Army T244

from DAF Driver Magazine Winter 2021/22 - Issue 27

JSR Transport

MEAN GREEN

Truck restoration expert Chris, shows off his latest project.

My first close encounter with an expedition truck was in San Remo in Italy while I was touring around Europe. I seemed to have stumbled on a meeting ground for people watching/participating in a Dakar style rally which was leaving from Monaco the following day.

The expedition truck was an MAN TGM. A quick google search suggested that sort of rig would set me back at least the price of a three-bed semi in my area, way beyond my budget. The fantasy of owning an expedition truck came to an abrupt end. Or at least I thought it had. 11 months later, I was scrolling through eBay when a Leyland DAF T244 came up in suggested items. The auction had just six minutes to go, so I skim read the details. It was a runner, but had been parked up for three years. The pictures were not great, but the bidding had only reached £1,500. Suddenly the dream of owning a full-sized expedition truck returned. Click. I placed a bid for £2,500 and a few minutes later it was mine for £2,200… Great! Or was it? I had committed on a whim. For starters I don’t have the required licence to drive the truck yet. I had no means of recovering it and no real idea about these vehicles, although I knew it had a Cummins 6BT engine, which I was slightly familiar with.

My background is mostly in cars. I am an engineer and usually restore and prepare cars in my spare time. Trucks are not really my area so it will be a bit of a learning curve, as well as an excuse to buy new tools.

Under the skeletal framework, the chassis has only suffered some surface rust

Fortunately for me recovery was easy enough and a lot cheaper than anticipated. The next issue was where to keep it? Working on it outside would seriously slow progress and no doubt get on my nerves planning around the UK weather. I finished and sold a few projects to claim more space in the workshop, but this meant almost three months passed before the truck could come inside, by which time lockdown had hit and I had not fully decided how I was going to tackle the truck. I started another project while I gave it more thought.

It was September 2020 before I began to focus most of my free time on the truck. By then, I felt I had read enough on expedition trucks to finally start designing. Over the next four months I worked up various design iterations to give me a good idea about how I was going to tackle the project and crucially how I was going to finance it.

So that almost brings us up to date. The plan is to build this truck up to a respectable finish over the next 18 to 24 months. I intend to do 90 per cent of the work myself to show what can be done. Stage one is to tear down the truck and refurbish it. This route will add a lot of cost but I want reliability if I am going to be travelling in this truck. The vehicle is around 28-years old and it has been out of army commission since 2012. I will start by tackling the rust. The chassis itself is in decent shape, with surface rust from stone chipping and age. The cab on the other hand has a few rust spots that need rectification.

The floor pans seem relatively clean but to be certain I will media blast the full underside of the cab, treat it and reapply fresh underbody sealant to protect it. The door seams are corroded and will need to be cut out and repaired. The wheel arches are always rotten on these trucks. Even in service, the army just patched these up due to lack of parts and my arches are no exception. With no metal replacements available, I will have mine media blasted so I can refabricate them. Once the cab is restored I will prep and paint it.

Moving to the cab interior, comfort was not even on the list when this truck was designed. That may be fine for military use but I want some comfort while travelling. I plan to fully insulate and soundproof the cab and trim the sides/ retrim the doors. New seats, ideally heated, will be welcomed. The centre console will be rebuilt to include such features as GPS, cameras and a sound system. Air conditioning is also on the list. I want to keep as much of the standard dash binnacle as possible as it has so many cool features specific to a military vehicle.

“STAGE ONE IS TO TEAR DOWN THE TRUCK AND REFURBISH IT.”

Chris plans to insulate and soundproof the cab as part of the refurbishment Chris is far from completing his project, “My next plans are to fabricate a new turret hatch as that will finish all the metal work on the cab. I then plan to move onto the chassis and do a full nut and bolt restoration to bring it back up to spec. I’m in the process of looking for a company to make some wider rims so I can have more tyre choice aswell. Once the chassis is refurbished I will begin building the habitation box and move onto painting it all. All of which will be done by myself”. Check out Chris’ Instagram: @builditoverland and follow his progress on YouTube: Build It Overland https://m.youtube.com/ channel/UCG1JXS8IhF6VX4TgiueQxXw or use the QR code.

This includes an infrared night driving switch, absolutely no use to me but it would be a shame to lose such a design feature. I intend to repurpose these redundant switches for things such as spotlights etc.

One of the best features of the truck for me is the gun turret hatch. The T244 has a hatch for a passenger to stand out the top and set up a gun mount or whatever else took their fancy. It’s a cool feature for hot weather climates or roof access, but these nearly always leak, as is the case with my T244 as the sealing flange is very corroded. It needs repair, which will take a fair bit of fabrication work as no panels are available. I also intend to redesign it to improve the hatch sealing.

I intend to replace all the pneumatics with modern metric alternatives, replace/ upgrade all the joints, bushes etc. Most of these are no longer available or if available are likely to be in the same condition. I am approaching the chassis as I would a classic car resto mod. Classic on the outer surface but as modern as possible underneath to aid ownership.

Of all the components on the truck, the ones that concern me most are the axles. They are unique to the T244 so I will be paying some extra attention to these (especially since mine are weeping oil). I am not so worried about the Cummins B-series engine. It is legendary in the diesel world and since it’s a low stressed unit, I can’t foresee it giving me any real

headaches, but I will give it a good once over and cover items such as: gaskets, killer dowel pin, air intake/filtration (the standard is rotten), replacement exhaust with exhaust brake, service/upgrade the fuel system, refresh the cooling system, upgrade or add a secondary alternator, add an intercooler, and possibly add an HX35 turbocharger upgrade.

The drivetrain will get similar treatment. I have seen some people change the Spicer gearbox for one with more favourable cruising ratios but I have not fully looked into this yet. I will definitely look at the clutch actuation setup, as this is noted as a problem area on these trucks. Since the diff lock on my transfer case stays permanently engaged, unless I manually manipulate the actuator (whack it with a hammer), this will need attention. One of the biggest decisions for me was the body type for the habitation pod. You can pretty much condense them down into two categories: clad metal frame or composite. Originally my mind was set on a clad structure as cost was the biggest driver but after looking over the panel construction, it hit me. There is nothing particularly special about the composite panels; they are just sandwich panels made up of a GRP layer, insulation and a support board. The biggest issue with them is size. Now fortunately for me I have composite experience from building race cars…

“COMFORT WAS NOT EVEN ON THE LIST WHEN THIS TRUCK WAS DESIGNED.”

Providing I free up enough space I fully intend to make my own composite panels. This process will still be more expensive than a clad option but nowhere near as expensive as pre-cut panels or even ordering plain sheets. However it will be very labour intensive and carry some risk but I am sure I can pull it off. Of course, there is much more to be done – fit-out, electrics, water, fuel and you can follow progress on my YouTube and Instagram channels. All constructive input is appreciated. Chris - @BuildItOverland