Project 66' Moke: The Start of something fun!

[jedduh01]

So as i delve more into this great site- with open minds and the want to read and see more. I offer my project that I have been holding back on revealing.  CLM's project moke has been a real inspiratoin and showing of what can be done with a needing vehicle

My Project

1966 Moke - Disassembled about 15 Years ago - Parked under a house Half in the Weather- Front subframe  with engine was kept indoors. The previous owner had a new life to attend to and neglected the Moke- Water- Leaves Rust abounded in the floorboards an the RH Outer Pod.   = Rot.

Able to borrow a trailer- pick up the car - rolling on only the rear subframe and bring home to Charlotte where the  Resto Starts....

Trying to get the hang of the best way to Submit -enter most of the pictures possible-  have had the car about a month and progress is happening and pictures are growing, so i need to post as they come at this point.

[jedduh01]

My initial goal was going to be to -  Patch floors- Engine in - Make run - Rat Moke.. keep the Patina. But as thing started being looked at, and poked at- the rust pile in the floor would grow.  I would say the RH pod is worse than Ive tackled with rust on my own. Along with the rear deck floor. Simply Rotted away... Those will be my trouble spots.

As of now  just a rat Moke will not work and it will become more of a custom moke with a few cool here's and theres =  the idea now is to go full strip and renew. I will be keeping a majority of the stock parts. Refreshing their look and re use!

Found wheels already!!!- 5 x 10 Weller steelies



Wife even likes beating on this car for dissassembly



Major task wil be Repair the metal needed - full paint and presentation dress to occur.

Oh - The 850 Original engine -  Its VERY tight to try and turn with the crankshaft--- Hopefully I can pop the head off and get it to spin resurrect the lump - or eyes are out for another 998 or such.

Started stripping the car= Torch is my friend to loosen all rusty bolts.

Fuel Tank out -  had 3 inches of BAD Varnish gas within...  see sender  Headache ahead:



First chipped away - sloshed around rocks inside to break free whatever possible. Next Muratic acid inside for 3 days. Next - Electrolsys Bath.

The start




4 Days = Getting better




OH NO pinholes



Luckily the elctrolsys bath loosened nearly all the sludge- Very clean inside

Por 15 coating to come to the inside to finalize that task.

Final product



For me - I like being able to accomplish something with near nothing no matter what--- Currently out of cash to purchase floor panels, and side pod panels, SO ive been putting my resources to work with many other exterior parts on my own.

Electrolsys = Cleaning parts - de rusting many things while Im at work every day!



Blasting - Cheap home made blasting Cabnet- Captures the dust and i can pour back and re use.



Then this past weekend- Time to remove the rear subframe - but still have the body moveable -

8 Foot Pallet -

So now the body is stripped. individual pieces are being done as time allows

The next big step will be Blasting / Stripping....

Already got a nice penumatic hole punch for spot weld ready.... Cant wait to use!


The sad part- Wife and I are taking vacation May- June--- all of our free $ needs to be saved for that trip . so no big investments towards the car right now--- Agonizing wait!

[clm]

It looks to be in MUCH better shape then mine was, good luck on it and watching eagerly :)

Make sure you brace it before cutting too much out, there is not much there for strength when it is intact let alone rusty!

Places to know...

http://www.m-parts.co.uk/ Probably the best place I know to get panels
http://mokepanels.com/ Another panel place although Leo tends to be a bit more expensive, he is the only game in town for the correct pannier box floors.
http://www.mokeclub.org/ the international moke club, they also have a selection of spares available if you join and they have a lot of decent people there willing to help.
http://www.mokesinc.org/ an Australian message board a fair bot more lively then Mokeclub. Although they tend to focus on the Aussie made mokes more, construction wise and knowledge wise all mokes are very similar

HIGHLY Recommended thing to get:
Mini Moke: A comprehensive guide to restoration. By Roy Scott.
This book includes detailed schematics for making just about every panel on the moke.

However you need to email him to get one, I will PM his email address to you (even though it is readily available over the internet)


Chris

[jedduh01]

Thanks Chris...!!

Good to know on the panels, I have yes- seen them advertised on the web and talked about. not quite ready to jump into panels...

Anyone interested in a Moke panel group buy? Save on shipping!

Will also look for that book  - knocking up panels on your own shouldnt be too difficult wiht a metal break -( have access to) knowing how they fit together properly will be more important.

[Mudhen]

Umm...the Department of Homeland Security would like to speak with you about something...  :o

And already with the vacations...seems like you just started and already taking a break? ;D

Welcome aboard if I haven't said it yet! 4.gif

[jedduh01]

Well, to add to my progress--- The body=  Not so much - Saving on when to buy panels. and the needed stuff for that.  Also figuring out how I can transport the body to a media blaster for sandblasting.  I need to find a friend with a utilitty trailer or a CL trailer to help get the body to the media blaster.

Restorer's question to the group.  In the long term  I plan on having this body sand blasted and re sprayed.  DO most people Blast ,  prime - then weld..?  OR Weld. Blast - Re weld new holes that are found and then prime n paint. I cant really decide which way to go. Im leaning towards blast  - prime - weld - finish paint....

Along the lines of progress. Ive been cleaning all sorts of nicks and nacks- re painting Black etc... Rear subframe disassembled and electrolsys on all parts. Wire harness re wrapped with cloth wrapping

Rear Backing plates came out perfectly clean , Rear arms took a few more days - and now  -- Electrolsys bath for the rear subframe... Bubbling right along  Many parts are spotless now - Re assembly of the rear subframe will then move on to the front subframe.

Finally after done cleaning all possible- Time to do the body! .

[94touring]

I like the electrolsis, I did the same thing once. 

[Mudhen]

Since I have very little time to work on my project, I tend to blast a couple areas that I'm going to be working on soon...cut, weld...then for the majority of under car stuff I've done so far prime with POR-15.  I don't think you'd want to cut/weld first since, like you said, after blasting you'd have to go back, cut out more metal, then patch/weld again.  I would think that would lead to more heat and possible distortion on the area.  (note:  I'm a true noob to this stuff, though so take that into acct when reading my babble)

I'll be interested in hearing how you like that pneumatic hole punch.  The one I bought has a two-sided end - hole punch and flange.  Pretty much going to throw it in the trash..lol.  The flange makes for a real nice place to set your new metal in - but what a disaster is makes on the other side!  Probably won't use that again.  And the holes it makes with the punch are huge - been meaning to take a pic to show the difference between that and the drill bit I got with the little spot weld kit from Eastwood.  With the huge hole the punch makes it's really hard to fill it all in and have it look anywhere near decent...

Just something to think about before you make 1k holes (if yours is the same as mine, of course).  I'll grab a pic later.

[jedduh01]

So - another week or two and things are progressing- just not on the body yet... Vacation next week- out of the country for 2 weeks, Body work wont start until JUNE!!!

anyhow - Rear Subframe all cleaned up and jazzy - Came out of Electrolsys very well - 15 min with the wire wheel on the angle grinder all over and it was nearly bare metal all over.







My Subframe treatment consists of - Hammerite - then Paint...
   I like hammerite for the durablilty - but "black" hammerite is actually very grey - SO i follow up a hammerite coat with a few coats of spraycan black..( i know spraycan, buty hey its easy and worked great on both subs on my 63 for years so far.

The final outcome.



Also have the rear arms completely refreshed and built up ready for subframe.



along with trumpets and new shock set!

Next last weekend - I ran across another engine! -- so the little 850 that came with the car had been sitting- and is VERY tight,. can barely make it move with a prybar thru the starter hole- like only 2-3 teeth and it stops turning...  By finding this 998, i figured, why spend money on another 850 to strip . fix and repair when i can do the same on a 998 and  have a few more ponies.

Well - the engine was VERY tired. Head clearly not original ( unpainted) and seller said it Smoked while running- (black plugs) etc.

THe motor however came with transmission attached- with Yolk Outputs - and a "puddin Stir'er / Magic wand shifter - Just right for the Moke.

SO  Dissassembly!!!




Intersting things found upon dissassembly -

Gearbox has a 3:44 Gear installed!  Good for me! but has a pretty heavy sludge coat on the bottom--- washing that out currently. ( soaking with Chemicals)

And for the motor... Bone Stock- Never been into .

    Timing Chain Tensioner was broken in the case ,  The head has NO Valve stem seals installed (im hoping this is where some oil burning is from)
   And for thirds. the Oil Ring on 2 pistons was slam Jambed up on the piston. STuck in the groove.

SO - IM hoping  - the bores can take a slight hone - and the pistons can take some new rings. and slap her back together. While it would be nice to go full out on the 998---- not right yet- I got a whole more car to go Full out on! Will go to the machine shop for them to measure the bores and the pistons and advise... I wish i could find some affordable oversize 998 Pistons - They seem to be pretty rare!

SO thats where i sit-  Still  prepping and cleaning LOTS of small parts  Brackets-  etc.

Planning on getting cracking on the body when home from vacation!.

  - Oh yea-   Sourced a small trailer 7 x 5.5 that will do just fine for getting the body for the blasters and back for prepwork!

My Personal Goal - Drive it for my birthday - July 20TH! 2013!!

[clm]

You may want to get a heritage cert and see if the 850 is original. And as for the moving the body, I have found the cheap 4x8 trailers you can get at bimart and harbor freight. I have carried complete minis on mine.

Chris

[94touring]

I like how you're getting things done creatively on a budget.  What did you do to fix the pin holes on the tank?  Have you considered sand blasting the shell yourself to save some bucks?  You're compressor may hinder that task.  Also, the pneumatic hole punch...tell me more.  I need one of those instead of drilling manually.  I decided unless I can afford a very expensive spot welder that the way I've been doing it is the strongest method. 

[jedduh01]

Thanks for the comments.


- The Old 850 - I know is original to the car... Owner I got the car from - picked the car up in 71 - 72  and said he ran that 850 to the ground. His story was "removed engine subframe assy  to replace some seals" but I dont see anywhere on the subframe assembly any signs of oil major oil leaks that i would have worried about. Cant really tell why they owner did this dissassembly of the front sub and stopped...  I would kinda be worried of hidden insides.

Either way - Hertiage Certificate probably will come later. Original motor in its stock form will stay with the car. If a next owner wants to go back with it go right ahead.

My plans are not to keep this car English Green and stock wheels either... so i'm not pushing to keep the STOCK original look.  I'm leaning now towards a Dark Blue- (midnight blue)- With Black bumpers and trims.  (silver weller wheels for some pop). Simple but different.



The Penumatic Punch  - I have not yet actually WELDED any spots with this hole punch used - but by the way its designed . Effortless holes  right on the edge of panels with the push of a lever.

The holes are 3/16th so not too big and i think will do a fine job.

I found this one as "used, and untested" on ebay - and took the risk. Shipping almost cost more for the tool than the tool did. 26$ total i think i have in it.
Plugged it up to air- Punch away!

Honestly the next day i was in Harbor freight- and they have the same one on the shelf for 39$ then use a 20% off coupon and give it a whirl.


..

What are thoughts on windshield frame treatment.  I have some rust at the bottom corners  where the corner meets the glass. but i DO NOT want to take this windshield apart ... I assume its supposed to be body color- do you think a painter can mask off the glass and turn out a n ok Job ?

To fix the Pinholes in the tank - Ill be totally honest. and im just giving it a try not expecting a 100% absolute repair- But  I used   From parts store- Epoxy Gas Tank Repair.  I think made by Permatex.  100% perminant.

Everything i read-- People had good luck with epoxy tank repair after they cleaned the tank well- wire wheel. and had no fuel present., users were happy- I figure. WHat have i got to loose... Wire wheel really well - Smash Epoxy into holes well- Smooth out wide. and let it set up... After 2 days it was ROCK hard... I put water in it - NO leaks... We shall see . It should work. Its Made for fuel !


I wish i had some more of a compressor to go for some larger scale blasting-  but i just dont- and i dont hink my HOA will approve of clouds of Dust and such.... I think ill pony up and let a professional treat the body -  Seats- TOp Frames and bumpers all in one go!

Ill bring it back - PRime - Metal repair- then off to find a bodyshop...

Anyone else need to get in on a Moke panel order?  Looking to order in JUNE! Can share the shipping!

[jedduh01]

Off to see the blaster!!!

- Plans changed for my saturday - and i figured, why let the project sit while I'm on vacation. Take it to the blaster , let them work it in for 2.5 weeks. I gave him a deadline of - Pickup June 3rd.

Hes also putting it etch primer too. 

3 Mustangs in the shop + 1 honda being worked on., and now this -- these guys didnt know what it was...

"is that some sorta Willys Jeep"   :o



Also got carburation Sorted out for my 998 - Sure the HS2 1/14 from the 850 would have worked but why not a 1.5 HS4 - if you have one that is in better condition than the original.
 


And our local wrecking yard -  Had these 3 fogs hanging on a 4wd vehicle-   Not totally comitted to putting on the Moke, But what if!

Garage is now tidy - things all put away - can wait for my return.

I told the blaster guy my hope of driving by July 20'th and he asked -" Uhh - of 2013?"....

[clm]

Off to see the blaster!!!

-snip-

I told the blaster guy my hope of driving by July 20'th and he asked -" Uhh - of 2013?"....

Sounds like most peoples reaction to mine in February when I said I wanted to drive it to MMW in June =)

Nice trailer! ;)

Oh I have a spare lower windshield seal if you want it, and maybe a couple rear pannier dividers.

Chris

[jedduh01]

 - So the Vacation was great - 2 Weeks - Germany - Netherlands - Belgium - UK

In London - we went and saw Saw about 1000 Mini's and abotu 5 mokes @ London 2 Brighton Mini Meet last weekend - Camping out for the next days drive to Brighton. Good inspiration.  Few Mokes of all stature.  Mini's of ALL stature- Old New - Original  - Modified=- Running and not... Great gathering. Good inspiration

   - Came home to reality - and next day (this monday) up earlyl early London time - ran to the Blaster, That was to have my car done and ready for pickup, 3 weeks to do the job, and Guess what - NOT TOUCHED..... Not happy - wasted trip 45 Min each way...  He messed up= thought i was comming Tuesday - NOT, wrote it down on the work order.... He messed up.

Anyhow - promised to have it done in a day - We agreed I would pick it up Wed Evening  .

Drove up - AWESOME!!! my car is now Matte GREEN!!!






And Here's the swiss cheese floors! 







LF Fender I knew had some filler in it -  well  - its pretty wrinkled underneath! - Not impossible



Well - Vacation tapped me out pretty pretty hard in the wallet-  going to be a little while before i can order some panels (unless Mr master card  agrees) . Working with another guy on the east coast doing a moke - for a group panel buy.

Its Moke season here on the east- and we all want to be driving by summer.!


- Meanwhile - ill take my motor to the machine shop - let them hopefully tell me a hone and a re ring will be Acceptable. 

Garage is Full - going to have to start putting some parts in the house (living room or somewhere)- need to find somewhere for the original 850 Motor to Live!!

More to come!

[SomethingNew71]

- So the Vacation was great - 2 Weeks - Germany - Netherlands - Belgium - UK

In London - we went and saw Saw about 1000 Mini's and abotu 5 mokes @ London 2 Brighton Mini Meet last weekend - Camping out for the next days drive to Brighton. Good inspiration.  Few Mokes of all stature.  Mini's of ALL stature- Old New - Original  - Modified=- Running and not... Great gathering. Good inspiration

   - Came home to reality - and next day (this monday) up earlyl early London time - ran to the Blaster, That was to have my car done and ready for pickup, 3 weeks to do the job, and Guess what - NOT TOUCHED..... Not happy - wasted trip 45 Min each way...  He messed up= thought i was comming Tuesday - NOT, wrote it down on the work order.... He messed up.

Anyhow - promised to have it done in a day - We agreed I would pick it up Wed Evening  .

Drove up - AWESOME!!! my car is now Matte GREEN!!!


And Here's the swiss cheese floors! 

LF Fender I knew had some filler in it -  well  - its pretty wrinkled underneath! - Not impossible


Well - Vacation tapped me out pretty pretty hard in the wallet-  going to be a little while before i can order some panels (unless Mr master card  agrees) . Working with another guy on the east coast doing a moke - for a group panel buy.

Its Moke season here on the east- and we all want to be driving by summer.!


- Meanwhile - ill take my motor to the machine shop - let them hopefully tell me a hone and a re ring will be Acceptable. 

Garage is Full - going to have to start putting some parts in the house (living room or somewhere)- need to find somewhere for the original 850 Motor to Live!!

More to come!

I have a feeling your wifey wouldn't like parts in the living room.  Hahaha  79.gif

[Nicholasupton]

Garage is Full - going to have to start putting some parts in the house (living room or somewhere)- need to find somewhere for the original 850 Motor to Live!!

More to come!

Just tell the wife you got her a new coffee table.

[pbraun]

I like the electrolsis, I did the same thing once.

That's cool. I have a bunch of stuff I could clean up like that!  Have to figure out how to do that!

[dutchy1978]

I admire all you guys restoring cars in this condition. More rust than good panels and yet you all just bat it off and get stuck into it.

Cheers to you all. Keep up the good work. 4.gif

[jedduh01]

As time passes, progress is slowly made- Another big step happened today - Panels Delivered!  4.gif

Took about 1 week to confirm the needs - one supplier Mokepanels.com Leo Jack was super responsive and nice, He got my whole order. Two other chaps on the east coast are also doing mokes - of probably equal state- We all have talked to each other and its now an informal race. I know i want mine driving by October for CMU in VA. and i think PBraun has the same idea too!

Progress is being made. Engine is at the machine shop- They checked - 998 will take a hone- and clean - and will re ring it and new bearings- Will be a solid powerplant.  Have many engine parts out for stripping, cleaning and readying for paint- I will do this paint on this motor as facotry - FUlly assembled then sprayed BMC Green.

One tool i have really taken to like are Wire wheels- for the DRill--- Smaller - Hand drill is not near as powerful as the angle grinder but the manuverability is AWESOME - all the cracks and crevices easily scrubbed clean.

Another tool - my hole punch - flanger- Jambed,. locked up  50.gif - guess that ebay deal bit me. Order a new one with Warranty!

FInlized my panel order with Leo= parts were picked up fedex wed - DELIERED on  Friday!! my whole weekend has changed plans...

Meanwhle , waiting for orders, communications. etc- I rolled the body up on its side. and get a complete bottom look. YUCK.

Took some time and took off the outer skin. and floor  (only held on by 3 spotwelds anways ) and exposed the whole floor side.

From there Dug in  Cut apart the floor on 1 side- to then take apart form the Inner wall . Pretty clean

Next was the rear heel board and divider- Cut that away - cleaned up welds.

Now i have a clear path - to fit up the new floorbard, know where to fully cut that off outside of the hump and start fitting new in.

Not to mention new Toe board lower- and new Heel Board Rear.

More to come!

[Mudhen]

Panel porn... 4.gif

[jedduh01]

So Saturday Came  - Long Anxious night , thinking about what to tackle first.

Got my hands dirty for a few hours made some progress.

First order  = Make my own Side repair patch for the side wall .

18 gauge is HARD to bend a nice crisp 90" angle - but its very sturdy- I even got the Harbor freight 30" bender for few pieces needed

Tacked that in place - and then a Rear closing panel - Tacked in place just to stay there.



Next figured--- better have the subframe in place to start to put together a replacemetn heel board.

Boled up 3 Points- so the 4th was the reference for the new heel section.

Tacked in place- Just to see if thinkgs are headed in the right direction.


The other end- TOE board is a mess, so then it was kinda back and fourth for  Whats next -- Well the Floor needs to be in - then the toe goes on top of the floor. so fitted up to see.



Next the outer closer.



Needs some more shifting around -  Close the back gap up



and im worried about hitting the FRONT subframe needs  so i think next will be flipping the body  and seeing that the floor holes will line up with the toe holes.

Few hours in - i was BEAT - not just the metal . SO i put  quick coat of hamerite on the inner triangle section seal up, keep some rust at bay hopefully



Of course i wasnt totally done I  mock piled it all up and in to see a View of the future.





  - Sunday - Time with the wife-  Epic road trip to the mountains. (moss motoring Challenge Photos) .. Got pretty lost -amazing twisty asphault road got smaller and smaller and turned into  Dirt Mountain road that kept getting worse and worse.... Few rock piles had to be buiilt to cross  a washout spot twice. and oh yea-- this was in my Late model mini!



More to come!

[clm]

Looking good! I wish I had kept my tunnel from the old floor it was in pretty nice condition...

Mocking up always helped drive me forward :)

Chris

[Mudhen]

Nice progress!   4.gif

I agree on the 18ga - I was replacing some Rabbit floors and the support frame underneath was 18ga - built a bender for my workbench with angle iron and some rollcage tubing:



The angle iron actually bent after repeated use of bending the 18ga...never did get the crisp bend I wanted.

[jedduh01]

Progress continues!

Goods arrived from UK - another amazing delivery - shipped Thrusday - had all weekend to travel. DHL Delivered Monday --- Amercian parcel cariers need to get on the program!

Anyhow - lots of small parts inside-  Gasket Kits for engine.  Rubber parts for body - Hoses., Seals Gaskets. Needed things. and RUBBER for the road!

Slipped these together- then realized DOH - No valve stems!! will grab a few from a local shop ASAP !



- on to the Panel replacement .   Rear side done - Moved to the front - thought i could wing it and place together the toe section .... WRONG!!




Flipped body -Got the subframe  set in the body and had the actual frame to line up with-  GOOD IDEA



Little more shifting- here and there- Placed it well...



I know im going to become REAL familair with a grinder, but its solid in every way - Plug welds are now easy!  Welder is in tune- (had to go get anotehr bottle of gas today! Keep on pluggin)

Flip to the other side-  Small patch where the tunnel and shifter meet- FInalize the floor around all edges!



While im beating on metal - my Buddy came over for advise on how to tackle a Mk 1 Headliner!



I did one for my 63 about 10 years ago with my mother- so i got the gist! we got it nice- but the glue wouldnt set./.. he took it home to let the contact cement settle so it can install nicely!

Continued on the RH Outer



AND SHES PRETTY DONE!


im actually going to take a page from CLM's book- and BOLT on the outer side panner panels... COuple pan head screws  and it could be welded on in the end if someone wants... that way- the inside box is serviceable too!

ON TO THE LH Side!



Alot of the same from the RH side.



COming along!! im quite thrilled- and  thinking now about - Grav Tex the underside and box inners and inner floor- along with primer and prepare for finding a painter!

Alot to think about.