NATO hitch

Having got the wide track back from Mansfield without incident and muscling it onto the drive I had to think about how I was to fit the NATO hitch and whether the ball hitch could be fitted as well. I wanted to get the NATO hitch higher on the rear cross member so the trailer tipped forward as little as possible.

First job was to get the NATO hitch off Degsy and replace it with the old drop plate. With the drop plate in position I worked out where the NATO hitch could be fitted and what it meant for the old ball hitch. I determined there was enough room for both but the higher the NATO hitch could be fitted the better. I marked out the bolt hole for the NATO hitch on the drop plate and proceeded to drill them out. I bought the 13mm drills, nuts, bolts and washers the previous day. I damaged one drill but before one hole was drilled. Next I got a 6mm drill bit and piloted the four holes. Next a 10mm then a 12mm. The 13mm bits where wreaked so I got the rat tail file out and set about opening up the holes. It was a bit tedious but with 30 minutes I had all the holes opened up to accept the 13mm bolts with a bit of wiggle room. I putt eh bolts through the hitch and hitch onto the drop plate. Is was a good bit and with a bit wiggle room. I took the hitch off again and offered the drop plate up the the rear cross member. I put a couple of bolts through the old hole to hold the plate in place. I marked up the holes for the cross member using the drop plate as a template. Next the holes where to be drilled. The 6mm went through first then the 12mm. The 12mm was long enough the reach the inner face of the box section rear member and using the hole in the outer skin that inner skin was drilled out. Then I ran the better of the two 13mm drills through all eight holes. The rat tail had to be used to tidy up the burs. I gave all the raw edges of the holes a coat of Hammerite paint, hopefully to keep rust at bay, then I offered up the drop plate together with the hitch. The wiggle room was needed but all four bolts slipped in fairly cleanly. I put the washers and nuts on the inside face of a rear member and nipped them up. I stepped back to make sure the drop plate was vertical as was the hitch. A small bump with the hammer to adjust the plate and the nuts were tightened. The holes for the four old bolts that held the drop plate where almost lined up. I ran the appropriate size drill each of the pair of holes and was able to replace those bolts. This was a result as the drop plate now has eight fixings instead of four.

With the drop plate secured it was an easy decision to replace fit the old towing ball, step and light socket into the old position. With everything secured I stepped back admire my handy work. The space between the top of the ball and the bottom of the hitch is a bit tight. However the NATO hitch has a trick up its sleeve. By removing a pin and flipping out a tag the hitch rotates and that makes room for the ball trailer hitch. The next job is to do a bit of painting to rust proof the new items and generally make it look tidy then to oil and grease all the moving parts. I have one last item to get which is a safety pin for the hitch lock. I hope to get a chain so the pin does not get lost.

Nuts and bolts

Degsy went back to the garage last Friday for a nuts and bolts check. They also sorted the trailer light sockets, side step and the hand brake. The offside front indicator decided to stop working. After the lottie I had a look at it. The bulb was not popped so I tracked the wiring back thinking it might have chaffed through on the body work. What I found was that the earth wire was loose in a connector. I put the bulb back in and refitted the lens. All's well again.

I am now thinking about how I am going to fit the fog and reverse lights. There are also the interior lights to consider. Oh and the front spot lights and maybe a rear working light.

I found a dog guard on ebay but it still a bit too dear at £40. I am hoping a can find a second hand one at Craddocks. I fancy a trip out in a few weeks time.

Degsy's Refurb

Degsy went for a new chassis on August 1st 2010 and it came back 4th Feb 2011. Even though they had it so long they did a few extra jobs for me at no extra costs. I gave the mechanics a petrol tank, windscreen and heater matrix. The mechanics fitted these items as part of the job. They also fitted a new gearbox oil seal and checked the clutch plate. I was worried the heavy duty drop plate would not be transferred but I should not have worried. They also fitted a complete set of new copper brake pipes. On each wheel there is a flexible brake hose. The normal hose is rubber but the mechanics fitted stainless steel braided hoses which is a result. The axles have had a really good cleaning. The exhaust has been fixed so the engine is very quiet now. The contacts and rotor arms were changed and the timing set. Degsy runs really nicely.

Despite the long time it took from start to finish the mechanics did extra jobs and all for the same price as was quoted. The only downside is that the trailer socket has not been refitted and the hand brake needs adjusting. I have to take it back on the 18th to have everything checked and tightened so I will have the outstanding items fixed.

Soon v soon

I went to see the Land Rover people in their new premises. I was very pleased to see Degsy on the lift. The bonnet was up. A chap was fettling with the spark plugs. Apparently they could not get it running. Degsy might have had a colander for a chassis but it ran beautifully. I figure they will get it running. Then down for a MOT.

The mechanics asked if a wanted inner wing mud guards. I have been looking for them for ages so I said yes. They keep the worst of the mud out of the engine bay. Friday so what time should I go for Degsy?

Committed

The rebuild is started. The old chassis is chopped up in three bits so that means there are pile of bits that are Degsy. There is no way back from here. The pictures below show the state of the old chassis. It does mean that the new chassis was the right and probably the cheaper option. The new chassis is at the paint shop. The new chassis is galvanised so is a bright Zinc silver in colour. Since you can see the chassis peaking out under the bodywork I thought it would look wrong. I have opted to have it painted black. The paint a special concoction that adheres to Zinc and it lends another layer of corrosion protection.

So the fist picture is what a new galvanised chassis looks like.


Then this is what mine looks like.

This picture is the top of the chassis half way between the rear spring hangers right where the damper is fitted. The chassis is box section but as you can see it is "U" shaped now. The other side of the chassis was almost as bad.

This picture is the underside of the front end of the chassis. At the top you can see the crap welding just where the side rail meets the cross member. This is also the point where the steering box is situated so there is a lot of mechanical stress in the area. On the lower rail you can see a big split along the upper edge of the rail. This a high stress area so a solid box section is a good idea.

I have been promised a new bumper because the chassis round the bolts that hold the bumper on is so badly bodged that the bolt cannot be got at.

About time

Finally today I found out that my chassis is to be delivered on Wednesday. About time I have been waiting for the chassis since 31st July. Apparently Richard's chassis had a vital piece of machinery breakdown so I could get a chassis. My buddy Steve has lent me his lightweight but it is a bit too late. I could have done with it a few months ago. It is a nice gesture. Ta Steve.

Prep

Degsy is off to the garage on Monday for the new chassis. It was too hot for allotmenting today, so after I had done the muck run and the bees, I set about the dual tasks of tidying up the garage and prepping Degsy for Monday. I emptied the back of Degsy of all the gardening paraphernalia. By tidying up the garage I managed to find a new home for everything. I then took the decking, that makes the shelf in the tub, to bits and stowed it in the garage.

Next job was to remove the spot lights from the bumper. A squirt of oil and a bit of spannering and they where free. I pulled the feed wire back into the engine bay and taped it up. I was a little apprehensive doing the next job, fitting the new bonnet. The hinges for the bonnet are not subtle. On the body there is a tube with a slot in it. The other part of the hinge is on the bonnet and it is just a plate with a slot cut in it. You just open the bonnet until it is 90 degrees to the floor. The slot in the body part of the hinge lines up with the bonnet part and simply lifts out. Fitting the new bonnet is the reverse. Dead easy. The manual says you need two people. I did it on my own. However the manual does not suggest you stand on the engine! I closed the bonnet and to my relief the hinges ran smoothly and the bonnet catch engaged perfectly. Then it was small job the fit the bonnet stay. To do the bonnet job from start to finish took less than ten minutes.

The last thing to do was take out the passenger seats and stow them in the garage. Having finished all the job and tidied up. The very last thing to was run over to the tip and dump the out bonnet and other bits of rubbish.

A big decision

A very big decision has been taken. It is one that I knew had to made the day I parted with cash for Degsy, do up or do away with. I have decided to to "do up". I found a Land Rover specialist a couple of miles from home. I cannot believe what he is to charge me. It sounds a bit cheap but folks tell me that his pricing is a bit random since it depends what he thinks he can get away with. He must have though me a deserving case....I am!

Degsy is to have a new chassis, footwells, passenger seat well, windscreen, petrol tank, track rods ends, heater matrix [I have had that in a box for a year], the gearbox seals renewed, and I get an MOT thrown in. I am thinking I will the whole hog and have the clutch renewed whilst the gearbox is out. I am having the chassis painted black. I do not fancy a shiny chassis beaming out from under the shabby panel work.

I have had a few results on Ebay. I got a full windscreen for a tenner, a petrol tank for £15 and the passenger seat well for £16 and the sellers were within a couple of miles of each other. Result all round.

The Step

This was one of the first run in's with Degsy. The wrestling match took place in July 2009. Best of three falls or a submission to decide the winner.

I decided to fit a step to get into the back to motor. It is a big step up and I figure I will probably rupture myself if I try to cart a super of honey or trays of spuds into the back of the motor. I got the step from the suppliers a couple of weeks ago. The step has a bar with two holes that line up with the bolts of the tow hook. So all you have to do is undo the bolts holding on the hook, slip the step bracket up to the blots and nip it all up again. I knew this was going to be easier said than done. First I had to find a supplier of replacement bolts for the hook. The current bolts would be too short with the extra thickness of the step bracket. I also knew that I would probably wreck the bolts getting them out. I had put a spanner on the bolts during the week and could not move them. A trip out to Breedon to the caravan shop solved that problem. Just the right nuts and bolts for a couple of quid. I had guessed that the hook was held on by nuts and bolts. Some perverse hook fitter put the nuts on the inside of the hook bracket so you could get a good purchase on the nut. I dribbled on plenty of WD40 and 3 in 1 oil and had a go at loosening the nuts, no chance. About 40 minutes of oiling and cajoling managed to get the nuts to come free. This released the tow hook assembly. Now I had the threaded ends the bolts sticking out the bracket. More oil. I gave the studs an optimistic rap with the hammer. The blows resounded through Degsy like a drum. More oil. I got the sockets and spanners out to try to spin the bolt and work it out of the drop plate. The drop plate is the lump of plate steel that has the tow hook on one end the and is bolted to Degsy are the other end. No joy. More oil. I decided that if a cut the bolt heads off I might be able to drift out the bolt shaft. Aching arms, two hacksaw blades and several skinned knucles later the bolt head were on the floor. Because of the awkward location of the bolts some of the bolt head still on the bolt. A very bad scenario. I got the angle grinder out and went to town on the remaining metal. Laying on my back under Degsy, sparks shooting everywhere and dirt falling all over me from the underside of Degsy, oh and did I mention it was at least 27C. Lovely. Job done I packed away the grinder, no doubt to the relief of the neighbours. I rapped the bolts again but nothing. More oil and more hammering. Nothing, no movement at all. I the idea crept into my head that the bolt might actually be a screwed rod with nuts on both ends. So no amount of hammering would draw the "bolt". It was tea time, I was hungry and my patience was wearing thin.

H had dropped Miss L off to a party and was staying over. H and I had Tea and got the chiminia going in the back garden and lit loads of T-lights, opened a bottle of something red and just had a chat, sat by the pond as the night drew in. Then it came to me as I pondered. What I need is a big set of mole grips, better yet a set of 24" Stilsons [a type of adjustable wrench for round objects]. My Stilson went to good home along tome ago. It was too late in the day to anything about it. Tomorrow 10am at Massey's they will have the tool.

Massey's did have the very tool. I got a stud extractor as well in case the Stilson did not work. Back home by 10.30 so everyone in the street sound be up. If they weren't, they so would be. More oil on the bolt. I tackled the left bolt first as there was room to swing the wrench. The wrench just chewed up the threads and would not budge. Then I drilled a hole in the bolt end, inserted the extractor gave it an good turn and "ping" the tool snapped. Now I had a bolt with a tool steel core. Bugger. More oil and some Tea. About this time H went out to collect Miss L and reminded me that we had a BBQ to go to at 3pm. Double bugger. More oil. I set about the right bolt. Slowly but surely the bolt turned. Very slowly and making a terrible squealing noise. More oil and more turning. Then it just went loose and the bolt came out with a gentle pull with my fingers. It was a bolt just with 30 years of corrosion. Removing this bolt released some pressure on the spacer plate. More oil, tapping and oil and wiggling to get the spacer off. Still the left stud remained. At least I knew it was a smooth bolt shank and not a screwed rod. More oil and a brew. Whilst drinking my brew I pondered the bolt and idly whacked it with the hammer. This time the noise was different. I looked at the back of the drop plate and found that he bolt had moved, perhaps only a millimeter but it moved. More oil. I decided to take Degsy up the fields where I could give the bolt a good hiding without worrying about the noise I was going to make. I threw everything in the back of Degsy and set off for Willesley Woodside. I found a spot. More oil on the bolt and then gave the bolt half a dozen good blows. That was it, the studs moved quarter of an inch. More oil and then hammered from the other side of the plate. Another two more passes and the stud was getting really loose. Then I got the stud I had moved from right side hole and used it as a drift to finally remove the left stud completely. Job done. It had only taken four hours spread over two days!

When I got home it was a five minute to put the bolts through the tow hook, spacer and drop plate. Then offer up the step bracket to the rear of the drop plate and spin on the crimp washer and nut. Nip the nuts finger tight, check the step was level and nip the nuts up good and tight. I took the precaution of Copperslipping the bolt shafts so when I need to get the bolts out they should come away a lot easier. I had a tidy up and parked the cars by the time H got back. H could see I was properly pleased with myself. I had a few minutes to go over to Mo's and water the Toms. That done I got myself showered, shaved and dressed ready for the BBQ.

Raison d'etre

Degsy's raison d'etre or at least my reason for having Degsy was to have a vehicle to do my horitcultural and apicultral pastimes. I have an arrangement with a stables to collect horse muck. I keep bees on farmland. I have an allotment. I used to have just a Vauxhall Zafira which doubled as car, client taxi, Dad's taxi, refuse wagon, delivery van, towing vehicle and all of the above. I suppose the trigger to get a specific vehicle for all the rough stuff was varied:

1. Finding that the bloke that cleans the cars at work would not touch it except for an increased charge. No wonder, I found a small potato that had rolled into quiet spot under the seats had starting growing.
2. Having Bees on the far side of a farm. It being a half mile off road trip.
3. Constantly transferring things to the car to the shed to car to the garage
4. The car in regular need of cleaning
5. Wear and tear
   

Now that I have run Degsy for a few months and discovered what I really use it for together with coming to the understanding that the current government scrappage scheme means Degsy is worth twice what I paid for it without doing anything. On the other hand there has been the fun of ownership like re-learning how to maintain the tuning and driving. The bit I over looked is that I really bought another hobby. I did not understand the cult status and following the Land Rover has. I seem to accidental bought an iconic symbol of the British automobile industry. So Degsy does exactly what I bought it for with some unexpected benefits.

The fact the MOT is due in June 2010 means I will have to some work to Degsy to get it to pass and creates a deadline. The main issue is the chassis and that leads me to a dilemma. Cash in for the scrappage or keep Degsy! I have to come a decision. The resolution of the chassis problem will seal Degsy's fate. The repairs will be quite expensive but the repairs will make Degsy last another 30 years. The choice is to repair the rust damage by welding new plates or just get a new chassis. Both cost about the same but there is more work in the re-chassis job but it is a longer lasting solution. However, even a average condition, re-chassied Series III is worth more than £3000. In nutshell the choices are:

1. Take the Chancellor's shilling, well £2000
2. Restore a piece of motoring heritage

If the decision is not to scrap then a new chassis is required, will it be:

1. welded
2. new

A decision has to be made and I think I have nearly made it. It will largely depend on what happens in February 2010. Once committed to the restoration I will have to deal with the unknowns that are certain to arise as soon as the body comes off else the pile of bits will have no value at all. Oh happy day.