The restoration of Wombat

**crackers** · 1st October 2015, 03:10 PM

Dad came down today and with my son here as well, the Three Stooges had fun furthering the dismantling of Wombat

Twas a good day

First step was getting a few bits and bobs out of the way. Succeeded with some, failed with others. Then it was a case of trying to work out which set of gearbox mounts we were going to remove.

As it turned out, we left the gearbox mounts on the gearbox. It seemed easier to undo the centre bolt of the rubber mount and just lift the whole lot up. Lifting points were a bracket secured by a casing bolt at the rear and one of the gear shifter bolts at the front (thanks John).

Just a matter of lifting it clear, moving it to the back of the shed, and gently lowering it onto the bench. Funny how that doesn't really describe it

Then the engine.
Originally, I was going to mount it on my engine stand for storage. Looking at it though, it became obvious that I'd need to remove the clutch, then the flywheel, then the casing so I could bolt the block to the stand. Working on the principal that there's no need to break things now when I can ruin them later at my leisure, I decided to leave it all in one piece and store the motor on a couple of blocks of wood in the back of the shed.

No unbolting needed to lift her out - both engine mounts were stuffed so we just lifted her straight up and what little rubber was holding things together gave way without us noticing. Factory lifting points were used.

And here she is in her temporary home - need to decide if I'll be rebuilding her or replacing her, but that's a decision for much much later.

Yes, I've thrown some rags over her - best protection she's had in years

And here she is without all them heavy bits. Much easier to roll around now

This number is painted on the front cross member. It looks like it was painted on by hand, over the primer and so I'm guessing it was a factory ID number. Any thoughts?

Slowly tramping towards the real insanity. First I'll be making careful note of the routing of the brake lines (all of which are monumentally stuffed - I was going to fit new anyway), then roll her out and try and clean up some more of the grease and gunk, then off with the suspension and start the long, arduous cleaning and repainting of the chassis.

Fun innit

**crackers** · 2nd October 2015, 03:14 PM

Currently got the rolling chassis out on the lawn, alternatively attacking it with the high pressure squirter thingie and degreaser. Interesting process in a frustratingly sort of occasionally effective manner, the big trick being knowing when to stop and when to keep going... and I'm not one to patiently chip away at cleaning stuff (hey, one lazy swipe and it should be spotless right?). Reckon it'll take all weekend in stages, if only because I'll get fed up with something and move on only to come back to the first bit. Lots of black paint coming off to expose the yellow though.

Oh, and that number on the front cross member? There's another one on the next one along - same number 63 only with different letters. I reckon they're factory part numbers.

**Dinty** · 2nd October 2015, 04:17 PM

The only way to clean the crud off, is too use a small paint scraper, peeling it off and get as much off as you can, then you need to buy some degreaser from Supacheap or somewhere similar, spray it on liberally, let it soak for at 24 hours, then use the pressure washer, and you may have to repeat it several times, unless you have access to a 'steam cleaner' they are the bee's knees, cheers Dennis

**crackers** · 2nd October 2015, 04:38 PM

Gawd you're a patient sort Dennis

About the only thing I'm not doing is the 'wait 24 hrs' bit, haven't found it necessary so far though there are a few places...

Darn it, you've got me wondering if I should go back out there now, and I've given up for the day

I'll bear it in mind for tomorrow.
I've found the wire brush useful on thin layers too (greasy stuff and mud) - scratch it up, work in some degreaser with a brush, hit it with the pressure cleaner. Swear. Repeat. Actually, in the right place, that's been quite effective.

I'm mainly concerned with the chassis. Sure, I'll get everything clean that I can but I'll be stripping the chassis right down for painting so that's the main aim of the job. Anything else I can get clean or nearly clean is a bonus and can be cleaned off the vehicle anyway - well, that's the theory. I suspect she's not too bad, despite the gunk and congealed grease she does/did have on her.

I've even been able to wash out the chassis rails - it's frightening the amount of dust that's built up in there over the years and since turned to solid dirt.

**Dinty** · 2nd October 2015, 05:15 PM

Just a thought, have you liberally sprayed the shackle bolts with a penetrating oil yet?, if you haven't do it tomorrow and repeat the operation every day while still cleaning the chassis etc, cheers mate Dennis

**crackers** · 2nd October 2015, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by Dinty

Just a thought, have you liberally sprayed the shackle bolts with a penetrating oil yet?, if you haven't do it tomorrow and repeat the operation every day while still cleaning the chassis etc, cheers mate Dennis

I hadn't thought of that, thanks for the heads up, it could save lots and lots of intemperate language.

**crackers** · 3rd October 2015, 03:31 PM

Currently given up on cleaning the chassis. I'm telling myself I've done enough but it's possible I'm just feeling tired/bored. In any case, she'll sit outside till tomorrow. I've got all the major oil and gunk off, just working on thin layers of baked on dirt... and think I've got them all using the 'scrub with wire brush, pressure wash, repeat' method. Considering I'll be assaulting the whole chassis with some sort of scrubbing wheel such as Grey Ghost uses, I reckon I'm right.

Now, them suspension hanger bolts. I use the term 'bolt' with caution and I'm only imagining there are nuts and bolts under all that brown, crusty, oxide stuff.

I'm using my homebrew penetrating oil on these. Guess I should use this on one side and WD40 on the other to see if there's any difference. Might do that on the next application.

Regarding the dinged up rear cross member. I'm going to straighten things out as best I can, weld any tears and accept the end result as just part of the old girl's heritage. I'm going to have similar decisions with bodywork and no, I'm not going to go buying a perfect body to finish the job. It's not as though she's going to be a show queen so a few battle scars can only add to her character. Bit like the ex-footballer -a broken nose and artificial knees but still fit enough to play the full 90 mins.

**crackers** · 3rd October 2015, 06:57 PM

Pushed her back into the shed. Naturally, with me being on my own and no steering, she went in crooked. No drama, I just used my engine crane to lift the back of the vehicle and pushed it sideways

Maybe we need a thread for non-factory uses of tools.

Regarding the home brew penetrating oil vs WD40 question - I'm trying the following experiment. There are six shackle bolts on each side of the chassis. I'm heating them up, then applying my homebrew (a half and half mix of ATF and acetone) to the bolts on one side and WD40 to the other side. Be interesting to see if there's any noticeable difference between the bolts on either side.

**crackers** · 5th October 2015, 03:37 PM

Originally Posted by crackers

Regarding the home brew penetrating oil vs WD40 question - I'm trying the following experiment. There are six shackle bolts on each side of the chassis. I'm heating them up, then applying my homebrew (a half and half mix of ATF and acetone) to the bolts on one side and WD40 to the other side. Be interesting to see if there's any noticeable difference between the bolts on either side.

Well, that test didn't prove anything, except maybe to reinforce the 'it makes no difference' theory. After three applications of heat and goop over three days, I put my trusty socket onto each nut and each broke free. Sure, some were a bit more difficult than others but nothing you wouldn't expect.

So, homebrew penetrating oil vs WD40?
No noticeable difference in this test.

And no, I didn't take the shackles right off, just cracked the nuts and turned them maybe a turn because I'm not ready to remove the suspension just yet.

**crackers** · 5th October 2015, 04:00 PM

Currently looking at the brake lines, surely a system dreamed up by one of the electricians from Lucas.

One page of my notebook now filled with a diagram and lots of notes, most of which will probably prove to be illegible come rebuild time.
Enough photos to impress any teenager with a new smart phone. I'm about to label them all so I know what they are.

Any tips on getting those rusty, crusty old fittings free?

First there are the little clips that hold the brake line to the chassis. Simple clip over the line held down with a screw. Of course, the screw slots are universally full of rust and barely visible. Using a hammer to tap a screw driver along the slot makes no real difference, confirming my belief it's rust, not dirt and no, the force didn't free the screws up in the chassis either. I could just cold chisel them off but would then have to drill out the stub of the screw in the hole.

Then there are the various connections between flexible hose (a statement of original condition, not descriptive of their current condition) and solid hose. On some of these, you can actually see where there are threads

That's right Virginia, on some, there is no visible sign of thread at all, all rust.

Believe it or not, this is one of the good ones.

Finally, you have the connection to the brake drums and T pieces. These I do NOT want to muck up because they'll be used later... I hope. Past experience suggests I'm a hopeless romantic here BUT, is there anyway of getting those bits apart?

For the record. She'll be getting brand new brake lines, solid and flexible, front to rear. Probably nice new master and slave cylinders too, I just haven't looked at what I've got there yet but they'd have to be very good for me to reuse them.

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