Thread: Plugger and The Camel

Great progress!! You guys are a great team.

Yes, the right PPE is a must. These days I won't use a wire wheel without a face shield. Wheel quality has reduced IMO and they seem to throw more wires that in the past. While I can cope with the odd wire in the leg/body, the idea of copping one in the face/eye freaks me out.

Steve

Originally Posted by steveG

Great progress!! You guys are a great team.

Yes, the right PPE is a must. These days I won't use a wire wheel without a face shield. Wheel quality has reduced IMO and they seem to throw more wires that in the past. While I can cope with the odd wire in the leg/body, the idea of copping one in the face/eye freaks me out.

Steve

You may be right there - I've noticed the last couple of wire wheels seem to shed a lot more than I remember - I thought it was just me going soft in my old age...

Yes, a full face shield or at least fully sealed goggles are a must when using one IMO.

Hi Gang,

Homestar and Debruiser - bought a full face shield with earmuffs after your horror stories - as they say 'Safety is Everyone's Business' and 'Its Better to be Safe Than Sorry' - cheap insurance at $35!!

John - less wear on the rear than on the front in terms of freeplay between pinion and crown - it just got me thinking.....

SteveG - Thanks. He is a great lad and eager to see this thing through!

Update....

Well it was fine painting weather this weekend so we decided to string up all the parts and start painting. We employed the same process with the rear suspension bits as we did with the front -> clean - wire wheel - mask - prime - top coat.... It worked for the rear suspension items so no reason it shouldn't work for the rear parts as well.

We got up nice and early to beat the heat and Plugger started on the masking.


While Plugger was masking up all the parts prior to spraying, I decided to replace the pinion seal in the rear diff. Then it was a case of bolting the diff centre back up to the housing


So, string everything up and undercoat...


And don't forget the rear diff housing up on the stands...


Continued....

Continued...

Because the temp was about 36 degrees in the shade, the primer flashed off in no time at all which allowed us to topcoat straight after lunch! I mixed up the enamel semi-gloss black with a bit of reducer and then went to work.

In no time flat we had three coats of top coat on all the hanging bits to cover the two coats of primer/surfacer:


Dont forget the diff - Mmmm, shiny (well semi-shiny anyway!!)!!


And finally the springs. These were in really good nick with absolutely zero signs of corrosion or abuse. Once the old bushes were pressed out then they too got a good covering of semi-gloss black enamel:


The topcoat dried by mid afternoon - it was time to pack everything up and batten down the hatches as the weather was looking horrid out to the west and south and indeed when it came it was a storm of biblical proportions!!

More next week when its time to put all the bits back together.

Cheers and thanks,
Tricky and Plugger

Hi Gang,

Well on Saturday it was another few hours spent on the Camel.

With all the parts freshly painted it was a doddle just to put them all back together again. Bearing races were driven in, new bearings packed and installed and new seals driven home. Stuff some axles in some holes, bolt on some hubs, fit some springs and hangers and then bolt on some wheels.

New brake shoes, springs and slave cylinders for the stopping bit....


After a few hours we had this fine specimen to admire.




Then, on Monday the brake lines, clips and union I ordered from Power Brakes SA arrived (always overnight, even from SA) and on they went. Just waiting for the strapping that goes around the axle tube to arrive to put that on...


That's it - consider another module finished. Next its time to get down and dirty with the chassis, and that will not be such a walk in the park!! Stay tuned...

Cheers and thanks,
Tricky and Plugger

You're making this look Waaaaaay too easy.

I'm tempted to have another go at a series resto after swearing "NEVER AGAIN".

Keep it up I'm loving this project.

I.

Thanks Mr Apocalypse, what a nice thing to say! It might look easy but let me tell you there is a lot of blood, sweat and tears involved (and some cursing too if the truth be told!!)...

Anyway, on with the show...

Well its chassis time. I was not looking forward to this, as I knew that in reality the chassis was worse than it looked - how much worse I don't know, but I just had this sneaky suspicion that all was not as it seemed. The first job when one undertakes major surgery is to get the patient up onto the operating table - in this case my custom chassis table which is just perfect for doing resto work like this (its done a few!!).... Up on the table I can see whether the chassis is straight, plumb or warped. In the case with this Camel's spine it was a case of a bit of a twist - not a great deal, about 15mm, but enough for it to be evident. I will endeavor to take most of that out as we go along (fingers crossed).




Once the patient was on the table it was time to take off all the stuff that we didn't need or will be replacing - brake lines, handbrake with the stuck button, ghetto towbar, bump stops, engine mounts, ghetto brackets and other rubbish, trailer plug, old shackles and bolts, and heaps of other stuff. It all went into a pile in the centre of the table. Then it was time to get the old suspension bushes out of the chassis - man, what a turd of a job!! When these things dont want to come out, they stay put!! With the use of drivers, cold chisels and a 8lbs lump hammer finally they all came out - but holy cow what a workout (I had forearms like Popeye at the end of all this bashing). These I reckon were the original bushes put in by Rover I swear they are that old and flogged....

And here are some of the culprits:






I couldn't find number 4 as it shot off into the workshop somewhere along with one of my drifts!

Continued...

And with all the hammering some things had to give...

The first casualty of war...


And then there was the chassis. Well it just fell to bits didn't it! Like disintegrated! Now I could really tell what was rotten and what was good - and the rotten was growing to very large areas!! The right side was just shot to bits. Left side was salvageable - just!


Rear crossmember was toast:


And this is what was left under the chassis table. Seriously, all this dirt fell out of those rusty holes..!!!


Continued...