Christmas Pagent & playing in the creek

[ellard]

Hi there all

Well it was a great weekend - first of all the Christmas Pagent, unfortunally didnt get many pictures as driving. But the kids had a great time - my little one "Emily" came home with a sick stomach after eating to many lollies..............

The other pictures are of a few enthususts having a play in the Flinders Rangers today - we have a home made trials track and generally having a good time.

NOTE: we did have Davids pre-production Jeep/Land Rover out as well "Thats what he calls it"

Well enjoy the pictures.

Wayne

Event the wife came for a drive - to my shock and horror

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1589.jpg

On the trails course - L-R Marks 80" down the ditch Adrians 80" the Davids Jeep and me in the 86"

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1590.jpg


My 86" 1954 - Davids Jeep (very capable machine but easy to break) - Adrians 1951 80" and Mark Coffeys 1951 80"

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1591.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1592.jpg

Adrians 1964 IIA Ex Military

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1593.jpg

[olmate]

Great photos Wayne :D Must have been a good time for all.

[JDNSW]

Thanks for the pictures Wayne. Seen like that with the 80" and the Jeep both with the windscreens down it is easy to see the relationship between them.

John

[ellard]

Seen like that with the 80" and the Jeep both with the windscreens down it is easy to see the relationship between them.



Hi there John

The look simular but the construction of the jeeps is so light - the flex in the chassis and the onesided shackles......then you compare it to the Land Rover the chassis its like chalk and cheese...

But your right the jeep was first and Land Rover coppied the idea.....with us being a little bias here with a few improvements of course

Wayne

[JDNSW]

Hi there John

The look simular but the construction of the jeeps is so light - the flex in the chassis and the onesided shackles......then you compare it to the Land Rover the chassis its like chalk and cheese...

But your right the jeep was first and Land Rover coppied the idea.....with us being a little bias here with a few improvements of course

Wayne

More than just the idea! The dimensions of the 80" are copied straight off the Jeep. And if you look at the changes from the first 80" to the last, most of them were beefing it up - and the process continued at least until the Series 2, and in fact to the 90/110 and beyond that to the Wolf.

But to be fair to the Jeep, they were trying to meet an un-meetable weight of 1300lbs specified by the US army. In fact the first Bantam Jeep prototype weighed 1840lbs. The first Willys prototype was 2423lbs, and they had to get it down to 2160lbs which was the new weight limit (the Willys was heavier than the Bantam because it had a bigger engine). So everything was pared down to a bare minimum to make the weight limit.

John

[series1buff]

One possible reason for the more LR rigid chassis: the alloy bodywork was more prone to cracking under "flex" conditions . There is very little between them as far as Off-road ability goes .. the secret to the Jeeps effectiveness is the motor: The Willys motor is a torquey beast with a long stroke . The Jeep gearbox and transfer box are not as well engineered ( the intermediate gear shaft is a common problem ) ... but they threw it all together as the need was high and not much time to experiment .

One WW2 Jeep I bought back in 1976 - it must have spent years on a twisting torture track as it was full of fatigue cracks .. the chassis and body were littered with cracks ..this was an exceptional example as I've never seen another like that ... Having said that.. I feel that early Land Rovers did last longer on farms etc.. probably cos many were purchased in 'new' condition - whereas many WW2 Jeeps were more or less half worn out buy the time farmers and civilians owned them..
Mike

[chazza]

I remember reading once that the manufacturers of the GPW were told that they had a life expectancy of 40 hrs in the field. Many of course didn't last that long but those that did, such as the SAS ones in North Africa, needed considerable re-building done to keep them going.

As John points out the need for light weight and the expected short-term use, isn't conducive to getting it perfect before despatch.

With regard to the Rover's chassis being so much stronger, surely that must relate to the Wilkes brothers' experience of using their Jeep as a tractor. The only Jeep I nearly bought, had a broken chassis under the passenger seat :eek:

I used to lie awake at night wishng I owned one, but now I think I am happier having a Rover :D

[JDNSW]

Just to put some figures on development of the Jeep. The request for expressions of interest went out on 27th June 1940, with specifications reaching manufacturers on the 17th July - giving them 49 days to produce a prototype and another 26 days to deliver 70 more for testing.

An additional 1500 were ordered from each bidder (Bantam, Willys, Ford) by the end of the year and mass production of standardised vehicles by Willys started in July 1941 with an order for 16,000, with Ford being brought in after Pearl Harbour.

For comparison, Rover decided to design the Landrover in about May 1947, with the centre steer prototype not appearing until September (and it used a Jeep chassis!). Real prototypes appear to have been started in October, but it was 11th March 1948 before the first of 48 prototypes was completed, and it was August before the last of them was completed, by which time the production line was operating. But the total of 1948 and 1949 together was only 8,000, compare this with double the number of Jeeps built by Willys in the second half of 1941.

John

[digger]

Hi there all

Well it was a great weekend - first of all the Christmas Pagent, unfortunally didnt get many pictures as driving. But the kids had a great time - my little one "Emily" came home with a sick stomach after eating to many lollies..............

The other pictures are of a few enthususts having a play in the Flinders Rangers today - we have a home made trials track and generally having a good time.

NOTE: we did have Davids pre-production Jeep/Land Rover out as well "Thats what he calls it"

Well enjoy the pictures.

Wayne

Event the wife came for a drive - to my shock and horror

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1589.jpg

On the trails course - L-R Marks 80" down the ditch Adrians 80" the Davids Jeep and me in the 86"

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1590.jpg


My 86" 1954 - Davids Jeep (very capable machine but easy to break) - Adrians 1951 80" and Mark Coffeys 1951 80"

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1591.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1592.jpg

Adrians 1964 IIA Ex Military

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/01/1593.jpg

wayne,

just saw these...I assume that adrian has repaired the underside of the drivers area?? (last time I recall some bent and hanging bits!! although it was a while ago!)

the fire tender looks schmick (as usual)

much jelousy again pours from me.....


cheers
digger:D

[easo]

Great pics Wayne love the action shots.

Easo

[ellard]

assume that adrian has repaired the underside of the drivers area?? (last time I recall some bent and hanging bits!! although it was a while ago!)


Hi there Digger

I believe the floor area has been repaired, a few weeks ago when I seen them they were fitting the original huge pto winch - having a few troubles as the pto shaft will not fit as the IIa is fitted with Extractors.

All the best

Wayne

[easo]

For comparison, Rover decided to design the Landrover in about May 1947, with the centre steer prototype not appearing until September (and it used a Jeep chassis!). Real prototypes appear to have been started in October, but it was 11th March 1948 before the first of 48 prototypes was completed, and it was August before the last of them was completed, by which time the production line was operating. But the total of 1948 and 1949 together was only 8,000, compare this with double the number of Jeeps built by Willys in the second half of 1941.

John

Some pics of the replica prototype here,

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/series-i-land-rover-enthusiasts-section/61678-centre-steer-protype.html

Easo