introduction G"Day All Austin Cahmp restoration project

[Champie]

I am living in Perth WA and have recently bought an Austin Champ 1955 military version of course ,as usual it needs alittle TLC .

I work with locomotives and have little or no mechanical experience but i thought it would be fun to try and restore this great piece of British history.

I bought it over the phone and only seeing a picture it did not look to bad on arriving to Perth i found the following.

Genarally it looked ok but hey thats easy to say when you dont know waht your looking at !

1 / the brakes did not work

2/ it did not start

3/ Seats in really bad way

4/ no seat belts

5 / Fuel gauge not working

6/ not original indicators on front and back

 

Does anyone know what type of indicators should be fitted to this vehicle? I have included picture but were in the name of god do i find these indicators nowadays ????

 

And im sure more i have not found yet so, the plan being to write up a blog on my progress and hopefully there is someone out there who knows more about these vehicles than i do ,who can point me in the right direction to get this wonderful vehicle back on the road the way it used to be.

I am currently working on the brakes i have re-conditioned all the brake cylinders and have just got to put it back together to sse if it all works.

Have replaced all the seals and also the 4 flexible hoses which some of which were completely blocked . great fun when its 40 degrees in the shed .

Most of my parts came from Roy Elvis of champ spares ,very helpful and knowledgeable man ,cant reccommend him enough .

 

I have included one picture but will upload some more when i can .

Happy new Year to all

[sirhc]

Hi,

 

Welcome to the forum. The indicators that you're looking for are standard FV pattern lights used on most British military vehicles from the 50's to the current day, and are still used on lots of in service vehicles. All of the dealers should have them, try Marcus Glenn, Banisters and ebay.co.uk

 

Chris

[arcot1751]

Welcome in, nice project ! :-D

[fesm_ndt]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]85483[/ATTACH] & Welcome

[Chrisg]

​welcome

[private mw]

hi a warm welcome to the forum and also a happy new year :beer:

[rampant rivet]

Welcome fellow Champer to the HMVF there are a number of fellow Australians on here restoring Champs and I'm sure they'll offer help and advice, your Champ sounds like mine was when I found it in a shed where it had been stored for over 30yrs no brakes wouldn't start etc :shocked: Check out the Austin Champ owners club, lots of friendly advice and knowledge available

 

Front brake cylinders are Landrover series 2 long wheel base I think

 

Rear cylinders are a bugger you may have to get them sleeved in stainless if they are shot.

 

Master cylinder is also hard to find and expensive so better to sleeve in stainless with new seals etc.

 

Engine is pretty bullet proof with luvly R.R. engineering check the usuals spark/fuel wiring is getting dodgy now 60 years on.

 

Seat covers can be sourced as well as new tops etc.

 

As regards seatbelts good news here as you don't need them and they were never fitted to the Champ.

 

 

Fuel gauge on mine is erratic to say the least :cool2: will be sorted when I do a rewire in the spring.

 

Rear stops are same as Landy as is rear indys, I used smaller more descreet inicators on the front.

 

Good luck with your restoration and I hope your mobile soon, Champs are lovely things to drive a bit thirsty but hey ! I have a blog on here somewhere of my restoration if you need some inspiration :-D

 

Happy New Year RR

 

Ps check oil levels in axles before you do too many miles easiest way to tater up the rear axle is to run it when low on oil.

[simondema]

Hi

Welcome to the Forum, mate. Yes, there are a couple of nutters in Oz who are currently restoring Champs (me included).

Ebay is a great source for finding material and so are the other contacts mentioned in previous posts.

The important thing with Champs is maintenance and checking oil levels at all times. That in itself will avoid any disasters (or at least make them less catastrophic).

I bought some lights off Ebay and the seller is randc430

The ones I bought were DA1077 LAND ROVER SERIES 2 3 LIGHT LAMP SIDE INDICATOR TAIL AND BRAKE

Read the blogs on the Forum as they will give you much useful information, especially the ones from Rampant Rivet and Restoration of Champ 1824.

As has been mentioned before, ask many questions and you shall receive many answers!

Best of luck.

Simon

[antar]

Welcome can we have a closer picture of your snorkel at some point?

[Champie]

Thank you Guys all so much,

I am currently working away so cant get much done ,but im amazed at all the knowledge i can find on this forum so helpful.

 

 

Snorkel picture ,Dont have a real close up picture but soon as i get back to perth will post one.

My thoughts are this is not original as i have looked at it and im sure its some drainage /plumbing pvc pipe which has been painted black ,but will check.

My plans were like other champs ive seen was to remove this pipe and put what looks like a blank/capping plate on the end . If a new snorkel is difficult to find ,have nt got that far yet. If you look closely at my champ the 90 degree bend on the end looks like a plumbing waste bend ?? not relly sure though