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Thread: Harvey the '57 109 ute

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    Harvey the '57 109 ute

    Picked up this nice little 1957 109 trayback the other day. Has had a ton of work done by the PO including back to bare chassis mechanical rebuild with some sensible mods. Has a IIA engine and gearbox as well as Series 3 109 rear diff and brakes with a VH44 booster. Apparently essentially all the mechanicals were rebuilt and it certainly looks that way after going over it. Its in current QLD rego and pretty close to roadworthy - more on that later.

    IMG_7455.jpgIMG_7457.jpg

    So there were a few minor roadworthy issues - high/low dip not working, brake lights and number plate light not working and the headlight switch (original S1 type) is a bit dicky. An hour or so with a test light, some WD40 and some new bulbs sorted all that out.

    It had this very interesting air cleaner / PCV set up. I removed all that and put it back to standard but with a holden air cleaner (I have a stack of those laying around). Because the VH44 install deleted the battery and aircleaner mount there's nowhere to put an oil bath aircleaner right now. I have one but need to sort out a bracket to mount it.

    IMG_7460.jpgIMG_7461.jpgIMG_7471.jpg

    Its been in storage with the PO for a few years so it was running very rough. Gave it a quick tune up and noticed the timing mark cover was missing so pirated one from another engine I have here. Same with the filler tube - the one that was on the car had a spigot brazed onto it for the PCV hose so I replaced it with an original one.

    IMG_7464.jpgIMG_7470.jpg

    Unfortunately the previous air cleaner arrangement involved a hose clamp rubbing a hole through the bonnet. That will need a weld repair at some point.

    IMG_7466.jpg

    Not sure who installed the heavy duty rear axles and hubs but whoever did the left hand side used flat washers that effectively locked the brake drum in place. Had to remove those.

    IMG_7480.jpgIMG_7479.jpg

    The interior is pretty standard except for the addition of some panels on the dash for various switches, outlets and gauges - pretty standard additions for series landies. I removed one of the panels that didn't really do much and moved the oil pressure and water temp gauges to the inside, so I have somewhere for my phone and wallet to sit. The extra panel on the left side covers the fuse box and headlight relay so I'll leave that in place for now. The medium term plan is for a new original style loom to go in, with the mods for alternator and the 2.25 engine.

    IMG_7472.jpg

    Overall I'm really impressed with it. Been driving it every day out to the workshop and it handles the ~20km trip no problem. The steering is very good, as you'd expect after a full rebuild. There is a small amount of play at the relay but I think the bolts need tightening.

    Will get it in for a RWC and transfer the rego either this week or next, depending on how quickly I can throw a couple of axle oil seals in - minor weeping in two of them.

    The kids have named it Harvey, because it came from Hervey Bay. I think that will stick.

    The plan is to drive and enjoy it while doing some bits and pieces. I'll be putting in seat belts (GASP!) and putting a soft top on. It will also get a set of nice newly painted rims and Michelin XLZs I have from another project. The front right guard needs some work to straighten it out and I think a paint job will be in the future some time. Oh and the capstan winch is currently ornamental but the PO is dropping me off the rest of the bits so that will get a rebuild too.

    I'll update the thread with the various bits of work that go on over time.

    IMG_7459.jpg

  2. #2
    JDNSW's Avatar
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    On the steering relay free play, make sure that the play is not from the bottom of the relay moving. It is supposed to be securely located by a bolted on ring that is a close fit on the bottom cover of the relay. Also, if the arms are allowed to move on the splines the splines will wear, and I have had an arm break, probably due to movement on the spline.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    Quote Originally Posted by JDNSW View Post
    On the steering relay free play, make sure that the play is not from the bottom of the relay moving. It is supposed to be securely located by a bolted on ring that is a close fit on the bottom cover of the relay. Also, if the arms are allowed to move on the splines the splines will wear, and I have had an arm break, probably due to movement on the spline.
    I did check this and there's definitely play at the top - it looks as though the brackets have been splayed out during the removal/replacement process and the bolts haven't pulled it back in. I'm also considering one of the CNC machined bottom plates as part of the overall upgrades/maintenance.

    Cheers,

    Adam

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    JDNSW's Avatar
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    You say it has a Series 3 rear axle - does this mean that the rear track is wider than the front? This is not apparent with the trayback, of course.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    Nice find

    So is the battery under the passenger seat? Is this standard on the 57 109's or due to the brake booster?
    Andrew
    1998 Landrover Defender 300Tdi 130 HCPU Expedition
    1972 Peugeot 504 Sedan - Daily Driver

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    Quote Originally Posted by 86mud View Post
    Nice find

    So is the battery under the passenger seat? Is this standard on the 57 109's or due to the brake booster?
    Its actually behind the cab on the passenger site - PO has welded up a very nice battery holder there. And yeah its because the VH44 takes up the space in the engine bay. Although I think personally a better set up would leave the battery and air cleaner under the bonnet and remote the VH44 somewhere else.

    IMG_7488.jpg

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    Quote Originally Posted by JDNSW View Post
    You say it has a Series 3 rear axle - does this mean that the rear track is wider than the front? This is not apparent with the trayback, of course.
    sorry I didn't mention in the original post it has a series IIA front axle assembly. Not sure if this was from the PO or before his time.

    Still learning about the various upgrades and changes to this car. My other S1 is an 86" 1955 so I'm not sure what is different because of mods and what is just different due to the year and model.

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    I'm puzzled about the use of later axle assemblies - I would have thought it would put the tyres slightly outside the mudguards, although I suppose the difference is only about an inch.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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    the tyres are well inside the guards, you can see in the photos I posted. I just heard back from the PO, the diffs are what was on the car when he bought it. The back brakes aren't S3, they're IIA 109 brakes - that was my mistake from the info he gave me.

  10. #10
    JDNSW's Avatar
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    Judging by the brakes on my 2a 109, I would have thought the booster was hardly necessary - it actually has pretty good brakes without a booster (unless you go through water, and i don't think the booster helps that!) On the other hand, I found it worthwhile fitting a booster to my 88 when i had one, although in retrospect fitting the 109 brakes might have been better.
    John

    JDNSW
    1986 110 County 3.9 diesel
    1970 2a 109 2.25 petrol

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