This vehicle was advertised in the NMH one Saturday morning, it had a mob/ph number that took me ages to get hold
of the owner, and to this day I have not seen/met the owner of this vehicle, all dealing was done through his Dad
who used to be a cameraman @ NBN TV, anyway as well as the 109 Wksp I had to get rid of a S2A 88"GS,as part
of the deal, so the day it happened was going to be a big day work wise as the 88"GS had no wheels and a few other
items missing that would stop it from being moved.
The big day arrived, we set off (the judge tagging along) the plan was to move the 88"GS first, it proved to be a little
more difficult than I had first thought, I had taken enough wheel nuts & wheels, also a 9/16"BSF die nut to run down the
wheels studs, making fitting the nuts an easy task, but the issue was the brakes had locked on, with all 4 wheels locked.
My trusty FBH was put into action (F****** big hammer) my 110 was flat out dragging it along (uphill) on a loose gravel
surface, but eventually the wheels started to turn, what a task, the next job was getting it a trailer, I have this on video
but not in a format that I can change to use here, anyway an image of the 88" in the very long grass/weeds
I was a tad worried about snakes I can assure you, anyway with it loaded we headed off home about 50k's away, we
returned after off loading it, to get the object of desire the 109 WKSP truck.
I managed to start it but it wouldn't run, so unhook the car float and tow it up the hill, pull onto trailer secure n head off
here it is in the backyard where one day I would bring it back to life, the first thing to come off was the tattered canvas
it was rotten/dirty falling apart, a quick pressure wash to remove spiders etc., I parked it n 2 others on my neighbours
front lawn for a photoshoot
I had an offer from a woman that I worked with, I could store it in a disused shed at the back of her rental property
as at the time of purchase 110-850 was stored up the road @ my son's place, at least it was out of the rain etc., but as
things turned out I had started 110-85, and she was moving I shifted it up the street to where 110-850 had stood
and occasionally a little encouragement parked alongside, as it takes a lot of determination to keep going when you have taken
on so much at one time
anyway I digress somewhat.
The vehicle was in a sad state, it had been used by the 2 previous owners on the beach and has not been looked after at
all, the bulkhead was very rusty and so was the chassis, this vehicle would get the same treatment as the others, strip it down
was the order of the day and strip it down I did
it was reduced to it's major parts they were stored until required, the hunt was on for a chassis.
I bought a S3 109 military chassis with the idea of changing it back to S2A spec's, but after travelling to Nundle n back getting it
I had changed my mind and that chassis went into storage, and I tracked one down in a lane in Kurri NSW, it was overgrown to
say the least, somewhere under that vine was a S2A 109 mil/spec chassis
I was stung by paper wasps about 10 times on my right hand when cutting the vines away, man did that sting+++, from the rear
it looked no better either
I came back at the weekend with a trailer, the chassis etc., was lifted out and waiting to be lifted with the hoist on a truck
the judge inspecting my purchase LOL
the lift
hard part was getting it off @ home, but that task was managed without too much fuss, all unwanted bits were
removed off the chassis and disposed of, then the task of cleaning the chassis before grit blasting
then home n etch prime, the judge checking my work as usual every week on a Saturday arvo
while it was etch primed n on the stands I treated it to a fish oil bath, that's why the brown paper is under to catch any
drips without staining the concrete too much, then paint it black
It gets damn hot here during the summer months with days sitting on 35c<>42c, but never the less the work goes on
regardless of the heat, it's great for painting small things as they flash off quickly.
The chassis went back together quickly as I have to be able to roll it around as required, I would have had it all back
as a rolling chassis in under 10 hours but being colour blind I couldn't see the 3 locking tabs that I needed to complete
the right front hub assembly as they were stuck to the cardboard on which they were painted, maybe I had too much
port n coke during the afternoon in the heat
it was a rolling chassis in the morning and the work continued as it does here @ No 19.
The hunt was on for a suitable bulkhead replacement, I knew of one out @ Cobar as I had seen it from the road as you
approach the town from the East and yes it was still there
we were on our way to Blinman, note to self, stop n get it at any cost on the way home, and I did
The B/head was grit blasted, which revealed a few cracks which were welded up, etch primed/painted, I made new brake pipes and fitted
them, along the way I had to remember quite a few things about the original chassis, and how they differed from a FFR chassis,
many holes had to be drilled, some steel fittings off the old chassis had to be added, a lot of extra work
new wiring harness from Vinwire
and as anyone knows who has done this type of work, there has to be a chronological way of refitting everything without
causing any delays to the reconstruction, anyway here is an image of one of the many changes required to the chassis
for the rear lights, holes had to be cut in the outriggers and tailgate hinge removed
anyway everything went according to plan except for the weather which you cannot control when working outside.
Engine got a head job
instruments/wires all connected, note the 'Noggy lock' ? unknown if this vehicle went O/seas?
brakes were all new parts and have been changed to have stainless steel sleeves, the rear tub was grit blasted
and refitted, the hoop set needed some attention as it was all seized with rust etc., when I got it, but with some gentle
help and some know how it was coaxed back into life, here is an image of a tool I made to clean out the tubes
the shaft is 3 foot long, it did the job nicely.
The callsigns were found under multiple layers of paint 'Tassie Devil'
I found 2 NOS tarps and a cab tarp these were fitted as the time drew close
and not too long afterwards it all looked like this
earlier on I had put it out on the street with the trailer, note it has no callsign markings
and I almost forgot to mention the vehicle has the switchboard and the trailer a Gen/set
anyway that'll do it should have warmed up down in the shed, cheers Dennis
ps I have hundreds of images of this job I just selected what I thought may be of interest.
