Thread: The restoration of Wombat

Thanks for the tips mate. I'd been wondering how to use the rust converter, this gives me a heads up. I'm also keen to spray the chassis, just to get my hand back in - it's been a few years.

43C here today so I didn't even attempt to go near the shed. I did however drop into a branch of a giant hardware chain that has done more to destroy the availability of quality hardware than any other, and purchase some very thin cutting wheels (and some fatter ones and some grinding wheels). They're predicting mid twenties and rain tomorrow so the with any luck, the destruction will continue.

Stupid weather. Three hours ago, it was still around 40 here at home. Now it's raining

I'll edit that. It's 9:30pm... and it's still 37C and raining

send the rain here please (keep the heat).
cheers,
D

Originally Posted by Dark61

send the rain here please (keep the heat).
cheers,
D

Worst part is, the stupid cat is blaming me for the heat
My siamese used to love the heat, this moggie gets grumpy when the mercury goes past 30... then gives me the evil eye for arranging it.

Hopefully I can achieve something on Wombat tomorrow, it feels like I'm marking time at the moment. Tricky time of year money wise though and I'm very close to being held up by not being able to afford stuff

In earlier posts, I described removing the rear suspension, starting on the front and being held up by the front shackle bolts. Now that the heat has given us a break, I was able to get out and have a got at it. As described by others, I had to use a very thin cutting wheel the cut the front bolts. Not a difficult job... once I'd got the cutting wheel to fit my angle grinder



Once again, the crane got a work out - it's proven to be worth a lot more than its price both safety wise and for a bloke working on his own. You can see the Number 1 Bolt Remover lying on the ground with a look of smug satisfaction.

I then had to push the chassis to one side and push the axle assembly to the back of the shed out of the way. However, this bright idiot had already removed the tie rod hadn't he, and being thus unrestrained, the wheels wanted to flop about every which way didn't they

Cracker's Top Tip: Leave the stupid tie rod on until you absolutely HAVE to remove it.

Then came the simple task of rotating the chassis onto its back.

First, reposition the crane so it lifts the chassis from one side, then lift it vertically clear of the saw horses.



Then, position the lower edge of the chassis on the saw horses and carefully lower the crane letting the chassis rotate onto it's back.
Sounds easy doesn't it but in reality, there's a lot of mucking about, repositioning of chains, swearing and carefully pushing the crane forward to keep things rotating rather than pulling the saw horses over.



Then all that was needed was to position the chassis so I could work all around it. Then reposition it further into the shed so I could close the door, put the crane away and stagger inside for a therapeutic cuppa.



She's not quite ready for cleaning up and painting because there are a couple of recalcitrant shackle bolt stubs to remove, the suspension bump stops (which I'll be able to re-use), remains of the suspension straps and probably other stuff. Fittings seem to grow on this vehicle when I'm not looking.

Essentially though, my next job is to spend some money on paint and primer and converter (ouch, and me nearly broke thanks to Christmas) then start making her look pretty.

So today, I achieved stuff, got my brand new overalls (courtesy of number two sister) dirty and was able to bash stuff with my new copper headed hammer (courtesy of number one sister).

40 pages of LR sitcom!!
Great work crackers!

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

40 pages of LR sitcom!!
Great work crackers!

sitcom
hmmph
Thanks mate.

In the meantime, this job has finally become expensive. There's no point scrubbing all the rust and paint and rust and dirt and rust off if you don't slather something onto the metal.



Having read a few posts on the subject, I was going to go for the KillRust system which nowadays starts with rust converter (if you want), followed by Cold Galv, followed by the etch primer, followed by the paint. I could feel the gun in the middle of my back as I stood there pondering the prices
An astute observer would note that I bought the Dulux Metalshield system instead. Why? It's nearly half the price. That little lot cost me $106 I couldn't afford... and I haven't bought the etch primer or top coat yet.

You can now tell me I've made a dreadful mistake (though I'd prefer you didn't).