My 2nd T3 A Ex-german army LHD Doka! My Daily!

 

its an ex=german army crewwy & the body is in good condition, dented here n there but i'm not fussed about that, the only rust i can find is a 10" long x 4"wide section on the flat section behind the wheelarch on the (UK) passenger side! easy fix! the locker area is MINT! but in green its dark in there so i'll paint the locker area in a matt or satin desert sand color so its light n bright in there! i've had the underside 90 degree hot jetwashed at my local HGV place like i do with my T3's to get rid of the years of grime, dirts stays damp, clean metal dont is my theory! plus it makes it a little nice to work on if its clean!

 

the motor in it when i got it was a 1.7ky & it was loud as fook!it did have oil lights flashing & all sots but i traced that problom & it was the main earth strap from the gearbox to the body was about to break, i fitted a new one & the electrics & motor were perfect! but as a daily that will hit the motorway nown again i though "bugger-it" & got a 1.9 1y motor from a local breakers for £200, fitted a new timing belt kit, water pump, glow plugs, clutch kit, clutch slave cylinder, got it al fitted in by errrrr myself on my norman again with a bit of help from my old man! i have the 1.7 ky in the garage :O)

i confess i did do a thread on club 80-90 about my engine conversion/swap

 

so far i've done about 1500ish miles in total & she's going sweet with no smoke, & its not using oil or water, i've had it up to 120KPH but i tend to cruise between 80-100KPH as i think thats enough really! 1000ish miles has been a trip to ireland & back! only 3 days after getting it up & running!!!!!!

 

other things i've done since i got it have been fitting merc steel wheels & some spacers to get them to fit with my tyre choice, i have 7.5x16 et41 with 235/60/16 tyres & 30mm spacers on the back & 7x15 et37 on the front with stud conversion & 10mm spacers, i cant remeber the tyre size but they are the right height to give the correct speedo reading! the wheels i'll be painting green to match the body to maintain the OG look!

 

i also stripped the load-bed & the inside face's of the drop sides & tailgate of paint, primed them with a etch primer, then some very Zinc rich primer then i sprayed the lot with a proper load bed lining paint- which is fooking brillinat stuff! its hard as nails! i have to take some pics of the load-bed & drop sides, i would like to get a cover for the rear loadbed like the one kooldubs has, or somat simular so i can take the army load bed cover off to recondition it!

i have ordered more load bed paint as its so hard & tough i'm gonna do my four inner wheel arches/wheel wells with it + the sills & any vunrable areas that get blasted by water & road grime! then i'll get the anti rust wax in all the cavities to protect it

 

other than that i've just gave it a clean & vac inside, got some hot-rod stylee blankets to cover the seats, broke the speakers  which is a pain as i like my tunes & they were'nt bad speakers either! so thats somat i'll need to sort pretty soon before the weather turns pants!i may paint the interiour metalwork in a satin desert sand color to lighten it up a bit as the seats are a beige/tan vinyl as are the doorcards, the doorcards i'm doing in marine ply as i got some thin stuff free, these will be painted! 

painted the mirrors, grill & wipers matt black as they should be as they were faded, still gotta do the door handles & tidy up the rear light clusters, i managed to get some truck stylee mirrors in black so i'll fit those when i get the chance, improves vision past the rear load cover! & they look pretty cool + fold in!

 

probloms i need to sort are my new oil pressure sender is weeping oil which will fix easily & quickly with ptfe tape, i do have a slight weep from the crank pully seal i think so i need to sort that before the weather turns & last night i noticed a sort-of rattle which i think is the new clutch release bearing grrrrrr!

 

 

oh yeah, its 2wd, not a synchro

 

i think i may lower it a little i'm unsure though!as the stock springs give it a bit of body roll, & the -50 avo's i have on my devon give a loverly ride, but on this doka maybe just a 30/40mm drop is enough, i'm unsure though!

 

i want to keep it as near as damit to original & get all the army decals back on it! but improve certain ares to make it nice as a daily!so there ya go, i like T3's

 

oh i may be selling the glass in the crew area & the rear window, what are they worth as i have some nicer replacements!

Surely you've just bitten the bullet and insured yours. 

Get it done and start enjoying the world of T3 doka's  

 

Had some relief today! i thought i had a problom with the new release bearing i fitted when i put the new clutch kit in!

thank fook! i had a look & guess what was rattling away! one of the big main 19mm bolts that hold the starter in place/the bellhousing to the engine block :OO arrrhh

for the moment i have tightend it back in but i think it may vibrate loose again, if it does i'll break out some threadlock on those threads!

fixed one of my two oil leaks too! removed my oil pressure sender, a bit of ptfe tape, screwed back on jobs a good-un!

 

just the crank oil seal to sort on the timing belt side of the motor & she'll be dry as a bone!

the leak is'nt even bad, it doe'nt even register an oil loss on the dipstick! it only drips a single drop the size of a 10p piece on the ground when its been on a long drive when the oil gets hot 'n' thin!

i still wanna sort it though LOL :OD

 

i think i need to check one wheel bearing too, i think i have a squeek from the drivers side one, may be a bit dry on grease!

the brakes need a check over, i'll probobly fit new pads & freshen up the fluid!

 

why do i have that feeling in my bones that i should lower it a little!  want to get rid of some of the body roll when driving around town as its a bit tiresome!

This is how it looked when it arrived with the german army decals/coat of arms

if i took these pics to a graphics place/sign maker do you think they could replicate them?

the coat of arms on the front left-side of the van under the wipers has deer antlers on it if anyone has any knowledge of the army decals/coast of arms used etc etc let me know!

picky sod me! i cant leave either of my t3's alone ever!

 

on the lowering thing, i m not lowering mine either, i was gonna smash it into the floor, but im loving the comfort. maybe get some super hd springs made up, or an ARB? do any t3,s come witha hd ARB?