Thread: Series 3. Ex-Military GS 109 Rebuild.

Since last posting on AULRO, work on the vehicle has been progressing fairly consistently and the chassis is getting close to being ready for stripping and repainting.

The engine has been pulled apart for inspection and looks to be in fairly decent condition. All new valves etc were procured for a head reconditioning and the head was sent off. Turned out to be cracked though and now I'm awaiting a replacement. Put the motor to the side for a while and focussing on the chassis and diffs.

Continuing to strip the chassis bare in preparation to send off to be sand blasted. Have had a new cylinder head turn up in the post which has been taken in for reconditioning. Still waiting for completion. Here';s some pics of the chassis nearing the end of the tear-down:

Hi there

The chassis is in good condition for its age, looking forwards to the rebuild progress.

Been a while since I tackled a project like this - and although time is in premuim, I still get a great deal of enjoyment out seeing the progress report of other fellow enthusist.

All the best

Wayne

Originally Posted by ellard

The chassis is in good condition for its age, looking forwards to the rebuild progress.

Been a while since I tackled a project like this - and although time is in premuim, I still get a great deal of enjoyment out seeing the progress report of other fellow enthusist.

Yes, the car was well shedded all of it's later life. There was (probably still is) a heap of fine dust and river gravel in the rails but I haven't found any significant rust through the car at all! That's why I'm doing a proper preservation job down to the bare chassis. Aim to keep it in this condition if possible!

This is my first car rebuild project, but I have many varied technical skills and a bit of mechanics experience. Plus a good workshop that I'm still adding to. Going to outsource overly difficult things like engine/ gearbox rebuilding and chassis sandblasting but handle the rest myself. I have boxes and boxes of new or old stock parts all ready to be installed and have just put together an entry level spray painting setup. So the latter part of the build should progress quickly if I can keep getting the time off work!

Thanks for the interest, Nige.

Finished removing the differentials and springs from the chassis and built some 200kg dollies so I can get the chassis down my steep and narrow driveway with ease to a truck to transport for sandblasting. Hoping I can borrow a truck from work and transport it myself too. Still have to cut out the chassis bushes though, YAY! Can't wait for that fun.

Picked up my newly reco'ed cylinder head from the shop a couple of days ago. It was already in pretty crisp original condition, showing very little use. Now it has been fitted with all new valves, guides, 'O' rings, and springs. It's had a regrind and surface machining to a very nice finish.



A couple more pics from different angles:






I dug out a few of the bits I have either restored or bought new. I starting putting the head together for a bit of a preview as to how it will come together.


Here's the progress:



Woo! Shiny and new. For comparison, here's the old, tired, sloppy, dirty, cracked one:




It's nice to see some parts restored and back together again. So much of the car is still grimy, rusty, piles of 'work to do' sitting around the workshop.

I've also spent a chunk of time building some solid, properly designed workshop sawhorses, good for a few hundred kilos each. This will making painting all the things like diffs, the chassis and other larger parts much easier. Also putting a board on top of them both gives a large, stable flexible bench top for lots of other stuff. Just about to spray paint them for a bit of practice and to seal them for long term use. Will post some pics then.

Good times, Nige