At over 8,000 kilometres minimum, if one drove both ways, it would also be a test for one's car, particularly our Silver Dawn, as it had already travelled almost a quarter of a million kms with its eight owners in the forty-five years since being assembled for its first owner, a Mr. Brunskill M.P. of Wagga Wagga New South Wales.
The fact that such an Overlander eventuated, that twenty-eight Club members participated in nine vehicles is now history unfortunately, as I for one found it great fun and didn't really want it to end. This may sound strange as fellow Overlanders expressed concern at my continued interest under the bonnet on the run to Fremantle
If you are interested in our preparation, in my lack of concern, or alternatively concerned as to what I found so interesting under the bonnet on the westward leg and the adventures that unfolded on our return leg, then read on, along with those who have a general concern as to how a somewhat "aged and exchanged sample of one of the Rolls-Royce lineage really performed on such a test.
We had owned our Dawn for five years but because of my many interests which I was trying to pursue in my early years of retirement, we virtually had only driven her once a year on the previous Overlanders and had only completed some of the mechanical reconditioning necessary.
The Dawn had in fact given total trouble free running on the four previous Overlanders which tallied up to some 11,606 kms in our case; the last to the Barossa being the longest where we registered exactly 2,500 miles or just over 4,000 kms; hence we knew the motor was basically strong and we had in fact named our Dawn "Helga" as she went up hills like a Norwegian skier. However, the sum of the ingredients inherent in this Overlander would provide a trial surpassing all previous tests to which we had subjected Helga.
We had planned to drive both ways with some detours on the return leg and when added up, the distance looked very much like being equivalent to the total of all previous Overlanders; i.e. more than 11,000 kms. To maintain our planned schedule we would be driving at the 110 km/h speed limit of South and Western Australia, which was 10% higher than on previous runs. Ambient temperatures would most likely be near the 40 deg. C. some days and of course we would be somewhat remote from help, mechanical or otherwise if needed. Obviously one had to take the planning and preparation of the Dawn seriously for this venture.
There were a number of items calling out for attention and the condition of some components still had to be determined and during our three-week January '97 holiday on the South Coast, I set about compiling a long list of items requiring attention/inspection. The list looked formidable and it meant that Shirley took on the full responsibility of the remaining and surprisingly ever increasing Overlander preparations, motel confirmations, "rally notes" etc. etc---. We both enjoyed eight somewhat frantic weeks prior to departure.
We had planned on runs of some 500 kms per day on the 13 day Overlander and I had written to all drivers suggesting that they consider fitting a CB UHF radio as a safety measure. Five of as came so equipped. I fitted a Model 650 Philips unit and for this it was necessary to convert the Dawn's electrical system from positive to negative earth. Not a big job, but another task to be attended to in those busy weeks, mainly relating to sourcing a suitable crimping tool and components to provide reliable extensions to the battery leads.
There were three major tasks requiring attention before departure., brakes, steering and the cooling system.
After all this work I filled the system with the best Dot 4 hydraulic fluid, but had one problem to attend to before the system was operating perfectly. The. master cylinder kit was supplied with a rubber washer not shown in the expanded view in the workshop manual With some misgivings I initially installed this between the aluminium piston and the rear spring piston retainer. This prevented the piston withdrawing sufficiently and resulted in too high a residual pressure in the fines with the brakes off. It was easily removed but necessitated resetting the linkages, after which the system operated perfectly.
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| A cleaned up stub axle assembly with a new Silentbloc bush pressed into the yoke. Shown are the new needle bearings complete with outer journals, original housings bored out to suit, neoprene quad seals, manufactured bearing pin and internal spacer. Washers, not shown, were made to provide the right cavity for the quad seals. |
Replacement of the lower yoke bearings was not expensive with the method adopted but required a few hours machining on the lathe; ASSAB Steel (Auburn/Brookvale) provided AIR 4140 steel blanks and a nitriding service after machining. Thus new bearing pins to original Rockwell hardness figures were produced for a few dollars. Consolidated Bearing Co. (Artarmon) came good once again with suitable components this time with roller bearings complete with outer journals and it was only necessary to bore out the old worn housings to suit- One eight inch square neoprene 'quad' seals were installed in lieu of original felt seals and should provide better oil retention and water exclusion. With steering box adjusted the Dawn felt like a new car.
After observing fluctuating temperatures on our first Overlander to Ballarat I had 'attacked' the cooling system. I removed the radiator, water pump, steel plate and spacer behind, the three circular plates on the right hand side of the engine definitely not a 5-minute job, the rear drain cock and then inserted hoses every which way in the engine block and head. Very little sediment came away and I had to assume all was clean inside.
Prior to reinstalling the radiator I took it to a large North Shore Repairer to have the top tank removed to determine whether there were tube blockages; however, I was forced to accept a 'reverse flush', an acid dip and a second 'reverse flush'. The radiator was of so-called 'cellular' design, manufactured in New Zealand where the finning and two rows of tubes, front to back, were formed from an assembly of brass zig-zag strips of quite complex shape, crimped and soldered together. With this design and from previous experience, the Repairer was simply not game to unsweat the top or bottom tanks, for fear of ending up with a series of leaks he was unable to seal. Hence, ever since, 1 have remained unsure of the state of the radiator.
With the distance contemplated to Fremantle and return, the high continuous speed and the very high ambient temperatures likely, it was essential that I knew the state of the radiator before we set out. I therefore visited another Repairer and explained the situation. His reaction was much the same and recommended fitting a new radiator of more conventional design, which I eventually agreed to. The new core consisted of 148 vertical tubes of 2 by 11. 5 mm cross section set in four staggered rows front to back with horizontal firming. Natra, the Radiator Manufacturer, prepared the core with the top and bottom plates soldered to the tubes and it was only necessary for the Repairer to solder on the top and bottom tanks and insert the radiator into its frame. I had the radiator back in the Dawn just under 24 hours before departure. Unfortunately, due to time, a run up the hill from Roseville Bridge was its only pre-Overlander trial!
| View of the old "cellular" radiator core, unsweated from the top tank, showing some blockage evident in the two rows of tubes, which are formed from an assembly of crimped and soldered zig zag brass strips of quite complex shape. |
| The new core as supplied by Natra complete with top and bottom plates ready for the Repairer to solder on the original tanks (Bottom plate uppermost), The insert shows the four rows of tubes protruding through top plate. |
All the jobs that I had planned to attend to were completed. The Dawn was packed with what we needed for the next month or so, including Shirley's carefully prepared Overlander Driver Packs and heaps of other relevant paraphernalia.
We were ready to leave bright and early on Saturday March 22nd, 1997. With all this loving attention suddenly lavished on our "Helga"; WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
However, we included with our luggage a full tool box, multimeter, gasket material, various bottles of Loctite wire, tape, nuts, bolts, etc., Just In Case!