Austin 1970 pickup from Guatemala

[MarkyB]

When you flash a dynamo you literally just touch the wire to the terminal momentarily, there is a flash, job done.

[GBond]

Dynamo flashed, but problems continue.

Lack of output was completely my fault, as I forgot to insulate the brush lead inside the dynamo so it was shorting out against the casing. Fortunately it appears the regulator wasn't energizing the field anyways so the dynamo should be fine.

Lead insulated, the light at least now flickers however when doing the tests recommended by the service manual I get the following results:

Both dynamo leads disconnected, measure voltage at "D": 0.75 V
Both dynamo leads bridged, measure voltage at both: No output
Energize "F" with 12V positive directly from the battery, measure voltage at "D": 14V
All at about 1000-1200 RPM

Resistance in both terminals is 6 ohms.

I'll try a different regulator today since it appears the one on the car isn't original anyway.

[GBond]

I'm back!

Haven't had much time to work on the pick-up this past couple of weeks so picking up from where I left off...

I installed the seats and carpets, indeed the curved bracket is for the driver's seat which has a narrower tube because of the reclining mechanism. I ended up fitting it on the inner side near the transmission tunnel since this made both seats be the same distance from the sides of the car. (This might be different for RHD)

I also installed a new original style regulator but still the voltage from the dynamo is a little low; maybe with a little use it'll improve but I didn't want to keep revving the rebuilt engine with no load.

The car came with these fantastically tacky 70's license plate frames so I decided to give it a go restoring one to see how it looks. The colours don't match up too well with the ones on the plate (P 808CMN by the way) so I don't know if I'll use them although they do fit the spirit of the car well.[frame][/frame]
Today I restored the original gear knob, I know it's not an expensive part but it wasn't in such bad shape and it feels nice to know it's the one that has been with the car all these years.

This is how it looked before.[frame][/frame]It appears the 1 and 3 wore down completely (or maybe they were never there).

The thread was completely gone so in went some nuts with rubber sealant.[frame][/frame]

Marking the missing numbers with a punch die.[frame][/frame]

Painting the recessed areas again.[frame][/frame]NO ONE has a hand steady enough to stay within the lines.

So, after the paint has dried for a couple of minutes I took a piece of cloth with a bit of paint thinner and wrapped it aroud a flat block of wood (this keeps it from wiping inside the recesses).[frame][/frame]
After it finishes drying I'll polish it a bit and remove the last parts of the excess paint.[frame][/frame]
With the restoration nearing the end (and this being my very first one), the car looks pretty but I'm now focusing on actually making it roadworthy. I've been checking that all suspension, brake and body to chassis bolts are nice and tight and that everything that needs to be greased and oiled is greased and oiled and that everything that doesn't need to be isn't.

My doubts now are with the swivel pins. This is a 1970 model so I'm guessing it has the latest type but some instructions I've read say they shouldn't be tightened too much and then others say to tighten them so my question is, how tight should this nut be?[frame][/frame]I understand it has to be tightened with the car already resting on it's wheels and then I'm supposing the washer has to be bent to secure it.

[M25VAN]

I'm assuming the one in the right goes on the driver's seat either to prevent it from tilting forward or perhaps to move it more towards the center of the car but I have no idea. There are also some holes on the seat tube apparently for some self tapping screws but I have no idea how these go either.

Have a look at plate O3 in the Body Service Parts List AKD3575. Things may look the wrong way round as you have a LHD although I think you have them fitted correctly now.

[M25VAN]

I understand it has to be tightened with the car already resting on it's wheels and then I'm supposing the washer has to be bent to secure it.

Yes, tightened up fully but make sure the thick washer is the right way round so that it goes on fully. Thin washer is bent over to lock the nut but I have found this washer is sometimes a bit thick and takes a bit of effort to knock over. You could drill the pin and use a castle nut and split pin for an easier way of locking the nut and saves a lot of bashing.

[GBond]

Thanks a lot for the info, I just looked at the service parts list and indeed I have the mirror image of what's there so it appears I got it right by luck.

I'm off to the shop now to do the suspension, for bending the locking washers I've found a good alligator wrench works wonders but if I run into any trouble I'll keep your suggestions in mind.

Regards

[frosty]

Congratulations Gabriel on the work so far. An excellent result and have enjoyed the pictures and story. Looking forward to when you take the ute for it's first drive

cheers

[GBond]

Thanks Frosty! It should be out and running before Christmas if I can get someone to make an exhaust for it in the next couple of weeks; other than that there's just the front bumper to go but that should be done this weekend at the latest.

Bought the plywood for the back.[frame][/frame]
After screwing the reinforcements and drilling the holes it was time for the first trial fitting.[frame][/frame]From the tools present, you can tell it was quite a tight fit so I sanded the sides quite a bit.

Bit of painting later, and fiddling under the car to get all the screws to go into the clips.[frame][/frame]I'll need to cut some of them shorter, since they're hitting the chassis. For the front board I used the car's old and rotten floor as a template and as a result it's a bit short at the front where it's supposed to be held by screws from inside the cab. Fixing this would mean making a completely new board again so I'll leave it as it is and change it when/if it breaks.

Doing the second license plate frame.[frame][/frame]
And some final details.[frame][/frame]Yes, that's the steering wheel nut in the glovebox, I ended up using a smaller one with a large washer since none of the sockets I had available worked with the original one. (33mm fit the nut, but wouldn't fit inside the steering wheel)

Thinks he's an Austin, but we know better ;)[frame][/frame]

[George Smathers]

Great!

George

[GBond]

Bumpers, plates and final details.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
Very important.[frame][/frame]
And after many years of being a Morris owner I finally became a Morris driver![frame][/frame]Inaugural trip taken saturday, december 14th 2013 at night (less traffic). I'm still waiting for the exhaust to be finished so it was a bit loud and I kept to the noisy streets.

First stop.[frame][/frame]
My dad in the gas station.[frame][/frame]
The gas station's colors combine well with the pick-up.[frame][/frame]
Stopping for dinner.[frame][/frame]
All in all it was a great experience driving Mr. Toad for the first time; it was very noisy but that should be corrected this week with the new exhaust pipe. (No issues with legality driving without it around here and I couldn't resist taking it out for a spin)
Suspension is a little bouncy but checking the level on the dampers might correct this and the voltage regulator needs a bit of adjusting but this is most definitely the final stretch. I'm also dreading having to drill the wings for the mirrors but the little test drive proved they're very much needed.

I hope to do a proper, finished drive before Christmas so I'll be posting again soon.

[M25VAN]

I bet you are as pleased as you look.
Dad looks like he paid for the petrol.

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

Looking great, I bet you are pleased

[orb596]

I'm so pleased to see the finished vehicle. You have done such a fantastic job . I bet you are delighted with it.

Very, very well done.

[George Smathers]

The fact that you are willing to look away while stopped on an incline says it all! The grill chrome came out well and looks all lined up.

George

[POMMReg]

No 'easy option' stainless steel cab dr tops either!

Great stuff!

[GBond]

Thank you all for the praise, dad looks worried because we'll start to work on his project car now, and he has to pay for the parts

I'm indeed very pleased by the final result and am looking forward to drive it a little more this weekend to sort out the final details and adjust everything that needs adjusting. The brakes remarkably worked very well which surprised me since they were the first thing I worked on when I restarted the restoration.

The original painted door tops and side vents were in good shape fortunately, as stripping stainless ones is probably quite a hassle.

[GBond]

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

Santa Claus brought me a stainless steel exhaust.[frame][/frame]
The original bracket was long gone so a new one had to be fabricated.[frame][/frame]
Some buffing and cleaning and adjusting several things later it was time to go for a drive.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
My dad with the car.[frame][/frame]
The car is looking great but it still needs a bit of work to run as good as it looks.[frame][/frame]
Main concern now are the brakes, which are pulling very hard to the left. Of course I had to find this out when some idiot cut me off during a test drive today. Luckily my reflexes, and the reflexes of the driver behind me managed to avoid an accident but it was close.
The clutch also needs adjusting, since first gear and reverse are a bit hard to engage, there's a shock absorber that seems to be leaking, the exhaust is also leaking a bit where it joins the manifold and the speedometer cable is either stuck or slipping at the drive ring.

Still, it's running!

[rogerowen]

Hi Gabriel,

Looking good! Pull to the left sounds like a faulty RH slave cylinder. Did you replace with new ones? Lockheed is the only way to go - the patent ones are dangerous and should not be fitted - took me a while to realise this and got through 6 before establishing the poor quality of the rubber seals would cause them to leak in no time.

[ASL642]

Well done! you must be proud after all the hard work. After a rebuild everything takes time to get sorted. Happy New Year!

[alexandermclaren]

One Word,,,,!,,,,! Awesome[frame][/frame]