SWB re-chassis

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Rubins4

Rubins4

Well-Known Member
Posts
813
As threatened, here is my Series 3 2.25 petrol rebuild.

I started off a couple of months ago and have been doing the odd day at the weekend around work.

It started off in here. It was a daily, then sat for 6 years...



Then get moved...



and ended up in my rented barn...




I knew the rear x-member was buggered, so new that was on the cards. There is a bit of something leaking out of the brakes and the gearbox, and it generally looked a bit shabby underneath so a strip down and rebuild was in order. Its a very original vehicle, whch I hope to preserve to a reasonable extent but I do not consider myself a rivet counter either. I would like a mechanically sound usable vehicle at the end of this, so will make the odd alteration to make camping and weekends away more pleasant. One day I would like to go to Morocco :eek:

ok, so I started taking it to bits...


IMAG0640.jpg
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So, problems so far...

This is obviously a replacement for the orginal. It must have been made of tin foil...


Chassis splitting...



Some patch work... I'm going to put a galv chassis on the old gal so this one will be up for grabs in due course. The front end seems good as far as I've seen.



More dismantling...




This is where I am up to now. I've been buying some bits and pieces as I go along. The door tops and a door bottom are shot, but I've managed to find a rebuilt set that need some paint. The back door is rotten at the bottom but i've managed to get hold of another with a good frame to swap over.

I've just put my first parts order in for rebuild parts from Wapsipurt, hopefully they will be here for the weekend.

Any advise, assistance encouragement or (constructive :D) criticism welcome :p

Oh, someone has expressed an interest in the capstan winch. I had a look on the bay and there is a mint one for a grand!:eek: Is that right?! How much would one in reasonable nick be??
 
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Has capstan got all running gear with it ? If so could be worth a good few hundred on ebay maybe nudging 600 if you get lucky or more!

Depends who bids really, merkins may want one for their series in states if you list on US ebay
 
Yeah, I've got all the running gear for the winch, including the paperwork. :D

I've just had a better look on ebay. One of the stubby cranking handle is on there for 50 quid! The UJ with shear pin £150!! WTF... someone having a laugh.

Box of bits turned up this morning... bearing/seal kits for rear axle and Fr & Rr prop rebuild kits.

What do I do? Continue stripping down or start repairing.... help.
 
Hi again. Just looking at ebay and found a link for a selction of nuts, bolts, washers etc.
ebay link

This looks helpful, given I've stripped, sheared and rounded various things so far.

Question is, is there way to tell if my landy is UNF/Metric/BSF as suggested at the bottom of the link. Are there dates that are likely to be an indicator? Mine's an '82...
 
I bought a mint capstan off someone on the s1 forum a few years ago - at least 3 but no more than 5 - that was £450 iirc. so maybe they have gone up a bit since then, I would say a grand was over the top but I guess it depends on condition and how badly you want one.

As dr evil says it has to have everything to be worth top dollar. Often the bit that connects to whatever it is that drives the winch from the engine is missing, usually still attached to the engine of whatever landy the winch came off :D.

incidentally the winch is still in my garage waiting for me to get round to putting it on a landy, as is the overdrive I bought at roughly the same time
 
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Rubins4 said:
Hi again. Just looking at ebay and found a link for a selction of nuts, bolts, washers etc.
ebay link

This looks helpful, given I've stripped, sheared and rounded various things so far.

Question is, is there way to tell if my landy is UNF/Metric/BSF as suggested at the bottom of the link. Are there dates that are likely to be an indicator? Mine's an '82...
Click to expand...

Unless you're worried about things being fully restored it doesn't really matter.
there's a few specific bolts that matter like ones with captive plates but generally you're just looking for something the same size to join the body panels.

on mine, i just kept a single bolt of each type i sheared with a note of how many I'd need and went to a local engineers shop, they matched me around 150 various sized bolts with washed and nyloc nuts all stainless steel and a selection of size specific one too. total cost was around £24

i bought of a few of these ebay pre bagged sets too, they're good for convenience bad for price
 
Thanks for the info chaps.

I've kept all the knackered nuts and bolts. As you describe would have been sensible. At the minute I have got everything in small zip lock bags, jam jars, card board boxes and yogurt pots with everything labelled.

Seems you got a good price. I dont think mine will be so little, although I must say all seems to have come apart reasonably well so far. :)
 
Rubins4 said:
Thanks for the info chaps.

I've kept all the knackered nuts and bolts. As you describe would have been sensible. At the minute I have got everything in small zip lock bags, jam jars, card board boxes and yogurt pots with everything labelled.

Seems you got a good price. I dont think mine will be so little, although I must say all seems to have come apart reasonably well so far. :)
Click to expand...

shouldn't be much at the right place.

i didnt mean to say they matched 150 individual bolts, just a few single ones at 25/50 each. generally it's not too important if you're just attaching body and trim, but it is nice to have them match up
 
So, I've been slowly working away at the strip down, pics to follow. Been slow progress, but getting the bulkhead slowly stripped. I was going to strip it completely to have new footwells welded in but the dash is a bugger to remove. Think I'll just strip the affected areas.

Anyway, the brake and clutch assemblies are out, as is the steering box. The relay on the other hand... Got both arms off it but think I will have to get a replacement relay. I've seen some talk of safety issues regarding aftermarket units, is this just britpart or the others too?
 
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Looks like you've got a big job on there! I picked up a series 3 as a project earlier in the year, and got as far as stripping it down but got impatient and found a better. Ne that was still on the road!

Daydreaming of picking up a new chassis for the project - lots of holes and weak points on the existing one, have you picked where you're getting yours from yet?

Not sure about the units, the parts I've bought that have come in a blue box seem to have been okay, but I've heard some bad press about the brake units... I'm sure someone else will put me right!

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing how the pictures come out!
 
Thanks Nick. Yes indeed, big job!! I'm at that stage now were if I'm about as far from the end as could be, so really need to keep some momentum to keep things moving.

The landy was passed on from my uncle who had it for years as his daily and was reticent to pass it on. So for me, it's this landy and no other. Although there is a certain appeal to getting a nice one and going for a drive on a day like today. :)

I had originally intended to use only genuine parts for the whole thing, but having seen the prices of things I soon scrapped that idea! :eek: Instead, I've settled on not using any britpart's so I have to select my suppliers carefully. So far I've ordered from wapsipurt who tell me they dont use BP at all so that makes life easier. If someone tells me a particular BP item is ok then I'll certainly consider it, but having heard so many bad experiences it just seems false economy.

Anyway, less rambling... I'll have another day at it tomorrow and will report back with pics :)

EDIT: oh, as for chassis, got to be Richards by the look of it. I'm considering having second tank mounts fitted as I would love to do an expedition one day and it would give that flexibility of a second tank closer to the time, and also a bolt on cross member to assist gearbox removal in future if required. Can anyone advise the pro's & con's of this thought process, and any suitable alternatives to Richards? Many thanks ;)
 
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I have just rebuilt my steering relay , hardest part was compressing the spring.[Made a tool for the job.
Had mine out as galvanised chassis , some people have serviced them in place.
Parts where Britpart from Paddocks but looked ok .
Split Bush S/Relay
537877
4​
£8.04 ​
Steering Relay Spring
230759
1​
£1.95 ​

ordered 4 of bushes by mistake only 2 needed.
Oil seals STR213340 69P@
Stopped the oil leak and the knock I had whilst turning.
There was a tiny bit of pitting on cone face of the top of the shaft but I know its the right steel been on there for awhile.
Have not heard any bad reports of Bearmach shafts or relays.
What do you think is wrong with yours as when I renewed my chassi in 2010 I just changed the oil seals and got 2 years further service with no problem.
 
Thanks for the info Blackburn. Main issue with mine is it's not coming out! :)

I can either spend some time trying to remove it then service it and replace in the new chassis or just get a replacement and fit when the time comes. I've just seen the price of replacements and consider it reasonable. My relay is tighter in places than others when turning by hand, so a service would seem sensible.

Glad to hear bearmach are ok! :)
 
I ended up cutting mine out with an angle grinder - 'cos I'd refurbished it in situ the previous year as I couldn't get it out!
 
I'm here with the grinder in my hand....hmmm....:rolleyes:

No, gonna try and sell the chassis so it can go with it. I reckon it wants a new crossmember anyhow but I'll let some else grapple with that :D
 
Well, slow progress this weekend so not a great deal of development to report on. Slowly stripping the bulkhead, heater, blower, brake and clutch assemblies removed. Throttle looks quite complicated so might try and leave it on.

The steering is all off, the box will need a rebuild and a replacement relay obtained. The balljoints came out of the drag link ok mind. I dont think the track/steering rod ball joints will be quite so easy. :(

I've been trying to get the dash apart to remove the wiring from the bulkheads. Its a right ####er. Any advise anyone?

Also got the vice mounted which has come in useful for the above, and fired up the genny and grinder to take off the rear bump handle things of the rear cross member.



My work bench...


Can anyone tell me what the black & white pull out switch does? Its broken so I need a new one
 
Ok, chassis order going in soon, hopefully.

Is there any reason not to go for a bolt in gearbox crossmember? The flexibility of dropping the box seems quite handy, but does in make the chassis more prone to rot in the long run or anything? Ta
 
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