Our LRDG Chev

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Andrew

Yes, it is a boost to the process to see what it is really going to look like. You have done a lot of hard work. It will be a very sharp rig when it is finished.

Cheers Phil

[Andrew H.]

Yesterday we tried to remove the 70-year-old tyres from the split rims and what a job that was! I cannot believe those wheels are so heavy - they must weigh 100 kg each!! After unscrewing (with great difficulty) the frozen nuts that hold the two rims together we tried several different methods, including laying the wheel down flat and pressing down on the tyre with a crowd-action FEL, riding up onto the tyre with a vehicle, pumping it full of air to separate the halves, and tying one rim to a well-anchored post and pulling the other one with a winch! We even considered burning the tyres off the rims!

In the end there was no substitute for the tried-and-proven 1942 method, using an impact hammer (a heavy crow-bar with a sliding weight) and a large drift-pin hit with maximum force by a (younger) assistant wielding a 20 pound sledge hammer! Even with that method it still took about an hour to remove each tyre and separate the rims. The rims will now be sand-blasted and painted after replacing some of the studs, which were badly eaten away with rust.
Recently we made the stencils for the identification numbers and the kiwi emblem and spray-painted them onto the bonnet (see pic) exactly as shown in the WWII archive photos. Onwards and upwards !

[Lynn Eades]

Andrew, I assume those are the Kaimai ranges in the second to last picture?
I am on the other side and see the Te Aroha repeater mast from home.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Andrew, I assume those are the Kaimai ranges in the second to last picture?
I am on the other side and see the Te Aroha repeater mast from home.

G'Day Lynn,
Yes those are the Kaimais. The farm where we are doing the truck is situated about 10 miles south of Te Aroha town.
Cheers,
Andrew

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

G'Day Lynn,
Yes those are the Kaimais. The farm where we are doing the truck is situated about 10 miles south of Te Aroha town.
Cheers,
Andrew

Ah an old haunt of mine 40 years ago LOL!

[Andrew H.]

A quick update: We are still having big trouble removing our 70-year-old tyres from the 16-inch split rims. Yesterday we spent a whole day trying unsuccessfully to remove another one. First we pumped the tyre up and separated the two split rims, then we tried to detach the bead with a crow-bar and sliding weight, but no luck. Then we anchored one rim to an RSJ shed pole and pulled the other rim with a tractor, but all that did was to dig two holes in the ground and break the chain. Then we repeated that process using the tractor and a ten-tonne hydraulic digger, but with exactly the same result –two fresh wheel holes and another broken chain! With the digger, the pull was so strong that it actually bent the rim where the shackle was attached through the stud hole (will have to be hammered out later). Then we cut out a section of the tyre with a 150mm angle grinder, but could not get close enough to the bead. Then in desperation we used a blow-torch and made a small fire concentrated at the bead, with bursts of oxygen from the torch to cut through the wire in the bead. But amazingly the bead still did not break, and the super-hot oxy-acetylene gas accidentally ricocheted off the rubber and cut two small holes right through the rim (will have to be welded up later). Strangely the rubber did not want to burn and went out as soon as the torch was removed! So after a whole days work we still had the tyre stubbornly attached to the rim. Any of you guys got any ideas?

[hrpearce]

Andrew I had one old heavy tyre that my bead breaker couldn't handle. I cut two lines from bead to bead using the back blade of a mattock then cut as close to the rim as possible to remove a section of tyre. I was then able to use the 4" angle grinder to cut most of the wire. I cut at an angle to the rim to get in as close as possible, I finished the cut with a cold chisel and 12 Lb. hammer.