This Just In...

I had a fantastic surprise waiting for me at the post office this morning.

On June 15,2009 I placed an order for a used copy of the book 'First Overland: London-Singapore by Land Rover' from Amazon books. Today it arrived.

The first surprise was that the book came from a shop in the UK and got here that fast - I thought the seller was here in the USA!

The book I purchased was label as 'fair to good' - not bad for paying only $5 for it.  The book turned out to be in mint condition!!

While going through the book I found two tickets to the 50th anniversary gala of the expedition at the Royal Geographic Society hosted by Sir David Attenborough. I figure these were the tickets used by the person who bought the book. On the back of ticket it states that copies would be available for sale at the end.

Here is the big surprise!!!  The book has been signed by all the surviving expedition members that were at the event!!!!

Hers's the book and tickets.











And here is the money shot - the signatures!

From top to bottom: Tim Slessor, Patrick Murphy, Nigel Newbery, BB (Antony Barrington Brown) & Adrian Cowell.






















And these are the guys at the time of the expedition (pic courtesy of Rukapedia).

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Power Wash 1

Yesterday I finally got the chance to power wash Grover.

The amount of crud that came off didn't surprise me as much as the thickness of the crud. On the top of the rear differential the crud was 1/4 thick!

There was also a layer of some sort of waxy substance in various places. I'm assuming this was a form of Waxoyl. There was also a layer of plastic type stuff, about the thickness of a thick trash bag. This was covering most of the chassis. Some of this came off with the power washer but the rest will need scraping. I'm going back today to scrape as much of this stuff off and then power wash Grover again. I have a funny feeling that it is going to take about three washes to get all the crud off.

Well, lets get to the pics.

The first couple of pics are of the front tyres.

This is the front, passenger side, tyre.

For some reason it appears to be wearing funny. I'm not sure if it is suppose to wear like that or if it's a sign of needing aligned. The wear is just on the inside 2/3s of the tyres and is worse on the passenger side.

Here you can see both tyres and the angle of the wear on both.







These last few pics are just some shots taken before the power washing.











































When SWMBO saw Grover last night she said he didn't even look like a vehicle. I told her he reminded me of the lunar buggy.

This last item is a small video showing the chassis and engine after the power wash. You can see that there is no rust rot anywhere - just surface rust that should come off with a rotary brush.

If you look close enough you will be able to see some of the black plastic type stuff but the wax didn't show up too well. Also, if you look quick, towards the end, you will see all the crud that has settled in the bottom of the settlement bowl. It looks to be rust flakes.



Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Bare Bones

Okay - other than the engine; transmission; exhaust system and axles the chassis is bare and Grover looks like a boned fish.

A lot has been done to get to this point and it has been a very interesting experience. To make this post a little easier to read I'm dividing it into sections and therefore the info, and photos, may not be in chronological order.

Anyway, here it goes.

Steering Column and Bulkhead

I thought that the removal of the steering wheel would be easy, not the column mind you, but the wheel it's self. I was wrong. There is this nut and bolt that goes through the steering column that holds the steering wheel in place. I removed it but the wheel would not come off!! So I pried the horn button/dust cover off just to make sure there wasn't a nut and lock washer holding it down. There wasn't.

From what I could tell the steering wheel was just stuck to the column. So, I doused the inner part with PB Blaster and left it over night.

The next day it still would not budge. So, I grabbed a rubber mallet and a block of wood and gently whacked it. It finally came off. Once off I was able to see what was keeping it so tightly attached. There is a hard rubber sleeve/shield, as well as a copper version of it, between the column and a dust cover.

Anyway, here are the pics.

Here is the dust cover attached to the bottom of the steering wheel.








Inside the dust cover.











You can clearly see the horn connections.















If you look close you will see the copper sleeve/shield and the hard rubber sleeve/shield under it.

I also ran across a couple items while removing the column that made me think "huh?".

The first item is on the brace that holds the steering column in place on the cabin side of the bulkhead.

Anyway, you can see an extra part that looks like a metal spacer but it's only on the one side. I have no idea what the part is for and if I need to get one for the other side or get rid of this one.

The next item is really two; they are these funky washers attached to the cover for the steering column seal.

Here is the cover, seal and the washers.










This is a better picture of the washers.

#1 - what are they there for; &

#2 - why are the bolt holes offset?

If anyone knows the answer to these mystries please let me know.

And here is the bulkhead - waiting to be stripped and painted.







The Engine and Transmission

Okay, there are many pics of the engine and tranny, so let me just throw them out there.

Passenger side.












Driver side.

When it's all done that generator will be replaced with an alternator.





Okay, I've thrown this picture in just because I think it's neat.

I'm not sure what the wire is for (the one tying the bolts together) but I seem to remember someone telling me - I just don't remember. So, I wonder if the wire is original and the engine has never been taken apart, or, if it has and the wire was replaced.

Engine and tranny.












Another view of the tranny.

Look real close and you can see the number - 25148664B.




This next picture is also one of those 'fun' ones.

Can you tell what that is in that engine depression? It's a muddober's nest.






I found a few more in the engine's nooks-n-crannies.

Chassis and Suspension

After wiping some of the crud off the chassis you can clearly see either the original paint or part of the protective coating added by a previous owner.

Even more than the chassis the suspension system really bothers me. It is old and getting worse and needs to be replaced. This is probably going to be the biggest expense.

This is a picture of the front passenger side leaf spring.

It is starting to separate and bulge out. The other three are not this bad, but are getting there.

Here is one of the bolts from the same leaf spring. Luckily it is the worse one of them all.






Brakes and Miscellaneous

At some point before I bought Grover the brake lines were replaced. As you know, I had trouble removing one of the lines from the 4-way brake line junction fitting.

Eventually they all came off without a hitch.

To help insure that the lines would not get messed up before reinstalling them I hung them on an old tool storage wall.


The tags you see attached are notes as to what line it is and where it goes.

Towards the center of the picture you can also see what's left of the rear brake line.

On the shelf below the lines you can see the air cleaner system as well as the clutch and brake assemblies and the the linkage parts for the carburetor.

Here you can see the rear 3-way junction fitting.

At some point someone did some work on it and rounded the nut off. It should be fun trying to get the old line off.

For grins-n-giggles check out this next picture.







Here's what's left of the electrical rat's nest that was in the dash and engine compartment. There's more of it still attached to the engine.

I've had several people ask me what I was doing with all the nuts, bolts, washers and other fiddly parts I've taken off Grover. Here's the answer:

I have bagged and tagged all of it!

Each bag contains the bit parts of specific areas such as 'Dash'; 'Passenger Side Floorboard'; 'Jump Seats'; etc.

On the shelf below these, and on the other side of the cabinet, are the various parts for the dash vents.

Speaking of parts...

I have no idea what these parts are for. I found them while cleaning up the other day.

They are made out of aluminum and look homemade. I believe they are shims for something. Any thoughts on what they might be for?

Bare Bones

As the title says - here are Grover's 'Bare Bones'.

Front...













...rear.













Well, that's about it for today. Hopefully I'll get to work on Grover a little bit tomorrow.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

The Nitty Gritty...

So, now it's time to get down to the 'nitty gritty' of removing items from the engine and bulkhead so that the bulkhead can be removed.

As of now this has been the dirtiest part of the job and most tedious. Hopefully I'll be able to remove the bulkhead by Thursday.

For now - here are some pics for you.

First up is the fuel sender unit. The float arm is stuck, but with generous applications of 3-n-1 oil it's beginning to move.

Here's the top.












This is the back side of the sender.

The large pin, with the wire sticking in it, is the pivot arm/point and is the part that's stuck.

Once opened, I was surprised at how clean and intact the innards were. Now if only the pivot arm will start working again.

I have also managed to remove a few parts of the front end such as the breakfast and the radiator.

And here's the engine without a few of it's parts.









Passenger side...












Driver's side...

The plastic bag is there to keep junk from falling into the carb.





While removing the various stuff on the passenger side I ran into a slight problem.

There is a 4-way brake line junction fitting attached to the chassis. The three male ends that screw into it that lead to the brakes came off easily. The one that enters into the top (the line from the reservoir) was another story.

No matter how many times I turned the thing it just wouldn't come out even though it is unscrewed. At first I thought I might have sheared the threads or something, but it screws back in tightly.

Here's the nasty little bugger.

The only thing I could think of that would prevent it from coming out is if the flared end became too flared to come out.

So, I contacted the Rover gurus on the Land Rover Owners Mailing List to see what they thought. They said the same thing.

Speaking of the Land Rover Owners Mailing List, they also helped me with the fuel sender unit and how to attempt to get it working. Thank you all!!

Well, that's about it for now; hopefully I'll get to work on Grover today.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Going Topless

Hello again everyone!

More progress has been made in the past few days. All the body parts are off the chassis with the exception of the main bulkhead. The engine and the the tranny are also still attached. Right now I'm not sure if I'll remove these or not, same goes with the axles. My father is getting a bit worried that Grover will never get put back together again!

Anyway, the following pictures have been taken over the course of the past few days. Right now I'm only working on Grover for a couple of hours, or so, per day. When I come across something that is really frustrating I walk away for the day and think about it.

So, without any further delay, here are the pics.

For the first time since owning Grover here he is with the top off. I think it will stay off for a while.





SWMBO's uncle thinks he looks great without a top!















Just another view without his top.

And now he has no tub.

I was surprised at just how few bolts hold this thing on the chassis. I was also surprised at how light it was.

So here the main body parts sit.

Hopefully it won't be too long before the tub is back on and the top on a winch.

Okay, the next few pictures are just general ones of Grover's carcass. If you have questions, please ask and I'll do what I can to answer.
























































On closer look you can still see some black paint on the chassis.

You can see a good swath og the paint in the center of the pic.








Here is a closer look at the paint.

I haven't gotten a picture of it yet, but there is also a black substance, that looks like an undercoating, that's peeling off the underside of the wings and tub.

And here is the bulkhead sans windscreen.

Now, size wise, I was surprised that the windscreen weighed as much as it does compared to the tub.

The next few pictures are going to be of the fuel tank. As you can see it is still attached, but I plan to remove it Monday.

So here it is..the gas tank.

It is completely covered in dirt, mud, and grime. I'm also beginning to figure out if it might have a slight leak based on the 'oily' look of some of the dirt. Not sure how to find out if it's leaking, but somehow I will.

I took this picture so everyone could see what the return tube and the fuel sender looks like.

I need to figure out how the sender works. I have a feeling it pivots and the pivot point is frozen.

This last picture was taken for 'grins-n-giggles'. I didn't expect anything to come of it, but if you look, there is a piece of what looks to be brass chain in there!

Guess the tank will have to be cleaned out as well. I wonder what else is in there.

Well, that's enough for now. I'll try and remember to get more pictures tomorrow.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry