Unimog 1300 down under

[skippy down under]

We'ave had the Mog since August 1996, same age as our daughter. Makes it easy to remember. We picked it from 25 others direct at the NZ Army Disposals, its an 1986 truck, one of the last intake from 1982 to 1986. As you can see in the first photo they had painted it some different colour when practiceing there paint appliction skills. It only looked good wet so I flicked it with an eye matched paint of Deep Bronze Green while waiting for the Mighty Mite to get here in 1999. Whitch is another good story. The winch was a good find by a freind in a 2 week old Auckland Buy Sale & Exchange magazine only three months after getting the truck, & a 5th of what a new one would cost. The winchs aren't very user friendly though, but when needed, it's better than nout.
The trailer was a good score also with live 1953 plates.
Son Matthew & I the year we got it.

That winch.

The new design Michelin tyres are a hugh improvment on & off road. The old ones had a rounded sholder so were crape in mud & on gravel roads.
I bought some of those trye deflaters, just the bees knees for when we get to the river bed at night, screw them on & drive off with them reduceing the pressure as you go.
As it's a hobby vehicle we only do three odd thousand K's a year, so those tyres have been on 12 years & still have tread.
It failed it first COF last year at 10145 Km's. I had to replace a tie rod end. Other than wiper blades & tail light bulbs, that was the first component to replce for road useage compliance.
Stephen

[skippy down under]

Some more photos of round the East Cape of the North Island on the Kuere River 2010.
Driving down into the river after it had changed course. A small amount of spade work for the Mog. Thats a one metre drope.



Much more work required for the other trucks.


I know this is our second 1998 trip as I am cariring a second spare. On the first trip a large peace of shael cut through the tyre side wall. Because once you have fitted your spare you don't have another I started taking another, in the next six tripes I have never need to pit the spare on.
This is a very steep bank, that steep when returning I reversed back down, a Suzuki snaped the transfer case trying to get up & a Landcruiser couldn't. The rest found another way.

Stephen

[skippy down under]

Camping, Port Jackson, Coromandel, North Island. A very nice spot, where the Dolphins come into the shellows to check out the humans.

Sorry, I will have to come back to this as PhotoBucket is down for maintance.
Stephen

[juddy]

I know very little about NZ Land Rovers, so I ask the question did they all have the cut type guards???

[skippy down under]

Hi Juddy,
No. Only the Serries 11a 88's. As the Army & use called them skippys. I dought know how it came about, other than we knew the Australian Army had the same ones. All the earlyer ones & 109's had the stanard gaurds. You just reminded me. It has come to my attenion that we did not get the workshop trucks, I have only seen the trailers. I gentleman I meet at a display last year, said as he was looking though an old shead he spyed a workshop trailer deck, but as it was uncovered it was connected to a Land Rover. On inspection it is Austrailan assmebled. He nabbed it.
I will have to get the numbers from him.
Thanks Juddy.
regards
Stephen 

[Vixen]

So now I'm confused  I thought the guards were cut "in service" and thus NZ "Skippy's" came from the Aust Armed Forces. So did "Skippy's" come from Aust Army or were they made for NZ Army by Land Rover, and if so, why call them "Skippy's"? 

[Phoenix]

Certainly some of the skippies are ex australian army, but they appear to have been refurbished by LR NZ as they carry NZ information plates. 

However some of the skippies are not from australian stocks, so we presume were new builds by NZ.

The skippies were the only NZ army land rovers I am aware of with cut guards (remembering that the cut was for black soil areas in australia).

[Vixen]

Certainly some of the skippies are ex australian army, but they appear to have been refurbished by LR NZ as they carry NZ information plates. 

However some of the skippies are not from australian stocks, so we presume were new builds by NZ.

The skippies were the only NZ army land rovers I am aware of with cut guards (remembering that the cut was for black soil areas in australia).

Thanks Phoenix....so are "all" NZ Army LR's referred to as "Skippies" or just the ex-Aust Army ones. Or is it a case of they are because it's easier than separating the two?

[Phoenix]

I believe just the shorties from australia were called skippies.  But i'm not sure if the Kiwis called them that, or if it is a REMLR thing.  THere is at least one workshop truck over there as well ex ANZUS.

[Carzee]

I remember the nick "Skippys" came from the Kiwi end during registration correspondence many years back. Until that Kiwi contacted REMLR I had no idea they existed in NZ.


...and go Moggies! I still have a certain Moggy green plastic covered bit of literature. On one night time thrash on a bush track (the NCO was driving, I was passenger) we were going as fast as possible to recover a vehicle way up the ranges and the gully/washaway came up with not enough warning to brake. The front axles of many a vehicle wouldve just been ripped off and the chassis mangled up on that farside edge but we somehow kept moving. The G force and THUMP of that collision was quite incredible. Everything shook something horrible and out heads hit the roof! I have been in prangs and in anything else that would've been an accident report.

The quirky thing was that earlier that day we had listened to a lecture and been given the pams on the army policy of Vehicle Sympathy and been told about the costs of repairs due to negligence or improper use .... would be deducted from the pay packets on a weekly basis until the cost was repaid.

[skippy down under]

Hi team, I was going to up load the photos again but just found by right clicking & opening to another attachment PhotoBucket still lest you view them.
Thats all good.

[skippy down under]

Hi every one, I have been missing in action for some time. Life, wife, kids. Health is been all good.
Any way, the news, I have turbo ed our 1300. I put a standard 1700 exhaust manifold, turbo, injector pump & injector on to a my rebuilt engine.
Adding oil cooling squirters under the pistons, turbo grind cam & pistons. Would you like to hear how it goes? It took me 7 mouths to get it done & running.
It has a 4' exhaust straight off the back of the turbo & no muffler, to help it spall up faster.
Any way, IT HAULS, a hill that it would only just make up in 7th gear, now 8th/ top gear, not full throttle 90 kph, passing cars. It goes man. Should have done it years a go.
Done now, just need to finish hooking up the exhaust brake, haven't tried yet. To have a exhaust brake, I put seals on all the valves to stop the carbon getting into the oil.
My wife's comment was, It sounds like a big truck now. It has the turbo wine, the turbo flutter when changing gear or throttling off & it goes!
Stephen Out.
Till next time.

[skippy down under]

By the way, an important tip for anyone also wanting to do this up grade.
New Zealand & some States in Australia need you to have the truck inspected so that the gear box, drive shafts & diffs can cope with the increase in power.
The second page in of the Army work shop manual shows, the 1300 as a fire truck with the turbo engine.
Case closed. 
Thank you, good luck.
Stephen