Jump to content

WW1 finds and discoveries


Great War truck

Recommended Posts

It is amazing what bits and pieces of (or sometimes complete) WW1 era trucks occasionally turn up. Whether there is anybody there to find them or identify them before they go on the scrap heap is just a matter of luck. Here are four original seats off Nash Quads. One of these now sits on Ken Kafka's stunning Quad and two are now in the UK. Not sure what has happened to the fourth one:

 

Nash_Quad_original_seats_-Ken_K.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

The fourth seat had very bad wood so the hardware was saved to be used on a seat for a Nash civilan two wheel drive truck in Colorado. The hardware and seat construction were the same on the civilian truck except for the width of the seat. The civilain truck seat is 10 inch narrower.. Ken Kafka, quad owner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...

Here is a lucky find. In Devon there is a second hand tool shop just down the road from where Tony lives. he received a phonecall from a friend who had visited the shop to say there was an interesting magneto there for sale. Tony drove down to have a look and found this:

 

IMG_2516.jpg

 

IMG_2517.jpg

 

IMG_2515.jpg

 

IMG_2514.jpg

 

The magneto (which is in lovely condition) was no good for us. However a couple of phonecalls revealed that it was the correct one for an LGOC B Type bus. Coincidentally, a friend is rebuilding one of those and has been looking for the correct magneto for a while. He has helped out a great deal in the past and is great to be able to help him back.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two restored ones in the UK and I think there is another one in Holland. Two or three more under restoration in the UK. Two of which are owned by the same people and although they have plenty of bits i have no idea whether there are enough parts to do both. The other one is quite far along. I will see if i can get a photo of it for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Oh no, not mine. We are not buying anymore trucks. Not enough time and space. This has been purchased by a good friend of ours. Good spot on the wheels. The wooden ones are the early pattern, the metal ones later. Ideally he would like a full set of metal ones. They do turn up occasionally. A pair came up in the UK some years ago. I wonder what happened to them. This Liberty is in the USA at the moment and will soon be containerised so he is looking for metal wheels quite urgently.

Thanks

Tim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have been there and done that !!. We restored a Class B Liberty some years ago for a customer. It had worked in the docks at Bilbao, Spain and arrived here in two halves. Fortunately we acquired another chassis frame from under a bungalow by the river Trent in Nottinghamshire which provided a replacement chassis frame and rear steel wheels. Also had a spare engine ( now fitted) which I had bought years previous from Jack Hardwick at Ewell which had in previous life belonged to Ellias Harris who travelled a Wall of Death motor cycle stunt show in which a lioness rode in the sidecar !.

The Class 'B' truck is an interesting build history and goes to prove what can be done in wartime with good organisation.

The first model had wood wheels and electric lighting whereas the second version had steel wheels and oil lighting.

 

 

 

Liberty 2.jpg

 

 

 

Richard Peskett.

Liberty 1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

101_1026_zpsda02f6e9.jpg

 

 

 

Not the Liberty stuff, which is interesting enough, but the red cab right rear which is even rarer. It is a late 1930s Metropolitan or Montpelier contractor-built hard cab COE conversion, probably a 1939 1.5 ton Dodge.

 

These were made in small numbers, but sold well enough for Dodge to tool up for a cabover version of their own new 1939 cab in the 1940 model year and with slight changes from 41 to 47, same as the Ashby collection WK60 Breakdowns.

 

As far as I know the only military use of the cab type was on one of the sixteen VC military prototypes, the cabover ambulance, from late 1939, though I think the ambulance was Montpelier and the red one is Metropolitan;

 

vcq5.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Richard

 

What condition was the other Liberty engine and did it go to a Mr Dodd?

 

Can you id this fuel tank. I have been told it is a Liberty B (obviously the one which goes under the seat and not the one which bolts to the scuttle). What do you think?

 

IMG_3693_zps028c1bf5.jpg

 

IMG_3694_zps8112f0c4.jpg

 

IMG_3695_zps89cdc43a.jpg

 

I know it may be a long time ago, but do you remember what the hooks on the front of the Liberty chassis looked like. I was wondering if these Mitchell produced FWD hooks would be the same?

 

IMG_4302_zpsdfe66f47.jpg

 

Thanks

 

PS. Thanks for your posts Gordon. I always learn something new from you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not really a find or a discovery but the Fresne collection are selling off more stuff (Marcel put me onto this). Fresne has been collecting and putting stuff away for years. it looks like they have gone through the field with strimmers and just put labels on everything. lots of junk, but there are some interesting things there. Another Nash or Jeffery Quad for you Richard, it looks no worse than your last one. I expect the scrap man will take whatever doesn't sell.

 

http://www.musee-dufresne.com/admin/doublons/pdf/20130603213529Carnet-doublons-2013.pdf

 

I am still waiting for the big shed to open its doors and the really interesting stuff to come up for sale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The auction took place today. I had a phone call last night asking if I wanted to go but sadly couldn't make it. I did benefit today from a commentary of the results. The Nash Quad which is actually very complete sold for 2,800 Euros. The three Berliets made 3,000, 1,600 and 1,200. An unknown truck but which appeared to be US built sold for 4,000. A Delahaye made 3,100. I am told there was a Liberty there which didn't sell at 3,000. I am wondering if this was actually a Heavy Aviation (D33) which had been mis-described as a Berliet. I am sure we will see the photos in due course which should answer my questions. I feel a need to resubscribe to Charge Utile to see a detailed report. Marcel, did you make it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...