Sanding and Painting!!

Well, the photos will speak for this blog!

It was a huge effort to clean up the panels and get them prep't for priming.

The sanding was a huge effort and took many hours! 

The drivers door and the entire tub/tray had 4 previous colours. Due to the damage done by sun and weather  we had to remove all paint and get back to the bare alloy.

John, Gerry, Frank and Myself having a dreaming and planning session!
I dont remember where Paul was.. he was probably working!!!

Paul adding primer coat after the etch primer

It looks like Paul has been doing all the painting but actually they all took turns- in fact they would almost fight to have a turn using the gun!

After the etch and primer coats were applied we did 2 coats of the colour to all the inside parts and hard to  reach spots on the panels.

The painted guards baking in our 'oven'

The careful fitting of panels

Bolting it together and trying to align things

Theresa loves the Landy project and its hard to keep her out of the workshop!!

We will be assembling the panels and next week working on the canopy and hopefully finish all the painting. The engine is ready to fire but there have been delays due to huge effort on the sanding and prep for the painting!  The mechanic boys are very excited and had huge smiles as the tub was lowered on the chassis and the frontal started taking shape!

Drivetrain completed

Progress has been steady and now the block, gearbox and driveshafts are in!

The brakes have been overhauled including new wheel cylinders and shoes, new brake hoses and 2 new brake pipes. The master cylinder has been rekitted and the system bleed of air.

The Clutch slave cylinder and master cylinder have been rekitted and with the new clutch plate it feels good so far..

The fuel tank is now in and we are just chasing some 5/16 fuel hose and we can finish the engine side of things..

The engine has had all seals and gaskets replaced. The bearings were inspected and in good looking condition. The head has been tided up with new valve stem seals and cleaned and lapped in valves.

It is fully reassembled and ready to go when the fuel and radiator is installed...

Bulkhead completed

So we have now completed the bulkhead. It took many more hours than first thought and alot more finishing than first ever imagined.

We undercoated the welds and patches and any other areas of concern and then gave it a quick paint in its new colour blue. This will save us alot of time later on and will look better when the bonnet and doors are opened.

Paul is finishing a few grinds off...

The painted bulkhead refitted and the dash, wipers. wiring etc is being cleaned, inspected and refitted.

The brakes have been given an overhaul. New wheel cylinders and shoes. All seals on the diff and drivetrain have been replaced. 

Meanwhile the new engine has been stripped down to a short block.....

more on that later....

Back in action...

Well, its been a couple of months but now we have made the time and space and since the crate of spare parts that were sent over from NZ had arrived, we decided to tackle the Landy project!

Unfortunately I was in Nz for my brothers wedding and I wasn't there to capture the huge smiles and wide eyes as the crate was picked up from the wharf and unloaded into the workshop.

It was an impressive list of items that were included in the crate! A big thanks all you who helped make the project go ahead!!!

We stripped the remainder bits and pieces off the chassis and then cleaned it with a wire wheel and then painted it with the black chassis paint supplied in the crate.

Removing the bulkhead/firewall 

The chassis painted and ready for assemble!!

The bulkhead, upon closer inspection, needed abit more work than we first anticipated. Paul and I tackled this part. We cleaned it up and then got to work cutting/grinding out the rust and then began welding in some patches. A few of the seams needed to be cut out especially around the 'hydralic' areas. Also both door check strap stays were badly rusted and needed repair- see pic below.

We hope to have the bulkhead finished in the next day or two. Gerry and John have been getting the front and rear diff ready for install with the reset springs so hopefully that also will be a ready in a couple of days time. I will keep you posted as progress picks up!!

Cheers for reading!

The team

Well, we have almost completed the stripping down of the chassis and bulkhead. We are undergoing some minor rust repairs on the bulkhead and have waterblasted the chassis.

Again, its surprising to see the chassis in so good condition!

I would like to introduce the team members who are working and training under me and Paul at SWIM.

From left we have Frank, Gerry, John and the foreman Paul.

Paul has been with me since the start almost 3 years ago and the younger men are in various

stages working towards their Mechanics Certificate. They are all enrolled in Training Centers or Vocational Institutes in the Solomon Islands. The work experience that the gain here will see them signed off on the practical aspect of their learning.

They are very excited to be doing a project this thoroughly!

Kiwis to the rescue...

Once we had drawn up a large list of the items that the Landy needed, we needed to find someone with experience to see if it was a worthwhile project. During my time in the Waikato I knew that one of my friend's Dad, Derk, was a Landroverholic. So I found Derk's email address and sent him a photo and a short description of what we were trying to do and what we needed. Needless to say, Derk's enthusiasm for this Landy project exploded and he immediately started asking around and sourcing parts. It was never a case of if it was possible but of 'lets start hunting for the bits we need!'

Through Derk's hard effort and time, he found other interested people who are willing to help out and who also have contributed spare parts or money to source parts. This series 3 was found locally for sale and it was purchased as the main donor vehicle for this project.

It was towed over to his place and carefully stripped and then itemized to see what was still needed.A 2.2cu box is leaving for Honiara by ship through Pacific Freight Management in Auckland this weekend full of spare parts that will make this Landrover live again.

Included in the box is an engine, gearbox, clutch, driveshafts, both differentials, new brake linings and wheel cylinders, reset leaf springs, paint, lights and switches and more...

This is the donor vehicle pictured in a state of dismantlement. Collecting and organising the parts was a mammoth effort and was all directed and organised by Derk in NZ.

Derk, many, many thanks for your willingness and eagerness to help out this training center in the Solomon Islands. God bless you!

Personaly, it has been so heart warming that through friends and even total strangers this project has been able to lift off the ground! Thank you to you all.

Health inspection

We towed it into SWIM base and gave it a much needed water blast. The idea now was that we needed to see if it was a viable vehicle to use a project. If it could be repaired then we wanted to get stuck in and have to completed before the end of the year. If it was too far gone then we had to let reason win over our emotions and let this one go...

So we started to strip it down starting with the engine and drivetrain. We systematically assessed each different part of the landrovers mechanicals.

We needed a full health inspection before we could make an assessment on its future.

So we started at the engine that was totally seized and a few valves stems had even rusted right through and the valves were sitting on top of the pistons.

The pistons were so seized in the bore that no amount of soaking and hitting would free it up.

The timing chain tensioner had colapsed at some stage during its running days and the timing wasnt far away from causing more problems...

Some parts had been pilfered over the years including the front driveshaft, rear shocks, alternator, starter motor and various fuses and small items. The rear screen had been smashed also.

The brakes were all seized and so was the clutch and all hydralics associated with both.

But!!

The chassis was in remarkable condition! There are no holes or signs of serious corosion on the out riggers, firewall and hinge points.

So as a summary it needed alot of work but was definetly salvageable if the parts could be sourced....

How the Landy found us...

In May 2012 while helping a friend, a fellow kiwi, here in Honiara Solomon Islands, start his tractor, we spied a series 3 Landrover in dilapidated condition, tucked away underneath the coconut and rain trees on his property. Immediately, my curiosity was piqued. After 3 days holding my tongue, I had to ask the questions: "What is wrong with the Landrover? Why is it sitting there?"

He explained that it had overheated or broken down (he couldn't remember. It was that long ago.) He had no plans for it and was in fact contemplating getting rid of it.

Never one to let a Landrover go to waste I immediately started dreaming of how to make it possible to restore the old girl to its former beauty...

But first let me introduce myself:

In Jan 2010 Lauretta, my wife, and I, Jair, came over from the Hawkes Bay to volunteer here as a ‘deed’missionary. Family and friends in NZ give us financial support. This role covers all the practical aspects of this mission base. Some of my responsibilities here include managing the base and its facilities and vehicles, working in local prisons, providing agriculture support to some local secondary schools; rural training centers; and other community groups, and coordinating short-term teams from overseas to help in identified areas of need, e.g. education, sewing, maintenance, health/nutrition, finance, youth and children’s ministries…

I’m a mechanic by trade and have worked for 10 years in the automotive trade in NZ. At the SWIM base we have set up a small workshop with basic tools to provide other mission organizations and church, charity groups with basic servicing and repair of their tractors/vehicles/ small engines. Paul, a local man has been with me for 2 1/2 years now is the ‘foreman’ and each year we take 2-3 students from training centers and provide the practical experience they need to complete their training and receive a trade qualification.

I teach them theory lessons 1 afternoon a week and we also cover basic welding and fabrication. This is on top of the servicing and repair of vehicles, machinery, water pumps, generators, tractors, outboard motors and lawn mowers and 2 strokes.

We charge an hourly fee that covers their wage and costs for running power from generators. This mechanic training program is self sufficient and non profitable.

We try to undertake at least one big repair or semi restoration project per year as it provides valuable experience in all aspects of the motor vehicle.