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Thread: The Lil' General - New S2

  1. #1
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    The Lil' General - New S2

    Became the custodian of an Ex-RFS 1960 SWB S2 recently. As far as I can tell, it's been a fire tender all it's life, being transferred from the local university to my RFS brigade, which is where its connection to me has come about. Looking forward to getting it back on the road.

    It will need some work, despite the low mileage (~18,000 miles on the original 2.25 petrol motor). It's missing a fuel tank, and the clutch and brakes need attention, plus the belts and alternator requiring reassembly. Otherwise, it's in very good condition. No significant rust that I've found other than minor surface rust, chassis, bulkhead and floor is excellent and a great patina on the panels that I think I'll keep, it's got great character. Just a bit of panel damage on the front driver side wing that I can hopefully fix without having to replace the panel.

    It's been previously fitted with a rear PTO water pump, which is no longer on the vehicle, but the PTO output is still there on the transmission. Not sure what to do with it?

    Must say I was pleasantly surprised at the thickness of the body panels compared to my TD5 defender.

    Some pics attached.
    (Edited to fix pic)
    Attached Images Attached Images

  2. #2
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    Looks a beaut…you’re a lucky guy having that come into your custody. What are the plans…just to get it roadworthy or a full restoration? Cheers, Matt

    Quote Originally Posted by sid View Post
    Became the custodian of an Ex-RFS 1960 SWB S2 recently. As far as I can tell, it's been a fire tender all it's life, being transferred from the local university to my RFS brigade, which is where its connection to me has come about. Looking forward to getting it back on the road.

    It will need some work, despite the low mileage (~18,000 miles on the original 2.25 petrol motor). It's missing a fuel tank, and the clutch and brakes need attention, plus the belts and alternator requiring reassembly. Otherwise, it's in very good condition. No significant rust that I've found other than minor surface rust, chassis, bulkhead and floor is excellent and a great patina on the panels that I think I'll keep, it's got great character. Just a bit of panel damage on the front driver side wing that I can hopefully fix without having to replace the panel.

    It's been previously fitted with a rear PTO water pump, which is no longer on the vehicle, but the PTO output is still there on the transmission. Not sure what to do with it?

    Must say I was pleasantly surprised at the thickness of the body panels compared to my TD5 defender.

    Some pics attached.

  3. #3
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    Very lucky. At this stage just looking to get it back on the road. A restoration might follow later down the track, but I've come to like the state of the exterior as it is.

    I've been told the motor is the original, but is there any way to confirm that's the case? I haven't got any records to go with the vehicle, just the word of mouth story that was given to me when I received it.

  4. #4
    JDNSW's Avatar
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    Looks to be a good project - but probably a lot of fiddly work, even though nothing major should be needed.

    That is a generator, not an alternator, and I wonder why it was removed? These are prone to the rear bush wearing out if lubrication is neglected or they are operated in a dusty environment, allowing them to pole. I would strip it and check it out before refitting.

    Is it actually a Series 2 (it looks like it could be) What is the chassis number?
    John

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

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    I think it is a series 2, rather than a 2a. Chassis number is 142002083.

    Thanks for the info re: the generator. I'm not sure why it was removed. The fuel pump has also been taken out and was in the cab when I got the vehicle. Suspect that was done when the tank was removed from under the seat.

  6. #6
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    That chassis number confirms it is a Series 2, and also that it is a 1960 model, and is, interestingly, an export model, not a CKD one, which it would be if it were Australian built, which most of them were in 1960, although I suspect demand exceeded local build capacity so some were probably imported by the distributor, or even, especially since I think you indicated it was originally owned by the university, directly imported by the end user.

    By local university I expect you mean UNE. This would be only a short time after they became an independent university (1954), and was establishing and expanding its infrastructure, presumably including its firefighting capability. I wonder if they still have records that far back? There is probably a historical or archival section that you could ask.

    The fuel pump being off, and the tank, suggests that there was a fuel fault, although it is possible that all these bits were removed in a process of cannibalisation to keep another vehicle going, or simply to cash in on the easily removed bits.
    John

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

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    That's a good point about the historical records of the university - yes it was UNE. I'm assuming that they had it from new as that's the story that came with the vehicle.
    As far as I've been told the fuel tank removal was for parts for another car, by all reports it was running when it was parked, but the brakes didn't work. I'm hoping that's the case.

    Is there any way to confirm that the engine is original? Because of it's status as an emergency vehicle I don't even know if it's ever been registered with the RMS/RTA, so don't have paperwork to check. It wasn't registered whilst with the RFS.

  8. #8
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    No sure way that I know of to confirm that the engine is original, although this information may be available from Gaydon (British Motor Heritage Centre) seeing that it was exported as a complete vehicle. (This sort of record for Australian built ones is largely non-available - records not preserved, except by state authorities, and their preservation is spotty.)

    If the vehicle has never been registered, you are likely to have difficulties (but probably solvable) with registration. You should not have, in view of its age, but I bet it will happen. This is somewhere that UNE records, if available, could help.
    John

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

  9. #9
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    The Lil' General - New S2

    Quote Originally Posted by sid View Post
    That's a good point about the historical records of the university - yes it was UNE. I'm assuming that they had it from new as that's the story that came with the vehicle.
    As far as I've been told the fuel tank removal was for parts for another car, by all reports it was running when it was parked, but the brakes didn't work. I'm hoping that's the case.

    Is there any way to confirm that the engine is original? Because of it's status as an emergency vehicle I don't even know if it's ever been registered with the RMS/RTA, so don't have paperwork to check. It wasn't registered whilst with the RFS.
    Engine number should be 1510xxxxx as with gearbox for 1960
    1960 series 2 143001010
    1976 series 3 91331709c
    98 discovery 300tdi manual
    06 discovery v6
    2010 cub supamatic drover

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dgd69 View Post
    Engine number should be 1510xxxxx as with gearbox for 1960
    Thanks mate, that's great news. The engine number is 151023001, so matches what I've been told that it's the original engine. Much appreciated!

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