAEME he used
solid alloy rivets C'snk type and filed them in beautifully a real trades person, I tipped me hat to him whoever he was, 

the RHS of the tub had been fitted but not with all the rivets etc., as I had to get the tailgate opening correct first,
so it was fit/move/adjust etc.,

and when it was right my T/A aka wife helped with re-riveting the floor with 1/4" solid rivets damn noisey work LOL
the rivets sourced from the USA, note the 1/4" gutter screws holding the stiffening ribs temporarily during the re-riveting process

but during this I had a mate extend the carport off the garage and Anzac day was looming large (read less than a week) so this
task had to be completed before any work on 113-372

the job was managed thankfully.

and when it was all done I etch primed n painted it gloss black

and found somewhere to store it on my small block not an easy task at all.
The chassis was in reasonable nick and at that stage I couldn't see anything wrong with it, but the bulkhead was destined to be scrap
so I was on the lookout for a replacement, the RHS fuel tank was missing, so we needed one of those as well, but not yet, the strip down continued, during the strip down I found a few minor issues

engine out

gearbox out with the new found issue

somewhere it lost the 'Bendix' spring off the starter motor, it would have made a tremendous noise LOL
the G/box was fixed with a new housing and some small internal parts, the T/case was OK.
Work continued on the chassis for some time the relay at the front was a tad tired and stuck in it's hole, so I made a jig to press it out

it took 5 tons, but I heard a tearing type of sound, this was the noise

just what I needed, more bloody work LOL, so I had a front chassis section that I had stored in case I was able to get a S2A 109
army service fire truck, but that didn't eventuate, and I had used a section of it on my LRPV, so out with the gas axe
and get what I needed off it

I had secured the front of the chassis so the replacement went basically straight in no fuss and when it was up in my rotating
device it was fully welded.
During this I had to move gear around to make way for a Series 3 109 that I owned that was due to be dismantled because of no
storage anywhere, so home it came, all that was kept off it was the engine/G/box/Salisbury diff, the remainder was either sold,
scrapped/given away, the engine was later rebuilt and used in my LRPV

moving along as I have to as no-one else is going to do it for me, the diff housing needed some work on the locating hole for the center bolt of the springs, these were cleaned up and welded etc,.

it took some time doing all the sundry bits in the ordered manner that I do my restorations, tagging bagging/storing things

cleaning/rebuilding/painting them ready to be installed when the time arrives

and the 4 drive flanges get this treatment, I machine a groove to accept the O ring as fitted to S3 as well as the felt
axle oil seal, I hate oil leaks

The chassis had been blasted etch primed and painted gloss black, diffs fitted and back to a rolling chassis

brake pipes were next, they are fun to make



The engine was taken to Modern mtrs in Dungog NSW to have to rear main oil seal replaced

that's the only job I won't attempt, leave it to those who know best.
The engine must have had an oversize plug fitted and as I couldn't get one I made one on the lathe out of brass
 



The block had been washed out fitted with brass plug, timing case oil seal, sump & timing case gaskets as well and repainted
ready to go back in

note I use 4 x 4" 3/8"whit bolts with the heads turned down to help ease the engine onto the gearbox, job done very quickly no fuss

I located a chap way up in the New England area who was a mechanic and collected land Rovers for spare parts etc., he had what I wanted
so off I went on my 400 mile round trip, it was worth it, I got 2 bulkheads

I kept the best one and sold the other to a chap in Tasmania, the one I kept needed new foot wells, and we can't get them with
the indentations x 3 in them, and I don't have an English wheel, so I thought about it and came up with this, just using
what I had available to me, one half of it

the other bit

I used my home made press it took approx 1 ton to put the indents in place

and the finished job being put in place permantley

not bad for a rank amatuer with no trade skills LOL
Work was progressing with the addition of the bulkhead back on the chassis, wiring loom (Vinwire) fitted

the instruments got an overhaul by specialists as well

lots of grit blasting of all small steel parts, all are etch primed painted flat black on the reverse side (to help stop electrolysis)
then painted in Deep Bronze Green, here is a small selection of images






did you see how I held them for painting ? durex tape, lots of painting panels even the insides of them here is another selection of images
the bonnet


anyway to cut this a little short as my internet is up the ????
 here is a selection of images showing further progress towards the end and we do get rainy lousey weather here at times

Max the Sheltie (Blue Merle) posing

here is a shot under the left wing showing the stiffening panel that supported the siren

and from the top the shape of the base of the siren

and fitted up (temporarily)

whilst I was in the New England area I grabbed a 10 gallon fuel tank for the RHS as it didn't have one, that also meant it had
to be modified to accept the dipstick


and clean out the threads while your at it

then paint it black

The exhaust system was ready to fit, but I had to make some brackets as they are not available here in this country



I now had to paint the rest of the tub, that was fairly straight forward no issues, I wanted it ready for Anzac day 2012 and it was
getting close, here are a selection of images showing it up to the finished job

the white disc (bridge weight plate) was painted white with a red Kangaroo on it, to help it be easily indentified easily
by the Sth Vietnamese MP's as a MP vehicle, as they the Vietnamese MP's  White Mice as they were known had a bad habit
of shooting first then ask questions after

The siren (original) would have been sourced by fair means or foul from an American truck as it was a Federal, I bought mine through a mate who lives in San Diego from an ebay seller who wouldn't sell outside the states, I got to hear it via a phone call from Dave, I couldn't
wait to get it, original was Red but I left this one Black

Along the way I had to deal with a couple of issues that affected me even though I have been nursing for almost 50 years
my old mate the judge had a stroke and is now wheel chair bound and in a Nursing home, much to his dislike
but he does get out with a mate to various shows, here he is looking over 113-372 which sadly I can't get him into

and this young man severely disabled from birth with cerebral palsy and other medical issues, I had him as a client in
one of my jobs, he was a pleasure to work with for the 7 years I had him, he was 21 when he passed away R.I.P

and I thought that I had finished working on Land Rovers, I was starting to enjoy a bit of freedom doing other things
when my mate Gordon told me he had lost all interest in his Series 1 1955 86", it had a lot of money spent on it, including
full engine rebuild same with the transmission, he said it had to go, I thought about it aannnnndd I bloody bought it, damn
fool just when you were starting to get over the past 15 years, I took on another, well that's another story, cheers Dennis dgs
ps the link to  2 AOD if your interested

https://www.flickr.com/photos/aodcurator/collections/72157623879764657/
 a few clips






« Last Edit: August 17, 2016, 03:45:22 am by DennisM »

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Offline hippydave

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2016, 07:05:48 pm »
Another great story Dennis.
The Great Cucumber Massacre!
When my time has come to pass bury me upside down so the world can kiss my ass.

Offline Zuma

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2016, 10:15:38 pm »
Excellent work as always!

Offline DennisM

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2016, 10:29:30 pm »
Thank you gent's, I'm still fixing typo mistakes from my useless internet service yesterday LOL if the net played the game instead of whatever it was doing, I would have added more images and details but I was getting the tray bits (s**t's) with it anyway I'm off to a compulsory CPR lecture this morning,cheers Dennis  dgs
ps hopefully this will be the last time I will have to attend, I'll have to mix with the morning rush hour of traffic in Newcastle gggrrr. FRSsml FRSsml

Offline 94mharris

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2016, 10:30:12 am »
Great job! Looks amazing, love the siren as well :) Really interesting reading how you went about with the restoration. Hope to hear about the series 1 soon...,
Katie: 1980 Series 3 SWB Station Wagon

Bertha: 1994 Range Rover Vogue 3.9 V8 EFI

Offline Viamphie

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2016, 12:35:16 pm »
Dennis. Thanks again for a great restoration post. Where do you find the time and money?

If only I was half as talented and equipped as you I'd be a very happy bunny. What a great sense of achievement to be able to bring life back to these vehicles. It's like a trip back in time.

Thanks again pal and keep up the great work.
The virtual cat amongst the forum pigeons

Offline Gossamer

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2016, 09:28:22 pm »
Brilliant again. Dennis.

Viamphie, we need a unit!
All the right bits, but not necessarily in the right order.
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Offline DennisM

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2016, 09:41:35 am »
Thank you gent's for your kind words, but you had better believe me when I say I have buggered/broken many things over the years LOL  FRSsml
cheers Dennis  dgs