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mister-socks

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  • Location
    north devon, u.k.
  • Interests
    anything old with an engine, particularly if its broken and unloved
  • Occupation
    farmer
  1. Right then! Bit of an update, as nothing much has happened to the Commer for a year. I wish I wasnt so easily distracted..... Anyway, some fresh fuel and a charged battery saw the truck roar back into life, all the electrics still work so I felt I had to crack on with things. Thanks to everyone for there advice on the transfer box problem. A combination of all the tips, some extra swearing and a gert big hammer saw high range engaged! Brakes was next, system is bled and I'm just waiting on a brake master cyclinder reapir kit to finish the job off. If anybody needs anything to do with hydraulic clutch/brakes etc, try http://www.powertrackbrakes.co.uk/ They knew what a Q4 was, and that it shares brake m cyl with the Leyland Titan! While I'm waiting for this to arrive I thought I'd better make a start on getting the U-bolts that hold the dropside body to the chassis ready for undoing. Figuring that they probably havent been undone for fifty years I though that duck oil, wire brushes and gas might not be enough.I might have to resort to a 9 inch grinder and the bumper book of swears. I forgot that this is a Commer though, so all 40 bolts came undone with a 1/2" air gun. I plan to lift the remains of the dropside off the chassis next week with my telehandler, so shall try and post the video of that on here. Unless it gets shown on the next episode of "When Truck restorations go bad" Thought I'd run this past everyone here as well, and see what you think. The Commer was originally a dropside body, with huge metal frame and canvas covering. I am planning, purely because I'm skint, on making a plain flat bed when I re-body the truck. I know its not original, but it would mean that the truck would be back on the road, and it would fit in my barn too! Anyone got any thoughts on the non-originality aspect of that? Cheers Rich
  2. Hi Paul, Its true what you say about goodies tucked away on farms, my place is looking more like steptoes yard every day. Did you go to the holsworthy vintage rally in your green goddess? There was a couple there, both really nice, in fact i nearly bought one on e-bay from newton abbott but decided at the last minute to spend the money on getting the Commer done instead. Which is bordering on sensible, most unlike me.....
  3. Hi Tim, You know the place, the egg farm by the tip at anvil corner. I bought my 90 from you! Dougal said you had a few ww2 american trucks, is one parked in the hay barn? The truck didnt make holsworthy rally this year, but I've got a new found enthusiasm so shall be updating the resto blog on here. Would love to pop round at look at your trucks one day? Cheers Rich
  4. Spot the poindexter :embarrassed: Yes the bleed nipples do have ball bearings. Why did I bother tracking down a workshop manual for my Q4 if I never read it......... System all bled, but after stripping,cleaning and re-building the m/cyl, new seals are required. If anybody needs brake hydraulic parts, give Paul Hunt at http://www.powertrackbrakes.co.uk a shout. Not only did he know what a Q4 was, he knew what other vehicles shared its master cylinder. A repair kit on the shelf as well! As soon as the truck can stop as well as go, its dropside body off and on with the wire brushing, sanding, welding and painting Cheers Rich
  5. Hi there, I think that the bleed nipples are the 'normal' type, a big hole at the top of the nipple, and a very small one at the bootom of the thread on the chamfered face, i'll try and get some pics up tomorrow if that helps. The one thing that seemed a bit odd is that the nipples can be screwed all the way down the thread by hand, almost as if the threaded shaft of the nipple is too short for the cylinder? Cheers Rich
  6. Hi All, Ive been incredibly lazy and not done anything on my poor old Q4 for a year, but a spell of sunny weather and a friend who's a lorry fitter has kick-started a new found flurry of activity Its running again and the transfer box is free so I've turned my attention to the brakes. I'm probably doing something very stupid but I thought I'd run it past you chaps in case somethings amiss. I've filled the master cylinder and tried to bleed the brakes. Ive taken out each bleed nipple and cleaned them, then replaced them and tried to bleed the system. I can get fluid to come out of each nipple, but when I do them back up and depress the brake pedal, fluid still comes out of the end of the nipples as if they're still undone. Is it something stupid like too much dirt behind the seating face of the nipples, or have the wrong nipples been fitted in the past? The bleed nipples screw all the way in to the wheel cylinders, and the master cylinder was empty when I got the truck. Any advice would be very greatly received, to get it driving and stopping properly would be a real bonus! Thanks in advance. Rich
  7. Right then, its been a day or two since I last posted, so its about time for an update. Pictures will follow tomorrow, as well as a video if I can figure that out... Unbelievably, all it took was about 2 hours work, and the old girl is running like a sewing machine! First off, I removed the starter (only one bolt caused any grief), and soaked the armature in diesel while I munched on a pasty. Ten minutes later it was freed up and re-attached to the truck. A quick tug on the starter got the engine turning over. There were volts at the coil and dizzy, so the points and rotor arm were cleaned up, as were the plugs. Turned the engine over on the starter again with a quick sniff of a fantastic product called Start Ya Bastard! and it coughed a little. I'd already drained the tank of the remains of its 20 year old petrol, and then cut out a section of the fuel line to let in an in line fuel filter. After priming the carb on the lift pump, I gave the engine another swing. After 20 years of standing in a field I wasnt expecting it to roar into life, but it did! Even more unbelievably, after a couple of prods on the throttle pedal the engine settled down to a smooth quite idle, and 50psi on the oil pressure gauge! Next jobs are to free off the hi-lo range lever, any ideas? This is where it seems to be seized, giving it a generous amount of duck oil for the next few days. It seems to be seized where the shaft enters the housing, unless its stuck further inside the gearbox.... and heres the lever which should operate the shaft, down by the lhs of the drivers seat Once thats freed off I should be able to drive the thing! The clutch isnt stuck on and the gear stick selects all gears with the engine running, but the hi-lo selector is stuck in neutral. After that is brakes and electrics, hopefully Mike still has a Q4 control box available! Thats about it for now, will post some video of the truck running if anyones interested, I must admit it does sound pretty nice, particularly as theres only the remains of an exhaust!
  8. Cheers Jamie, I need it! Been far too distracted for the last two days, the sunshine should help but i've been out putting some miles on the ducati 748 in preparation for next wekends track day instead. i think once i hear the 6 cylinder burst into life i'll get a bit more focused......
  9. I'm obviously no expert, but I believe the vets on the top part of the bonnet were put in place on Q4's used by the services. Could be wrong tho'.... Rain stopped play today, so hopefully tomorrow will see it running!
  10. Hi to all, First off I'd just like to say thanks to everyone on here who has offered up help, advice, info or general support (and mithering to get on and start it!). Also thanks to the missus who didnt even bat an eyelid when the pictured below turned up on a low loader two weeks ago. Although I've been told I'm not allowed to get any more projects until I finish at least one..... I know this isnt specifically a military vehicle, having served in the AFS, but hopefully you'll forgive me Anyway, its a Commer Q4 dropside with the remains of hoops and canvas, I have been informed that it was a bridging parts carrier serving with the AFS at Barnstaple so its never left the county. Proper job! I bought it two weeks ago at a farm auction for the princely sum of £400, which still seems like a bargain after 2 weeks of prodding and poking around. Heres how the missus first glimpsed it Here's father in law (who knows a woodyard who'll take back handers for the dropside body!) and me pretending to know whats going on under the bonnet And lastly one of the old girl, replete with proud new owner I've always owned old vehicles (the current fleet is MG1100, Austin 1300, 2 x Austin 1800, Austin 2200, Triumph Herald, VW Splitscreen van and Vespa Sportique)and am used to getting my hands dirty, but have never had a military/commercial vehicle before, so this forum has been a lifeline! First job was connect a jump pack dreckly to the battery wires and check out the electrics. It may seem strange, but I'd rather have the chance to hear wires fizzing away before the engine starts with me too busy standing back admiring my handywork to fetch a fire extinguisher... Unbelievably, after 21 years of standing in a field, all the electrics worked :??? So, new battery fitted and, thanks to this forum, finding out where the 'on' button was, its nearly time for a start up. The tanks been cleaned and re-filled with fresh fuel, carbs primed and there's volts at the coil, points have been cleaned. Starter motor spins but will not engage, so its coming off tomorrow a.m. for a service (after clumping it with a hammer failed). If anyones interested, hopefully I could post a video of the truck running tomorrow, although I may need some guidance about how to do this :-D Thankyou once again for all the help and advice, please feel free to cajole me into more posts, I have a tendency to start more projects than I ever finish..... Cheers Rich
  11. Hi and welcome, I'm new here too but its an excellent place, tis ideal for spurring you on to get the project finished! cheers rich
  12. Hi Clive, Many thanks for that, its nice to start getting a bit of history together for the old truck. I'll try and scan the tattered remains of the log sheet that I found in the cab, I can make out parts of it including a 125 mile road test which may go some way towards explaining the sky high (for these) mileage! The farmer I bought the truck from said he'd had it for over 20 years which would tie up with the auction date, and the last time he used it was driving round the village with his pregnant wife. his daughters now at university so its not been used for a year or two... Had some success with regards to starting it as well, turns out the big nob in the middle of the headlight switch that says 'on' is the ignition switch. Well I never claimed to be a brainiac :blush: Just waiting for the battery to charge before carrying on, maybe its time to start a restoration thread! Thanks again for your help, and best of luck trying to spot 485 ELM on your film! Cheers Rich
  13. Hi Mike, Many thanks for that, it would be good to find out a bit of the vehicles history. The registration is 485 ELM, I have the dvla v5 which I have just sent off, and have found a couple of old tax discs and what appears to be the remains of some log sheets in the cab when the truck was still in service. Let me know if you need engine/chassis numbers etc and I'll try to decipher them! You made an interesting point about the control box, my truck has another control box piggybacked onto the original (the replacement is similar to those fitted onto most 60's cars), so its obviously a weak point! I'm going to have another attempt at getting the engine to turn over off the starter, the instructions that Clive Elliot posted seem to show a seperate ignition switch next to the light switch which mine doesnt have although I am probably being stupid. Hopefully its the extra bit ontop of the light switch itself. Will report back when I get any joy! Thanks again Rich
  14. Having now figured out how to post pictures on here, here are a couple of pics of the dash/switchgear on the Commer. If anyone could decipher them I'd be very thankful! Off to collect eggs again now, this forum is very addictive. How am I going to start restoring this truck when I have already spent ages on here???
  15. Bonjour Stephane! Merci pour vos commentaires, excusez s'il vous plaît mon français c'est pas assez bon! J'essaierai vos suggestions demain et avec optimisme le moteur courra! salutations distinguées richard
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