T16 restoration starts in earnest

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by andrew honychurch

Richard, are you talking about the white coloured square section rope seal that I have seen in some shops for sale?

Hi Andrew,

That is the stuff, if you go in Kent Bearings in the Market, they have reels of it by the counter. Check out "PTFE packing" on google and you will see different types and sizes. Nothing wrong with a bit of space age technology in the old Carrier!

[andrew honychurch]

I looked at that when I bought the black stuff, but they didnt have it in the correct size and I didnt like white! So far its cost me £120 in Physio appointments after putting those tracks on myself, now I have to do it all over again.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by andrew honychurch

I looked at that when I bought the black stuff, but they didnt have it in the correct size and I didnt like white! So far its cost me £120 in Physio appointments after putting those tracks on myself, now I have to do it all over again.

Actually the asbestos packing that was in Ben's unused axle was white, and I am sure it will soon go grey in use.

[kevin powles]

Hi Andrew, The bearing keep/valve packing I used was 7/16" square, Its graphite lubricated, It does not spill out grease when it gets hot, it's nuclear grade and has a max temp of something like 450 dergrees C, 20 m/s speed and I was told it cost £150 a metre by my freindly storekeeper. I think it sounds as if your packings is too tight, On a universal carrier with the track removed, the hub should spin freely with very little effort to spin them, I would remove your hubs to check the seal and perhaps take a 'rasp file' to it to profile it down.

Like Jordan says, run the carrier on a hard surface to free the tracks.

kevin.

[andrew honychurch]

hi Kevin thanks for the intel. The gland material i used was tight when first fitted but I reasoned that it would have to be or else it was not going to do its job. Of course, I did not bank on it dumping graphite grease everywhere. Boring! Nothing else for it in my view but to get the hubs off again and put it right.

[RichardT10829]

I was going to leave the asbestos packing out... based on the theory that i dont intend to go through many deep rivers etc etc. plus any water that gets in could drain quicker. i appreciate that any water in with the pads can have an effect on braking efficiency but i never encountered any issues when rallying (and those hubs had no rear seals on)

just a thought if its easier until something better (seal wise) comes along

[ajmac]

Old land rovers never had any sealing material fitted and neither did the Loyd Carrier.
A job well done Andrew. Do you intend to take the T16 to any shows when you are happy with it?

[andrew honychurch]

As we had a superb bit of weather here in Kent today, I tool the opportunity to top coat the T16. Really pleased with the result, but as I am sure you all agree its very tricky to keep it looking nice and new when you are constantly crawling in and out of it. Not a great deal to do to finish it. I have to fit the fuel tanks, and finish the wiring. I am awaiting front side fenders and the rear tool box to be fabricated and then they can be fitted along with the rest of the side track guards. The devil is in the detail and I am not sure I will ever finish it completely but I suspect it will be pretty much done in the next 6 weeks. Hope you like the photos. Andrew

[RichardT10829]

looking great Andrew...you should post a before and after pic, she has scrubbed up real well, are you going to keep her or sell her on ?

[andrew honychurch]

Thanks Richie, its taken longer than I thought but I have been involved in other projects as well as the T16. I cannot think that I will sell it, its going to have a bit of use first and I am thinking of trying to get booked in to the Armour and Embarkation this summer which should be a really good test. Anyway, we will have to see , not finished yet so lots of shaking down to do I know. cheers