Thread: Coming To Australia - Bluey's Rebuild

Hi there again, I'm going to have to figure out the photo problem!

Anyway with all the major components on the floor we are now preparing to start the refurbish, replacement and rebuild process.

The first job is the axles, these are going to be cleaned up, any leaking oil seals replaced and then painted. I was thinking of getting them shot blasted but as I have already rebuilt the brake calipers and hubs I am reluctant to completely strip the axles just so they will look nice.

The gearbox is next, the syncro hubs are quietly destroying themselves in the main gearbox so a replacement is on order. If anyone out there is still using ATF in the box I would recommend using a modern synthetic oil. I tried some oil from Difflock and even with my ailing box it improved the gear change. With ATF in, 1st to 2nd changes were very difficult, the new synthetic oil improved the change but not good enough to satisfy me. I did two gearbox oil changes within a year and in both cases a large amount of metal filings and lumps drained out so my gearbox was without hope! The transfer box has already been fitted with the cross drilled gear and is in good condition.

The engine doesn't need any work other than a clean up and gasket change. My philosphy is to keep things unmodified and simple to facilitate replacement parts and fixing in out of the way places(we are travelling from England to India at least then onto Oz) but I am considering an intercooler upgrade (same physical size) to boost power and upgraded turbo hoses. Obviously a complete new clutch has been bought.

All brake and clutch lines are going to be replaced with copper pipes. I have bought an Australian made suspension kit - plus two inch coil springs and dampers and steering damper sold by Frogs Island, unfortunately I can't remember the manufacturer but they reckon its as good as Old Man Emu. I have also bought castor corrected radius arms for the front axle. Polybush suspension bushes have been bought for ease of replacement.

Once the chassis is back to a rolling one then I'll start worrying about the body work. Bluey is going to be reborn as a white Landy. I figure that white is the least military looking colour plus its going to be the coolest in Australia as there's no air con in Bluey. I also happen to think Landys look great in white although Rosy took some persuading. Heres some more thumbnails, we've a digital camera so we're taking loads of pictures to record the rebuild and so I can remember where everything goes!

G'day AndyK, It's looking good when are you departing on your trip, which route are you taking, I love the pix reminds me of my restorations although I only have Series restorations anyway good to see good luck with it cheers to you both Dennis
PS Yes it was.

Hiya Dinty , we're planning (!?) to have Bluey back up and running by June or July 2007 although only working on weekends may scupper that plan. We want to do a couple of shakedown trips before we leave England to make sure our camping arrangements work. I want to take Rosy to Norway, as it is only a short ferry trip away and has the most stunning scenery you'll ever see and like Oz has unsurfaced roads aplenty. We also want to go to the Republic of Ireland as thats where Rosy's Dad's family was from.

We then will do an extensive tour of Europe to visit Rosy's relatives and countries we want to see then head through Turkey to Iran ( I hope the Bl**dy Americans don't mess things up, I've already got a brother-in-law in Iraq) then into Pakistan then into India which I am really looking forward to. Rosy would like to then go across the Himalayas into China then down SE Asia to Singapore. We don't know whether our money will last for the last bit through China so if not then we will ship Bluey to Perth then do a quick bunk south then head north along the coast to Darwin. Then heading south to Alice Springs then east to Dubbo where we are going to make our new home. We can then explore the eastern part of Australia at our leisure.

How does that sound!

We're building Bluey for Australian exploration. Rosy has already done a figure of eight Australian tour in a Toyota so she has specced out the requirements for Bluey ie. twin spare wheels, auxillary fuel tank(extra 45 litres), 100 litres of onboard water (two tanks), roof tent, Oz tent, two way radio and GPS.

We're hoping to do it all for around £15,000 including the cost of Bluey in the first place (£4995). We've bought most of the stuff to mechanically rebuild Bluey and most of the camping gear. We still need storage chests in the back and all the electronic stuff like a good stereo, GPS and a laptop computer.

Luckily cos my mate is supplying all of the parts(ABLandRover Parts{is advertising allowed??!!}) I can pay for them when I can and luckily(!!) a very distant relative died and I inherited a few grand which accelerated the plans an untold amount.

My Austrailian brother-in-law sent me Gregories 4WD Australia book and its amazing how many places in NSW and QLD that Rosy took me to that are in the book. I can't wait to get there, hopefully we will set off on our adventure early in 2008, see you then! In the mean time I will continue to send you updates on the rebuild. Once we start the trip we're hoping to have a web site with pictures etc. of the trip.

G'day Andy - looking good,

Where in the UK is your workshop? - looks like Yorkshire stone houses in the back ground?

LRH

thumbnails are better than fullsize pics - you just click to expand the image saves bandwidth too!

anyway - when you make the trek and if you decide to make the extra step to Singapore, let me know and I'll hook you up with the Thai, Malaysian and Singapore Land Rover clubs... there are semi-regular overlanders that come through here (a couple a year) and each vehicle is greeted with open arms and customs assistance etc by the local owners group.

If you decide to ship from Singapore to Darwin, there is a barge twice weekly from a company called perkins shipping that you can use as a RO-RO (cheap compared to containering and faster through customs - or so I'm told!)

Andy,

I'm jealous, thats what i've always wanted to do.Nearly the same trek as the first overland expedition, but they didn't come down under. I'll watch your rebuild and trip with anticipation and excitment.
Well done Geck

Hello again,

My workshop garages are in Barnard Castle, County Durham. My Grandparents live there (currently Grandad 85 and Gran 83yrs) and they have given me three of their six garages. I got the brick built ones, my parents got the wood built ones (I'm my Grandads favourite grandson! and the only one whose shown interest (obviously) in the fact that during the war he worked for Rolls Royce manufacturing Merlin engines). I've got loads of things made of Merlin parts and have Merlin engine number plates. During the war my Grandad went to join up in Yorkshire but the RAF allocation for that county was full so cos he didn't want to work with mules in Burma (he was a blacksmith apprentice at the time) he went to the next door county and joined the RAF. He trained as an airframe repairer (welding even aluminium) then specialised in aero engines and was posted to Glasgow with Rolls Royce to manufacture Merlin engines using parts made by Packard. Consequently he's a bit of a nightmare to work with as he is obsessively tidy and a perfectionist but he can use a lathe etc and is a great engineer and mentor.

Err hope that answers your question LRHybrid100!! sorry for going on a bit!!

And if you think its good enough I'll stick with the thumb nails EchiDna

Try to keep it spotless underneath before you get here. It will save a lot of hassles with quarantine.

Ron