Well it took 3 hours, but its out and parked on more even ground, ready to take the tray off.
We let the rears down to 26 psi, but they didn't squish out much, due to being 20 ply sidewalls and having no weight on the back. One of them was one of the original old-style 8 ply tires and it squashed down more, but it was on the side that wasn't spinning.
The front drivers side had sunk down about 8 inches, just sitting overnight. It didn't help that there was a slight rise in front of it. The dropped front took weight off the back passenger side, which is why it lost traction.
We slid a sleeper under the back axles and jacked them up. I put vehicle stands under them, let the jack down and used more packing until I had both wheels clear of the ground surface. We dug out the soil between the 2 wheel holes, as well as in front and behind, then put a pine sleeper in the hole. When I let the truck down, the tires were now just above ground level.
I had a go at driving it out, but the tires just spun on the timber. After trying to rock it forwards and backwards a bit, we realised it wasn't getting traction. The front driver's side had now sunk down to where the edge of the rim was at ground level. After digging a hole under the front to get the jack in, I jacked it up, or more accurately, I jacked the jack down into the ground. I was able to squash enough ground to get a board under the jack and got the wheel up enough to jamb some timber under it. Another packer under the jack, up again, and there was enough clearance to dig a recess big enough to get a short sleeper under there.
Another attempt at moving now had the other side spinning. The ground sloped up just in front of the driver's side tire, and it was just enough to cause the back to spin.
Ok, try backing up. We filled in the holes behind the wheels and grabbed all the wood offcuts to throw under the wheels. I tried going backwards and moved about 2 feet before it started spinning again. I figured I would rock it a bit and put it in first and gave it heaps. We shot forward at a slow crawl, and I realised I was still in Low 4, so stopped and put it in High 4. Roared back until it started spinning, then threw it into first. This time we really surged forwards. I felt a bump as the front wheels bounced out of the little hole it had started sinking into, but we were still moving, so I gave it heaps and away we went.
I'm really surprised at how slow first gear is. Is it mostly for starting off up hills or when loaded? I used to drive a Mitsubishi canter where first was only for slow crawling when loaded up. It was also nearly impossible to go from first to second or second to first while moving.
Damn, that steering box is low ratio. I was really surprised how many turns it took to slowly swing the truck around. Some muppet broke or lost the spring that pulls the seat adjusting lever in place, so they ran a couple of roofing screws through the adjuster channel to lock the seat in one place. Unfortunately, it meant I have to do contortions to get my legs under the steering wheel and my knees kept getting hit when I worked the clutch. Another issue is that I need to lose a lot of weight. These trucks were designed for skinny, physically fit army drivers. I don't meet any of those descriptors. I think I got a friction burn on my belly from spinning the steering wheel.
Another issue was that I have the cowling and the lower shroud off the engine so I could patch them up and repaint and soundproof them. I also had the passenger's side door tied open so I could see my sister on that side as she gave me directions. I also found that the muffler on it is home-made and has a big hole in it. All this meant that the whole time I was revving and roaring, trying to get unstuck, I was choking on stinky exhaust fumes. I was thinking of putting my spare muffler on, but decided that I'll take the new one off the MK3 as it is already painted with hi temp engine paint. The MK3 isn't going anywhere under it's own power, so it doesn't need an exhaust. Should make this one sound better too.
Oh, the handbrake works too. I found that out while rolling backwards down the paddock towards where I wanted to park. I found it's really hard to grab the handbrake lever when you are in reverse as the gearstick gets in the way.
Luckily, we kept nice and cool while working, 6° with showers. Just lovely.
I think I will get a couple of flat steel or aluminium plates to keep in the tool box to use as foot plates under the jack. I'll weld a loop to them that I can tie a short length of rope to, to make it easier to pull them out afterwards.
Greg.
