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

[Darrin Wright]

Have been a bit slow with this update from the weekend.
The weather was poor on Saturday, so I spent several hours in the workshop concentrating on finishing the back panel with the pioneer tools and exhaust system.
Moved the Mig to the rear of the BGC and tack welded the rear mudguards in place and also tack welded the muffler and tailpipes in place.
Removed everything from the rear of the hull and moved it to my welding area where I proceeded to weld the mudguards in place and finish welding the tailpipes to the mufflers and the brackets in place on the pipes.
Just have to cut the tailpipes to length, approx. 40mm protrusion from the rear armoured cover.
Welded the bracket in place that holds the track adjusting spanner in location. Even stamped the part number on it.

[Darrin Wright]

Today I installed a road wheel to the LHR suspension unit. Had to clean the paint out of the hole for the wheel pin first, then lined the wheel up and knocked the pin in.
The wheel is a bit tight to turn, but I think that is because of new seals and everything is freshly installed or knocked together. With a bit of a short run it should all free up and spin nicely.

I also took a load of items to the sandblasters today, had 6 wheels blasted, rear armour cover, tool bins, fan shroud and steering linkage items. All undercoated this afternoon/early evening.

Repaired the LHF stub axle and mounting plate. Someone had cut the lug off for the track adjuster bar and gas cut an elongated hole for a mounting stud (previous life it was going to be used on a timber jinker).
I cut a section of rod and inserted it into the original hole and then welded it in place and welded up the hole. Made a paper template for the missing gusset and cut that out of my test floor plate. Finished shaping it to suit, and welded it in.
It is at the sandblasters tonight to be blasted with some other items.

[Darrin Wright]

This morning I painted a lot of the sandblasted items green, including the drivers floor plate and the LHF wheel mounting plate.
Had a friend over this afternoon, so with their help, removed the engine cover from the hull.
This evening I started assembling the pedals to the drivers floor plate and connecting the brake pedal rods to the "L" pivot brackets. Used a diagram from the parts manual to assist in the re-assembly so I don't have to backtrack.

[Darrin Wright]

Busy weekend and start to the week.
Managed to use the front left of the hull as a tool/mounting point to fit up a couple of front stub axle mounting plates to remove front wheels and salvage the bearings and spacer plates.
When finished I mounted the repaired and painted LHF stub axle mounting plate to the hull.

Installed the fan shroud and fitted the generator to check the fit. Looks good so far, unfortunately I had to remove the LH upper coolant pipe. Luckily I have not got around to filling with coolant as I am still researching and debating using waterless coolant or a rust inhibitor/coolant with distilled water.

Continued the assembly of the drivers floor plate, cleaned threaded sections, installed anti-seize, fit clevis yokes correctly, installed a new bearing onto the steering column, individually measured, cut & drilled new clevis pins for the yokes. Still missing some items like the left & right threaded turnbuckles, so will get them made in the next couple of weeks.

After the weekend, flew to Adelaide for work and to catch up with Colin Jones over coffee. Checked out his Acco 6x6 project, progressing well. He has set himself a busy schedule for March 2015. Then back to Melb Tuesday.

[Darrin Wright]

No update last week as all I achieved was a couple of hours washing out wheel bearings and recovering the plates that hold the seals in place inside the wheel. Not really exciting stuff....

However, this weekend was a long weekend and I spent several extra days working at Bandiana; so got a bit done.
With the good weather I pushed the hull outside and prepared the front interior for painting and also a number of parts that can bolt into the front hull. Also painted the rear diff armoured cover, so now it is ready to be installed with 2 coats of green.
Picked 2 of my good NOS wheels and re-greased and installed the front bearings, new seals and managed to get the RHF wheel assembly mounted to the stub axle. Only managed to get the LHF wheel on a little bit before the bearing caught at an angle on the stub axle. Will have to use my puller to remove it and investigate why? possible small burr or maybe I just had it at the wrong angle????
Installed some of the front hull fittings that I painted and hung the rear armour on the back of the hull.

the hull is getting quite heavy for my wheel dollies, so will have to concentrate on getting the bogie suspension stripped, cleaned, painted and installed. Then I should be able to move it in and out on its wheels.

The paint, while using 30% flattening base, did not flatten/dull down as much as last time I painted the rear and exterior of the hull. not sure why, but in time it will fade. So the pics may appear a bit glossy...

[Darrin Wright]

I had to free up and lubricate my handbrake lever and replace the locking nut on the NOS handbrake cable as it had seized. Not sure why, possibly overlooked years ago when I blasted & painted it.
Using new hardware have installed the handbrake cable onto the handbrake lever and installed it into the hull.

Fitted the drivers seat into position. This had been assembled and painted weeks ago. Have used all new slotted nuts and drilling all the bolts for split pins. Even conducted test fitting of driver in position, it will be better with seat cushions I tell myself...
The control rods between steering column to steering cam plate have been placed into position, but not fitted to the cam plate as this is possible a 2 person job. Will enlist the assistance of a child.

Pulled the wiring through the conduit and assembled/installed that into the front hull. This turned out to be quite a job, back then they may have used child labour as I found it a bit tight and working at different angles and upside down added to my problems. Used anti-seize on all bolts and conduit, and if I had to do this again, would recommend installing the handbrake lever after the conduit is in. Even used some original conduit from this hull with bends etc, but upon installation looks like it will need some adjustment the more I install and fit.

[Dale Jordan]

Excellent workmanship Darrin . Good timing for me with these photos, I needed that shot of the conduit layout under the nose . Did you use modern new saddles to hold in place ? also notice that your left hand head light guard must be further outboard on your fender then my carrier . Dale