LP2a SAR restoration

[Phillip]

Thanks Mike,

As this carrier had very little paint left on it and nothing from which I could discern the pattern, I figured I had some licence to adopt the NT colour scheme.

The grey is is as close as I could find to the AWM sample and has been correctly applied using a brush (with stokes at right angles to the line of the curve) over the green. With a bit of practice, it's surprisingly easy to get the curves and they have this sort of slightly sharp/ slightly feathered edge.

[Mike Cecil]

We'll all look forward to some overall images in due course. In the meantime, great work.



Mike

[Wayne Henderson]

Hey Phil, looking good and up to your usual high standard. My favorite colour too, Envy Green.
I'm sure there's a rule somewhere about only painting carriers green and brown
Awesome work!

[Phillip]

Does anyone ever spend a whole evening in the shed and at the end, wonder what they achieved?

The screws holding the bushes in the swing arms for the rear bogies were either missing or too damaged to re-use so I had to make some more. I found a gasket company to cut the seals as well and these should arrive next week.

Started on the fuel tanks, one is bone dry, the other has the congealed jelly fuel residue that we all know and love so much. I've sealed that tank and currently running a few litres of acetone in there to start cleaning out the gunk.

Plan is to use the POR15 fuel tank sealer. I've used this system a few times before with good results.

[Phillip]

The long awaited pinion pilot bearing is currently clearing customs so should arrive next week.

In preparation I re-cleaned inside the diff and fitted the new bearing races. NOS crownwheel is fitted to the diff centre. Here's the matching NOS pinion next to the old one, you can see the amount of wear in the teeth. I guess the old one would have been okay for a while

Diff gaskets and seals are sitting on the shelf, so once pinion bearing arrives, just have to press the new bearings into the diff centre and pinion, then bolt up and fit diff.

Next, suspension......

[Andrew Rowe]

You may already know this but with setting up the diff the preload on the side bearings of the crown wheel is only achieved by the thickness of your gaskets on the two halves of the diff housing. Good idea is to set this up without the pinion in so you can rotate the crown wheel through the hole to get the desired preload, then when you have worked out how many gaskets you need pull apart , put pinion in and seal gaskets and bolt together, just my idea anyway, cheers Andrew.

[Phillip]

Just after the New a Year, I dropped an original exhaust pipe into the local muffler shop to get them to bend the pipes and find some mufflers that were as close as we could get to right dimensions. I picked up the components from the shop on Thursday and spent the long weekend fabricating and fitting them.

There were a few issues, the first being that I could not get the pipes mandrel formed locally, so had to contend with changing pipes diameters caused by press forming. The second issue was that the mufflers are close but not identical to the originals - The main difference being the that inlet and outlet pipes are 2 1/4” (pipes are 2”) and about 1/2” further in from the edge when compared to the originals.

The change in piper diameters was overcome by turning up some bushes, this allowed me to, starting at the bottom, position everything then weld the pipes to the bushes, whilst allowing the bushes to sit snugly in the muffler.

Once everything was cut, assembled and tacked in place, the top pipes were welded to the muffler and the original cut offs on the lower pipes were welded in place before a (incomplete) coat of paint was applied.

[Phillip]

The semi hollow rivets turned up today, so with a glint in my eye and a handful of rivets I disappeared down the shed for the evening.

Using guesswork and black magic, I made up a former to hold and roll the rivet end and welded these to a sturdy g-clamp. Results are 50/50, the tool works okay but I now have to find some 3/4” rivets and modify the tool to get the right angle on some of the rivets.

[Lynn Eades]

Phillip, over here I used some aluminium rivets. I followed exactly what a friend had done. because of the small quantity, the company supplied and sent them free, believe it or not.
They were solid aluminium with the countersink flat head, and the right length.
I set up a dolly with knob on it, to keep the counter sink finish, and peined them over.
I must add, it was not the most successful thing I've ever done.

[Phillip]

The diff has now been rebuilt, twice. The first time with the correct gasket size 0.010” but this did not provide any backlash, it took a slightly thicker gasket 0.040” to give the right amount of backlash. I can only put this down to the NOS crown wheel/ pinion and bearings and maybe they were ever so slightly different.

Diff is now all installed. Dropped the brake drums and pads into the local brake shop and they will match the pads to the drums.

Assembled the trailing bogies. The nitrile bushes fit and seem to work well at keeping the grease in.

One set of springs are installed, the other boggie is installed and just the other set of springs to be painted and installed. To completely strip and rebuild the suspension has been a laborious job, but I suspect will be well worth it.

Now I can finish making the new brake rods.

[Phillip]

Brake drums and matching shoes are back from the brake man.

The grease seals in the hubs were obviously what ever could be found locally and a galvanised steel shim of around 1mm in thickness was used to hold them in

New grease seals have arrived courtesy of Macs Auto in the US of A (same part number as per the manual) and new snap rings from the local bearing shop.

I cannot find the little steel cap that goes over the top adjuster. It’s probably not that important but would be nice to find.

When I took the springs off, they were not coloured and were all over the place. Some careful checking to the manual and some references has hopefully enabled me to work which spring is the right colour and therefore where it goes.

The first hub is back on and the shoes centred, the second hub can go on until the cap turns up and then I can complete the brake rods.

The engine is still in the machine shop - it needs a new cylinder liner, the heads and block faced and four broken studs extracted. 4 months down the track the studs are out, hopefully another 4 months and the rest may be done

[Phillip]

With the new brake pads fitted last week, Over the weekend I fitted the matched drums and centralised the pads in the drums (well I think I have, there seems to be very little movement in the cam - following the manual, the process seems to be ‘set by feel’ with no way of checking, no wonder the drivers manual tells the drivers not to touch it!)

I made up new brake rods out of some 7/16” 1030 steel rod (courtesy of a friend in Geraldton who can spot 7/16 amongst a whole pile of 12mm stock )

The local brake & clutch shop found me some rubber boots that are a perfect match for length and diameters - both big and small.

Test fitting everything works, even the park brake! Not sure about the return springs, these are a little lighter than original so I may need to find a closer, heavier spring.

Just now have to paint and reinstall.

[Dale Jordan]

Excellent work Phillip . I've been looking for those boots , I'll use that number and try and get some over here thanks for posting . Dale

[Phillip]

I have to admit, this has been my least favourite job, pulling all the suspension apart, removing all the rust, cleaning and painting has been time consuming. But then you get it all back together and it’s a big step closer.

I learned a trick today, when compressing the spring, if the rod moves left or right of the other end of the of the suspension arm, it is very difficult to get get the other springs and the ball end in. The trick was to place a washer under one edge of the spring compression tool to get it to pull the rod straight. Also, this job is definitely a lot easier to do with the suspension on the carrier.

Now onto the front two units, hopefully in time for the arrival of the re-rubbered wheels.

[Phillip]

I am nearly at the end of the suspension. The last bogie is all stripped and the springs, rods, balls, cups, washers etc have been cleaned of rust and painted, ready for assembly.

The idler wheel bearings were in excellent condition so the wheels, once cleaned of solidified grease mixed with dirt (making something akin to concrete), only needed modern seals to replace the old perished cork seals.

I am still waiting on the engine machining to be completed and the re-rubbered wheels to arrive.

Here is the spring and rods prior to cleaning and painting and the other front bogie installed.

[Phillip]

I’ve sure that subconsciously I’ve been putting this off but tonight I finally assembled the last bogie.

Without this clever little spring compression tool, I do not know how you rebuild spring packs as there is a tremendous amount of pressure required to compress that spring.

At the end of these I almost feel like I know what I’m doing

[Lynn Eades]

The brake boot is available under a ford part number via Macs auto but is a common size from back in the day.
If someone needs a wire dia. and length etc. for the return springs, I can check it out.

[Phillip]

The wheels from Hugh arrived a few weeks ago and have now been cleaned and painted.

Bearings have all been completely cleaned of 70 years of petrified grease to reveal very few issues. I have a good supply of bearings and so picked out the best ones before re-packing them. Modern seals have replaced the old cork seals

New wheels installed on a rebuilt bogie, might have the rest fitted by end of the weekend. Booyeh - progress

Looking forward to picking the engine up from the machine shop next week.

[David Dunlop]

Phillip. I was just reviewing your thread and great work on this carrier and spotted something regarding the exhaust system I had missed earlier.

It looks like the exhaust flows up through the two muffler assemblies ant the pipes exit two holes in the upper rear plate assembly.

However, it looks like a “Y” exists ahead of each muffler with a short straight exhaust pipe coming out just below the rear plate, and these two pipes are covered with blanking plates.

Now I am curious as to the purpose of these lower alternate exhaust pipes. They must release a mighty roar when opened up!

David

[Phillip]

David, I do not know the answer!

The manuals are silent on the matter and some carriers do not have the bypass, mufflers or heat shields - just straight pipes exiting up high through the rear plate.

I assume that the engine is more efficient if the lower pipes are open and hence you would get better fuel efficiency, but obviously the trade off is a lot more noise and therefore, less tactical, hence mufflers!

Possibly someone out there has some documentation on the subject that they can share?

[Andrew Rowe]

Evidently, with the New Zealand production of Local pattern carriers, mufflers were introduced in the last 200, of our total production of "roughly" 1200 carriers. Hull Serial numbers were pre dated by an "X" , Cheers Andrew.

[Phillip]

It’s been a long time since I was down the shed. The engine I was planning on using in the carrier turned out to be a dud. So after nearly 12 months in the shop I was a tad bit annoyed

In the depths of dispondency, I followed up on an engine that I had tried to buy a few years ago but was not for sale. (Must sound familiar to most of us?).

The engine in mind was sitting in a junk yard and was in either a welder or generator frame (I can’t remember which) and had a carrier oil cooler attached. On following up it had been sold........then re-sold........and was sitting in a shed less than 2km from my home.

Armed with a dashing smile, my best pleading voice, some glossy photos of a partially restored Bren carrier and a fistful of cash, I called in the current owner.

The guy was happy to show it to me, he had bought it running and was going to put the engine into a truck to restore (Must sound familiar to most of us?) ..... but had changed his mind and was happy to sell it.

The engine has me a little stumped, the block is cast 61 (so not a mercury block) and the engine number is F100! but there are a lot of Carrier tell-tales - it has the pcv valve, two piece sump and the block has been drilled for an oil cooler - oh, and it was with the carrier oil cooler and a carrier radiator.

Throwing caution to the wind, I parted with some cold hard cash for a running V8, possibly carrier, but until I pull the heads off - more likely a generator engine - but who cares - it runs

So I brought my new purchase home, cleaned it up, pulled the sump, replaced the water pumps, fitted the clutch from the old motor and a rebuilt carby. Wired it up and hit the starter and it runs perfectly. So I won’t pull it down yet.

I’ve been given a confirmed carrier block to rebuild so will eventually put that engine in the carrier.

For now this is what is going in. I’ve opted for the 1942 build to suit my later model carrier, but I’m having to manufacture a bracket to mount the oil filled fan opposite the generator pulley, so in this photo the earlier twin pulley generator has been fitted.

[Phillip]

I had planned to build a gantry over Christmas but managed to pull my right leg out of my hip socket, which in turn created back issues and laid me horizontal for five weeks.

Mobile now but on light duties so decided to finish the storage bins and the battery holder.

I’ve not had much luck with modern 6v lead acid batteries, being lucky to get 2 years out of them. I decided to try an Optima 6v. Only issue being the shape, I got around this with a dummy cover. The battery top and tray are one of the few repro parts in this restoration and is just a roughy until I can copy an original.

[Mike Gurr]

Phillip,
A good choice, I have had the same Optima battery on my Carrier for the past 4 years, only gets run occasionally but never fails to start and has held a good charge without any remote charging in all that time.
Cheers

[Mike Cecil]

I use a battery maintainer for the various 12V and 6V batteries that don't get much use for extended parts of the year (generator, ride-on mower, jeeps, tractor), not a charger, and have had no problem thus far with modern 6V and 12V batteries.

Mike

[Phillip]

Looking back, it’s been a fair while since my last post. During my absence from the forum, I made a gantry out of scrap I beam, fitted the engine and completed the wiring.

So many little jobs! In hindsight I’d recommend a table on the outside of the carrier on which to place the plethora of tools and parts that you need whilst working in this space. On a positive note, you get heaps of exercise climbing in and out to go and get that part/ tool that you left on the work bench!

I made up a tool to get the correct bend on the bifurcated rivets holding all the felt in place, this worked well in forming the loops on the rivet arms to keep tension on the rivet head - well worth the effort to get the correct result.

Both fuels tanks are now restored and the near-side tank fitted as this posses the least hindrance to any final works in the engine bay. Thanks to Euan McDonald who had a sample of what was fitted to the hole in the fuel tank under the rear seats - it’s a breather that was discarded on later fuel tanks.

All the fuel lines made up with new fittings, I found cloth covered fuel line but could not source the old style swagged fittings, what you see is the nearest I could get. The purists will note the pick up is rotated 1600mils - this was so the line does not rub anywhere.

One of the few concessions made in this restoration, besides an electronic ignition, is an electronic fuel pump. As I fitted a new mechanical pump, I only wanted to use the electric pump to prime the carby, so I ran an extra wire in the harness so that it can be turned on/ off from the drivers compartment. Works a treat as she fires up easily on 6v.

[Phillip]

I went to fit the rear seat over the fuel tank and decided I didn’t like the look of my re-orientated fuel line, some careful bending of the brass fuel line and I’ve now got the line facing the right way and not touching anything

Fitting the rear seat was fun (not) and I’m not sure that once the engine cover is in place that I’d be able to sit on it!

The wiring is now complete, the capacity to switch the electric fuel pump on and off from the drivers compartment works a treat. I was not getting a charge out of the generator but the coils are giving the right readings, so pulled it out and re-cleaned and polarised it, now charging!

Air filters, engine cover, all those little jobs and (shudder) tracks next!!!!

[John Mackie]

Absolutly great work on your carrier . I only just found your thread, I do not know how I managed to miss it. I would like to add some comments learnt while restoring my carrier.
Exhaurt system. My muffler gaurds were so badly bent that I had to replace all 4, I asked a company to cut some 2.5 "strips from a sheet. they said they had some 2.5" X 0.25 " I gladly bought some . On my carrier the tail pipes were still attatched to very sad mufflers, I re-used the old tail pipes and joined them up to the exhaust pipes , it is alittle throaty but not noisy,
The 2 piece sump you mentioned will not let the engine sit down.. I found out!
On seting up the differential you indicated that you had minimal backlash , maybee the axle may have needed some shims between the axle housing and the pinoin bearing housing.
you have most likley found solutions to these problems but I mention them just in case.

[Phillip]

Thanks John,

Its been a fun learning curve, they are very basic, sooo much easier to work on than the Ferret that was my first project.

My muffler guards had coped a hammering as well, but an oxy and a large hammer got them straight!

Looking forward to being able to get back down the shed soon.

[Phillip]

Well it’s been a busy 2019 but not enough movement on the restoration front. Fighting my end of year apathy, I pulled my finger out (as well as smacked several of them with a sledge hammer) and finished sorting out the track enough to get the old girl mobile.

It steers so just fine-tuning, get the rear tool rack and engine cover restored as well as continuing with all those ‘small details’ to get it finished for April 2020