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	18 September 2013 3rd time to work in the lightweight this week but this morning is quite a bit cooler and it's been raining = steamed up windows and no heater. I thought I would see if I can sort it out when I got home. One of the problems with trying to limit the amount of work you do before a major restoration is how far you go. I'm trying to run it until the chassis arrived. There was volts at the heater motor but no movement. Taking the heater out was the usual protracted effort but not as bad as the MG. The wiring is horrible and I really have to fight down the urge to rip the whole lot out. The motor is dead - I thought I could get away with an old one from the MG. It fits in the heater plate but the spindle is too large a diameter for the fan. So off to order a new one.
	22 September 2013 Fitted the new heater on Friday night. It wouldn't work on slow speed and didn't seem to go very fast on fast. Out on Saturday, the heater started to make some strange noises together with a clattering noise. So it was take the whole lot out again today. With the heater out, I spotted a small shiny indent in the bulkhead. Looking at the fan motor, it was obvious that the fan shaft was too long. I took 5mm of the end with a saw - it now works on fast and slow. I think it didn't have enough go to move on slow. I also fitted another P clip to make sure the wiring was kept well away from the fan. I've also cut the rear floor mat to the right size and sorted out the drivers side seat base. This aluminium sheet was being prevented from going backwards enough by a bolt - so I've replaced it with a rivet. I managed to get the headlamps working but the connectors are very dodgy so new wiring bits are on order from Vehicle Wiring Products.
	23 September 2013 A tale of 2 light bulbs. The correct military headlamp is shown. It has a BPF type bulb with a locking cap to hold the bulb in place. It has the rather unsatisfactory sprung plunger contacts. As I couldn't be choosy, the lights came with 24V bulbs. I thought I would try to get halogen conversions. The bottom right bulb came from a web site advertising halogen bulbs for BPF holders. It even recommended that you purchased the 3 spade terminal connector. Problem was that it didn't tell you how to retain the bulb in the bowl as the locking cap won't fit. In an e-mail exchange it was suggested that I used a piece of wire to lock the bulb in place - next to the contacts?! The correct bulb came from Holdens Vintage and Classic Parts. Note how the correct bulb has a piece of foam to protect it from greasy fingers - the other has nothing.
	26 September 2013 It's never as straightforward as you think it's going to be. The old headlamp came off without too much difficulty. The new one seemed to be difficult to get in place until I realised that it was fouling the bumperette. To have a good look at the options, I decided to take the whole bumper off. So this was the situation at the close of play yesterday. One light fitted, one to do. Having had a poke around the internet today, I have found a post on a forum that says that lightweight bumperettes are different from normal ones; the latter foul the headlamps. Are the correct bumperettes fitted?
	26 September 2013 This is the situation on the offside before I have a serious sort out of the wiring. The horn is going as well. It makes vague sort of sound that isn't going to tell people that you're approaching! The battery clamp isn't doing very much.
	29 September 2013 I had a close look at the bumper mountings. Both are very strange and look if someone has found some odd bits of scrap and welded them in place. The other side is very similar and the bumper has some odd holes in the mounting point area. I've subsequently found that there should be a cross member here which is part of the chassis.
	pic1 29 September 2013 Now with military headlights fitted and looking better than it did. Just got to find a wall and a dark night to get the alignment correct. I've had to leave the bumperettes off for now. Once I get the new chassis on, I'll work out how to fit them so they don't foul the headlight.
	8 October 2013 Starting to get dark in the evenings so I've decided that the time has come for the strip down. I found a local garage with a power wash and have given the underside a good soaking. A surprising amount of filth came off the engine. Back home and the tilt is off followed by the hoodsticks - the front one is a bit bent. Only one nut on the hood sticks is going to need the angle grinder. The left hand door makes lots of strange rustling noises as it came off - I suspect a fair amount of rust inside the frame. Stripping off the tailgates showed that there is a copious amount of paint on the body.
	9 October 2013 200 sealable plastic bags arrived today so I need to get a marker pen tomorrow. All of the bits go in the plastic bags with identification written on the outside of the bag. Tonight the windscreen came off and I found a small piece of paint was missing from the upper bulkhead. With more bits off I've found out that the upper bulkhead has been galvanized and looks in good condition. I've got one pin to get out of the vent flaps which is being difficult. Most of the rest has been straightforward. Taking the bonnet off was simpler than I thought, it's pretty light. I ran the engine for the last time to get it warm so I could drain the oil. Looks like the engine will need a good internal clean. The rear bumperettes are going to be hard to get off. The bolts face inwards into the wheel arch so the nut is getting all the crud from the back wheels. The bolts are over long so there's plenty of thread to rust. Might be a job for the angle grinder. The inside of the shed is pretty awful but it is rain tight. There was a fibreboard floor sitting on plastic sheet. The fibreboard was in poor condition so I burnt it.
	12 October 2013 Getting through the many layers of paint to get a spanner on a nut or bolt is a challenge. It looks like the army just whacked another coat of paint on whenever an inspection was due. I use the blowtorch to burn off the paint so I can get a spanner on. Things are coming apart. I've managed to get one floor panel up and didn't need to take the angle grinder to the nut heads. They are held down by slotted dome head bolts and cleaning the grot out of the slot takes time. Both fuel tanks are out - surprisingly easy.

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144 records found. Page 2 of 15 displayed.