Ex. Army Series 3 GS 109 6 cyl 2.6ltr - Never Say Die

[Dordie]

Hi,

My first post.

I woke up on Monday morning to my first day of holidays for the 2020 Christmas / NY period.

What better way to start the day than to check Gumtree for a Series Land Rover.

Up pops an ex Australian Army Series 3 GS 109. Hmmm, looks original, reasonably unaltered and mostly complete.

Two phone calls later, offer accepted and I'm on a 750km road trip from Sydney to Wellington in the central west of NSW.

Left home at 11.30am and arrived back 12 hours later with 'Regie,' a 1978 Series 3 in mostly original condition. It was a great drive even if it did rain the whole time. Spiffy cut lunch, dinner and snacks prepared at extreme short notice by my wife was extremely well received. My favourite tunes via Spotify made the trip fantastic, not to mention the lack of traffic.

Here's his story so far. Regie was bought (probably from a disposal auction around 1990) by a Sydney based farmer who used to fly his plane from Sydney to his large farming property near Wellington, NSW. Regie was used to drive from the airstrip to the farm house.

At some stage, Regie was acquired by another farmer in Wellington and may have even been put to work (most likely towing something). In time, he was parked in a paddock where he sat for around 15-20 years. Fortunately for Regie, Wellington is hot and dry, so Regie didn't rust (ok, a tiny tiny tiny tiny little bit). He did however lose his canvas top, 2 hoops, and pintle hook.

And there he may have sat for ever, but the Land Rover gods smiled on Regie. Regie was spotted in the paddock by a truck driver delivering some hay. The farmer was persuaded to sell Regie to the truck driver. Regie then made his way to his new home at the driver's farm near Wellington.

Unfortunately, Regie sat for another year because he had a crook water pump and his new owner had a stack of more important jobs to finish. And then his new owner decided to move interstate, so Regie had to go. An advert on Gumtree and hey presto, Regie is in the Hawkesbury on his way to being recommissioned.

And that process has started. More to follow as I move through the partial-restoration process so Regie can again grace our roads.

Thanks for reading and a very happy Christmas and merry New Year!

[Dordie]

The adventure continues..

Home from Wellington and time to do a quick assessment of Regie.

A little farm battle damage to the odd panel, but nothing I can't deal with.

All in all, very happy with the state of Regie's preservation in a dry climate.

Dumb irons, bulkhead and rear cross member look solid.

Original Olympic bar treads still holding air - but way past their prime.

Regie safe and sound in his new home, waiting for a more complete assessment of parts needed.

Next installment - pulling the rear Jerry can holders / brackets to see what lurks behind...

[speleomike]

Wow. Very good condition. :-)

[Dordie]

So, I spent a couple of very enjoyable afternoons dismantling Regie's swivels, front drum brakes / hubs.

Unbelievably I undid the counter sunk screws with a screw driver. I had the impact driver and drill on standby...

Everything came apart very very easily. Lot's of muck though.

Swivels are mint as are all of the expensive bits and bops. Axels and uni joints are perfect.

Will replace seals and nylock nuts. Top swivel pin and bush needs to be replaced on one side, along with the bottom bearing and race from the same side - passenger that is.

Brake shoes had a ton of meat on them, shame one side (drivers side) has seen oil. Will renew those as well.

I never get tired of seeing 'Gt Britain' and 'Made in England' on Timken bearings - especially when they're pristine and can go back into service.

All of the parts given a prelim clean and packed / stored out of the way.

Swivel seals are original army as they still have green paint on them. They will be replaced, but it does indicate that the hubs have never been off. Perhaps.

I think Regie fell into a vat of green paint. It's on everything - although the green paint is coming off as I clean and exposing black paint in great condition.

Making up list for parts order. Not too over the top yet....

Onto the next job

[Phil B]

Wow!!
You have definitely found an exceptional vehicle
Please keep up the reports and photos, they are great

[russellrovers]

Wow!!
You have definitely found an exceptional vehicle
Please keep up the reports and photos, they are greathi if you need parts scrapping the same model jim

[Dordie]

My son who is helping with the project pulled the rear drums to take a gander at the brakes.

Was pleasantly surprised at the great condition of everything inside. It all came apart surprisingly easy.

Shoes are dry, but starting to get a little thin. Will replace them.

Girling slave cylinders are in great nick, but I snapped off one of the bleed nipples. Grrr. May replace the cylinders as well, but tempted to fix and rebuild....

Brake drums are mint and after removing the dried dirt, spiders webs and wasps nests, cleaned up nicely.

Scored a spare rim as I only had the 4 wheels / tyres that Reggie was shod in. The spare rim is in great condition, with the same part number and 'ROK Australia' stamp. Looks identical to my other 4 so will blend in nicely once painted.

I wire brushed the surface rust off the rim and gave it a spray of oil and packed away for another day. Not quite ready to strip all of the wheels and repaint.

Still deciding what tyres I'm going to run. Had great experiences traversing Australia on Dunlop Road Grippers in my Hilux back in the day, so they're at the top of my list.

Onwards and upwards.

[Dordie]

Well, after lying in bed wondering if the dirt trapped behind the jerry can brackets was slowly eating my rear cross member, my curiosity got the better of me and I had to take a look.

[Dordie]

Rust was minimal, with light pitting only behind the driver's side jerry can. The photo makes the pitting looks worse than reality - fortunately.

A quick wire wheel and some rust converter to keep the steel stable until I prepare the chassis for painting.

Time to remove the towbar fitted by a PO. Fortunately this is the only modification done to Regie.

The tow bar was bolted on and welded to the original pintle bracket.

Some delicate work with the 2mm cutting disk, a big hit with a sledgie and Mad Max's towbar joins my spare steel pile.

The mounting plate was undamaged and with a little work to remove the weld, will be refitted to Regie.

[Dordie]

So, moving along the rear cross member, I removed the passenger side jerry can holder and the Nato trailer plug.

This side was in even better condition than the driver's side. A quick wire brush, more rust converter and the rear cross member is A-OK.

Created a major dust storm when I blew out all of the dust and dirt from every nook and cranny I could reach in the rear cross member.

A little damage to the underside of mid mounting bracket for the tub and the driver's side cross member will need to be pulled back 5mm. I'll address this damage when I remove the tub.

Cleaned up the backing plates and coated with rust converter, ready for final clean up, preparation and painting.

The NATO plug is a little damaged. Will probably source another in better condition.

Straitened the rear mud flap brackets whilst I was there which ad been bent back under the cross member.

[Dordie]

Removed the driver's and passenger floor panels to see what was underneath.

Usual accumulation of dirt found.

A couple of the screws wouldn't budge and I ruined the slot in the head of the screw. So, I carefully cut them a little deeper with a 1mm cutting blade on the angle grinder. Worked a treat and they came straight out as now I could get a good deep bite with the screw driver.

A PO had replaced a few screws with small roofing screws. Fortunately they used the original holes. The impact driver quickly removed them.

Chassis is super clean, with no rust evident. Bottom of foot wells are virtually rust free.

As expected, dirt and dust was coming out of everywhere.

I gave the panels that fit over the bell housing / gear box a wash and straightened out some minor dents to the flaps. Some one had repaired a couple of cracks in the past. I'd say Army as they had green paint over them.

Placed multiple orders for brake, seal and engine parts as well. The list of new parts required keeps growing, but at this stage mostly small stuff like nylock nuts etc. Meanwhile, I'm getting on with what I can.

This is the first time that I've worked on a Land Rover and I'm really enjoying the experience. I have a bad feeling this may not be my last LR recommission / resto...

[Dordie]

I'm a bit behind in my posts. So far I've been doing work on Regie for a few hours every day.

Decided to remove the seat box. The more I work on Regie, the more confidence I'm gaining.

Pretty straight forward removal, but a bit fiddly with the seat belt mounts near the sill.

Was determined to have it out before I had lunch. I eventually ate at 2pm.

Also, I managed to track down some parts that Regie was missing or to replace parts that are damaged beyond repair.

I now have the middle bow for the soft top, bow supports, pintle hook, water pump gasket and thermostat housing, bakelite ash tray (omitted on Army LR's by Army?), the rear revering lights, another spare wheel, tailgate hinges (mine are bent) and a tyre clamp (wrong size though) and hold down bolt.

There was also a Lee Enfield No. 1 mk 3 rifle case amongst the booty.

[Dordie]

Regie had taken a hit on the drivers side, bending the brush bar back into the guard and also bending the bumper bar.

It was starting to annoy me so I decided to have a go at straightening it.

Sorry about the photos being scew-iffy. I think because I took them on my phone they're in portrait and although they show up as the correct orientation on my laptop - when I upload them, they swing around.

[Dordie]

So, started bashing with an assortment of hammers

and little by little it started to come good.

Found evidence of a past repair hidden under the paint.

Bolted the bar back on the chassis backwards to hold it whilst I gave it a few hits to take out the twist. Worked a treat.

Sorry the images are not oriented properly. Will have a look at fixing this.

Didn't start on straightening the brush bar as it was dinner time.

[Dordie]

The PO started to clean the gearbox, so after I removed the seat box, I thought i'd give it a basic clean in anticipation of a deeper clean later.

I started off with diesel, sprayed using a trigger spray, let it soak, then paddle pop sticks to gently scrape off the muck. The PO had used a screw driver which had scratched the paint, but not damaged the cases fortunately.

After a few coats of diesel, I moved onto cheap spray can degreaser and brushes. Then, simple green to wash it all down. A small brass brush from supercheap was great at removing the real stubborn grime.

Not finished yet, but much better to work around / on.

It was nice to uncover the serial numbers, casting stamps and various marks and get a closer look at the state of things. Externally at least, everything looks good.

[Dordie]

Decided to remove the fuel tank to see if there were any gremlins lurking between the tank and chassis.

Tank came out fairly easily, but the bolts / nuts that fix the rear of the tank were a bit fiddly as access was tight. I tried every iteration of spanner before I got a 13mm metric to fit.

I had the brain wave of turning the phone camera flash on and pointing the lens down the sender unit hole. Worked a treat and I could enlarge the photos to get a good look at what's inside. No nasties found, but a good clean inside and outside is next on the agenda.

Glad there was no stinky old fuel inside.

The fine mesh filter from the bottom of the feed tube is missing the bottom section. Didn't find a fuel cap chain either.

The tank is in brilliant condition, with no dings, even to the underside.

Cleaned the sponge that acts as a gasket between the fuel filler tube and tub. Took about 10 gentle rinses of water to release the dirt. At the beginning it was hard and I was convinced the foam would fall crumble, but it's good to go back in when I reassemble everything.

Chassis behind the tank is immaculate, as are the two outriggers and brackets that sandwich the tank. Will treat Regie to new fuel lines as the plastic ones are very hard. Surprised they're thin walled plastic and not rubber.

[Dordie]

After straightening Regie's bent bumper bar I thought I'd give the mangled brush bar a go. It was bowed like a banana and had a nice twist on it to top it off.

I initially thought I might need to heat it, but as I don't have a Oxy set, that was out of the question. So, i resorted to using what I had lying around.

Started with a 20t jack and the bar clamped to my tractor fork tines. That worked really well in fixing the centre section. Whilst the rest of the bar moved back and upwards, the centre horizontal section didn't move as they're braced with diagonals to the chassis.

I then disassembled my press and maneuvered it over the worst bent bits on the bar. That was a bid fiddly as I was working alone. I got it done, although it was a tad slow to set up, reposition etc.

After I'd taken out the worst of the bends with hydraulics, I resorted to the 10LB sledge hammer and steel plates. That worked really well to finesse (if that's possible with a sledge hammer) out the bows and straighten all of the various flat bars.

All in all, I'm wrapped with the results.

167361167362167363

[gromit]

Will treat Regie to new fuel lines as the plastic ones are very hard. Surprised they're thin walled plastic and not rubber.

I have several vehicles with the thin nylon (?) fuel lines. It doesn't seem to degrade and must have been heated to fit originally so no hose clamps needed. Nylon tube is fairly stiff when new and has been used on vehicles since the late 50's.

No need to replace it if it's all intact.


Colin

[Dordie]

Thanks for that info Colin. [bigsmile1]. You're right, it is in great condition so I'll flush it and leave it.

[Dordie]

My OCD got the better of me so I straightened the coils on the oil cooler.

Sorry I don't have any before photos, but the damage really marred the look of Regie.

I guess when the grill and radiator are refitted, it won't be noticeable, but what the heck, might as well fix it.

Half and hour with a little hook/pick to carefully bend the coils straight as they'd been bent over.

I'm well pleased with the result.

[Dordie]

I removed the rear tail light lenses (to protect what's left), retro spotlight mounted to the rear of the tub (tested and still works) and the hood bows and frame in anticipation of removing the tub.

A few of the bolts that secure the tub to the chassis put up a bit of resistance but eventually they succumbed.

Removal of the tub is required so I can fix one of the chassis tabs, straighten the right side of the rear cross member which has been pushed forward by 5mm and paint the chassis. I'm sure there will be other things too.

Just waiting on my next trip to town so I can grab some pallets to rest the tub on. I'll use my tractor to lift the tub.

[Dordie]

Spare parts are starting to trickle in so I'm starting to turn my attention to the engine bay. Still need a few parts - namely water pump, which I'll publish a separate post on. I have parts coming from the UK, so not sure when they'll turn up.

Cleaned out the wasps nests that had moved in around the peddle boxes. Regie had more spider webs than Hogwarts. No rust found and now I can throw some WD40 around the threads of the bolts that hold the peddle boxes to the firewall.

The amount of dirt coming out of Regie is amazing. I didn't know that Landies had so many nooks and crannies.

Drained the oil in the gearbox, transfer case, diffs and engine to have a squiz.

The oils were dark, but no nasties found. The engine had 7.4 litres and it was as black as I've ever seen (including diesels). The transfer case had 3 litres and the gearbox around a litre. I'm guessing that some oil moved from the gear box past the seal to the transfer case. I have a new seal, but will wait before I replace it.

Will drop the engine sump to have a look-see.

Will use new gaskets and button the boxes back up, refill and see how they are when I eventually get Regie running.

Opened the covers over the transfer case to inspect. Nice and clean inside, with no wear or damage evident to the gears I could see.

Replaced the oil filter and filled the housing with new oil as I was keen to see the old filter and what lay at the bottom of the housing (a little sludge only).

Oh and removed the bonnet (my first one) and the wiper blades (harder than I first thought).

So far I'm pretty pleased with my progress and the general state of Regie. I've given myself 2 years to get him back on the road.

[Dordie]

So, I got a visit by two couriers today;

1. Regie's paint from Protec arrived - Camo Black and Camo Green. 4 Ltrs of each at $75 a can. Great service from Protec and free shipping too! One can had to come from Newcastle.
2. A carby rebuild kit from RockAuto in the USA. Kit was around $50 delivered. The kit seems to contain more parts than other kits I've seen, from other suppliers.

I'd better buy a spray gun and some sand paper I guess.

[Dordie]

I thought I'd do some work on the engine side of things.

So, I pulled the spark plugs. Hmmm, very black.

NGK's in otherwise good condition and with no replacements on hand, I gave them a gentle clean and checked the gaps. A little too open, so a slight tweak to factory specs and doneski.

Might be a good time to see if I have any compression.

Cylinder 1 - 120 PSI. Feeling good. Cylinder 2 - 120 PSI. Warm fuzzy felling is growing. Cylinder 3 - 90 PSI. Hmmmm. Cylinder 4, 5 and 6 - 120 PSI.

Recheck cylinder 3 - 110. Better. Phew.

Time to check for spark. Clean and gap points. Fix a PO's very dodgy wiring connection. Clean inside of dissy cap and a very light sand to the rotor arm.

Stand on frame above gear box peering over the windscreen at the points to watch the sparks fly.

Nothing. Grrrr.

I was about to get my multimeter out when I remembered that the PO had opened up the fuse box. I wonder...

Pulled the fuses. Ahhh, so this is where the rust is.

Cleaned the fuses on my bench grinder wire wheel. Cleaned a few of the connections inside the fuse box, including the fuse holder clips with my Dremel.

Replaced fuses. Assumed position standing above gearbox and turned the ignition. Spark time. Yee haa.

Refitted cap, leads to check spark at plug. No spark. Whoops forgot the rotor. Installed and restarted. Spark plug sparking like a champ.

Hmmm, big oil pool under the oil filter I had changed earlier. Well, at least we have oil pressure.

Tried for a while to reinstall the filter housing correctly from under the vehicle as previously the seal at the top of the housing had not seated properly.

Gave up and removed the little inspection cover inside the front passenger wheel well. Job done in a few minutes. I now for next time.

It did strike me as quirky that a vehicle where you can remove the bonnet in moments has a oil filter that requires you to jack up the car, remove the wheel, undo 3 bolts (that don't have captive nuts) and reach through to feel the oil filter canister.

Bonus from cleaning the fuses - my wipers work as do one head light and driving lights. I really like the head light switch.

[Dordie]

So, on a high from getting the spark sorted so quickly and easily, I moved on to the fuel side of things.

I decided to start at the fuel lift pump, which is located above the fuel tank, on the chassis. When I turned on the ignition the pump remained deathly silent. Hmm.

Removed the pump and opened her up. Rubber seal scungie, but serviceable. Filter cleanish and serviceable. I have another on the way from the UK. Remove all of the accumulated muck and light rusting to the internal chamber of the pump with my dremel. Throw a bit of diesel around the inside of the pump and wash out the nasties. Clean the filter for temporary re-use.

Wire wheeled the earth strap and mounting bolts. Tested the pump on my car battery - and whirrrr. Sweet as.

Reassemble the unit and reinstall on the chassis. Blow out the fuel line and refit to the side of the pump.

Move onto the fuel filter mounted on the engine. Not the easiest to get too, but at least I won't have to remove a panel like another certain filter.

Removed the bowl and she's full of rust. Out with the old filter and in with the Dremel. Rusty bits ground out. Bottom of bowl is pitted. Looks dodgy, but might be ok for a test run. Clean with diesel and reassemble with a new filter. Reinstall after I'd blown out the hose between the pump and the filter with compressed air.

Time to check the carby. Dry as a bone. Top her up with 12ml of engine oil. Why 12ml? Well that was a full syringe (my only one) and it raised the oil level to 6mm below the top as per specs. I was wondering what lay inside the carby after seeing the pump and filter, and a rebuild is on the cards - but not today.

Reconnect the electrical feed to the pump and turn on the ignition and I can hear it cycling. Nice.

Dip the fuel line in a can of fuel and turn on the ignition. Lots of pumping noises but no fuel coming out of the fuel filter housing. Prime the pump and she's away, pumping like it's life depended on it.

Getting close now. Cleaned up the shed and time for a coke zero.

[Dordie]

After cleaning the fuel system, getting the ignition system sorted, new oil and a couple of filters + turning the engine over a fair few times to circulate some oil, I thought I'd see if Regie's engine would fire up.

I fired a blast of engine starter down the throat of Regie, pulled the choke and he fired and ran for a second. Gave it another few goes to ensure all was good and I wasn't imagining it. Same result. Oh yeah!

Reconnected the fuel line, set up a jury rigged fuel can and turned the ignition.

Regie started on the second try. I couldn't believe it.

Here's a Vimeo link to the video of his very first run - WhatsApp Video 2021-01-07 at 24804 PM on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/498296130)

In the video you'll hear the revs drop off as that's when I close the choke. He even idled. Bless him.

Unbelievable that he's running after almost 20 years of sitting in the open, with likely, not even a canvas top. I was happier than a pig in poop.

Fuel was gushing out of a rust hole in the fuel filter bowl, so I quickly shut Regie down.

Great to know he runs, so will work on getting the cooling system reinstalled and valves adjusted + a full tune.

Let the good times roll.

[Dordie]

I had to drop my ute in for a service, then afterwards I left Regie's wheels at my favorite tyre shop in to be stripped, so I can clean up the rims etc.

Then I swung past the tip to drop in some used oil for recycling. Whilst at the tip I visited their freebie shed and found an ice cream container of old tools. Score!

After that, I decided to rat around the junk yard located a short hop from the tip and found a few Landie bits and a Range Rover bonnet. Unfortunately they didn't want scrap prices for the parts. The Landie parts are very damaged too.

Whilst out I called into my local bearing shop and ordered axle seals and a swivel bearing set and got a swag of workshop consumables, including a couple of new bulbs for Regie's parking lights.

[Dordie]

Since I've got Regie running, I decided to start sorting out the cooling system.

The PO had removed the water pump and must have struggled a bit. Lots of broken pieces.... I did manage to scavenge a few important parts from this assortment of broken bits. The fan had disappeared too. I suspect it was broken.

Used a brass wire brush on my cordless drill to clean up the block where the water pump bolts too.

Then a little heat to unscrew the broken bolt. Fortunately this was the only broken bolt and with some gentle movement back and forth, it eventually relented and screwed out. Ran a bolt through the threads and all good. Awaiting a tap and die set so will clean properly with the correct tap.

Wire brushed the pulley so I could see the timing marks. Given the initial state, I was wondering if they had rusted away. Cleaned up nicely, including the V slot for the belt. Coated the pulley in rust converter in preparation for paint. The timing marks are nice and clear now.

Removed the washer bottle to check its state and wonder-baa - it's in great condition. Tested the motor and nothing. Drat. Cleaned the terminals, bottle and outside of the motor and retested - whirrrr. Filled with water and retested and was promptly squirted. Put some compressed air through the water pipe that feeds the nozzle on the bonnet and heard a pop. Something came out and flew across the workshop. Not sure what it was, but at least the pipe is not blocked now.

For the first time I started using citrus acid as a rust remover (thanks Youtube). Wow, I'm a fan now.

I topped up the clutch master cylinder with fluid and got pressure, so bled the system and it's working fine. Clutch isn't engaging though, so will pull the gear box to investigate in the not too distant future. Oh, and I got the horn working as well.

[Dordie]

When I bought Regie, his radiator was sitting in the tray.

So, I decided to give it a closer inspection to see what sort of condition it was in.

At a quick glance, it looked pretty good.

So I removed the bottom hose, but had to cut the hose clamp, then unscrewed the steel and plastic shrouds.

The steel one had a dent which was quickly knocked out. I then gave it a soak in a citrus acid bath.

The plastic shroud was washed in soap and water and came up like new.

Returning to the radiator - well one side is mint, but unfortunately the top inside section of fins that had been hidden behind the shrouds is corroded. The fins are like crepe paper. So, I'll be looking for another radiator, or visiting the radiator shop in the near future.

[Dordie]

Last week I dropped the wheels off to be stripped, so today I swung past the tyre shop to pick them up.

Tyre's are cracked in the side wall and the canvas is showing through. I'm keeping the tyres as they're really handy for storing stuff on, like tractor implements, to keep the item out of the dirt. Plus, you can get forks under the implement.

Any how, the wheels had rust around the valve holes, so quickly knocked that off to see the extent of the rust damage.

3 had minimal damage with minor pitting only. The 4th, the back rim, has a lot more rust, but is very salvageable.

A couple of rims have dents or minor flat spots in the bead, but again, I should be able to sort that.

Pleased to see that the 3 green rims are 1977 dated and the black one is from 1971.

Next job is a full cleanup and undertake any repairs of the rims and then throw some paint around.

[Dordie]

After a solid day's work, then a bit of fencing and after changing the battery in the mower, I thought I'd check the valve clearances on Regie.

Regie starts first go and runs smooth, and although the engine will need a refresh, the tappety noise was bugging me.

So never having checked the valves on a Rover 2.6 I thought - 'how hard can it be'? I can get this done quickly....

I pulled the top tappet cover in a couple of minutes. Yep, definitely going to be easy and quick. Then I had a look and - hang on... there's some valves missing here.

Consult manual. Ahhh, I need to pull the side cover. That would be a fun job when the engine was at normal operating temp given it's under the exhaust manifold.

I undo the 4 bolts holding the side cover - 2 from the front, 1 through my favourite little panel in the passenger wheel well and 1 from the cabin.

Not too hard, but still more than I was expecting.

Went to remove the side cover and nope. Not going anywhere until the dipstick tube is removed.

Well, the manual is blissfully blank on how to perform this crucial operation. I tried pulling on it, with no upwards movement. It turns from side to side though.

I couldn't find the removal procedure in the army manual either. Anyhow, it looks like I will need to unscrew a retaining bolt at the base of the dipstick tube. Which may mean that I will need to remove the oil filter housing and maybe, the oil pump.

Then I wondered, wow, not the easiest job, I wonder how often it needs to be performed? Manual says at the minor and major service intervals. Cool.

The dinner bell was ringing so had to leave it there for the night. Will investigate and have another go tomorrow. Quirky, but I'm enjoying learning the ways of some Land Rovers.

[gromit]

Went to remove the side cover and nope. Not going anywhere until the dipstick tube is removed.

.

I found that removing the dipstick tube so that the cover can be removed was easiest, some people talk of removing the manifold to get the cover off !
Then up on top of the motor and hang down to adjust the tappets.

https://live.staticflickr.com/4207/35526971680_2da391575c_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/W8p1Wu)Engine 6 (https://flic.kr/p/W8p1Wu) by Colin Radley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152321353@N07/), on Flickr

Adjusting is such a pain no wonder they used to burn out exhaust valves

[Dordie]

Thanks Gromit, that helps a lot. I don't think they've been adjusted since Army last serviced the vehicle, which is probably why she's a bit tappety. I'll drop the oil filter housing again and see if I can loosen the retaining nut for the dipstick tube.

Anyhow, it can't be too easy - takes all the fun out of it https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/icons/icon11.png

[Dordie]

After work I thought I'd give valve adjustment another stab.

Removed the oil filter housing which made it much easier to access the 3/8 sized nut at the bottom of the dipstick tube. Access is very limited, but I managed to get the nut loose with a smallish shifter.

After removing the dipstick tube, the side tappet or rocker cover could be jiggled out.

The gasket was cactus, and the cover was caked in dirt and baked on oil.

Cleaned the top and side covers, the mounting hardware, dip stick and tube + the oil breather filter. It all came up very well and the parts are very serviceable.

Didn't get time to actually adjust the valves as the smell of sizzling snags on the BBQ was too good to resist.

I've ordered an engine gasket set with a whole swag of other goodies from the UK, so will wait for the new gaskets before I install the valve covers.

Finally I can adjust the valves. I also sacrificed a $5 shifter so I can easily tighten or loosen the dipstick tube retaining nut in the future.

[JDNSW]

Have you adjusted them, and if so how close were they?

[Dordie]

Hi John,

No, not yet. Didn't get a chance today. I did have a quick squiz at the exhaust valves this morning as I wasn't sure where to put the feeler gauge.

Studying the picture in the manual quickly sorted that.

I'm hoping to get the valves adjusted tomorrow, so will see if I can determine how much they're out of adjustment.

[Dordie]

I've been keen to get the valves adjusted, but with the break in the rain, I've been tied up doing outside jobs around the property. This arvo I had a chance to get the job finished.

So, steeling myself for what looked like a mission I got into it.

The inlet valves where all over spec by around 0.10mm (I think I have the measurement correct :)

The dreaded exhaust valves were pretty good. I only had to adjust No. 1 and No. 4 which were about 0.05mm over spec.

The job was made considerably easier with the short 1/2" ring spanner I got from the tip the other day. There's not much room to swing a spanner for No. 5 and 6 inlet valves, and under the exhaust manifold.

I needed to use the side access port in the wheel well and the open area exposed with the removal of the bellhousing cover in side the cab, to access No. 5 and No. 6 exhaust valve tappets.

The factory manual was really helpful and gave more info, especially about the exhaust valves, than the Army's manual.

After adjusting the tappets, I reinstalled the tappet covers without gaskets to protect the engine from dust and debris until the new gasket set arrives.

All in all, adjusting the tappets wasn't as bad as I thought.

[Dordie]

I thought I'd have a look at the brake master cylinder.

The reservoir bottle on the cylinder was kaput - the plastic was brittle and degraded - a result of sun damage.

But, I could substitute another reservoir, albeit, not with a genuine Girling reservoir bottle and I was hoping that I could get away with a rebuild kit with new seals etc.

On removal, there was a little rust between the master cylinder and the booster, but nothing serious.

With some gentle wire brushing with a brass brush I removed the surface rust inside the sleeve of the master cylinder, then popped the piston out with compressed air. An hour in Citrus acid cleaned the cylinder up nicely. On inspection though there is a small corroded area that has damaged the bore. Drat.

So, ordered an after market brake cylinder.

Kept the old parts as many of the internals are still in good condition - even the seals are pretty good.

[grey_ghost]

Mate you are making great progress. Keep it up. [emoji1303]

[Dordie]

Thanks Grey-Ghost. I'm learning a lot and really enjoy tinkering. Slowly getting tooled up too. I'm looking forward to painting and putting stuff back together eventually.

[Dordie]

Cleaned up the air filter.

It was a bit battered and bent, having been dropped some time in it's life.

Had a fair bit of manky oil in the reservoir, mixed with grass and seeds.

Dropped the lid and rusted components in a citric acid bath to let the magic happen.

Cleaned the mesh with lots of engine degreaser to remove the old oil residue and tweezers to pick out the grass.

Knocked out the dents in the lid with my new leather beater bag. I suspect there's too much sand in the bag.

The air cleaner came up a treat and I like the patina'd look.

[mick88]

From memory the recommended service interval for the valve clearances on the 2.6 was every 5000 miles.
Given it was such a marathon job to get at the exhaust tappets they were often overlooked and this resulted in burnt valves.
I believe the issue was more prone to the engine when fitted to a Land Rover, as the Rover sedans had a different shaped exhaust manifold with the exhaust pipe flange centered, not positioned nearer to the front cylinders, so the exhaust fumes/heat got away a lot better.

Cheers, Mick.

[Dordie]

Great info Mick88.

Valve clearance adjustment pretty well makes every service a major one IMO given that panels need to be removed etc etc.

I won't be doing a lot of KM's when Regie is finally road worthy, so I'll probably do one service every year and check them as part of that process.

Now that I've done it once, it should be a lot easier / faster next time....

Still, not as much of a pain as my first car - a 1950 Ford Prefect with side valve motor. From memory, no adjustment was built in, it was basically remove and hone.

[Dordie]

During Regie's time in pasture, he acquired a few dents and scrapes.

So, armed with a little knowledge gained from Youtube, I thought I'd have a go at making the dents a little less dented.

A couple of the dents penetrated the side of the tub and were fairly deep. I managed to knock these out, finding the aluminium rod really useful to punch small areas in the dent; the hardwood timber great as a dolly and straight edge, and the big hammer - especially the ball end to give lots of heft to bash the metal into shape, particularly in the curved area of the tub. Some of the sheet aluminium stubbornly refused to return to their proper profile until they received some quite heavy blows.

All of the dents are around 1mm deep now, so really happy with that. For the dents that didn;t penetrate the side, I won't even bother filling and painting. I like the look of having a few scars.

With the dents that penetrated the side of the tub, I'm thinking I might rivet / sikaflex a patch over them - so it looks like a patch, rather than aluminium weld (of which I have no experience nor the tools to do) the splits (or JB Weld I've been told) and apply a thin skim of filler, paint etc to hide the damage.

[Dordie]

First thing this morning I squirted some diesel around the steering relay.

After removing the air cleaner bracket and arms attached to the relay, I thought I'd see if it had any oil.

I removed a top and bottom bolt on the relay (the little Whitworth ones) and nothing drained out. Yikes.

So after dinner I thought I'd have a go at extracting the relay from the frame.

Initially I put a 20T jack under the relay and jacked away. No movement other than the front end of Regie lifting off the jack stands.

Time to get serious.

I grabbed an 'I' beam off cut from my scrap pile and a 2.5T strap. Wrapped the strap around the front cross member and positioned the jack under the relay.

Started jacking and waited for a bang. I could hear the timber pad between the jack and the shaft of the relay crunching as it was crushed. I was just about to release the jack and replace the timber peice with something harder when I noticed that the relay had moved up 5mm.

Could it be that easy? So, I kept jacking and watched as the relay slowly emerged from it's home.

The housing in the chassis had a little rust, but nothing to worry about. A small wire wheel on the cordless drill and a screw driver to chip off the flaky stuff and it cleaned up nicely.

Dissembled the relay using the bag method as per the manual. The parts look to be in great condition, so I'll track down some new seals, clean up the relay, paint and reinstall later down the track.

After a basic clean of the relay body, I test fitted the relay back in the chassis housing and it goes back in and out very easily now.

[JDNSW]

At least the bits look oily, even if there is not enough to run out. And there does not seem to have been water in there.

[Dordie]

Yes, well spotted John. It spat oil all over the inside of the bag when I knocked the central shaft out. The oil was really gooey, but no sign of water which was extremely grateful for.

The spring is under spec so I've ordered a new one along with 2 new seals. The rest of the parts look great.

[gromit]

Yes, well spotted John. It spat oil all over the inside of the bag when I knocked the central shaft out. The oil was really gooey, but no sign of water which was extremely grateful for.

The spring is under spec so I've ordered a new one along with 2 new seals. The rest of the parts look great.

If the seals are from a LR supplier don't waste your time fitting them.
A bearing shop will be able to get quality seals.

Colin

[Dordie]

Ahhh, ok. Thanks for the heads-up Colin. Will do.

[Dordie]

After dinner I had a great couple of hours with my son working on Regie.

We decided to bite the bullet and remove the driver's side guard.

This allows easy access to clean and paint the front chassis, remove the steering box / shaft and a host of other jobs. I also want to have a go at knocking the guard and headlight panel back into shape.

Lots of dirt fell out when I removed the steering box cover, mostly from a wasps nest. There was the usual spiders webs in abundance.

Most of the bolts and nuts played ball and un-did. The screws with nuts mostly put up a stout fight, but eventually gave in or broke.

We also drained the oil in the steering box. About a teaspoon of water came out and a lot of honey coloured oil, so it will be interesting to see the state of the steering box internals when I strip it down. The water was clean and I'm hoping it entered the top of the steering column when I picked Regie up from Wellington, as it rained all the way back to Sydney. Finger's crossed...

After seeing how easy it was to remove the front guard, I'll be pulling the other guard and the radiator support panel soonish.

[Dordie]

Finally got back into the shed after a couple of days doing other jobs.

Sorted some parts that I picked up yesterday, including a couple of sun visors.

Regie's sun visors were so damaged that even the mounting brackets had rusted through from sitting in the open.

Decided to see if the spares would clean up.

Pulled out the mounting rods to address the rust. A quick clean with the wire brush on the bench grinder cleaned up the metal nicely.

Painted the rods with some gal paint I had left over from our front gate build.

Washed the visors gently with soap and water.

Really pleased how the visors tuned out.

No pictures of the finished visors as I had put a second paint coat on the rods and I need to clean out and paint the sockets in the visors, that the rods slip into.

Spent a couple of hours packing parts away and cleaning the workshop.

[Dordie]

Still waiting for a big shipment of parts and a few tools to arrive. Therefore, I'm doing jobs with what I have to hand.

I thought I'd do my shed time in the morning before the heat got too much.

The front driver's guard had copped a hit when the brush bar bent back into it. Time to see if I could beat the guard back into shape.

Never panel beated before, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

Thank goodness I had a small, rounded dolly and my ebay leather bag. I don't remember where the dolly came from - probably a 50c garage sale find, but it was the perfect profile to get into the front curve of the outer guard.

Anyhow, after a couple of hours of beating, the panel was back in shape. Also, knocked out a dent above the head light.

I wanted to repair the panel, rather than replace. I'd like to keep the original body panel finish for the 'patina' look, but repaint the chassis, running gear, inner guards and a few other parts in camo black.

Also removed what was left of the rusty sun visor brackets.

Pretty rapt with how the guard turned out. Gave it a wash and stored away for when I need to do paint prep on the underside and engine bay side.

[Dordie]

Managed to get some shed time in, so I thought I'd attack the bonnet.

The bonnet had 4 dents, 1 on the leading edge, 1 behind each of the hinges and a big one where the bonnet support / stand bangs into the bonnet.

Also, the spare wheel carrier had a few dents in it, was missing rivets, and the wheel lock was bent over and ready to fall out.

Under the bonnet, the frame had bowed down and separated from the aluminum panel.

Drilled out the remaining rivets to remove the carrier. Managed to unscrew the bolts holding the lock bracket from the rivnuts.

Beat the carrier back into shape. Reused the original bolts and used large washers underneath + spring washers, nuts and locktite to reattach the lock bracket.

One of the bolts for the wheel bracket was rusted in. Tried heat to remove it, but it snapped off. Ended up drilling it out, then cleaning the threads with a tap. Fortunately I had a spare bolt in my recent haul of free parts.

Used the hammer and dolly to knock out the dent caused by the bonnet stand. Heat gun to heat the panel and then quench with a wet cloth (as per YouTube). Worked a treat to shrink the panel and take out the 'coke can' effect.

Used 4x1 hardwood and a hammer to repair the dents behind the hinges and to the leading edge.

Supported the bonnet upside down between two tyres and gingerly stood on the steel frame. No go at straightening it. So resorted to a big hammer and the 4x1. That worked really well in closing the gap between the frame and the aluminum panel.

Washed the bonnet and am ready to rivet the carrier back on when the rivets turn up in the post. A new rubber bonnet pad for the spare wheel should be in the same package. Will also replace the 2 earth straps as they are broken.

[Dordie]

Decided to do a little work on the tailgate.

Regie's tail gate has had a hard life, with several dents, the seal breaking away from the bottom edge and 2 broken hinges.

Knocked out the dents around the tail gate perimeter with hammer and dolly. Easy peasy. Won't worry about the dent to the rib.

Removed the hinges and decided not to repair them. I have 2 spare, but on examination noticed that they had important differences.

Mainly, one of the replacements had a different offset for the hinge pin + additional holes. So, I grabbed another 2 from a future project car and they are a better matched set, with the same pin offset as the damaged original units.

Cleaned these up amongst a few other parts for painting.

Etch primed the parts, but am awaiting a spray gun so won't be putting the finishing coats of camo green on just yet.

Washed the tailgate and will source a tailgate seal kit and a plastic conduit for the rear number plate light.

[Dordie]

Haven't been able to get in the shed for over a week, so was pleased that I could spend a few hours to remove the steering box.

I had been leaving the job until a 'puller' tuned up in the post.

Turns out that once I removed the lock tab retaining the nut for the steering drop arm, the nut was loose and the drop arm just slid off. Very glad I found that!

Removed the steering wheel, which will be replaced with a used spare in better condition. The original wheel suffered in the weather.

After removing various brackets, I was able to jiggle out the steering shaft and box without removing the brake booster.

Disassembled the box and was surprised to find that it wasn't a rusty mess inside, despite the milky oil residue.

A cursory examination of the parts reveals everything to be in pretty spiffy condition. The shaft looks like it's been 'cut and shut', but aren't sure if that's factory or a repair.

Will clean up the parts and check specs properly. I even managed to keep all the balls from the various races separated so I can reinstall them in their original position.

Used a scrap piece of plastic electrical conduit as a bore rod to clean inside the steering tube.

[Dordie]

Didn't get a chance to do any work on Regie, but a box full of booty arrived today.

Probably over ordered on fasteners, but I'd rather have too many nuts, bolts, rivets and washers than spend hours driving around looking for them.

Took a while to arrive from the UK, but the supplier did warn that shipping has been slow due to Covid.

I can start reassembling some components soon.

[Dordie]

I've been hammered with work at my new job, so I haven't had a chance to do any work on Regie.

Yesterday, I did a huge road trip to pick up a LR Series 3 109 that I bought a while ago. Left at 5am and drove to Nyngan, NSW. Got home just before 10pm.

The LR is Holden powered - 186 cu in.

I bought it from a lovely farming couple who used it as a tool truck on their farm. They bought it from Newcastle, so it's not a rust free central NSW vehicle.

There is a lot of rust in the bulkhead, and a little in the rear cross member and front dumb irons. It's very repairable though.

I was going to use it as a spares car, but on closer inspection - I think that would be a shame, as some one has put a lot of love into the car in the recent-ish past.

Before removing from the trailer I gave it a pressure wash which exposed a chassis and running gear in pretty nice condition. Clutch works, but no brakes (handbrake works though).

I replaced a fuse under the steering column and reset the distributor points and she fired up. Won't run for more than 10 seconds though as the fuel pump / carby needs some love.

Gas tank smells like varnish. Someone used a garden hose as a fuel line. Still has anti freeze in the radiator.

I gave the tappet cover a wipe and it's chrome under the muck.

The bull bar was sitting at a weird angle so I removed it.

All in all, not a bad old bus. Will park her up whilst I decide what to do with it. Probably get it running properly, fix the brakes and then drive it around our property.

[Dordie]

So, finally got a chance to jump back into getting Regie back on the road.

A little while ago I got 4 new tyres and a stack of spares for free, so decided to get them fitted. That way I can get Regie back on his wheels and mobile again.

Cleaned up the rims with a wire brush on the angle grinder to remove paint and flaking rust.

Coated the wheels with some high quality metal primer that I saved from the bin. It was even green coloured - bonus.

Then brushed on the camo green enamel. I thinned the enamel a little so it flowed a tad better and left less brush marks. I would have sprayed the rims, but I haven't go any spray gear yet....

Had the tyres fitted with new tubes and they came up a treat.

I have received my last shipment of spares from overseas, so now, time to rebuild, paint and re-assemble.

[drfish]

Great to hear you’re back into Reggie - the wheels look great. I picked up an ex-Military S3 the same vintage and configuration as yours around the same time as you started your build thread, so have been watching with interest. I got mine running in early Jan after fixing a few issues with the carb and distributor. Have now started a full strip down and will remove the engine tomorrow...a bit of work on the chassis required so I’m in the process of getting it onto my rotisserie, and will refresh from the ground up as I reconstruct [emoji106]

Cheers,

Matt

[Dordie]

Hey Matt, that's cool! A friend took me for a spin in his 101 inch Forward Control and his Willy's WW2 Jeep the other day which inspired me to make some time over Easter to do some work on Regie. I'm only doing a re-commission, so I can't wait to see your full resto.

I plan to do some work most nights so I can get her back on the road late this year. Still having trouble finding a good water pump which is a bit frustrating, but where there's a will, there's a way...

[gromit]

I plan to do some work most nights so I can get her back on the road late this year. Still having trouble finding a good water pump which is a bit frustrating, but where there's a will, there's a way...

I have been able to get NOS 6-cyl water pumps but the supply has dried up, I will ask again.

In the meantime Land Rover 2.6 Litre Water Pump 564197 (https://www.johnrichardssurplus.co.uk/land-rover-2-6-litre-water-pump-564197.html)
Interesting that the body is aluminium because all I've seen have been cast iron.

The other option is to see if you can scrounge a secondhand one and fit a modified 4-cyl pump repair kit (you have to machine the impeller). I'm part way through repairing one but need to make some more tooling but life & a few other projects have got in the way.


Colin

[drfish]

I couldn’t believe the state of that water pump! At least you have all the bits, but obviously hard to work with a cracked casting. I had a contact for 6 pot parts who suggested $980 for a new water pump, which I thought was a bit steep despite being NLA, but he is MIA now so can’t pass on the details. It might be worthwhile contacting Peter Haylock at all 4 x Four in Kotara. I have found he sometimes has various rarer SIIa and SIII parts that are not openly listed for sale.

I won’t be doing a full resto...in fact my plans initially were similar to yours, but my vehicle in slightly worse condition (albeit with a functioning water pump). But I hate welding upside down, so I figured I’d invest a few months more time and do a full strip down and rebuild on the chassis and firewall. After just coming through a full resto on my SIIa I’m not keen on committing to all that body work, sanding (I’ve only just grown back my fingerprints) and painting again, so while I’ll refresh everything that needs it she’ll be keeping her patina. I plan on this one seeing a bit of fun (aka beach and off road work) anyway [emoji106]. Rolling bare chassis as of today, up onto the rotisserie this weekend. I do really need to start a build thread...but look forward to seeing your next instalment-

Cheers,

Matt

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210409/5559baec9b19e7693d8c611c8fadfea5.jpg

[Dordie]

I have been able to get NOS 6-cyl water pumps but the supply has dried up, I will ask again.

In the meantime Land Rover 2.6 Litre Water Pump 564197 (https://www.johnrichardssurplus.co.uk/land-rover-2-6-litre-water-pump-564197.html)
Interesting that the body is aluminium because all I've seen have been cast iron.

The other option is to see if you can scrounge a secondhand one and fit a modified 4-cyl pump repair kit (you have to machine the impeller). I'm part way through repairing one but need to make some more tooling but life & a few other projects have got in the way.


Colin

Thanks for the tips Colin. Shame the alloy pump is sold out. I'm sure there's a few NOS pumps covered in dust sitting on a shelf somewhere..... they seem to be Land Rover unobtanium.

Dordie

[Dordie]

I couldn’t believe the state of that water pump! At least you have all the bits, but obviously hard to work with a cracked casting. I had a contact for 6 pot parts who suggested $980 for a new water pump, which I thought was a bit steep despite being NLA, but he is MIA now so can’t pass on the details. It might be worthwhile contacting Peter Haylock at all 4 x Four in Kotara. I have found he sometimes has various rarer SIIa and SIII parts that are not openly listed for sale.

I won’t be doing a full resto...in fact my plans initially were similar to yours, but my vehicle in slightly worse condition (albeit with a functioning water pump). But I hate welding upside down, so I figured I’d invest a few months more time and do a full strip down and rebuild on the chassis and firewall. After just coming through a full resto on my SIIa I’m not keen on committing to all that body work, sanding (I’ve only just grown back my fingerprints) and painting again, so while I’ll refresh everything that needs it she’ll be keeping her patina. I plan on this one seeing a bit of fun (aka beach and off road work) anyway [emoji106]. Rolling bare chassis as of today, up onto the rotisserie this weekend. I do really need to start a build thread...but look forward to seeing your next instalment-

Cheers,

Matt

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210409/5559baec9b19e7693d8c611c8fadfea5.jpg

Hi Matt,

Wow, $980 for a NOS pump is amazing and way outside my budget. I'm not surprised though.

I'm impressed with that level of stripdown. I think you're taking the right path. I'll be pulling my tub soon so I can prep the chassis and paint. I was going to paint the chassis black, but it left Army service in green, so I'll return it to this configuration. I painted a small test area and it's amazing what a lick of paint does to improve the look of the item.

Thanks for the tip to contact Peter in Kotara, I'll do that.

Anyhow, if I can't find a pump I was thinking of making an adaptor plate and fitting a pump from another model or make of vehicle, or going for an electric pump with a block off plate and outlet installed in place of the original water pump. Anyhow, will cross that bridge when I come to it. Still have a bit of time.

[gromit]

I was going to paint the chassis black, but it left Army service in green, so I'll return it to this configuration. I painted a small test area and it's amazing what a lick of paint does to improve the look of the item.


I think that they were supplied by LRA with a black chassis but the army re-painted the vehicles multiple times in service with olive drab.
This meant that parts of the chassis are green over black.

My IIa came from someone who was ex-army. He told me that if the 'top brass' were visiting then all the vehicles were repainted. This explains the multiple layers of paint peeling off the bodywork.

Problem is do your restore to 'as supplied' or 'as it ended up in service' ??

Colin

[Smoothy]

I have just purchased a ex army 1979 109 GS with the 6 cylinder petrol, not original engine though, your doing a great job, I have started pulling apart as it has been sitting for 9 yrs, still turns over by crank, Thanks for all your pics an tips, now gives me more insight to the 6. Carry on the good work.
Clive

[Dordie]

Well, it's been too long between posts - for which I apologise. I have been pretty busy over the past couple of months though to really give Regie a hoof along.

So, over the October long weekend, I rebuilt the front swivels. A while ago I had bought a NOS kit for both sides on Ebay, with quallity Japanese bearings, pivots, gaskets etc etc.

I installed ll new bushings, bearings, gaskets etc to both sides. Fortunately Regie's swivels are like new.

A pretty straight forward job and very satisfying. Didn't really need to replace the Railko bushings and housings on one side, but thought 'what the hell' and did it anyway.

I also rebuilt the brakes, installing a new master cylinder and new slave cylinders. I painted the drums with caliper paint and they came up a treat.

Getting the brake shoes in was a bit of a pain, until I realised that on the front, I had the springs in the wrong holes and on the rear, that the shoes are not symmetrical. Once I figured this out, it was super easy.

[Dordie]

I also rebuilt the steering box. New gaskets and seals installed as the box showed signs of leaking oil.

No new balls or cups required + all other componants in excellent condition and in spec.

Pretty straight forward job until I dropped one of the bearings.

Cleaned my whole workshop and looked every where for it.

Was resigned to ordering some, when I found it on the shelf under my bench. Magic. Buttoned up the steering box and another job done.

It was nice to get another box of parts reassembled, ready for installation back into Regie + I had a nice clean workshop again.

[Dordie]

I cleaned up the relay housing of surface rust, treated it with rust converter, painted it with gal paint and a dose of camo green to finish it off.

I rebuilt the relay, installing new seals and a NOS Land Rover spring. The old spring was out of spec.

I used my vice to compress the spring, then used cable ties to hold it.

I felt like I was handling dynamite, but once I overcame that, it was fairly straight forward. Took a few goes to get it right.

Not the funnest job, but necessary.

The case of the relay was painted black and reinstalled into a sea of grease that I slathered around the chassis housing.

Tick - another job done and another box of parts cleared.

[Dordie]

Well, after a lonnnng search, I finally found a NOS water pump to suit a viscous fan for a Land Rover Series 6 cylinder.

I actually found it by accident and to say I was chuffed, was an absolute understatement.

I was with-in a hair of installing a blanking plate and using a Davies-Craig electric pump and an electric fan.

I also lashed out and had the original radiator re-cored. The radiator shop did a lovely job.

So, I had a new NOS waterpump, gasket, new LR fan, fan clutch, fan belt, thermostat, rebuilt radiator, new radiator cap, TBA (teddy Bear's A-hole) and o-ring + I had made 3 studs to fix the thermostat housing to the head. The housing was a 2nd hand replacement as my original one was pretty roached.

The previous owner had damaged the original pump, fan, fan clutch, pulley and a few other bits. Fortunately I managed to obtain the correct bolts as they're different lengths and replacements for all of these parts.

Anyhow, I flushed the block a few times and tried to install the new water pump. Well, there was no way that the little brass TBA would fit. So, I left it out and fit the thick o'ring only. I installed all of the other components and filled with water to test for leaks.

Yep, sure enough, it was leaking from the o ring housed between the pump and the head.

Choice words said about the design skills of the Land Rover engineers.

A cup of tea later and thought that maybe I would just plug the pipe under the head and put a plug in my shiny new water pump. Then I had a revelation. Maybe I could just put in a thicker o ring or washer?

Hunted around the shed and found a new water heater hose. Sliced about 7mm off and slathered it in gasket goo.

Installed this pipe to the pump and reinstalled the pump. Wunderba - no leak. Ran the engine until hot and no leaks. Chuffed. Drained the water and refilled with the correct coolant. Looks sweet and subsequent testing has shown the water temperature and oil temperature to be spot on. Phew.

[Dordie]

Reinstalled the fuel tank as I got excited after getting Regie back onto his wheels and getting the cooling system sorted.

Threw in 10 litres of dino juice and ran the engine. I then noticed a wet spot on the concrete under the tank. Dang it, the tank had a leak. Thought it might have been around the fuel filler. Was going to apply JB Weld fuel tank repair but noticed that it wasn't weeping at that spot, but some where between the laminated floor of the tank.

Much peering inside the tank through the sender unit hole and I couldn't see any signs of a hole. So, I pulled the tank out and wondered what to do. The tank is in excellent condition, so I didn't want to go to the exoense or hassle of finding a replacement.

The double skin made repairing the tank way above my engineering skills.

My friend told me of his success using a POR 15 sealing kit. Bought one on Ebay and put it through the tank. A bit of a process, but not too difficult.

Anyhow, I was really impressed how the inside of the tank came up. I reinstalled the tank and the hardware. Another job done.

I tried to remove the door hinges and some of the mounting screws spun as the captive nut had come away from their little fitting. Hacksawed the offending bolts and replaced the captive nuts and screws.

Contemplated fitting different top hinges that are pre-drilled for a mirror. Realised that the holes are incorrectly spaced for Defender mirrors so I reattached the original hinges.

I'll likely drill the original hinges and attach after market Defender mirrors.

Installed a new aftermarket rear view mirror.

Installed a new aftermarket brake light switch.

Lowered the windscreen and cleaned out the channel between the screen and the dash. No rust, but a lot of dirt removed. Found 2c as well. Haven't seen one of those for a while.

A few more ticks on the too do list.

[Dordie]

I had a Fairey overdive on the shelf looking for a home, so I decided to clean it up and install it.

It took me a while to make up my mind to install it, but in the end I thought 'what the hell' and fitted it.

After cleaning and a careful inspection, the overdrive and components where found to be in excellent condition.

Bolted straight up and thankfully, the lever bracket that mounts to the rear of the gearbox housing has a mounting point for a 6 cylinder Land Rover. This is necessary as the fitment of the 6 pushes the gearbox back compared to the 4 cyl version.

The overdrive looks really good installed and with the extra lever, it really adds a steam punk vibe to the cab. I now have 5 levers - gear lever, overdrive, high/neutral/ low range lever, 4WD lever and handbrake.

I ordered a new lever knob online and may source another gearbox cover so I don;t have to modify the original.

Another milestone achieved and getting closer to fthe finish line. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

[Dordie]

I reattached the repaired spare wheel carrier to the repaired bonnet. I didn't paint the carrier as I'm going for the patina look. I'll leave the rivets raw too.

I used 4.8mm x 12mm rivets that I bought from Ebay. Was around $20 for 500, so well pleased with that. The rivets came in handy for the repairs to the tray.

In the tray, I replaced missing or broken rivets, reattached the alloy strips that line the tray floor and reattached shelf of the tool box inside the rear guard to the outer panel, fixed tool box hinges etc etc.

A little gentle taps with a rubber mallet and the bows to the tool box lids where mostly flattened. The close nicely now and look much better.

Lot's of little jobs done. Another step closer to getting Regie back on the road.

Still have to lift the tray and do some clean up on the rear chassis - i.e. clean and paint where necessary, but nothing major and certainly no rust repairs.

[Dordie]

I forgot to mention that I bought a couple of Series 3 88's from a friend who is downsizing.

Stripped one down to assess what's required for a full rebuild. Will start another post over in the Series 3 zone.

I won't get into the 88 until next year as I intend to finish Regie first. I'm hoping to have Regie registered by Anzac day, 2022.

The 88 will be restored back to standard, but not so sure on colour just yet.

A pressure wash and I threw some rust converter around and the chassis is mercifully in great condition. Some work on the rear cross member is required though.

I see a mig welder in my future.

[grey_ghost]

Well done - you have been busy. Great progress. [thumbsupbig]

[Dordie]

Well done - you have been busy. Great progress. [thumbsupbig]

Thanks Grey Ghost. Lots of other little jobs done. I'll post a lot more shortly on progress to date as parts arrive and I can finish some 1/2 finished tasks.

I'm really looking forward to driving Regie around the back roads near my home. [smilebigeye]

[Dordie]

Fit the driver's side guard. Closeup of the auction sticker - still attached.

A new Lucas starter installed - didn't really need to though

Wiring in engine bay tidied up and some heat shrink thrown around

New aftermarket alternator fitted as the original was making some weird noises. I was thinking of rebuilding it, but the cost for a new 80 amp unit was too enticing. It was advertised as a straight swap, but my lower mounting bracket was a touch too short. An alternator bracket off a Holden 202 in my parts car fit perfectly.

Carburetor removed for a rebuild. Will do a post on this later when it's finished.

Engine cleaned - this looks much better in real life.

Replaced the heater hoses and the heater 'valve' thingee with one from my parts car as the original was seized solid. The short 90 degree hose is from a commodore hose cut down, courtesy of ratting through a parts store hose collection to find a match. Heater lever and cable free'd up so they work perfectly now. Sorta hoping I never get caught out where I need the heater, but thought I might as well fix it. Flushed the core and no leaks detected. Fan is now working too on 2 speeds.

Got the front lights working. Replaced side lights with NOS Lucas units (2 lenses and 1 entire unit) and near new indicator lenses. Looks spiffy now.

I have the dash out as I'm repairing the guages. Will do a post on that one once the new gaskets/ seals arrive.

Also, I drove Regie around our block to test brakes, clutch, gearbox, transfer case etc etc and he performed flawlessly. My son loves the sound of the 6. It was super sketchy as I was sitting on the fuel tank, with no floor or doors...

[Dordie]

I have rebuilt carby's before, but found it a little hit and miss, so decided to send this one off for expert attention. Nigel did a great job and used the carby kit I purchased at the start of the project.

The inlet pipe and carby was media blasted and parts replated.

The old diaphragm was torn.

I've included a few before and after shots.

Carby has been refitted and looks a treat.

[Dordie]

From a parts car, I had a damaged front panel that sits behind the front bumper, below the grill that was beyond economic repair.

So, I decided to use it to make some patch panels for the tray.

From a earlier post, I'd knocked 2 the 'stab' holes in the tray side back into shape. My cunning plan is to use the patches to cover this damage, and glue / rivet them on.

One of the existing rivets in the tray will be used, so it should marry in quite well with nicely spaced rivets around each patch panel.

I cut the aluminum with a multi compound blade on my angle grinder. Worked really well. Then dressed the edges and made the radius / rounded corners with a file.

Coated the patches with etch primer, and will repaint in drab green when my new mini spray gun arrives, along with a stack of other bits and pieces.

[Dordie]

Spent a few hours sorting the dash out on Sunday.

I purchased an instrument gauge o'ring kit off ebay and disassembled both gauges to clean the faces, test the temperature and fuel gauges and repaint the metal ring that holds the glass to the gauge.

Turned out better than I expected and surprisingly, not that hard to disassemble and complete. Looks wayyy better than when I started. Won't win any awards, but I'm wrapped with the results.

Replaced the bulbs with fancy LED ones, that light up the gauges nicely.

Repaired the odd frayed wire behind the dash, cleaned the earth connections, reconnected the wires to the dash accessory plug, which had been cut to provide power to a 2-way radio.

I also replaced the indicator stalk with a NOS Lucas unit as the old one was faulty and the dash light switch with one from my parts car.

I now have all dash lights working, including the map light, wipers, windscreen washer, heater fan, horn, headlights (high and low) and side lights and even the light in the oil temperature gauge.

Indicators are still proving elusive, but I'll figure that one out when I get the tray reattached and start on repairing the black out lights.

I've included a photo of the dash when I first picked Regie up. Didn't take any good one's of the dash before I started the dash work as I couldn't find my camera.

[matthamilton]

I'm 5 years into a frame off restoration on my 1981 Series III 109 2.6l petro. I have taken it down to bare metal and completed all the body work, fabricated new bonnet supports, completed the body work, rebuilt the engine and have almost all the panels painted. Now I need help with the wiring.

I don't intend to re-wire all the military blackout lights, etc. just need a basic wiring digram to help me understand this new wiring harness I bought from AutoSparks.

do you have a wiring diagram for this truck/engine? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[drfish]

Hi Matt, do you have the Series 3 factory manual - I think page 86-2 should be pretty close to the non-military Series 3 2.6. I think you can buy the manual from the shop on this site-

Cheers, Matt


I'm 5 years into a frame off restoration on my 1981 Series III 109 2.6l petro. I have taken it down to bare metal and completed all the body work, fabricated new bonnet supports, completed the body work, rebuilt the engine and have almost all the panels painted. Now I need help with the wiring.

I don't intend to re-wire all the military blackout lights, etc. just need a basic wiring digram to help me understand this new wiring harness I bought from AutoSparks.

do you have a wiring diagram for this truck/engine? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[matthamilton]

Great story and great job explaining the backstory. I too have an ex-military Series 109 that my brother, who is an ER doc up in Emerald, sent me out of the blue. I basically started giving the truck a once over and began fixing things. The more I saw the more I wanted to fix things the "right" way. So I began taking it apart and then it became a frame off restoration and I decided to rebuild it as a civilian version. It wasn't until I started reading your post that I realized just how far I've come. Thanks for sharing your story.

[matthamilton]

Great story!!! Thanks for sharing. I bought one of these years ago and have been bringing it back from the dead. The more bush mechanic repairs I saw and the more smoke I could see coming from the fuse box, I decided to do a frame off restoration and bring it back as a civilian model. It's been a 7+ year journey but its been fun mostly. I love the sound of the 6-cylinder engine. It's unique, slow, and ornery, but I do like it.




Hi,

My first post.

I woke up on Monday morning to my first day of holidays for the 2020 Christmas / NY period.

What better way to start the day than to check Gumtree for a Series Land Rover.

Up pops an ex Australian Army Series 3 GS 109. Hmmm, looks original, reasonably unaltered and mostly complete.

Two phone calls later, offer accepted and I'm on a 750km road trip from Sydney to Wellington in the central west of NSW.

Left home at 11.30am and arrived back 12 hours later with 'Regie,' a 1978 Series 3 in mostly original condition. It was a great drive even if it did rain the whole time. Spiffy cut lunch, dinner and snacks prepared at extreme short notice by my wife was extremely well received. My favourite tunes via Spotify made the trip fantastic, not to mention the lack of traffic.

Here's his story so far. Regie was bought (probably from a disposal auction around 1990) by a Sydney based farmer who used to fly his plane from Sydney to his large farming property near Wellington, NSW. Regie was used to drive from the airstrip to the farm house.

At some stage, Regie was acquired by another farmer in Wellington and may have even been put to work (most likely towing something). In time, he was parked in a paddock where he sat for around 15-20 years. Fortunately for Regie, Wellington is hot and dry, so Regie didn't rust (ok, a tiny tiny tiny tiny little bit). He did however lose his canvas top, 2 hoops, and pintle hook.

And there he may have sat for ever, but the Land Rover gods smiled on Regie. Regie was spotted in the paddock by a truck driver delivering some hay. The farmer was persuaded to sell Regie to the truck driver. Regie then made his way to his new home at the driver's farm near Wellington.

Unfortunately, Regie sat for another year because he had a crook water pump and his new owner had a stack of more important jobs to finish. And then his new owner decided to move interstate, so Regie had to go. An advert on Gumtree and hey presto, Regie is in the Hawkesbury on his way to being recommissioned.

And that process has started. More to follow as I move through the partial-restoration process so Regie can again grace our roads.

Thanks for reading and a very happy Christmas and merry New Year!