Dismantling

In the first six months I achieved only 3 or 4 days working on removing the panels. Most bolts were either 7/16" or 1/2" and it became apparent that the majority had probably never been undone over the last 56 years. After taking off the spare tyre and bonnet I first set about removing the front mudguards or wings. Among the most difficult of all the dismantling jobs proved to be removing the four bolts on each side which hold the wings to the firewall. Especially the top bolts. It's all done by feel and I had to buy a 10" extension bar for the socket to reach the top two bolts. I had only basic hand tools, but with a few extra purchases, these proved adequate, although somewhat slow, for the whole project. A single cab Land Rover doesn't look a big vehicle but there are well over a hundred bolts holding the various panels together and to the chassis. A good number could not be undone. Some allowed access for a cold chisel and hammer, some got buzzed off with an angle grinder, but others had to be snapped off under spanner pressure. It's inevitable that the odd knuckle, some spilt blood and much cursing goes into such dismantling. At a partially dismantled stage I took the hulk for a drive around the farm. The springs were rusted into single blocks of steel and there were no brakes, but the experience of driving an open wheeler with no doors, roof or windscreen was huge fun.