Minion Missile - 1973 Colombian Patrol Project

[mad4hws]

...
The chassis number is LG60 345777. I'll have to get the number off of the engine.

The above number looks like it has on extra number. Probably the #3 doesn't belong there. The 74 Patrol I had years ago had a 48898 chassis number, so a 45777 will make sense for your 73. Juns in case, the engine # was P108648 on mine.

Esteban, you are right. I had an extra digit. However, the correct number is 34577. So, given this range, maybe 73 is not correct (at least for the chassis???? I can't get to the engine presently, so I can't tell you what that number is.

here's the VIN

[mad4hws]

So, a little bit of an update for today. #2 daughter and I started to pull the gears from the rear differential. I thought they looked okay, but Rafael didn't think so given this picture. It's not the best, so we're going to try again tomorrow. If this set doesn't pan out, we'll start tearing into the front.. although I expect the front is worse than the back.

[mad4hws]

While underneath and working on getting the ring & pinion out, the flashlight shone to the back brace where the gas tank normally sits. i took it out a few weeks ago to get cleaned and sealed. This is pretty significant rust. I think the best solution would be to remove the body from the frame, but I don't want to do that yet and want to make this a functional drive - even given all of it's shortcomings. Do you think that this can be fixed, or reinforced with the body on?

[RiverPatrol]

That is significant damage. I can only think of one I've seen that was worse, and that one had been used as a snow plow in CT. Pretty sure the body will need to come off. Just the tub though, which is the easiest to remove. Although you might find someone who will do it without removing body parts.

[Esteban]

That part of the chassis member is a thinner plate if I'm not mistaken. The structural one goes to the outside and top and bottom. Not that critical, but as RiverPatrol suggest, the tub will need to come out for a proper fix.

Regarding the chassis number, it does look like a 73. The closest in the registries is a 72 from Australia at G60-30358, so 4000 more vehicles produced will make sense to place yours as a 73.

The ring and pinion condition is difficult to see with that one picture, but probably Rafael's experience can spot to a good approximation the condition just by looking at that alone. For sure he will need more pictures.

If the front axle was fitted with locking hubs, the condition of the ring and pinion will be a lot better in that case, and is probably your best bet. Also, it wears on opposite faces of the teeth compared to the rear, so a basically no wear. Only a little of backlash that won't affect anything.

[Esteban]

That part of the chassis member is a thinner plate if I'm not mistaken. The structural one goes to the outside and top and bottom. Not that critical, but as RiverPatrol suggest, the tub will need to come out for a proper fix.

Regarding the chassis number, it does look like a 73. The closest in the registries is a 72 from Australia at G60-30358, so 4000 more vehicles produced will make sense to place yours as a 73.

The ring and pinion condition is difficult to see with that one picture, but probably Rafael's experience can spot to a good approximation the condition just by looking at that alone. For sure he will need more pictures.

If the front axle was fitted with locking hubs, the condition of the ring and pinion will be a lot better in that case, and is probably your best bet. Also, it wears on opposite faces of the teeth compared to the rear, so a basically no wear. Only a little of backlash that won't affect anything.

[mad4hws]

Thanks Esteban.

I finished pulling the ring gear. the pinion will have to wait as I didn't have the right socket size.

I decided to move to the front and see what kind of shape it was in. the first thing I had to address was that 2nd ubolt that was installed on the short side - another roadside fix that became permanent. The ubolt was preventing anyone from pulling the cover, so i was not too optomistic.



I was able to remove that ubolt without too much trouble... surprisingly.



Once I pulled the cover, the gear oil oozed out of the bottom. It looked like chocolate cake batter, but smelled a whole lot worse. Surprisingly, the gears were actually in good shape. comparing to the rear, I could now see what rafael was talking about. The rear set had a carbon build up wheras the front didn't.



The only thing I can chalk this up to is that the front differential was seldom, if ever engaged. Since the sludge was much worse up front, I would think the carbon build up would have been worse too. Good news! finally, I needed that. Now I just need to remove everything to get the gear set out.

[Esteban]

I will not be overly concerned by the condition of the oil. Some water might have gone inside at some point and the constant emulsification of it with the oil gives that color. The gear looks in good condition.

Did your Patrol came with locking hubs?

For the most part of its life, my Patrol didn't have locking hubs. I installed them in 1980 and after a couple of years took them out due to a small accident that damaged one of them. I was still able to swap the front differential gear into the rear axle and extract plenty of miles out of it.

[mad4hws]

Thanks Esteban.

Yes. the patrol has locking hubs, but I couldn't get them to lock. This probably saved it as it wasn't able to go into 4WD, so this gear set wasn't given the chance to heat up.

As for the rust in the rear. I need to get this thing all put back together and systems tested. It's a significant issue that I'll have to tackle later once I have the drivetrain, brakes and fuel systems up and running. if I try to address it now, I fear I'll never get this thing back together. The exterior steel is indeed thicker than the interior metal, so it should last a little longer until I can address it properly.

[KyleAnschuetz]

My rear axle oil smelled something awful as well. I used brake clean to remove all the gunk. After letting the brake clean evaporate I filled up the rears with a synthetic.

Looking good!