FV 4674 Skippy

[skippy down under]

Just to get you all looking, this is our Skippy as we bought it Febuary 2009 from a farm where it had sait for five years in a shead, after the cost of repairing it had got to great for them. It had been on Trademe twice with no taker's. The chap found me, as we have a Unimog Mog. We stand out.
Any way, he asked it I wanted it. Just two weeks before our son of 15years stated he would like a Land Rover one day, that day had arrived. Matt & I drove to look it over. Not a princess, rat ****, urine & nests, full of bogg & primed real bad. I didn't beleave it was ex mil as the bloke had said, because I hadn't much to do with LR's. That was about to change. After looking it over, went home for lunch & a net surch, REMLR came up & answered that. A pow wow with my good wife. We all went back with, battery, oil, petrol & towe rope. Matt & I drove it home! Nice, now for the hard part.
Here's some as purchased photos.





Stephen

[skippy down under]

When I had time I did a registration surch, this showed that the NZ Defence Force registered it 01-01-1971. I don't know I would call them that right now. They sold it in 25-08-1987 to a man in Taupo, who still live on the same farm & answered the phone when I range. He said another farmer & himself bought two back from the Army auctions, the other stopped on the way home. An easy fix he said. He took the rag top off due to the dogs always putted their noses around his neck. He then sold the Skippy on 22-01-2003 to a bloke in Tauranga that desided he would refurb it, but with no mechanical skills the dollars became to high. As stated above he had bogged & primed it.
When we got it home Saturday 14-02-2009 we started scrapping out the bogg & sanding it.
By Sunday afternoon we had etch primmed & flicked on lacker Deep Bronze Green, as this matched what was no the fire wall.
Back soon.



While cleaning the dash over by the map light, that still worked mind you the paint was raised. I brushed on some paint spriper, waited for the paint to just krinkel & wiped it off with a wet cloth. What was it you ask, YES it's NZ Army number. Yes! WOO HOO!!
NZ 32866
Stephen

[skippy down under]

I had a long story, I didn't save it before I went to log into photobucket & lost it.
So this another start. It can be frustrateing doing this.
I surpose, A bit like fixing Land Rovers.

Thats a photo of the parabolic springs, standard hight serries 11 I fitted to the front & them made my own for the rear. By pulling apart, cleaning, bending & removeing one leaf. Then putting a spacer in the middle to allower the top three to carry the truck & flex.

I have since put hose & pipe extesions on the diff breathers as we go playing in rivers.
I have done the gearbox, it needed both first gears & reverse & second gears. $$$$$.
My labour saved $$$$. Had it out three times to get right. Thats the short story.
We did get water in the gear box from the river.

So I put nuts under the top plates & connected hoses up to the top of the fire wall, fixed.
More later.
MORE
To make it safe to A frame I consolted my locale enginer, he added a bit to the front of the chassis so the four bolts of each lifting eye connect to the chassis. Then welded a tonge to go back under the lifting eyes, following the Stage Three Rovers, made the insde uprights wide like the second, & instead of just a holes in the bush bar he in put bushings.
this is stronger. You can see this in the photo above. It towes sweet, especialy with the four free wheel hubs, just like a trailer.


Its strong & looks fine.
Stephen

[skippy down under]

Hi Diana, thanks.
Yes I put the numbers in not long after getting it in 2009.
It was put on the remlr list, but I cann't find that NZ Land Rover list anymore?
The list is there, but no numbers.
Stephen

[skippy down under]

Mate, thats the one.
I note that it doesn't have a return to home page top & bottom. Yes it has one at the bottom of the page!
But from whitch page does it come?    THANKS! 
     Thank you.
 
Is this a private page now?
I have found a couple of other Skippys & have their numbers & tryed to check their numbers.
Should we be getting the 1700 Unimog numbers while still all together? Because I could.

Stephen

[skippy down under]

Thanks! SWweeettt man. 

[skippy down under]

Good morneing, Yes all the NZ Skippys have both trailer plugs. Notice also the different location of NATO plug to your ones. All the holes are even in the chassis to mount it there & still they put it in the body.
Funny, at some time some one cratched in to the horn button, "Sticky when wet" yuck. I hope this is from its farm days. The steering wheel had no paint on it & when wet they are sticky. I, as others have done, gave it a quick sand & black etch primed it, about four coats, went gloss. Has stay on & not sticky.
stephen

[skippy down under]

I thought I would put some more up for you Land Rover Lover's to check out over the weekend.
As we use our trucks off road & my family will be in it, I desided to fit a Stage 3 roll bar. At the time I was looking on TradeMe for canopy frame & cover when a complete set off a stage3 came up. I had already missed out on a couple as I wanted to loose the truck cab. This one was in the upper North Island & no one eals bid on it. Luckly we had one Club memeber there, & he picked it up, rapped it & put it on a courier. Nice, I had never met him. He righty said, this is club member's should do for one enother. Thanks Bob. So I got all the bowes, roll bar & cover I had to have shorttened. I didn't get the C clamps to hold the bowes on, so I copyed the Unimog & welded two nuts togeather, drilled holes in the tubes, pushed the nuts up & welded them in. Then with long bolts & large flat washers tightened the bowes down. They don't rattle either.
So on the 20-07-2009 I started fitting it. Nice to have the lap diaginle belt above the sholder.
After some time I fitted retracking belts & had to have the mounting points certified, no dramers.



A Christmas present for the Skippy 19-01-2010. As if hasn't already had many, & more to come.
To help improve the drive ability & ride I desided to fit Radial tyres. To this end I also fitted Stage 3 rims, to open the track out a bit & also to take the BFG 235/85/16 MT's, being 6" wide.

The ride improvement is emence. They are not noisey either, like the old tryes.
I dismantled the steering box & had to replace the worm & nut. A bigger job getting the box out than rebuilding it.
More later.
Stephen

[FFRMAN]

Great stuff keep it coming, I was thinking about roll protection as well and will start looking...

Regards
Scott

[skippy down under]

Hi crew, Just some more pic's.
This is a river that carries all the material from the Tarnedale Slip in Gisbourn area north Island.


The original river bed is thirty metre below this one, the face of the slip is amazeing.
More on this one later.
Stephen

[KiwiMike]

Hi Stephen
Nice to see another Skippy back on the road, or, off road as the case may be. I noticed you were looking for some canopy hoop retainers? I saw these on Trade me.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car-parts-accessories/landrover/auction-507334876.htm

Cheers
Mike

[skippy down under]

Hi Mike.
Thanks for pointing them out to me & any others thet read this.
But,  I am very happy with what I have made. As they do not rattle.
Stephen

[KiwiMike]

Hi Stephen
That is quite understandable, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Mike