This is the last Land Rover that I rebuilt, it took me approx 14 months or thereabouts, I had bought it from a mate of mine, he had lost all interest
in it. He (Gordon) never aimed at doing a near as possible job like I always try to do, he just wanted an older Land Rover that he could drive n enjoy
whenever it took his fancy, he had bought the Land Rover at the same time I had bought a 88" S3 to do a quick make over and re-sell, I have no
images of it at that stage, neither does Gordon, but I remember it with a H/top over the cab and it was a green/yellow mixture of colours, anyway
move forward about 9 years and this is what it looked like covered in dust in his garage, sitting there just waiting for me to bring it to life
as you can see it had been painted by my mate, he is a Boiler maker/welder by trade, he did all the structural repairs to the chassis, so that part
is 1st class, here is another image showing new wiring harness (Vinwire)
the engine was fully rebuilt by a local engine re-conditioner, it does run very sweetly now, but at that stage it had not been started since rebuild
I paid Gordon what he wanted for it as I thought it's worth that alone possibly for the engine rebuild, so with some help from my mate
John Tarren a well known identity in Series 1 circles in my part of the world, we loaded it onto his trailer and whisked it away to my home
about 1 mile away, we pushed it into the small carport
and I stood and reflected well there goes the next 12 months or so, again LOL.
The strip down had started, as I didn't like the paint finish it was fairly ordinary and as I said my mate just wanted a vehicle he could enjoy
the bulkhead was sent to be grit blasted, this was done locally and I etch primed it
and painted it in Deep Bronze Green
this item was stored as I wasn't ready to fit it back on the chassis as yet, the door skins had the dreaded electrolysis on the lower edges
so I decided to make new door skins from aluminium sheet, so off to Newcastle to buy enough for both doors, top n bottom and other things
that needed to be repaired/replaced
I thought I had bought enough, but I was wrong, I had to make another trip a few months later, anyway I pressed ahead with making new
door skins, here they are with the edges folded
my mate Gordon cut me a rough template I finished it off with my die grinder, to make the holes for the door handles etc.,
and applied it to a small scrap piece of material, I was happy with the end results
the die was marked L & R so I wouldn't stuff it up, left side shown
and the RHS
All the old galvanising had either faded or had been painted over in the years after it was first assembled, so all of it was gathered and sent
to be re-done
the windscreen frame was sent much later, as the one supplied with the vehicle was incorrect type (earlier version) all of this
had to be stored away from getting damaged etc., I had stuff everywhere in the shed, it was beginning to be a headache, fair dinkum.
The chassis paint had faded a little, I like a nice Gloss Black finish, so before I re-fitted the bulkhead to make some room in the shed
I repainted the front half of the chassis Gloss Black, and I fitted an oil pressure fitting while I was still able to get at it easily on engine above starter)
in that image you can see the clutch/brake assembly the bushes that go through the chassis were re-manufactured, the clutch ones
were made by a local engineering firm to the original spec's, that piece of work is fantastic and it cost heaps, long before I got it.
When the paint had dried I re-fitted the bulkhead and turned my attention to the rear section of the chassis, removing the diff etc.,
to make it easier to paint
the diff/housing/springs were all painted at the same time, then re-fitted
our clothes line gets used for hanging all manner of painted items on much to my wife's dislike LOL
I'm sure you get my point LOL.
The rear tub needed some remedial work, as it had alloy angle strips riveted all over it, I didn't like the look of it at all, soooo
it all came to bits, ? why a rectangualr hole had been cut in the seat transome is beyond me
this was just beyond description, I knew about it so it was no surprise, it took quite a bit of work to get it removed
and the edge that joined with the rear of the seatbox all needed to be remade, so many things to remember about the
how and why/where they are fitted as near as possible to original
all the alloy sheeting was folded @ Gordon's place of employment using the big panbrake folder, cost Zero$$'s thankfully
trying to remember all the rivet details was a nightmare, but eventually it started to go back together, it wasn't a quick job
the edge that joined with the seatbox was next and had to be marked out/fabricated before I could go any further with the transome
a lot of work, with a lot of fit unfit/check/recheck before it could be riveted into place using sealed pop rivets
and solid countersunk types, here is a selection of it going back together
rivet nails sometime break off causing some grief, out with the dremel, excellent small tool
held in place using small screws n bolts until the last of the rivets insitu
many a trial fit/unfit +++++
anyway it all went together and I was happy with the job,
the seat box got it's fair share of attention as well
it came from the same place up in the New England area, it had loose/broken/missing rivets as well as
the dreaded electrolysis on the side sloping panel RHS, here is the wreck it came off
the electrolysis was cleaned up , the whole seatbox was grit blasted and etch primed n painted Deep Bronze Green
I know the vehicles were not painted on the undersides and I copped a bit of flak from some people on the Ozzie site
about it, but my reasoning is to keep it free of that type of thing happening any time soon, it will see me out
to each his own, I never comment on anyone's work, as I feel they are doing the best they can, that's what
I'm doing, just an amateur having a go.
The trips up north cost me some driving time up n back, I sleep in the back of my 110 rear seat removed
and a homemade frame bolted in on the original mounts for the seats swag etc, very comfortable
just off the road way out in the bush all alone
cup of tea in the morning n get going to the destination
Work progresses on a daily basis by always doing something to it, but in between times other jobs crop up
that have to be dealt with, fit recon engine to my LRPV, remove diesel and refit a petrol engine
meanwhile the current project is on the backfoot
I have found by pushing myself I get through
quite a bit of work, and it all helps when the final push comes along, painting items is a different thing though
as the weather controls that as I paint outside in the backyard, the front guards/wings had some bog and
other undesirable things (screws) holding them together, all of this was rectified and they were painted topside
and undersides
doorskins painted on the inside and inside the house LOL much to her dislike LOL
the bonnet I had with the L/R was incorrect it was off a 107/9 it was out of kilter all over, so it was another trip
up to the New England to get the correct type and I got if off this wreck, so I knew it was right
whilst I was at the location, I asked if he know of anyone who had a rear PTO etc., for sale, he did
so I grabbed that while there to save another 8 hours (up n back) trip again after all I had been there x 4
the bonnet got the tretment as it had loose rivets all over it, so it was dismantled cleaned etc etc
etch primed all over and painted in the same manner, here it is on a trial fit
and during it's restoration
door skins were fitted
painted
the tailgate was also treated to some work
the electrical wiring was connected, no smoke escaped LOL, a new transistorised SU fuel pump was
purchased from the supplier in the UK, Exmoor trim was ordered and sent via airmail $$$$$'s
but I wanted it in a hurry, I had a chap in Victoria make the tilt to my spec's with no plastic windows
the rear end Pork pie lights not fitted at this stage
(note the rhs wing is back off) I was tracing an issue with turn signals
fuel tank was treated to a coating of 'Red Kote' to protect it from the crap fuel we get these days
all galv items were refitted/riveted, the vehicle was ready for MOT (club registration)
I took it to Modern mtrs in Dungog to have it tuned
they kept it for almost 7 weeks in the showroom LOL, I didn't think I was getting it back
I let my mate Gordon drive it for the first 30 miles, he has a heavy foot, I kept asking him to slow it up
note the fuel gauge not working?? I still have to check that, here is it's shadow at speed
I drove it the last 23 miles home at a much slower pace arriving home after dark.
Work has continued with the PTO as time permits, here it is in bits in the parts washer tub
and the angle drive pulley re-assembled
well that has been a short version of the job, and as I said the last one of my rebuilds, so I guess I should now get back to
work on my 4-6-0 8 live steam locomotive, cheers Dennis
ps I will add images if anyone requests something in particular, but I would imagine that most know what is n what isn't, cheers,,.
and I hope it all made sense.
pps I always told Gordon that the first time it would run/move he would be invited over, here he is moving it back n forth in Low range
in my backyard
and me driving it in our street for the very first time
Exmoor trim were using this clip for a while I don't know whether they still are though,,.