67 MK-II Moke

[94touring]

Looks great!

[MPlayle]

Front subframe painted.

[jedduh01]

Great job!   without a doubt worth that blast!

Rear subframe?   buying new or spend lso for a blast?

[MPlayle]

Buying a whole new "complete" rear subframe and suspension/brakes.  The original rear is significantly more crusty than the front was and the mountings for the swing arms and trunnions are totally packed up with crud that was then covered in "undercoating".

I don't have the capability of getting the rear subframe apart to save it.  I'll pass that task along to someone else that does have the tools and capability to save it.  It will get listed in the "for sale" section soon at a bargain.

There are still lots of things that I am finding that are best/easier replaced rather than me trying to refurbish the existing: wiper wheelboxes, front upper arms, front suspension trumpets, ...  Most appear to be the original stuff that has had 50 years of dissimilar metals bonding themselves together and will not come apart with any force I can apply.  That does not mean they can't be separated, just I don't have the means and shops near me don't want to attempt it.

[MiniDave]

If you're using stock front suspension trumpets and tie bars I have a couple of each that are like new I'd be happy to contribute for the cost of shipping. I also have some rears that are all cleaned up and ready to use if your new one doesn't come with them.
One of the rears is painted, the other has only been sand blasted....

[MPlayle]

Thanks for the offer Dave.  I am going fully adjustable suspension, so decided to upgrade to Hi-Los when I could not get the trumpets/knuckles/cones to separate.  The Hi-Lo kit arrived today and I already had the adjustable lower arms and tie bars from a previous parts order.

I will be ordering new upper arms and kit today as the bearings are frozen into the arms.

[pbraun]

Subframe looking good.
Pedal box and speedo housing should be body color. I like a black pedal box myself.
Ask Hugh about his Beach Boy Moke.

[MPlayle]

I know the speedo housing is usually body color and I've seen the pedal box both body color and black.

I decided to have both mine black to provide some contrast to the rest of the Moke being bright white.

[MPlayle]

A small bit more progress this weekend - worked on refurbishing the fuel tank.



I had to fabricate some repair pieces for the upper mounts - one at each top, outer corner.  The old ones had their bolts sheared/cut off and were not even being used as there were not holes made in the replacement pontoon top.  The tank was being held in by only the one bolt of the side bracket to the body!



I gave the whole tank a generous coat of rust converter.  I will be doing another coat again tomorrow. 





I also have to make a new gasket for the fuel gauge sender and finish the repair to the fuel pickup line inside the tank.  The original strainer and torn and allowed the pipe to clog.  The DPO ( dumb previous owner) solution was to cut the pipe inside the tank, attach a length of hose with a filter attached to the end and drop it into the bottom of the tank.  I got a small filter for in the tank that fits the end of the original pipe (which was still in the tank) and cleaned out that segment of pipe.  I will trim each end of where the DPO cut the pipe and splice with a short length of fuel hose.

That will restore full use of the tank's capacity as the DPO solution left the end of the filter sitting about an inch above the bottom of the tank versus in the pick-up well.

[MPlayle]

Not much to report since last update.

I finished the rehab of the fuel tank.

I finally have a scheduled delivery appointment for the new Moke body shell for Monday afternoon (Nov 6th).

The old engine is on its way to a new owner (Dan Viola up in NY) and the spare transmission from the 998 should be getting delivered to Dan in Tulsa today.

[MiniDave]

Is Dan on our forum?

[MPlayle]

I don't think Dan Viola is on this forum.

[94touring]

Sounds like the tranny was delivered.

[MPlayle]

Online tracking says it was delivered to the address provided.

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[94touring]

The office sends me a text when I get a package. It's pretty nice having people gather my mail and notifying me!

[MPlayle]

I got a slightly late birthday present today (birthday was Halloween)!






Started unpacking it as well.




They did include the exhaust system and tank protector plate "complimentary" for being patient with the considerable delays in its completion.




Disassembling the crate is a bit of a jigsaw puzzle in reverse.

[Willie_B]

GREAT. Can't wait for your thoughts on the workmanship of the body.

[gr8kornholio]

Now that's a present to unwrap!

[BruceK]

Worth waiting for!   Looks very nice.   Now comes the fun of building it. 

If it were me no way could I cut that grille out of that pristine front sheet metal.  Have you considered just leaving it intact like an original English Moke?

[94touring]

Happy birthday!

[MPlayle]

Bruce,

This is not the best of pictures of the new grill for it - it is propped against the black truck box - but should give an idea of the look I am going for.  Also, the extra room to access the front of the engine for oil/filter changes and timing the distributor was an important factor to me.



It was a hard decision to make in going with cutting out the slats.  I plan to leave the vertical ribs for additional support.

[MPlayle]

The new body is now unpacked from the crate and onto my body dolly.

The build quality seems very good.  There are a few holes that did not get drilled.  Several of them are where two panels overlap and one panel has the holes pre-drilled and the other does not.  Others are where items may have varied from the factory and would require the parts I am using in order to place the holes (such as the wiper motor mounting holes).  That all will be taken care of as I test fit various things before it goes to paint.

The primer quality is a bit weak in a few spots, but again, an easy touch up fix before going to paint.

[94touring]

Remember my concern was primer quality. Is it pulling off with the tape trick?

[MPlayle]

Some rubbed off at places they put towels under where wood could contact the shell, a couple thin places lifted when I put blue painter's tape on it to mark the position of a missing hole.

Am I likely to need the whole shell stripped and recoated in primer before having it painted?

[94touring]

Yeah you really need to have it stripped, then a proper sealer/bare metal primer applied.

If I was in the panel and shell bussiness I'd spend the extra $20 per shell for a primer that actually adheres for my customers.  As a painter, anything lifting easily is not something I trust to paint over.