TheHaflinger.com

Here are some pics of my 1963 APTL from back in 2005. It was one of around 3 or 4 Haflingers used by the Tasmanian Hydroelectric Commission (HEC) to survey for new dams. They were helicoptered in, and took a beating. There were remains of the HEC logo and vehicle number. It was disassembled in the 1970s, and sold in a deceased estate yard sale. It's been locked away in a shed ever since. Only surface rust but quite battered. Left rear swing arm was sheared off, breaking the studs and damaging the crown and pinion. A worthy candidate for a full restoration...

Work on the restoration started in earnest in 2007. Here are a couple of pics taken at critical stages. The only problem- I managed to fit the right hub and swing axle to the left side and visa versa, only noticing when I went to fit the handbrake cables. It was psychologically too much to pull the bloody things off again, so the project went untouched for about 5 years...

Finally found the energy to take the rear swing arms off, undo the fulcrum pins, re-fit the cover plates to the swing arms, and fit the to the gearbox. I think this is the worst job to do on the Haflinger, and now I've had the pleasure of doing it twice over...

today was a momentous day for this Haflinger. The engine was fitted. First time this drive train has had an engine fitted in around 40 years.

What a great tale - thanks for posting. And well done!

Well done Rick, glad to see you are still seized by the Haflinger virus!!
Motivates me to start working again on my own Haflinger(s)!

Nice too see the wrecks and then the progress of things being fixed and put back on. Should be ready for the Australian Treffen mentioned in another thread....


John

Hi Rick ,
I also managed to put the axles on the wrong way round on my rebuild, yes I agree it was a pain to swap them over.

Dave

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement. I personally like to keep things original and preserve them, and only restore basket cases. This was a rust free but battered and fully disassembled basket case, so in this case I felt it was justified.

Today I spent a couple of hours fitting the battery case, jerry car holder and tool box to the left side. Because of it very short service life, the battery box, tool box and fuel tank are in perfect condition. This is now the fun stage...

Spectacular! Nice job!

Hi Rick - it looks as if you are doing the assembly in the basement carpark of a unit block - Unit 28 - you got everything stored in your storage lockup

Hello Gary. I moved the project to the basement car park of my business five years ago, and it's been largely neglected there until now.

Stripped the oil bath air filters today. Messy.

So when do you think it will be out and about driving? You have a treffen to get it to when Gary and co. get their act together!

John

Hey Rick,
What a top job, you are to be congratulated. I thought that mine was a complete wreck and found it all a bit daunting as to where I should actually start, but mine was nothing compared to what you bought home. Well done. I am leaning towards your colour for mine as well.
Regards Rick.

Rick, it being such an early Haf the front would have been welded to the main bed; how easy was it to separate the two parts, or was it just a matter of letting the rust do the hard work?

Thank you all. Rick, I've grown to like the colour. I found a part under the dash unaffected by UV and had the paint colour matched by eye. I could not find a colour code for this colour to go by.

Julian, this is a bolt-on front end, so maybe the switch over was around 62 or 63. The ID plate on the steering unit is 1962.

Another interesting feature of these older hafts is the hood bows and sticks. The front bow is in fact 2 piece, where the upper section can be lifted off. Of course you can't mount a lap-sash seat belt with this arrangement, and I doubt it would give you any roll protection. My sticks need a lot of work to make good, and I'm missing the centre bow with sloping hood bow angling off it. See pics for all I have to work with.

Rick K wrote:Another interesting feature of these older hafts is the hood bows and sticks. The front bow is in fact 2 piece, where the upper section can be lifted off. Of course you can't mount a lap-sash seat belt with this arrangement, and I doubt it would give you any roll protection. My sticks need a lot of work to make good, and I'm missing the centre bow with sloping hood bow angling off it. See pics for all I have to work with.

Mine is the same; have you noticed how if you lift the top part off, rotate it 180 degrees and you can put it back on to the lower section at a low level. Ideal for going under VERY low bridges

Thanks for the tip Julian! I'm look forward to the final phase where I work on the hood frame, canopy and doors. I've been ferreting all the parts I could find for years now.

Last week I was completing the engine bay wireing. Just hooked up the back-up electric fuel pump, so ready for a battery.

Some more pics from this last weeks activity- installing the old style air cooling ducting and sloping rear door. I have Dave Ogden to thank for these lovely new short and rear side boards. He had them fabricated in Cairns from some rusty old samples I had. The were painted last week, and here they are. I'm getting close to firing up the motor.

Looking good, if you spend some more time on it, you might even have it ready for your mini Treffen!

John