austin loadstar general questions

hello everybody, i have recently picked up an austin loadstar i believe mid 50s, its a 3 hour drive from me, so my plan currently is to go out there this weekend and get the wheels off ready to take them to the local tyre shop, i intend to wire in a solid state fuel pump with a temporary 20l jerry can to get it 20kms up the road to my family friends farm,

the most pressing issues i have are,
Is the austin loadstar a 12v or 6v truck, we fired it up on a 12v car battery but i am not sure if this means its a 12v system or if the guys just chucked it in to show me it runs.
Second issue is i have been told there can be some issues when removing the outer wheels on the back of the truck, so if anyone has tips on the proper removal method on that kind of rear setup id love to hear them.

mostly it looks to be all there and it is almost rust free, one spot in either of the vent panels at the join between the door and bonnet and a 5c peice sized spot in the passenger door.

12 volt

Here is a full manual you can download.

trainersineurope.org/5a221f/austin_loadstar_manual.pdf

Lang

PS It looks like the front wheels are holding air. You only have 20km to go (I presume on back roads with or without a permit). Having done this stuff lots of times I would be looking at putting about 35 pounds in them and driving sedately 50/60kmh to your destination. It is a light truck unloaded and the back wheels have a spare fitted to each side which will keep you going singly if necessary. It is only 20/30 minutes drive.

Hi Connorm
Welcome re getting the rear wheels off if they are original wheels and diff The only thing you have to know is the passenger side studs are left hand thread and the drivers side is right hand thread I think that’s right but the left hand thread nuts should be stamped L.
As Lang said if the tyres hold air just poke along steady after all its an Austin that’s all it will do I should know I’ve got one
Cheers Bluey

Hi Connor and welcome,
All good advice guys but as he says, he might need to check the rear wheels/tyres as it only has the inner wheel on at least the left hand side.

By the way, they are a cool old truck and as Bluey says, they don't go at a speed to get you into trouble.

Cheers, Steve.

The six stud wheels are very hard to find,so make sure you get any that are laying about.....I d also be sure the rear wheels are tight,the studs often get rusty/damaged between the duals,and the nuts wont screw right on.

Lang wrote: Here is a full manual you can download.

trainersineurope.org/5a221f/austin_loadstar_manual.pdf

Lang

PS It looks like the front wheels are holding air. You only have 20km to go (I presume on back roads with or without a permit). Having done this stuff lots of times I would be looking at putting about 35 pounds in them and driving sedately 50/60kmh to your destination. It is a light truck unloaded and the back wheels have a spare fitted to each side which will keep you going singly if necessary. It is only 20/30 minutes drive.

thanks mate, i had a look at that manual but it wants credit card details to download, which the site assures me wont be used so might give it a miss.

for my own peace of mind, no matter how slow i crawl along i would rather just get 4 new tyres under it to be sure so only a single either side back for the initial journey. not like i wont need them anyway. im thinking along the 50kms mark is on the money haha.

Bluey60 wrote: Hi Connorm
Welcome re getting the rear wheels off if they are original wheels and diff The only thing you have to know is the passenger side studs are left hand thread and the drivers side is right hand thread I think that’s right but the left hand thread nuts should be stamped L.
As Lang said if the tyres hold air just poke along steady after all its an Austin that’s all it will do I should know I’ve got one
Cheers Bluey

cheers. and thanks for the info, i have been told there was a good chance the passenger side is lh thread, as per tyres read above about my worries.

JOHN.K. wrote: The six stud wheels are very hard to find,so make sure you get any that are laying about.....I d also be sure the rear wheels are tight,the studs often get rusty/damaged between the duals,and the nuts wont screw right on.

yeah he has the remaining rim on the tray for that side, plus 3 rims he got at a clearing sale but those dont quite fit, the stud pattern is only a smidge off they said, ill be pulling the wheels off before it goes far either way so im not super worried, ill soon realise if they wobble too much.
cheers,
connor

bluey, since you have one of these beauties i figure ill ask, have you rebuilt the waterpump? i went out yesterday, wired up the fuel pump and drove around the yard, it started out dribbling and turned into a steady flow, not much but it will drain the radiator before long.