Chenowth Desert Patrol/Light Strike Vehicle - Pics Added

[Lawdog734]

Thanks for the info guys. Any ideas on where I can get new parts such as the cable, mounts, pull knob, etc?

[Lawdog734]

So, it's been a couple of months since I last provided any updates. I managed to get things torn apart down to the bare chassis and learned a few things along the way.

I met one of the SEAL's who helped bring about the Desert Patrol Vehicle to the NSW community as well as the caretaker of the DPV at the Marine Mechanized Vehicle museum at Camp Pendleton. They've both been a wealth of information. It turns out that the engine in this was modded out by FAT Performance. It started life as a Type 4 2 liter and was stroked to 2.6. It's definitely going to need some engine work and I've spoken to Greg at FAT several times over the past month or so. We're both in agreement that there's still a lot of good parts in the engine, so I'm going to send the engine back to them and get it running again.

I never did get the transaxle separated from the engine, so I pulled them as one unit. I'll most likely send it to FAT and let the pros deal with taking it apart. Most all of the parts are salvageable with the exception of a few areas. The first is that both torsion bars are snapped and will need to be replaced.



The corrosion in the floorplan area is what I expected and I don't forsee being difficult to replace. The tubing that extends back to support the transaxle is concerning, but again - I think it can be replaced.





I managed to get the tabs busted loose in the torsion bar adjustment housing. I really, really don't want to have to cut this out, so I'm hoping the adjustment housing can be beefed up and saved. The torsion housing tubes are rust free.





Overall, I'm very pleased and am extremely excited to get this ball rolling.

[Leatherneck]

That is going to be a trip for the person riding up top, going to love those turns.

[JUSSUMGUY]

You've been busy! Shouldn't be too much trouble to fix the rusted out areas.

[Lawdog734]

Richard - I sure hope so. I'm mapping out the next steps as I type this on where to start. Overall - I'm very optimistic though.

[JUSSUMGUY]

You should be optimistic. You have a very good start to a very unique project.

[Lawdog734]

Since I'm not as familiar with this stuff as most of you are, can any of you point me to the right places to get certain parts I seem to be having a hard time locating right now?

- Front transaxle mount. The transaxle is a side shift Vanagon. It's pictured with the rear mount.



- Rear transaxle mount. Most I've seen are simply bolted or welded on, but I haven't been able to find this type, where it slips over the tubing before bolting back in place. The blurry pic shows approximately 10.25" from center to center of the mounting



- Spring plates. I think I'd feel better if I just replaced them due to corrosion. What should I be looking for to replace them with a similar model?

[Lawdog734]

Double post

[JUSSUMGUY]

The spring plates are more than likely Sway-away and looks like they started life as swing axle spring plates that were cut down. Contacting Sway- Away should get you going in the right direction
The other parts you more than likely will need to have reproduced. Perhaps someone on here that does plasma or laser cutting can help you out.

[Lawdog734]

Richard - thanks for the info. I looked into the spring plates after reading your post and it appears that it's not that unusual to cut down plates to get what's specifically needed.

Regarding the other items - the front mount is a flat plate, so that'd be relatively easy to do. That rear mount is gonna take some work though.

[JUSSUMGUY]

My baja has spring plates that are cut down swing axle plates also. Pretty common to do. How long are your torsion bars? The splined piece that goes thru the spring plate is available in different lengths to accomodate different length bars.
The rear mount isn't going to be that difficult to do as it looks like it started as a flat plate and the other parts are welded on. Actually it looks like a pretty standard mount plate. You live in stock car country it should be pretty easy to find a fabricator that can make those parts for you. I wouldn't be surprised to find that there are some stock car guys on base that could help you out. The plate could also be cut out with a vertical bandsaw if you have no luck finding a guy with a plasma table

[Lawdog734]

The torsion bars are 27mm in diameter and 28" from end to end which is the best I can figure considering they're broken. I've been looking around a little bit today and it seems like 26" is the longest I've been able to find.

Regarding spring plates, I assume the collar length is the total length of the collar on both sides of the plate? If so, mine measure 6", so it looks like Sway Away has exactly what I need to cut down.

[JUSSUMGUY]

Sway-Away def. makes torsion bars longer than 26 9/16, which is the stock length of the long bars. You might have to call them. What is the length of your rear torsion housing from outside of spring plate mount plate to the same on the other side? Your chassis is based on a Chenowth DR-2 if I'm not mistaken. I'm not 100% sure if the torsion housing is wider than stock as I have not measured one but I would bet it it is 2 inches wider per side than stock. If so and you can't find longer torsion bars you could use 26 9/16 torsion bars and spring plates for intermediate length torsion bars. This would not be 100% correct as to how the car was originally built but it would take a pretty sharp eye to discern the difference.

[Lawdog734]

I measured it 50" from end to end - not sure how that compares to stock.

[uh60ce]

you've definitely got your work cut out for you there! Just curious, are you restoring these for personal use or something else?