Thread: 113-372

G'day All,
The springs were in need of quite a bit of attention, they looked very ordinary after standing idle for 8 years, I must admit though, it was still standing on an even keel, no sagging to any side etc.
Once I had set my mind to do this task, it was non-stop with this until finished, it sure clogged my sinuses with filth, even though I wore a mask, items needed for the job were bought out of the shed, gas axe warmed up to heat the clamps so I could fold the top edge back, I did the rear springs 1st.
After bending the tabs back I turned the springs upside down on my saw horses, 2 G clamps applied to the spring, and attempted to undo the center bolt, I can't remember which ones undid and which ones snapped off, as I made new center bolts for all 4 springs, they were corroded badly, separating the springs was easy enough, cleaning them was another matter, filth +++

all of the springs had some wear marks, but as we are not going to drive this Land Rover around the world I deemed them suitable for re-use, pressed in new bushes, I lightly greased the working surfaces and with the new center bolt I put them back together using several G clamps, then etch primed and painted them Gloss Black, note the 2 diff/housings on the right of frame, with their end covers etc, they were waiting to be grit blasted

our daredevil dog 'Sophie' a Shih-tzu, anyway either the items are getting heavier or maybe I'm getting older by the day LOL cheers Dennis

G'day All,
I like to have as many articles painted etc before I'm ready to re-assemble the vehicle, so as time permits etc between jobs I grit blast and etch prime many parts, some get to have the top caot of paint applied and others are left in etch prime awaiting a coat of DBG, here is one example in Gloss Black

steering column support bracket as removed from 113-372

grit blasted

etch primed

top coat Gloss Black, all the nuts/bolts/washers etc have all been done in the same manner, all are in clip lok plastic bags awaiting refitting, they are in this box somewhere LOL

small parts like these tub fittings look really great when they are clean and no flakey paint left on them, these had been grit blasted but at the time of pix they hadn't been etch primed

threads run down with 2 BA taps n dies, cheese head burrs filed off

anyway cheers Dennis

Nice one Dennis....always enjoy your builds...great to see the methodical nature of the build and processes that work so well for you..


good stuff mate.

cheers
Paul

Great work, can you give us some more info on how you do your grit blasting and what equipment you use for this.

Dennis,

I noticed that the lacing hooks are held on with cheese heads. FWIR mine are all rivoted. Is this a year thing or just something that has happened during repairs/maintenance.

Great pics and story by the way, keep it coming.

G'day All,
First of all, Mick my grit blasting is done in a cabinet, it's just a "Toolex" brand I think, it is free standing, has 2 holes with gloves, a viewing glass on the top slope, and a door on right hand end, I suppose the inside dimensions would be something like 600mm x ?500mm x 500mm, I will snap a picture of it in the morning, my compressor is way too small it's 9.5CFM, it does a sterling job as it has for the past 16 years or so, if I were a lot younger I would be looking at something much bigger like a 25CFM, making life so much faster. The grit I use is a Garnet Aluminium Oxide 60/30 I buy it in 20kg bags for approx $20.00, I cannot buy my favorite media anymore, Illmenite but I still have about 30 kgs of it left, hope thats of some help to you, pix in the morning..
Paul, originally all the staples were fitted with 2BA Cheese head screws spring washers and a 2BA hex nut, I would guess that yours were either lost/damaged etc and replaced with rivets.
Just a few pix of rusty door frames that had to be junked/scrapped as they were too far gone for economical repair

I have mentioned before that I have many spare parts including door frames etc, so a browse through and I found some later model door frames, the door skins were not that bad (even though I have a NOS LHS skin) I went ahead and used the originals, some minor repairs were carried out on the door frames, all steel surfaces painted this helps stop electrolysis

the Land Rover needed 2 ARN's so I ordered a set

they do like good can't wait to fit them.
Anzac Day was looming large on the horizon so was my builder, he wanted to get started on pulling down the carport off the garage and getting into the job, he said it won't take long, I said it can't take too long as I had to be able to get vehicles in n out of the yard for the 25th April, and with all the debris blocking the driveway, it wasn't looking good, for that matter neither was the weather and I had to shift 3 Land Rovers a No5 trailer and a heap of wheels n tyres doors etc etc etc.





anyway true to his word all the debris was removed allowing me to do what I had to preparing vehicles for the 25th, and it rained ++++

those veterans who rode really didn't mind getting a tad damp anyway still a long way to go yet, cheers Dennis

G'day All,
This pic is for Chris, he asked about removing spotwelds, which I replied in a PM, but this pic shows how far you can go in replacing footwells, I think it took me approx 1 1/2 weeks to do from go to whoa, I did have a jig to hold it square etc, wish I still had it, but I cut it up to make something else, that seems to happen a lot here LOL anyway the picture

in the pic you can see rust on inner panel surfaces, this is why bulkheads rust out if they are not looked after, there are many double panels that hold moisture, just a couple more pix showing checks n balances etc


anyway cheers Dennis

G'day All, Mick here is a picture of my very dirty grit blasting cabinet, it is a Toolex brand, it has served me well for the past 10 years,

my limiting factor is the size of my compressor, but I get by just takes a bit longer cheers Dennis