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

[Ian Fawbert]

Hi Darrin,

Sounds like a good place to start! Best of luck getting it sorted and I hope she's up and running soon!

Cheers,
Ian.

[Darrin Wright]

In the last 2 weeks have been busy with Scouts and this has reduced my ability to work on the BGC, on the other hand I have hiked approx 28km and feeling quite fit.

With the weather improving I sprayed 1 coat of spray putty/filler onto the front of the hull, it will have a week to harden before I can start to sand it down with my sanding board.
Finished both tail pipes that run under the hull, have test fitted them so that I can work out type/style of muffler to purchase. I am unsure if the muffler input is centrally located or off set, so if anyone has a pic of a muffler (top & bottom) that they could share- thanks!

Cut and fabricated a small metal bracket that holds the mortar base plate into its stowage location, only a small job but something that I had forgotten about.
Also bought some of the bolts to secure the cast plates that hold the tube axle rollers in place, still have to get more; but what I have has been painted.

Fitted a carby kit to my Chev blitz, it runs better but still not 100% yet.

[Darrin Wright]

This weekend I had an extra day at home due to work commitments, so made the most of it.
After evaluating what & how the exhaust system should be, I bought 2 mufflers from the exhaust shop in Wodonga. Bought 2 "Sterling 0328 R" mufflers, they are 6" dia x 12" long (original mufflers 14-16" in length- this will give me a little extra room at the top to fit the remainder of the tailpipe). They have a 1 3/4" input & output, both offset by 90 deg with a clockwise twist.

The exhaust pipe in the BGC is 1 1/2" dia, so the exhaust place gave me some pipe that will create a step-down between the 2 sizes.
So with these items I commenced fitting up the exhaust system, cutting and shaping the step-downs and welding.
Still more work as I have to get the R pipe bent to align with the hull floor elbow.

It is becoming apparent that the exhaust system must have been fitted into the BGC and welded up, then the diff fitted. I will install mine so that it is a 2 piece assembly that won't detract from the original item.

Also finished the last Y piece, bought more nuts & bolts so that I could install the outlet flaps for the straight through section/outlet. I had to go with modern wing nuts as I had no originals (cannot remember if I had them or not even though all items were bagged & tagged).

[Darrin Wright]

Due to the good weather I rubbed down the front section of hull that I had applied spray putty to last weekend and re-applied another coat. Will let that dry during the week and rub it down next weekend and it might be about right. Hard work and lots of dust rubbing down that large panel, but wish to keep body filler to a minimum.

Also welded the old pedals onto the new tube section that I have created, made sure that I had the alignment between the clutch & brake pedals correct. I will also install a grease nipple fitting to the shaft/tube as late model BGC had that and it will improve the pedal function. Soon I will move on to the new lazer cut drivers floor plate and start to fit the pedals and drill all the holes.

Also fitted another 6V coil to the engine and checked that it was wired correctly and had spark- yes to both of those; however, ran out of time to attempt to start it.
Next weekend.

[Darrin Wright]

This weekend I managed to purchase more bolts for the brackets that hold the exhaust system under the hull in place, I also bought some more exhaust items. Will drop back later in the week to collect the rest of it. So with those items I have located and bolted in the 2 exhaust pipes under the hull, the mufflers are 1/2 converted, will finish with the remainder of exhaust items.

Worked on the engine cover as I had some minor tasks remaining, I did manage to find the fuel dip stick still in the holder, unfortunately it was affected by rust & red dust. So I carefully cut the welds and cleaned out the crap, pushed the metal cover back into position and re-welded it.
I also fabricated the tabs the allow the engine cover side panels to be latched closed.
Removed several broken bolts in the rear suspension units and re-threaded some holes, removed the split pins from the spring rods so these are ready for sandblasting. Tried to remove a wheel by knocking out a pin, 1/3 out then the internal spacer may have caught on the recessed section of the pin stopping it from moving further out. Leave that until later...

Tries to start my engine, unfortunately I think the started has a problem as it will not turn over. So I have disassembled that several times and checks the field windings and armature. I think the problem is in the armature, so will take it to an auto electrician next weekend. So it still will not start, but not due to the engine. It may be due to cranking it on 12V, not sure. I have had other starter motors crank on 12V with no problems.

I unwrapped the asbestos exhaust head shields, and they are in better condition that what I remember, so with a lot of green paint I coated them so there will be no dust particles. I will reuse these as there are in really good condition. I also managed to paint a large number of nuts & bolts and smaller fitting ready for later.

[Darrin Wright]

Completed painting the exhaust heat shields and fitted them (after buying more bolts) to the rear of the hull. It is good to get items fitted, feels like I am making progress- just do not look at the overall bigger picture which is much slower.

Painted the gearbox, engine cover interior, side covers to the engine cover, lower engine cover panels, some other smaller items and more nuts & bolts.

Fitted the cast mounts that support the tube axle in the hull. This is a 2 person task, so enlisted my youngest and taught him how to use a ratchet.

Completed rubbing back the front armour section and applied another coat of spray putty to build up the lower/shallow areas. On Sunday I rubbed that back again, and being reasonably happy with the surface gave it a coat of undercoat. Continuing with the progress, once that was dry a light sand and a coat of green.

Anyway, some pics...

[Darrin Wright]

Also completed the brake pedal assembly and welded in a grease nipple fitting.
Will get this sandblasted and painted soon.
Also added to the pile of parts to be blasted, with the good weather I hope to do this soon.