Print

[w3526602]

Hi,

As you are aware, I now have a hub drive flange (splines) to play with. The idea ist o shove it onto the front of the gearbox input/clutch shaft (no engine), and wind the truck across the garden with some sort of crank handle, as depicted in "Ice Cold in Alex". Many yonks ago, I cranked my first Landy up a (guestimated) 1:4 drive. Almost effortless after I. pulled the spark plugs. The difficult bit was remembering NOT to let go of the crank handle ... also depicted in "Ice Cold". Luckily, my garden is flat ... but lumpy.

Ideas so far ...

1. Cut the round flange (around  the splines) into a hexagon, to match my ginormous socket (46mm A/F, I think). Problem! I don't have a milling machine, so it would have to be a hack-saw job. Thinks ... a square might involve less cutting than a hexagon, and will still fit a 12 point socket.

2.  Weld/ braze a big nut onto the drive flange. Problem ... I don't think my toy welder would be up to the job. Similarly, my skills.

3.  "EBAY" a strip of 3mm thick mild steel bar, and drill bolt holes to match the holes in the flange. Six holes would look poshest, but four holes would be adequate, and would allow a narrower bar,

3.1.  Weld / braze a big nut in the middle of the bar, or, ...

3.2 Cut a square hole in the middle of the bar, and simply poke the end of a 1/2" extension bar into the hole.

3.2.1 As the "crank" handle will  need to reach from the front of the gearbox to projecting through the front bumper ... probably more extension bars than I possess ... it might make sense to buy a couple of metres  of 1/2" square bar, and bend it into a "Z" ... which might be a bit rough on my hand.

Unless you have a better idea. I do not have a big cordless drill ... but I do have a big, corded,"breaker" drill.

602

[Genem]

Huge amount of faff followed by fair bit of physical effort. Hire a Tirfor lookalike and a ground anchor from your local hire place for the day. It'll cost peanuts and is less likely to see you in the intensive cardiac unit. 

Better yet. Ask/Pay some other beggar to do the job.

[Porkscratching]

Pity I'm nowhere near you I'd be round with my  arc welder !
Anyway, the machining of the bit on the end of the flange is fine, provided it leaves you with enough metal after you've shaped it to a hex, or whatever....surely youve got a small angle grinder?? ..that's the thing to use to grind the part to shape..
Possibly best is make something to bolt to the flange as you say,  in this case you'd prob want to put the flange on the g/box flat ( inside) side out, easier then to bolt something , bar or plate, to it...as you also say a lump of square bar could be pushed thru a square hole, even assisted by some tacks from your 'toy welder' to keep it in place...
Like I say, if you're stuck, I can always make up something, with reasonable welding, for you as long as it's viably postable..! 

[Peter Holden]

I am with Gene, a Tirfor or a Sylvester would move it in no time, even a hand winch as used to load boats on trailers would do the job.  It may not be a straight pull but the use of snatch blocks to either change the direction or halve the effort should make life easier.  I did once move a S1 a short distance using the handle having first removed the spark plugs.  It was not a pleasant experience.

Peter

[Porkscratching]

Bear in mind tho, John is cranking it minus the engine, so there's none of all that hefty gubbins to rotate, which I'd think would make it somewhat easier..
I get the impression he really wants to do it this way.... so hats off to the man and I'll assist in the limited way I can !

[Peter Holden]

Yes but there is a difference between  a 20 year old and someone who is an octogenarian.

Peter

[Porkscratching]

Of course there is !...I'm an old bloke myself, tho a youngster compared to John !
That said... a guy I work with is over 75 and will lift and hump heavier things than I'd attempt, so it's all relative.
Anyway we await further developments.

[kev]

Seems a load of fannying around to me.
Just get a couple of guys from the forum/fakebook page and a LR, ratchet an old tyre to the front bumper and push the beggar to where you want it.

[Porkscratching]

Indeed, but we've been thru all these various options on another thread dealing with the same project...ultimately John has to decide what works for him.

[w3526602]

Hi PS,

Doh! You interrupted the mail I tried to send ... par for the course. Only this time, it didn't go ... it disappeared.

And I can't remember what I said ... it's an age thing.

Whatever, thank you all for your kind words.

I anticipate no problems hand-cranking. Been there, done that ... I guestimate about 25 yards up a 1:4 slope. But I was young then (27?). It's not the cranking that's going to hurt, it will be my torso bobbing up and down as I turn the handle

If you do it with the engine in ... don't forget to pull the plugs out first. Also remember to plan what to do if you need to take a breather. If you let go of the cranking handle, on a slope ... the truck will run away ... which also happened in "Ice Cold".  I think Clarkson and Crew tried to over come this by dragging a baulk of timber, so they could roll back onto it. I can't remember exactly what happened ... did the timber go thru the back window?

Are the relevant clips from Ice Cold and Top Gear available via Google? Maybe some of our younger, or overseas readers have not seen the former? It's a Rite of Passage.

602

PS, While trying to undo the crank bolt on my S2TD ... handbrake hard on ... I couldn't stop the truck reversing over a 4" (100mm) concrete block, behind each rear wheel ............................................. Doh!  I've just realised ... I should have had it in TOP/ HI ratio. Not FIRST/LO.

Er ... I have started a Landy by jacking up a back wheel, then spinning it by hand. I do not particularly want to try that again.

[Porkscratching]

I'm always forgetting what I went a short distance to do and the like, so it's not just you!
Anyway let us know how it progresses, and pics if any parts you fabricate as discussed would be most interesting !

[Matt Reeves]

One of my future projects is an 88" FFR, no steering and no clutch, so winding it by hand isn't an option. I've had to resort to a long bar under the bumper and lifting to move it around. It's hard work, and I'm half 602's age.

If your new 4x2 rolls easily couldn't it just be pushed? Bribe a couple of neighbours or such?.

[geoff]

 Some find joy in doing things the hardest way 

[RobS]

Just get hold of a second caravan motor mover, a couple of brackets to your tyre and you are good to go.

[w3526602]

Hi,

Thanks for the thoughts. I anticipate that I will want to move the car in and out of the garage a few times.

Barbara's TVR ran out of petrol on the M20, so I got out and started pushing .... I finished up "running" with it. But I was young then, probably only in my fifties.  I used to bump start my SS Jag (1936 ... £8 ... convertible) over the brow of cambered tarmac. As soon as it rolled easily, I'd reach in, yank it into gear (crunch) and immediately back into neutral. Eventually I knocked some teeth off the diff. Looking back, I suspect that the earth strap between engine and chassis "wasn't".

Er ... I had a hernia sorted under local anaesthetic I never felt anything, but none-the-less, a strange sensation. My cataracts  were a much more relaxing experience ... I almost fell asleep.

When in the RAF,  I once carried two jerry cans, full of petrol across the MT yard ... didn't want to do much for the rest of the day. Just to clarify ... that was two cans in each hand. The SG of petrol is only about 0.7. That was before I met Barbara, so only had a 32" chest. She has a lot to answer for.

602

602