Work in progress....

A few pics of my ex Royal Marines Lightweight. Unfortunately during it's Service life, the cold weather stuff was removed. Believed to have ended it's days on a TA base.

Looks good and solid. Is it on the road now, they look great in the summer with the canvas off.

doughnut said:

Looks good and solid. Is it on the road now, they look great in the summer with the canvas off.

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I bought it in February. Steel wise it's great with no rot in the chassis and only the bare minimum in the bulkhead. There are a few period repairs to the drivers footwell and one to the n/s wing/lightbox area which gives it a bit of character.
Been stood for 3 years in a warehouse after the former keeper tragically died (Ex Royal Marine) before he could finish it.
I charged the battery's (not the correct ones though) ,primed the fuel pump with fresh petrol and she burst into life.Bled the clutch after changing the slave cylinder, then took her for an MOT to see what she needed. New tyres, which I knew about 'cos they were perished, and a couple of silly advisories. Bought some new boots, sorted advisories and she passed. Can't engage the gears again now, think it's the crap Britpart slave cylinder Craddocks sold me.
Also need to get the rear battery boxes rebuilt as they are completely rotten on the bottom. Need a pair of correct size batteries too but can't find out the dimensions. I'm thinking of finishing her in Arctic camouflage , but still unsure as it no longer has the Arctic heater.Plus it will look strange in the summer.
Need help with what tools were fitted to the bonnet sides though. You can see the holes on both sides for brackets but the former owners widow stated they took the brackets off to paint it and must have lost them.
Regards........
Ian

sweet looking truck, pity about the loss of the cold weather kit though.

"arctic camouflage" isn't that white all over

honolulujoe said:

sweet looking truck, pity about the loss of the cold weather kit though.

"arctic camouflage" isn't that white all over

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It's all Nato Green at the moment, but it came with 5 litres of military White, which got me to thinking whether to do the Artic camo job. However I have seen no evidence of any white paint anywhere on the vehicle , but noticed the black/green temporate camouflage which was evident even in the cab area, so I may just go for the boring standard camo job instead.

RealBeale said:

It's all Nato Green at the moment, but it came with 5 litres of military White, which got me to thinking whether to do the Artic camo job. However I have seen no evidence of any white paint anywhere on the vehicle , but noticed the black/green temporate camouflage which was evident even in the cab area, so I may just go for the boring standard camo job instead.

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id say go white, it different, suits its heritage and is a nice tribute to the previous chap

TD5power said:

id say go white, it different, suits its heritage and is a nice tribute to the previous chap

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These were my original thoughts. My girlfriend also thought I should go this way too. So that's my mind made up.Green and white it is !!

A few more pics as it's starting to progress.Got the ATU boxes from Ebay.Fitted new doors/doortops and stripped the front rad panel as there was a little rot in it. Not happy with the paint finish. It's not like the genuine NATO green I used to buy years ago from Leavesley International. I may have to sand it all smooth and re do it as it's dried to an orange peel finish. Think I'll spray it too.
Found some sort of stickers under the paint on the chassis too.Makes me wonder if it was a replacement at some point - I'll check for a chassis number tomorrow.

I am only three miles from Leavesley International. Last time I looked in they had closed the shop that used to be open to the public. Still seem to have loads of ex mil stuff there though.

Went to Leavesley's today. First got cut up by one of our "colonial" friends who failed to see me, let alone my indicators as I was going round an island, then there was a road closure which meant I sat in traffic for half an hour in a diversion before having to drive 3 miles out of my way, then to cap it all off Leavesley's credit card machine went down...............typical !! the jipnack infront of me was messing around for ages which kept us waiting again, but his bloody card went through, then ours didn't.
We didn't have £20 on us in cash - so that was that. However all was not lost. We spent the afternoon at the National Memorial Arboretum. Somewhere I've passed so often but never had time to visit.
Anyway.....managed to sort the rad panel out.

The National Memorial Arboretum is a very moving place to visit, a must do for anyone passing. I live on the main A513 road in Kings Bromley, kettle usually on. I may go look at Leavesley to see how much EX Mil (whisper it) Boingies are.......

divie said:

The National Memorial Arboretum is a very moving place to visit, a must do for anyone passing. I live on the main A513 road in Kings Bromley, kettle usually on. I may go look at Leavesley to see how much EX Mil (whisper it) Boingies are.......

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We spent 2 hours there and saw nothing of what was there really. But that's down to just how vast the place is - around 150 acres. Next time we go we'll spend at least 4 - 5 hours going round.

Anyhoo, went back to Leavesley's today and got my paint.
The 90's/110's seem good value at first.But once you factor in the dreaded VAT they become expensive. £4200 for a 1985 110 is too much in IMHO. Especially considering I only managed to get £1750 for mine below.gave it a bare metal respray inside and out, new hood, fitted a recon gearbox plus lots of other stuff too.