Restoration of Hull 731- Carrier, MG (Aust) Mortar Carrying

[Darrin Wright]

During the week rang and organised to recover the engine on the weekend.

Went out to the farm after lunch to prepare the engine for removal from the truck chassis. 1 1/2 hours later in the cold and drizzly rain and all wiring and bolts removed or cut with the oxy. Managed to slide the engine forwards 1/2". All good, unfortunately the farmer has not arranged a floor crane for the lift, so will have to wait until another weekend to lift it out.
The radiator may be from a BGC, it has been recored but the lower tank and outlet pipes are stepped and I think this is a feature of BGC radiators. The overflow pipe goes down the left side just below the top tank. This may have been changed to suit the truck application.

I cut the remaining bolts that hold the roller assembly in for the centre tube axle, then spent another 20min pulling & pushing the axle back and forth to get it out of the hull. Figured out that it is a very tight fit and any grime and rust scale slows it down as it moves through the hull and the casting that holds the rollers. There is approx 1-2mm clearance between the tube axle and the casting. Once cleaned up, out it came.