44 cargo

a couple of pics of where I am at the moment -Charlie

Hi everyone I have been absent from contributing to this forum for the last 18 months. I fell off a ladder and aggravated an old back injury that has had me watching a lot of TV and unable to walk, however things have improved a lot and the last 6 months I have been rehabilitating in the shed working on the MW. I got the MW in many pieces and I was not the one that dismantled it so its been a mission getting it back together - many thanks to Fayjo and Mr Rivet and others for their pics on this forum these have help me so much, work to date has been gearbox overhaul made 1 out of 2 had the chassis and scuttle sand blasted, lower seals replaced in the motor brakes all done wheel cylinders and pads were in excellent condition, master cylinder was resleaved, rust repairs to the chassis and scuttle which had 19 holes that had to have patches welded in, some of them it was the third repair, painting and at the moment doing the wood work. I will endeavour to post some pics - cheers Charlie.

I am following your thread with interest I bought an MWD in a dismantled state and the pics you are posting along with others on this forum are really helping me, keep up the good work and the pics - Charlie

looking good Paul :-)

Great work , its really coming along, I appreciate your pics they answer a lot of questions for me, keep up the good work I am keeping an eye on you. regards Charlie

Thanks guys for your input, there is a lot of work to do but it is far from being a hopeless case, there are a lot of redeeming features there is absolutly no rust at all in the chassis, the engine has good compression and it seems to be complete with stretchers and all the bins and brackets in the back. My priorities at the moment are to finish an MWD I have however I want to get the ambulance going so I can give it a run periodically so it won't deteriorate any further and keep it out of the weather. This would be great to have at shows because I can use it as a camper and sleep in the back that is If I can get rid of the smell of rat urine. cheers Charlie

I found this in a shed in the mountains after been tipped off by a guy who knew of a military ambulance that was rotting away and the lady owner did not want to sell it because it belonged to her deceased husband and did not want to see it wrecked, I convinced her I was in to restoring these vehicles and she was keen for me to have it. - I thought, I have a shed full of unfinished projects, I am not getting any younger and another project I did not need so after thinking about this, I went ahead and bought it. It came originally from France to Norfolk Island ( of mutiny on the bounty fame ) and then to New Zealand in 1985. The owner died in 1989 and it has been in this shed ever since. here are some pics for you - enjoy, Charlie

I have heard but never tried it that the detergent used in dish washers is the best as it is non foaming put it in when the motor is hot and run it for a while drain and flush with clean water a couple of times before putting in the anti freeze - Charlie

Funny enough there was an article in a newspaper here (New Zealand) about this landrover, and it being a local owned one, It must have been sent to the UK to be sold seems strange they didn't try and sell it here first, its not likely Winston got two on his 80th birthday

Thanks Alex thats great I have just found a Dodge ambulance (same as mash) on a farm that I will buy if the owner will part with it I don't really need another project just yet but its rare and its available so I will have to get it.

yes thats it, in the day when it had head lights, spring catches on the engine side panels and the fuel tank trays. I now know what the registration number is thanks Alex. If you are ever up this way let me know - cheers Charlie

here is a pic of the bumperettes on my cargo as you can see they are different from a GMC. I checked out the cross members on my truck they seem to be the same as yours here is a pic of the bumperettes

Don't you just love those jeep drivers just drove out in front of that poor guy trying to land his corsair

I have been following your thread with interest. I have a chev cargo and i think I see some differences that you may want to know about. First of all the bumprettes on a cargo are different to the GMC the spare wheel carrier is the same and fits, the pintle hook is the same on both and the back mudguards are the same. the GMC has a 5 speed gearbox and the chev a 4 speed one, the GMC transfer box fits the chev but the gear ratios are different. On looking at your pics it seems to me the back cross member and the cross member by the hand brake are different to my truck, If this is correct it may only mean that there was subtle differences between the years or the countries they were sent to or the different applications the chev had. If the fittings on the chassis are riveted on it means they are original if they are bolted on then most likely they are not original. Tomorrow I will take some photos for you and post them here. When you are over all these hassles you will enjoy driving the chev. cheers Charlie

Hi Simon, I live in a place called Taupo if you look at a map of the north island you will see a large lake in the centre of the island, thats where I live it is a thermal area and very popular with tourists if you are here I will certainly show you and your friends around with some visits to MV restorers - so keep me in the loop ! cheers Charlie