Introduction
The Squadron purchased the land rover in late June 2007 from L.Jacksons of Doncaster. The vehicle was loaded onto the trailer under its own steam despite not having being started in four years. Shortly after getting the vehicle back to 1151 Squadron, the Land Rover was inspected to REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) Periodic REME Examination (now known as a Mandatory Eequipment Inspection) standards which are considerably more in-depth than a Civilian MOT.
The hood-sticks and tilt were removed and the entire vehicle was steam cleaned prior to the strip-down. By the end of the first day the spare wheel, bonnet was removed and the team started on removing all the light fittings. Every nut ,bolt and screw were in poor condition with years of rust; the seemingly simple task of removing light fittings without damaging them turned into the second full days worth of work. Every part that was removed was closely inspected for serviceability with the cadets carefully noting any unserviceable (U/S) parts in a list for replacement.
It was decided after the inspection that all rubber boots, bushes seals and all tyres needed to be replaced due to the damage caused from the suns UV rays on the rubbers over such a long period under cover in the storage field at L.Jacksons.
The cadets could not get enough of the Land Rover project. The Squadron spent thousands on equipping the garage out with tools, repair manuals, parts manuals, H&S equipment and not to mention the endless hours of assesssing and writing risk assessments out. This was all prepatory work that had to be completed before a cadet could even pick up a spanner!
The Project Leader & Preparation
WO Duffy even had to write out a WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION on the compressors that we had purchased. Fortunantely, WO Duffy had done all of this before on his H&S training courses during his 10 years of service in the REME. His time as a civilian mechanic came into its own with the required MOT standards. Despite WO Duffys time as an AMech (Armoured Mechanic) during his service with the REME, Land Rovers were his bread and butter work, second nature and easy to work on.
Cadet Involvement
Each Sunday the cadets attended the Squadron to work on the project without fail. It was decided after the first few weeks that WO Duffy needed to prepare which work the cadets could realistically carry out so the routine was changed to include a band practice for the cadets for the first hour of each Sunday before they could start. This helped the Project Leader to prepare all of the tools, equipment and paper-work as necessary.
This careful planning has worked very effectively and it has enabled the project to run smoothly and without incident and allows the maximum amount of time for the cadets to get hands-on with the Land Rover restoration. The project proved so popular with the cadets, WO Duffy had to make a rota of who would work on the project and when. The project was run on a Sunday but soon had to extend the working days to include Tuesday and Thursday nights when the Sqn programme permitted.
Skills Training
The restoration project contributes directly towards the cadets Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme involvement, specifically to the skills section of the award. Silver and Gold Award cadets benefit particularly as the project allows the required number of hours for the skills section to be fulfilled easily.
Since June last year, WO Duffy has trained the cadets in proficient use of hand tools and air systems. This training will be enshrined in a certificate awarded at the Squadron presentation evening and it will state that they are competent to operate these tools with some skill and with safety in mind. Cadets training in their civilian lives (i.e. at school), no longer offers such hands on skills. The cadets have gone from a very fingers and thumbs approach to mechanics to hands on skills in a short period of time which is incredibly pleasing and rewarding to see. The ATCs motto is Venture Adventure and the cadets spirit in this project really lives up to that motto!
The End-State
At present the Land Rover is stripped down to its chassis. The rebuild will begin soon; the project team anticipates that around £1500 on parts and painting will be required to return the vehicle to its as-issued condition. The Squadron will not be scrimping on parts this is a full overhaul and restoration not a bodge and scarper job. WO Duffys attitude of doing things skillfully from the outset still holds true from his service in the REME whose motto is Arte et Marte which, translated, means By Skill and By Fighting.
The cadets involved in the project are incredibly proud of their work and justifiably so!
Further updates from the cadets themselves will follow this initial article.
More photos to come as the work carries on.
Land Rover Owner International will be doing a major article on this project once we are further down the line. We intend to have a rolling chassis ready for Jul 08 with the project completed by the tale end of this year.
More information at http://www.1151.org.uk
If anyone has any parts in good condition that they are prepared to donate to the Squadron Land Rover Project, they would be very welcome indeed!
Please get in touch if you can assist us in any way! [email protected]
WO Duffy 1151 (Wallsend) Squadron Land Rover project Leader.
The Squadron purchased the land rover in late June 2007 from L.Jacksons of Doncaster. The vehicle was loaded onto the trailer under its own steam despite not having being started in four years. Shortly after getting the vehicle back to 1151 Squadron, the Land Rover was inspected to REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) Periodic REME Examination (now known as a Mandatory Eequipment Inspection) standards which are considerably more in-depth than a Civilian MOT.
The hood-sticks and tilt were removed and the entire vehicle was steam cleaned prior to the strip-down. By the end of the first day the spare wheel, bonnet was removed and the team started on removing all the light fittings. Every nut ,bolt and screw were in poor condition with years of rust; the seemingly simple task of removing light fittings without damaging them turned into the second full days worth of work. Every part that was removed was closely inspected for serviceability with the cadets carefully noting any unserviceable (U/S) parts in a list for replacement.
It was decided after the inspection that all rubber boots, bushes seals and all tyres needed to be replaced due to the damage caused from the suns UV rays on the rubbers over such a long period under cover in the storage field at L.Jacksons.
The cadets could not get enough of the Land Rover project. The Squadron spent thousands on equipping the garage out with tools, repair manuals, parts manuals, H&S equipment and not to mention the endless hours of assesssing and writing risk assessments out. This was all prepatory work that had to be completed before a cadet could even pick up a spanner!
The Project Leader & Preparation
WO Duffy even had to write out a WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION on the compressors that we had purchased. Fortunantely, WO Duffy had done all of this before on his H&S training courses during his 10 years of service in the REME. His time as a civilian mechanic came into its own with the required MOT standards. Despite WO Duffys time as an AMech (Armoured Mechanic) during his service with the REME, Land Rovers were his bread and butter work, second nature and easy to work on.
Cadet Involvement
Each Sunday the cadets attended the Squadron to work on the project without fail. It was decided after the first few weeks that WO Duffy needed to prepare which work the cadets could realistically carry out so the routine was changed to include a band practice for the cadets for the first hour of each Sunday before they could start. This helped the Project Leader to prepare all of the tools, equipment and paper-work as necessary.
This careful planning has worked very effectively and it has enabled the project to run smoothly and without incident and allows the maximum amount of time for the cadets to get hands-on with the Land Rover restoration. The project proved so popular with the cadets, WO Duffy had to make a rota of who would work on the project and when. The project was run on a Sunday but soon had to extend the working days to include Tuesday and Thursday nights when the Sqn programme permitted.
Skills Training
The restoration project contributes directly towards the cadets Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme involvement, specifically to the skills section of the award. Silver and Gold Award cadets benefit particularly as the project allows the required number of hours for the skills section to be fulfilled easily.
Since June last year, WO Duffy has trained the cadets in proficient use of hand tools and air systems. This training will be enshrined in a certificate awarded at the Squadron presentation evening and it will state that they are competent to operate these tools with some skill and with safety in mind. Cadets training in their civilian lives (i.e. at school), no longer offers such hands on skills. The cadets have gone from a very fingers and thumbs approach to mechanics to hands on skills in a short period of time which is incredibly pleasing and rewarding to see. The ATCs motto is Venture Adventure and the cadets spirit in this project really lives up to that motto!
The End-State
At present the Land Rover is stripped down to its chassis. The rebuild will begin soon; the project team anticipates that around £1500 on parts and painting will be required to return the vehicle to its as-issued condition. The Squadron will not be scrimping on parts this is a full overhaul and restoration not a bodge and scarper job. WO Duffys attitude of doing things skillfully from the outset still holds true from his service in the REME whose motto is Arte et Marte which, translated, means By Skill and By Fighting.
The cadets involved in the project are incredibly proud of their work and justifiably so!
Further updates from the cadets themselves will follow this initial article.
More photos to come as the work carries on.
Land Rover Owner International will be doing a major article on this project once we are further down the line. We intend to have a rolling chassis ready for Jul 08 with the project completed by the tale end of this year.
More information at http://www.1151.org.uk
If anyone has any parts in good condition that they are prepared to donate to the Squadron Land Rover Project, they would be very welcome indeed!
Please get in touch if you can assist us in any way! [email protected]
WO Duffy 1151 (Wallsend) Squadron Land Rover project Leader.
