33-727 - "Grover"

Richard is REMLR member no. 129, and lives in Tasmania. He also volunteers his time administering the registry and forums for REMLR.

Richard owns "Grover", a 1981 Series III FFR that he has owned since about 2000. Grover was purchased in relatively complete condition, having retained the scooped tailgate, battery lockers and tool brackets. A few concessions to civilian life had been made, in the form of a Holden motor, non standard seats and a rather neat rollbar.

Over the years Richard has progressively restored Grover towards his former military glory, but as the old truck is also Richard's daily driver, work has had to be conducted around the weekly commute.

By December 2007, Grover's paintwork was starting to look a little tired. A full respray was carried out, returning the finish to nice, fresh Olive Drab. On the old paintwork, some unit markings still survived on the doors; a medieval gauntlet and a boomerang in black, over a white background - the insignia of the School of Armour. These markings will be replaced in due course. the name "Coma ~ Toes" II was also found in a black and white script on the drivers side air vent.

As Christmas 2008 drew near, Richard was able to finally replace the Holden motor with an original type 2.6L 6 cylinder Rover donk. As with any engine swap, there were a few niggles to be overcome but these were ironed out in time for Grover to be pressed back into regular service.

A number of smaller jobs have also been done over the years, including replacing the car seats with original items, reinstalling blackout lights and refurbishing ancillary fixtures like the brush guard and jerry-can holders. A correct front mounted exhaust has also been re-fitted.