Series 2A 88 GS restoration -REMLR

Welcome to Perry and Pat's Shed. Pat and Perry are REMLR memebr number 213 and their Land Rover is called Castrol. Castrol previously belonged to one of the REMLR founders, Ross C. However life has taken Ross in a different direction, and Castrol was sold to Perry and Pat in 2007.

Below is Ross' account of Castrol's life and restoration. However as time permits Pat and Perry will add their photos and information to this page. Perry and Pat also purchased Wizbin who appears firther down this page.

This page features our Land-Rover named Castrol (so named after what it leaves on driveways). We adopted Castrol on February 3rd 1992. It had obviously passed thru many hands after it's dozen or so years of service in the Australian Army. It had one month of road registration remaining, but it was nowhere near roadworthy... and it obviously hadn't had an honest Pink Slip for a couple of years. It's paint, probably housepaint, was old english white. The wheels were 15x8, the firewall and headlight sections were mostly iron oxide, the rear chassis had recently been thru rust surgery, and the wiring was a real mess. But the genuine canvas was brand new.

We decided not to let the registration lapse, so after John Smythe Esq overhauled Castrol's running gear, a Pink Slip was obtained. The very next weekend the firewall was removed and second-hand replacement (off a dismantled Bushfire Brigade 1964 109") fitted after galvanizing. Some rewiring and some other jobs such as slave clutch were done. Finding time on weekends to do the work proved a challenge and 12 months went by really fast. I remember hurting myself removing a leaky fuel tank: lesson learned - make sure said tank is empty.

Another job I did was to relocate the battery and fit a battery switch. The battery mod provided easier access to the steering relay, engine and lower radiator hose. The switch also provides security against electrical fire (Series 2A looms are pretty old now) and immobilizes Castrol too. (There's no locks on a G.S. except the under-middle-seat-toolbox).

One of Castrol's interesting fittings is the drop-down gearbox crossmember (an EMEI mod fitted to some Australian Army Land-Rovers) that enables transmission removal without having to remove the seatbox and bring the transmission out thru the cab. Lightweight and Perentie military units also have this "chassis mod" built into their chassis design. One of the best mil mods ever dreamt up and a good example of consumer feedback to Solihull.

At this early stage Castrol was missing a lot of the Army fittings and CES. I occasionally saw other Australian ex-military Series 2A Land-Rovers on the road and became keen to get Castrol back to it's former glory. All the info we had when we started were the photos like those of Harry in our Photo Album.

I hooked up to the web in early 1996 and put up the Castrol web pages. The new fangled things such as email and digital pictures brought home to us how the internet can be a worthwhile accessory for Land-Rover restorers on the hunt for accurate details of fittings etc... Now its a few years down the track and we have organised a heap of info and we keep on finding more. We have made a heap of friends as well... I have even put my name down to win Lotto and travel around Australia and New Zealand doing nothing much except visiting REMLR members. Now that would be a dream trip... for the first few years anyway!

Castrol attended the 1998 Aussie 50th Anniversary Celebrations and had a wonderful time. Everything went well and we photographed many and varied ex-Military Landys from five States BUT ....drum roll... on the way home (by a tangled coincidence) we found a near perfect original condition 'brother' of Castrol's - made and delivered to the Army in the same month in fact. It confirmed much of what we knew and surprised us with some new things as well.

In the last few years Castrol's rear side-seats, exterior mirrors and white rear mudflaps have been refitted pretty close if not exactly as per factory specs. Other improvements such as the front rego plate mounting, electrical loom and brass badge are custom. The front indicator lights and rear stoplights are Series 3 (cheaper) substitutes. When the previous owner replaced the rusty rear chassis box section, the beat up Australian Army Series 2A "sconecutters" had been discarded and a pair of Land-Rover Series 3 SWB 'Game' model substitutes fitted. Therefore the correct notch for the military NATO plug on the passenger side and the small PTO tunnel hole are both missing. Castrol is crying out for a "back-to-bare-chassis" restoration - but that would cost money...

In April 2002, with ANZAC Day and "Tons of Land-Rovers" approaching I finally ordered some new "old ARN" number plates for Castrol. These are the 1960's type with white numerals on a black background. They are used together with bits of old CES, etc, to detail the vehicle for show and shines and parades. In my case I began with the idea of having Castrol commemorate the Royal Australian Regiment's service in South Vietnam, and one digger in particular. In early January 1966 Chris Clarke (medic, D Coy, 1RAR) was killed in action during Operation Crimp (Chu Chi tunnels). The last memory we kids have of Chris was an Easter egg hunt in 1965 before he was posted overseas. In August 1966 the famous battle in Long Tan plantation occurred (D Coy, 6RAR).

After looking over many Vietnam pictures a black and white Australian War memorial picture from 1966 appealed to me the most. So I ordered the "old ARN's" as per the ¼ ton Landy in the picture and made up a set of red infantry TAC plates (D Coy). I already had a set of "Red Rat" TACs (1ATF) made by Ho Chi Hicks a couple of years ago and on ANZAC Day 2002 Castrol appeared for the first time as that Land-Rover in the old AWM photo.

AWM P02465.003 caption: Private Kevin Desmond Branch, 6th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), stands outside a sand bagged wall surrounding a tent in the D Company lines, Nui Dat, South Vietnam. 1966. Beside him is a Land Rover ARN 113-504. (Donor R. Rencher: donor details... Pte Robin Langdon (Pom) Rencher of Plymouth UK, was a member of D Company 6RAR, and saw action in the Long Tan Battle, 18 August 1966. He was a D Company signaller on his first tour. He served a second tour of duty in 1970 with the Divisional Intelligence Unit as either a Cpl or WO2.)

Make	Land-Rover (Rover Australia P/L)	Model	SWB 88" Series 2A
Manuf. date	March 1964	Production	CKD RHD export
Army Census	6005	Engine	Petrol 2286cc
Nomenclature	TRUCK, UTILITY, ¼ TON G.S. LAND-ROVER SERIES 2A 88 INCH WB	Contract	number C111350
Chassis	24305514B	ARN	113-368

Army Rego Number: late in 2003 the correct ARN for Castrol was at last tracked down: 113-368. And there were some more notes on the books about what actually happened to Castrol... the Australian Army B.B.B. records indicated that Castrol did not get a ride on the Vung-Tau Ferry at all: it never went to Vietnam. In fact Castrol turns out to have been one of a bunch that were sold by the Army for the sum $2500 each. These vehicles were sold in 'as is' condition to the RAAF airbase at Fairbairn, Canberra... but I think we'll keep doing displays 'dressed up' as that Vietnam Landy, 113-504, as a bit of a reminder of the Australian servicemen who went off to the Vietnam War.


CMF 50th Ann. Open Day - Jul 1998		CMF 50th Ann. Open Day - Jul 1998

Ready for ANZAC Day - Apr 2000		CMF 50th Ann. Parade end. Artillery belonged to 113th Field Battery

Cooma 50th Ann. - Apr 1998		REMLR R & R - Sep 2001

Dash is ok, but non-original		Joe Coolin' - Australia Day - Jan 2002

Keeping a low profile - Jan/Apr 2002		Multi-level carparks - no problem
Ready for ANZAC Day - Apr 24 2002		Ready for ANZAC Day - Apr 24 2002

On a more personal note, Castrol is our family vehicle. The only other car we have is my "work car", a Mazda 121. Thru the 1990's we were a family of seven: three teenagers and the twins (born in 1995). The family all managed to fit in the Landy on trips around town and on camping trips. The boys Child Safety Seats were rigged up on the rear floor, side-by-side behind the front seats and facing the tailgate. I fitted two sets of lap seat belts to the bulkhead to secure the seats. The boys would wave at the traffic and generally entertain. On longer trips, like "Cooma 1998", three people and the gear would go in Castrol and four people would go in the 121 Jellybean. Lately we have taken to using our modified Aust. No 5 trailer named Wizbin on camping trips; we can take things like bikes: the boys learnt to ride their bikes on bush tracks.

More details on Australian Military Land-Rovers fleet numbers and paint schemes.