Nada-Wooshka

Just in case you were wondering... I did nothing tonight!

Melting Metal

After recent grinding works, the grover rover has finally become void of its front wheels!!

This now gives lots of room to get stuck into this monster chasis hole and crack!!

As you can see theres stacks of room to get in under the chasis now, and weld until you burst into flames!!

I spent this weekend learning to weld at Dad's, and the rest of the weekend resting from heatstroke, and fume asphixiation!! Chogh-Splutter-Wheeze!

So Ive splurged on this snazzy mask from MSA, it fits under a welding mask! Neat!

Dad lent me an Arc Welder to play with at home...

So now I can make lots of usefull welded stuff in my spare time!

Look! Its a swan!! =D

My Friend the Grinder

The past few weeks have been rather eventfull. With a little help from
my friend the Grinder, the front wheels, axles, springs, diff are off the car!!
(Thanks for the pic Mr Damo)

This weekend, Dad gave me a lesson in welding!
So now I can make chunks of metal into blobby splattery chunks of metal,
that are partially joined, and partially blown open with big holes!! =)
(Guess i need some practice).
I'm learning on a stick welder for now, just so I know the lingo, and don't
look a fool when I buy a MIG from the local tool shop.

Funny Story... My blog has inspired the hubby of one of the girls at work
to go get himself a project car. Im not in too much trouble... even though
he spent most of Valentines afternoon/night working on it!!
Pitty he bought a Jeep though... =D HAHAHahaha

I Cant Believe Its Not Butter

I havent made much progress this weekend, but since it was my brithday, I think thats a good enough excuse.

Oh the joys of a... Drop Saw!! It cut's through hardwood like butter. Not exactly a required tool for rover restoration, but something Ive wanted for a long-ling time! =D (thanks for the pressy Doc).

Trundle Cart

This Sunday, a mate convinced me that, even though it seemed easier to leave the front suspension on the rover.... it would make welding a real bastard!! So, decided to take it off.



We got most of it done. Only the brake lines, and 2 stubborn bolts at the front of the leaf springs remain. If CRC soaking this week doesn't fix the bolts, I'll lop them off with the grinder!! Ooh-Argh-Argh-AAArrrgh... =D

I think Ive got the wiring loom all figured out...
well, all except the blue one...
(PS - I'm stuffed!!)

More Rust!! 8-(

This weekend started with some maintenance of Grandads trusty 'Acme' Compressor.

Firstly the Air filters needed replacing, the foam looked 50 years old! The oil was black, so changed that, not to hard to do either!! All up, foam and oil cost $9.50! Bargain.

50 years of greasy oily grime were covering everything. I couldn't tell if it was leaking oil or air, so decided to clean it with degreaser, give her a sand/wire-brush treatment, and a coat of paint.

Here you can see the finished product in 3 layers of metallic blue hammer finish!! Sweet!

Time to remove the fuel tank so it doesn't explode when we start welding. Was easy to get out, as it only went in 2 weeks ago so we could turn the engine over.

( Don't worry about the wiring spaghetti above, a mate tells me it will be an easy job to figure out where it all goes.... shouldn't be too hard after a few beers! *hic* )

Removing the tank exposed more rust! Joy! Luckily its in a flat panel, so shouldn't be too hard to fix.

Last job of the day, try out the new axle stands. As you can see, 5000kg stands are quite a bit bigger than the cruddy Ausy Auto ones under the axle.... I needed the height (not the load capacity) so that the chassis can be supported when I cut out the rust in the front.... don't want the whole thing to fall on me scone!! =P

***NERD-ALERT***
If you see me on MSN on the weekend, chances are you can start a web cam chat session and see what I'm up to in the garage!! Chances are I'll be scratchin my head with a beer!! =)

Time to pull my finger out

This blog is an ode to my 1958 Series 1 Land Rover, affectionately named "Grover-Rover".

After several happy years of visiting state forests, and national parks, she was put off the road when I blew the rear diff at Sundown National Park. The diff was fixed, but in the process, I found rust in the firewall, chassis outrigger, and a large crack in the front chassis rail.



It has been nearly 5 years since the Grover Rover last took to the hills, and I'll be damned if I let her sit for another year. She'll be 50 next year, and I intend to have her back on the road to celebrate!

Here begins the tale of Project Grover Rover Resto 2007.

We've recently moved out of share houses and units, and into a place with a monster garage. Grover Rover is happy to be home after spending 5 years in Mum's garage (I think Mum's happy too)... with no pedals, and only the drum brakes, getting her off the trailer was interesting...



The fuel electric fuel pump and battery were cactus, so I got a new "Eco" pump, and borrowed a battery from the 2nd car (yep, Grover's the first), and with the help of a mate, we wired up the essential bits and fired her up. Very happy to find that she idles without blowing smoke... after 5 years dormant, its a blessing. Some water leaking from near the fan, probably needs new seals/bearings in the pump.



Removing the firewall was interesting, as one of the main bolts was seized. But some WD-40, an air Impact Wrench and an angle grinder with cutting disc... the job was much easier. Oh, and a big hammer and cold chisel helped too!



Swiss Cheese... rust in the chassis outrigger is extensive, but only the driver side. Lots of welding to be done here...



Firewall mounts are extensively rusted to the point of almost missing. Not sure if I'll repair this, or swap for another firewall I have in better shape.



Front chassis rail, driver side, is very bad, and the main reason she's been off the road. You can see numerous plates from previous attempts to strengthen and repair. The pile-o-weld is someones failed attempt at stopping a crack, which has spread underneath, and halfway up both sides. I'm lucky this didn't snap clean off when I busted the diff in 2002... Repairing will be interesting, because welding upside down is dangerous. I propose to drink beer whilst coming up with a plan of attack... the more beer sunk, the better the plan will be!



I'm sure whomever made the pile-o-weld, also had a hand in on this "MEGA-PLATE"... Only flaw is that it stops short of the stress point that failed on the other side. Might have to cut it off... might not... stay tuned...