Author Topic: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo  (Read 7486 times)

Offline DennisM

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113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« on: August 18, 2016, 01:49:26 PM »
This is the last in the series of ex-military vehicles that I own and have restored since May 1999, or so I thought, more on that later.
113-372 came on the scene back in early 2000, after I had finished 112-501 I was looking for another to restore (I was mad LOL)
anyway I had known of this vehicle as BLR-626 for more than 46 years, as it belonged to a local saw milling company, located in
Millfield NSW, here is an image of it sitting awaiting it's rebirth

it was for sale it wasn't for sale, so I looked a bit further afield and found 112-587 @ Hilton Pollards @ Colo NSW, so I bought it,
about 3 months into that job, my mate Graham D aka the 'Judge' bought it for me, I had to fix it for  rego and he kept it for
me until I was ready to start on it, well it took almost 10 years before I got to picking it up, here are a few shots of 113-372
in a very sad state, it had stood for 8 years in a side street in Morpeth where the judge lived

here it is after removal of the H/top & spiders

and going onto the flat bed for express delivery to my place about 45k's away one Saturday early in Jan 2010

as you can see the 'judge' had a few of Solihull's finest in his yard, sadly most of them including one of mine went to scrap
about 2 years after that image was taken (more on that later).
I have 3 known in service images of 113-372 in Sth Vietnam during 1967/69, all nice n clean in this image in downtown Saigon

this image taken in the Cholon district during the 'TET' offensive 1968

and this image taken by Stan Middleton on his return to Oz after his 12 month tour Stan runs a website called 2AOD, it has
hundreds of images of Aussies in country, so if any of you people reading this are into re-enacting have a look because the images
were taken by the men who served, anyway back to the image Stan took it the morning after a VC rocket attack on Tan Son Nhut
airbase, he was giving a bit of cheek to the 4 Provo's who had to stay behind, note how dirty and un-kept 113-372 was compared
to the nice n clean shot in Saigon more on that later

Anyway jump forward 40+ years to 2010 and the long laborious task ahead, the vehicle had been maintained mechanically during it's
working life, but sadly the alloy body couldn't cope with heavy machinery (bulldozer parts etc.,) it had multiple accidents mostly on
the rear right hand side it was full of bog, the floor was like the Himalayan mountain range, the tailgate was rubbish, anyway here is
an image taken Sunday morning the day after it was delivered

the tub was set up on stands and the RHS side removed

I had a replacement for it it was no big deal, just a lot of work, the replacement had to be fitted before I could remove the floor, at this point when removing the RHS it became clear to me as to why the vehicle was being used on the airfield and looking grotty, I discovered that it must have been
involved in an accident in Saigon, as the RHS had been removed and replaced by a skilled tradesmen within RAEME he used
solid alloy rivets C'snk type and filed them in beautifully a real trades person, I tipped me hat to him whoever he was, 

the RHS of the tub had been fitted but not with all the rivets etc., as I had to get the tailgate opening correct first,
so it was fit/move/adjust etc.,

and when it was right my T/A aka wife helped with re-riveting the floor with 1/4" solid rivets damn noisey work LOL
the rivets sourced from the USA, note the 1/4" gutter screws holding the stiffening ribs temporarily during the re-riveting process

but during this I had a mate extend the carport off the garage and Anzac day was looming large (read less than a week) so this
task had to be completed before any work on 113-372

the job was managed thankfully.

and when it was all done I etch primed n painted it gloss black

and found somewhere to store it on my small block not an easy task at all.
The chassis was in reasonable nick and at that stage I couldn't see anything wrong with it, but the bulkhead was destined to be scrap
so I was on the lookout for a replacement, the RHS fuel tank was missing, so we needed one of those as well, but not yet, the strip down continued, during the strip down I found a few minor issues

engine out

gearbox out with the new found issue

somewhere long before Graham took possession ,  it lost the 'Bendix' spring off the starter motor, it would have made a tremendous noise LOL
the G/box was fixed with a new housing and some small internal parts, the T/case was OK.
Work continued on the chassis for some time the relay at the front was a tad tired and stuck in it's hole, so I made a jig to press it out

it took 5 tons, but I heard a tearing type of sound, this was the noise

just what I needed, more bloody work LOL, so I had a front chassis section that I had stored in case I was able to get a S2A 109
army service fire truck (Toolern Vale Vic) , but that didn't eventuate, and I had used a section of it on my LRPV, so out with the gas axe
and get what I needed off it

I had secured the front of the chassis so the replacement went basically straight in no fuss and when it was up in my rotating
device it was fully welded.
During this I had to move gear around to make way for a Series 3 109 that I owned that was due to be dismantled because of no
storage anywhere, so home it came, all that was kept off it was the engine/G/box/Salisbury diff, the remainder was either sold,
scrapped/given away, the engine was later rebuilt and used in my LRPV

moving along as I have to as no-one else is going to do it for me, the diff housing needed some work on the locating hole for the center bolt of the springs, these were cleaned up and welded filed/drilled etc,.

it took some time doing all the sundry bits in the ordered manner that I do my restorations, tagging bagging/storing things

cleaning/rebuilding/painting them ready to be installed when the time arrives

and the 4 drive flanges get this treatment, I machine a groove to accept the O ring as fitted to S3 as well as the felt
axle oil seal, I hate oil leaks

The chassis had been cleaned/scraped/needle gunned etc., as the big grit blaster I had access to died, etch primed and painted gloss black, diffs fitted and back to a rolling chassis

brake pipes were next, they are fun to make



The engine was taken to Modern mtrs in Dungog NSW to have to rear main oil seal replaced

that's the only job I won't attempt, leave it to those who know best.
The engine must have had an oversize plug fitted and as I couldn't get one I made one on the lathe out of brass




The block had been washed out fitted with brass plug, timing case oil seal, sump & timing case gaskets as well and repainted
ready to go back in

note I use 4 x 4" 3/8"whit bolts with the heads turned down to help ease the engine onto the gearbox, job done very quickly no fuss

I located a chap way up in the New England area who was a mechanic and collected land Rovers for spare parts etc., he had what I wanted
so off I went on my 400 mile round trip, it was worth it, I got 2 bulkheads

I kept one and sold the other to a chap in Tasmania, the one I kept needed new foot wells, and we can't get them with
the indentations x 3 in them, and I don't have an English wheel, so I thought about it and came up with this, just using
what I had available to me, one half of it, the punch,

the die

I used my home made press it took approx 1 ton to put the indents in place

and the finished job being put in place permanently

not bad for a rank amatuer with no trade skills LOL
Work was progressing with the addition of the bulkhead back on the chassis, wiring loom (Vinwire) fitted

the instruments got an overhaul by specialists as well

lots of grit blasting of all small steel parts, all are etch primed painted flat black on the reverse side (to help stop electrolysis)
then painted in Deep Bronze Green, here is a small selection of images






did you see how I held them for painting ? durex tape, lots of painting panels even the insides of them here is another selection of images
the bonnet

anyway to cut this a little short as my internet is up the s??t
 here is a selection of images showing further progress towards the end and we do get rainy lousey weather here at times

Max the Sheltie (Blue Merle) posing

here is a shot under the left guard showing the stiffening panel that supported the siren

and from the top the shape of the base of the siren

whilst I was in the New England area I grabbed a 10 gallon fuel tank for the RHS as it didn't have one, that also meant it had
to be modified to accept the dipstick


clean out the threads while your at it

then paint it black

The exhaust system was ready to fit, but I had to make some brackets as they are not available here in this country


I now had to paint the rest of the tub, that was fairly straight forward no issues, I wanted it ready for Anzac day 2012 and it was
getting close, here are a selection of images showing it up to the finished job

the white disc (bridge weight plate) was painted white with a red Kangaroo on it, to help it be easily indentified
by the Sth Vietnamese MP's as a MP vehicle, as they the Vietnamese MP's  White Mice as they were known had a bad habit
of shooting first then ask questions after

The siren (original) would have been sourced by fair means or foul from an American truck as it was a Federal, I bought mine through a mate who lives in San Diego from an ebay seller who wouldn't sell outside the states, I got to hear it via a phone call from Dave, I couldn't
wait to get it, original was Red but I left this one Black

Along the way I had to deal with a couple of issues that affected me even though I have been nursing for almost 50 years
my old mate the judge had a stroke and is now wheel chair bound and in a Nursing home, much to his dislike
but he does get out with a mate to various shows, here he is looking over 113-372 which sadly I can't get him into

and a young man severely disabled from birth with cerebral palsy and other medical issues, I had him as a client in
one of my jobs, he was a pleasure to work with for the 7 years I had him, he was 21 when he passed away R.I.P
and I thought that I had finished working on Land Rovers, I was starting to enjoy a bit of freedom doing other things
when my mate Gordon told me he had lost all interest in his Series 1 1955 86", it had a lot of money spent on it, including
full engine rebuild same with the transmission, he said it had to go, I thought about it aannnnndd I bloody bought it, damn
fool just when you were starting to get over the past 15 years, I took on another, well that's another story, cheers Dennis
the link to 2AOD if your interested
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aodcurator/collections/72157623879764657/
« Last Edit: August 26, 2020, 04:20:55 PM by DennisM »

Offline THE BOOGER

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2016, 02:33:13 PM »
Great pictures and even better story telling Dennis ;D
s111 GS, no 5, xt600 & Ferret mk2
Geoff C

Offline AGAS 5

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2016, 03:53:52 PM »
Thanks Dennis. I enjoyed that :)

Pete
Series 2A SWB 113-300 VTF  6 RAR
Perentie FFR 49-390  1 MP BN
Perentie GS 50-087  5 RAR

Offline dugite

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2016, 05:18:44 PM »
Thanks Dennis. I enjoyed that :)

Pete


Very definitely, much appreciated, thanks Dennis - regards, Laurie
2a 109 114-341,
No.5 173-589,
W/S Platform 178-000,
PT1 204-796

Offline 2short

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2016, 05:41:55 PM »
Your stories are always a good read backed up by great images.

Offline Mick

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2016, 08:35:24 PM »
Hi Dennis,

Another interesting story that can only inspire us all. The "in service" photo's are just amazing. If you could create a Vietnam photo with your vehicle in it I don't think you could come up with the Tet offensive pic you have.

Time for a coffee table book Dennis, I know you'll have one sale 😊

Thanks mate,

Mick

Offline Carzee

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2016, 11:03:48 PM »
 :D

Thanks Dennis, always great photos.
The detail and the accuracy are never less than top notch.
Have a good look at the side by side photo with Chloe:



The drivers' side exterior rear view mirrors are different.

The circular ones, as fitted to early suffix Series 2s are hard to find with the correct pattern.

But thats not the reason the MP GS 113-372, aka  Sawmill, has a oblong mirror. Look at the Saigon photo:



 8)

Offline DennisM

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2016, 08:25:16 AM »
The image with 113-372 112-501 was taken on 18th August 2015, I thought seeing they both were veterans of the conflict in Sth Vietnam they could come out for a run on the day,.

Yes the small round mirrors are very hard to source also the oblong one as well, and that's what they were fitted with and that's what they re-fitted with as you can see, cheers Dennis :)
« Last Edit: August 30, 2020, 05:46:57 PM by DennisM »

Offline 303Gunner

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2016, 09:40:35 AM »
This has to be the most ridiculously false statement I have ever read on the internet:
































"not bad for a rank amateur with no trade skills"


That is an awesome resto job, and far superior to a professional job, as no professional would take the time to give the attention to detail you do, or apply the skills you have evidently mastered. Hat off to you Dennis, and may your retirement continue to allow time for more masterpieces like this.

Offline Mick

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2016, 10:18:08 AM »
Couldn't agree more with you Gunner 👍

Offline DennisM

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2016, 10:58:26 AM »
Well Tony many thanks for your compliment, but mate I am a rank amatuer, I just don't know when enough is good enough LOL it must carry over from my efforts at building my scale loco, cheers Dennis

Offline DennisM

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #11 on: October 11, 2016, 08:22:30 AM »
Just adding some further information on this little truck, Stan Middleton who runs the 2AOD site of which I'm sure some of you are familiar with contacted me to let me know that the image of 113-372 @ Tan Son Nhut  (or Bien Hoa as was it the day) with the 4 Ozzie MP's sitting in it has been used by the makers of a film called 'The Galah's" a true story about AFL in 1967, not a footy fan myself (to each his own) how did 113-372 get into the flick, well the team dropped into Sth Vietnam on their way home from the world tour but sadly no-one had any images showing the situation as it was at the time and Stan Middleton is heavily involved in AFL both here and in Vietnam anyway a link to the site re the "Galah's" http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-08-15/the-galahs-untold-story-makes-its-way-to-the-big-screen anyway cheers Dennis  :)

Offline DennisM

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2020, 04:22:48 PM »
I have just spent many hours searching through images to reinstate this thread, as fotostuffit buggered it up 4 years ago with their demand for $500US per annum to host images, anyway it's back up cheers dennis

Offline STDDIVER

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2020, 01:08:44 PM »
Hi Dennis - I am really glad that you again went to extra trouble to reinstate this thread - it is a masterpiece!   (And a very important motivator for me and many others as well- well done mate)

Frank


Offline Minikeg

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Re: 113-372 Series 2A 88"GS ex Provo
« Reply #14 on: August 30, 2020, 01:08:59 PM »
This is my favourite Dennis build  8)
I'm not completely useless.. I'm missing some of the pieces
110-415 'Agro' 1959 88" CR              111-676 'Pickles II' 1959 88" CR
114-270 'Maya' 1967 109" GS/WS      113-368 'Castrol' 1964 88" GS
48-975 'Reptar' 1988 110" FFR           48-932 'Widget' 1988 110" GS