Rusty Krusty Moke

[M.Aziz]

Hello All,
I purchased my Moke a month ago without any research, it was a very big impulse buy:o. I haven't had much time to work on it as I'm just 3 weeks away from finishing my undergrad degree at uni so thats been taking some of my time along with work.
I thought i would start a build thread so i can show you all my my progress to date.
I spent some time making a loop to put a block and tackle up to aid in the engine removal which took a bit of time but made the removal much easier.
After i got the engine out and cleaned it up i really started to think what the hell have i got myself into haha. But now that i have started there is no going back. The body is in worse shape than i originally thought which seems to be the case with everyone that buys a moke.

Im just thinking what i should do with the fuel tank. The outside seems to be in very good nick but the inside had a lot of red dust. It seems to be ok apart from that separating wall inside the tank itself. Why is that there? Can i cut it out?

[Pete Power]

The internal baffle appears to be rusted out. You may be best sourcing a good replacement.
The baffles are to stop the rapid movement of fuel when in motion.
Looks like an excellent project.

[Terry]

Hi,

I probably agree with Pete about getting another tank as if the baffle is that far gone then the bottom of the tank is likely to be a sieve, but you can check for yourself.

Knock or blow out all the loose rust and rust that you can from the tank first and block off the pick up pipe with a piece of tape.

Get a 1llt bottle of Methylated Sprits from the supermarket and pour that into tank and slowly hold the tank at angles that would have the MS covering joins and the drain hole at the bottom of the tank and see if it develop damp spots where the MS is coming through the metal or the seams. MS is best to use as it is thinner than water and will evaporate when finished.

Terry

[77Devil]

Hello All,
I purchased my Moke a month ago without any research, it was a very big impulse buy:o. I haven't had much time to work on it as I'm just 3 weeks away from finishing my undergrad degree at uni so thats been taking some of my time along with work.


The body is in worse shape than i originally thought which seems to be the case with everyone that buys a moke.

Good luck with the rest of your degree and the be ready for some real fun, with your Moke.
Not much research???  Impulses can provide interesting outcomes. Looks like you have been lucky enough to get yourselves a reasonably complete Moke anyway.

On the rust side of things (and I learnt this with my last project) it doesn't cost any less or any more cut out an inch wide bit of rust, than it does to cut out and replace 6 inches. Just cut back until you find rust free metal.

Good luck with this project.

Cheers

Dev

[ratty]

Good advice from Deb, maziz.
Cheers and welcome.

[M.Aziz]

Well i have realised as most people have said but i have never experienced, it costs way more to restore a car than it does to buy one already restored, i have learnt my lesson haha. I got some quotes to have the car sandblasted and I'm sure it will save me a lot of time and will provide a much better end result.
I just have a few questions:
1. Does $700 sound reasonable for the full body and the subframes to be blasted?
2. The drum brakes are in poor condition, I'm not sure if its worth rebuilding. Could someone point out a complete front disk brake kit that is for the budget minded?
3. Whats a reasonable cost for an engine rebuild? I really want to try work on it myself but have never attempted any kind of engine work before, i am very wary of undertaking the rebuild only to have it stall due to my lack of knowledge. I already have my work cut out for me with the body so it might be easier to just have a mechanic rebuild the engine for me.
4. Who should i go to for having the brake lines redone? I have the complete pieces and would like them redone in a more flexible material.

Cheers

[shorty 68]

Hi M Aziz with your brake lines they must be steel up to the brake assembly parts and then can change to flexible lines not braided ones unless they are aust approved.
The engine build can cost up to $6.5thou.
A car blasting could be about that price.. The last one was for me $350 for the body only.
Cheers Shorty 

[M.Aziz]

Hi M Aziz with your brake lines they must be steel up to the brake assembly parts and then can change to flexible lines not braided ones unless they are aust approved.
The engine build can cost up to $6.5thou.
A car blasting could be about that price.. The last one was for me $350 for the body only.
Cheers Shorty 

Hey Shorty
So just from the pedals to the clutch/brake master cylinder and they can then become flexible lines, thats cool. Thanks
For 6.5k you could buy a really nice rebuilt engine haha. I just want something thats reliable, nothing fancy.

I have found another blaster who will charge $300 for just the body if i take it to him, maybe i can just buy one of those small blasting guns for the subframe or hit it with the wire wheel. That $700 was for the guy to come and blast it in my back yard so i can watch him do it.

I don't want this project to drag on so what I'm thinking now is to blast it, fix the body, rust proof it and maybe put on a coat of paint, then I'm hoping to get it on the road (registered) after which i can pull it apart again and invest into making it look nice. Im concerned that if i invest too much into it and i can't get it registered then I'm totally screwed, the idea of not being able to get it registered is what really holds me back.

[shorty 68]

The lines are steel to the subframe. Flexible from subframe to brake assembly. $6.5k was a normal engine and gear box rebuild.
Cheers Shorty

[Terry]

So just from the pedals to the clutch/brake master cylinder and they can then become flexible lines, thats cool. Thanks
For 6.5k you could buy a really nice rebuilt engine haha. I just want something thats reliable, nothing fancy.

There are no pipes/hoses between the pedals and the Master cylinders, it is a lever type set up. The lines need to be metal pipe from the Brake MC's to the edge of the subframe and then from the subframe to the brake cylinder they need to be flexible, which means rubber brake hose, unless you can afford ADR approved stainless.

I don't want this project to drag on so what I'm thinking now is to blast it, fix the body, rust proof it and maybe put on a coat of paint, then I'm hoping to get it on the road (registered) after which i can pull it apart again and invest into making it look nice. Im concerned that if i invest too much into it and i can't get it registered then I'm totally screwed, the idea of not being able to get it registered is what really holds me back.

I would say that is a bad idea as once you see how much effort it takes to put it all back together you are never gone to strip it down again and repeat much of the same tasks just to paint it.It would almost be restoring the Moke twice. My advice is almost always not to skimp on the body, do that properly once, and cut a few corners on others things that don't require a complete strip down to fix up later. It is not that difficult to remove an engine later to rebuild it or replace it with something bigger or better or strip down a rear subframe and make it schmick.
If the engine goes and doesn't blow smoke and the gearbox is okay, just wash/degrease it and maybe a pressure pack of paint to make it look reasonable and put it in a black pressure packed subframe and put it back in the nicely repaired and painted body.

I have found another blaster who will charge $300 for just the body if i take it to him, maybe i can just buy one of those small blasting guns for the subframe or hit it with the wire wheel. That $700 was for the guy to come and blast it in my back yard so i can watch him do it.

It would seem to me that the guy coming to do it in your back yard is likely to be a soda blast which is not really going to remove the rust you have in the body OR he is a mobile industrial blaster in which case he is probably likely to have a high pressure unit that is going to change the shape of the metal. I would get a few recommendation from people in your area of blasters who have done or do specialise in vehicles and then work out the best price option from there as not all blasting set up are suitable for doing cars.

Im concerned that if i invest too much into it and I can't get it registered then I'm totally screwed, the idea of not being able to get it registered is what really holds me back.

If you take things carefully ask for advice and help here and maybe befriend some local type people that can perhaps help you on some of the bits that require more skill than labour, or take parts out for the specialist activities, there is no reason why you should get it registered. Get a plan for what you Need to do and then just take things one step at a time to get there. No need to rebuild an engine if the one you have works, if the trailing arms, ball joints and steering are tight then no need to replace them yet. Make sure the drum brakes work and you can upgrade to Discs later on if you want to.

Terry

[M.Aziz]

Hey all I didn't want to start a new thread, I've been overseas since May so no new work until today.
The motor is out and I'm going to open it up and check it out my next free day, my initial test shows the pistons to be seized wont know how bad till I open it up. I'm trying to clear some room in the garage to get the body out of storage to start doing some rust repairs.

When I purchased my moke I didn't get any paperwork with it so I'm a little concerned about sinking a lot of money into the moke only to have it seized by police when I go to try register it. I tried running a ppsr check using YJBAB8Rxxxx (body number) but It returned nothing. Should I be concerned, is there a way of checking the history of the car or did I enter the number wrong?

It feels good to be making some progress :-D

[shorty 68]

You will need to go to RMS as you can not enter chaise number in as it is a few numbers short. Before you get worried I had the same problem with both mokes. The boss was being run around as Prado and John was still regestered in the ACT and NSW due to someone not reading the numbers correctly.
Cheers Shorty

[M.Aziz]

You will need to go to RMS as you can not enter chaise number in as it is a few numbers short. Before you get worried I had the same problem with both mokes. The boss was being run around as Prado and John was still regestered in the ACT and NSW due to someone not reading the numbers correctly.
Cheers Shorty

I guess I will push on and hope for the best come time for rego.
I have made some progress but not completely related to the moke. I made a stand to store all my dads steel pieces which had been sitting in a pile on the floor. Its made it much neater and easier to organise everything so I'm happy.

I have spent the rest of my spare time bringing the moke from storage and trying to fabricate a rotisserie so I can sand blast and do all the necessary work. I am pretty sure I will need a complete new floor excluding the centre if I want a near perfect moke, wont know for sure till I have had it sandblasted.
I thought I would ask here in regards to my rotisserie, I  have never made one before so can someone advise me on what I have done and if there are any potential problems?
Keep in mind its only tack welded and still needs to have cross bracing added as well as adjustment handles to turn the body.
Rear
Still need to weld on the arms that hold the rear but its a simple enough job.



Front









The pipe is there to check that they are level

[Terry]

Hi,

Do you have some more pictures of the floor you think might need replacing? From the little bit that can be seen it doesn't look too bad.

Terry

[dacjac]

Rotisserie looks great, much flasher than mine when I made it, but it worked.
You will sort out any issues as they arise, from what I see it'll work a treat.