Project 'Bob' (formerly Bobette)

[450Dan]

My First Australian Landrover, Series 2A LWB. Originally my friends back home wanted to call it Bob but i kept referring to it as an 'old girl' so they decided upon Bobette which in their minds is clearly the female version of Bob, this name has stuck.

I got her November 2013 and although not in completely terrible shape there is a lot of work to be done. I am a couple of months into it by now and for the benefit of my friends in the UK who are following the project with great interest i have taken about 200 photos so far, though in order to catch this thread up a bit i shall only put a couple of the shots on to show where she started and where i am at now.

First thing i figured to do was give her a bit of a clean and remove the assorted parts and rubbish from inside, get some of the lichen off the bodywork and attack the rusty spots with a wire brush. after molesting the chassis for a few hours with a cheap wire brush i not only discovered that cheap wire brushes fall apart rather easily but that there were a few 'minor' rust holes, and the ends of both dumb irons were knackered, also part of the passenger side front spring hanger were looking a bit like swiss cheese. Also on the passenger side the outrigger for the rear spring had a rust hole in the side of it big enough to put my hand in, the rear crossmember was cheese, and the chassis outrigger that the bulkhead bolts to at the driver side footwell had been repaired with a piece of tin and rivet gun. upon removing this i discovered that underneath the tin there is nothing. Good job Dad taught me to weld on the farm.

Started with the easiest part and jounced out the fuel tank and the bullbar, then the front dumb irons were ground back to good metal, plates were cut and they were welded into place. at this point i rejoiced that after 4 years of not having picked up a welder i am still able to do it, though my sister has informed me that she can do better... the love. at first i had intended to repair the rear crossmember but on closer inspection underneath i realised that i would have to take most of the thing off in order to get back to good metal, and that a previous owner had attempted to repair the thing with some sort of putty.

luckily the assortment of parts had included a crossmember off a SWB so it was off with the roof and tub, then off with the rear x-member, a strangely satisfying job. it was at this point the neighbour decided to come over and complain that my grinder was turning their television off whenever i used it and if i could refrain from using it during the day so, quickly welded the new x-member on and decided to work on electrics till they weren't in the house in order that my grinding doesn't interrupt their daytime TV schedule...

the electrics were a birds nest, many hours of wondering why anyone would rewire everything the same colour and prodding around with a multimeter i had most of the wires labelled or shoved somewhere out of the way in the hope that if i can't see them they will go away. i can now happily say that i think everything is working. though i cannot test the fuel gauge as its not connected to anything and the tank is at the back door of the house awaiting another coat of paint. the temperature gauge is also untestable due to the engine not starting. everything else works fine. having no idea what the contents of the dash were however i have most likely made a total hash-up of the positioning of the various switches i grabbed from the auto shop, and the Essex-boy in me couldn't resist the push start button, it will most likely either all blow up in my face or catch fire on me, either that or it will work brilliantly.

welded plates over all the previously mentioned chassis holes apart from the one by the front driver door which is on hold till the weather is less warm and the garden less flammable.

took a break for a few weeks over christmas then decided that it would be a good idea to paint up the chassis so far because i was fed up with not doing anything to the old girl. nice shiny new coat of black 'rust proof' paint motivated me to give the engine a go, it turns over well enough and there's sparks at the plugs so i figured it was either the fuel pump or the carb that wasnt doing its job. after removing both and cleaning up the fuel pump it could be ruled out as the problem because it actually pumps really well, or at least it does in the kitchen sink, so attention turned to the carb. after many hours of trying to take it apart but to no avail i gave up and blamed everything on it. methinks a new one is in order but that can wait for now.

so thats the work so far, my wife thinks i am insane but humours me, my 18 month old son thinks its great fun stealing my tools in an attempt to help, everyone at work wishes i would stop talking about it because 'its just a car'

the list of things i know need doing:
Brakes
were jammed on when i got her and i couldn't move the pedal so in an effort to get her off the road and into the driveway i gently rammed her with my Terios, brakes are no longer jammed on and the pedal moves freely but there was a suspicious puddle of fluid on the road and now the brakes barely work.

Springs
not an expert but they seem a bit saggy, i do have another set which came with Her, but in order to fit them i would have to get the old ones off first which looks fairly daunting

Shocks
yea, they don't look good at all.

Bushes
have a full set of brand new suspension bushes that a friend brought over with him from england on holiday, he also gave me an indicator stalk.

Clutch
to say the pedal is loose would be an understatement, i don't think it has any fluid, i hope to god that is the only reason it doesn't work but i get the feeling it might not be.

Engine
previous owner said it had been reconditioned about 10 years ago but that it has sat around doing nothing since then. we started it briefly but only by pouring petrol down the carb, which caused a small fire.

Doors
no seals, windows don't entirely open, rust along bottom of driver side, probably the same under the door tops, seals on these are knackered

Electrics
although everything appears to work the lamps are all missing their lenses and the headlights are really really really dull

Steering
Practically every joint appears to be missing rubber covers or rusty, or both. the castle nuts on the rods are all seized in place so i get the feeling i am going to need to just get a whole new steering system and cut the old ones out. Fun

i am bound to find lots more as i go, but i think this list is enough to keep me going a while! anyways, here are some pictures of her before work started.

[JayBoRover]

Looking forward to more photo's. Looks like you have a good project there to keep you amused for a while.

[garrywlh]

My First Australian Landrover, Series 2A LWB. Originally my friends back home wanted to call it Bob but i kept referring to it as an 'old girl' so they decided upon Bobette which in their minds is clearly the female version of Bob, this name has stuck.

'Bob' in Black Adder was a girl.

Looking forward to following your (and her) progress.

Garry

[Johnno1969]

'Bob' in Black Adder was a girl.

Looking forward to following your (and her) progress.

Garry

Every morning you could see your Landy and say "Hello.........Bob....."

I wouldn't pass up an opportunity like that.

[Ozdunc]

Bob.











Bob.












Bob.













Bob.







Dan, it all sounds like business as usual, from your list of things to do.

Changing the bushes is a complete PITA but highly recommended. You'll need the full toolbox of swear words though.

Look forwards to seeing the changes.
Welcome aboard










Bob.

[reachjatt]

Thats one dirty girl with huge potential ..looks pretty straight

[450Dan]

Thanks, perhaps i shall lean towards Bob then as it seems the popular choice lol. as i say those few pictures are the beginning of the story, she's had a lot more done and i have a couple of updated shots, didn't get much time on her today as i was working till 8pm but i just about managed to rip off the rubber around the mudguards, it was beginning to annoy me looking at it as its quite misshapen and not one of them was cut to match the others, made her look very strange in my opinion.

Bushes i had never had much of a problem with before but my Dad's method involved an oxi torch and some breathing apparatus, neither of which i have to hand and i am assuming that there's a big difference between burning out rubber bushes in the middle of a wet English winter and a hot dry Aussie summer... methinks i might cause a bushfire if i use that technique. going to give drill and hammer a shot with swearbox on standby!

so a few shots taken about 10 mins ago of her current state and please don't laugh too hard at my interior, it might look a mess but its an organised one lol also any purists should probably look away from the dash, one day i shall get proper switches but it can wait till she's mechanically sound

[Johnno1969]

Of course you'll have to change the name of this thread.....

When it comes to changing Bob's bushes, there are a lot of little tricks to make it a bit easier on both you and the old girl.

Looking forward to seeing the project take shape!

Cheers,

John

[450Dan]

Dont suppose you could divulge some of those little tricks? i have the afternoon off work tomorrow and was thinking i might attack the rear suspension bushes, also have a replacement set of springs to put on but that looks fairly straightforward... so long as i can find a big enough stack of bricks to go under the chassis

also, how does one go about changing the title of a thread?

[Johnno1969]

Hey Dan,

No worries. People have used all sorts of ways or removing and installing bushes, and I'm sure that you'll get a few suggestions here.

What I did with my vehicle recently was to drill out a series of small holes right through the rubber all around the circumference of the bush, then knock out the middle (which was pretty easy by that time). Then I broke the outer casing of the bush by carefully hacksawing until it could be split or collapsed at one point, then driven out of the chassis or hanger.

Time consuming, I guess - but pretty simple with no need of making special tools and pretty-much guaranteed to work. Just be careful not to damage anything else with the hacksaw.

On installing the new ones, the chassis or hanger is cleaned and painted, then a film of grease applied to the surface ready to accept the bush. Then throw the new bush in the freezer and go and have a cup of tea. When you've had a nice cuppa, grab the bush, trot out to the Landy and tap it lightly (that's all it should take) into place using an ordinary hammer (and a socket to take the impact to the outer steel casing and not have it absorbed by the rubber).

Cheers,

John