Morris CS8 project ( must be nuts )

STEFANO

 

From info I have from the 'experts' , up until around 1939/40, not exactly sure of the serial nr. ....the cab floor was made from plywood .... either 5/8 or 3/4" . ....they made some changes during production. They changed over to wood planks on the floor around 1940 ???

 

MIKE

Mike,

Yeah, that's what I've been told as well. My CD/SW had a plywood floor in much the same style albeit totally different in detail of course - we're talking about Morris's here. Is the early CS8 in the picture the one that belongs to Dave Ballard? I saw it at Beltring, a wonderful thing.

Stefano

Yes that's Dave's truck..or Rory's ....

just to add, my 1940 CS8 has wood floor boards in the cab.

Jules

Hi Guys ,

Has anyone got any technical drawings or sizes etc for the small cubby box which lives in front of the fuel tank on the drivers side of the cs8 - Any help on this one incl pictures would be appreciated cheers

I have got the chassis mostly stripped down but there are always a few stuck bolts , this one is a pain - the bolt through the front main spring hanger casting is jammed , heating with the oxy has no effect on it.

Been so hot here the past week , makes working outside a real drag . Sunburn is a ever present hazard. My shed is currently full of old lathes and milling machines, another weakness of mine - among them I have a wartime Parkson No. 1 universal mill with the "austerity finish" Ministry of Supply badge on it.

As you might have discovered banging on the threaded end results in mushrooming that end. A technique I have successfully used on heat set rivets is to drill down the centre, more than half way. Insert a drift into the hole and hit that, the theory being that you are pulling the bolt out rather than pushing.

As you might have discovered banging on the threaded end results in mushrooming that end. A technique I have successfully used on heat set rivets is to drill down the centre, more than half way. Insert a drift into the hole and hit that, the theory being that you are pulling the bolt out rather than pushing.

Great minds think alike ! I did exactly as you suggested and it worked ! Also needed the heat though . The Kookaburras were laughing at me while I was working at it .

The proof !

Good to see you are still pushing on Mike, though I envy your weather, it's too bloody cold here to venture into the w/shop!

Keep up with the the postings, it's good to see.

Hopefully next month I will get my inspiration back to push on with the PU.

Cheers

Jules

You can shake hands

Humber box to be restored by a friend

You can shake hands

 

Humber box to be restored by a friend

 

 

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Peter

If you want a steering wheel I have a good Humber one, plus other Humber bits

(Sorry for hijacking your Morris thread Mike!)

Jules

The scene of disassembly . Removing the old tyres from the rims is proving to be a holdup. The bare chassis is rather flimsy without the axles in place .

I need to find a 1/2" Whitworth ring spanner , the rear axle U bolt nuts are that size and there are four nuts per U bolt- the lower nut is deep and a socket will not fit over it . It appears the tyres are the original Trak Grip RF ones , made under license.

Stripping the wheels is hard work. If you can get some blocks of wood in between the two halves and get the half with the studs in off first. You can then get the other half onto a stand. A good round block of wood makes a good stand if you can get one the right height. Fox wedges a bead knocker and soft soap with a good Mel. I always use ear defenders so that I cannot hear myself swearing

The CS8 king pins , I have disassembled 2 different front axles and both king pins are a unusual size. Both front axles have .907" diam. king pins . Did MCC use metric king pins because it is almost 23mm ? My micrometer has been calibrated with a Moore & Wright 1" gauge .

I have more front axles , I may pull another one apart but the heat is almost killing me

On another thread a restorer was going nuts trying to identify threads still attached to a Commer/Karrier which we wouls all assume to be imperial through & through. Turned out that Rootes used metric (and oddball metric at that)when it suited them, So may be a similar situation here.

Some progress , the molasses bath has been in use !

Some years ago I obtained a set of NOS pistons for the Morris OH 6 cyl. engine .The pistons, with 2 compression and 2 oil control rings, are heavy in weight and I think they have a high iron content , similar to the contemporary CMP 216 Chevy pistons . The Standard bore is 82mm , the piston rings are compression 2.5mm and oil control 4mm . Just by chance, I found there is a modern VW performance engine with the same dimension piston rings . I am wondering if its possible to use the modern rings in the old NOS pistons ?

The VW ring set - at least two sets of these will be needed for the OH six cyl. engine

https://vwparts.aircooled.net/DEVES-Piston-Rings-82mm-Bore-2-5mm-2-5mm-4mm-p/deves-82-2.5-2.5-4.htm

I have a set of NOS pistons for the CS8 engine +40 . I think these are a aftermarket brand ?

These are heavy pistons, I believe they have a high iron content .  The iron pistons  normally have a tin coating on the piston, this aids the running in process. The tin has come away from these old ones I have

I am thinking of shot peening these old pistons .  Any thoughts ? 

I have done the peening on an old set of Chevy 216 pistons and these have been running without any problems

Not much progress. I had a engine block bored but to my dismay, I discovered it has a crack along the edge on top next to a water outlet. Back to square one, I have stripped down another block . 

A big hold-up is: the babbit alloy big end bearings will need to be redone. I have decided to tackle this myself, the pouring has been done successfully by a few restorers .  A learning curve but we all need to learn new skills. Most of the old engine  machine shops here have closed down, it is very hard to find somebody with some know how about vintage car engines. 

The chassis is a little bent here and there, some repairs needed. The CS8 chassis is not highly rigid, it only has two rivetted crossmembers , I would think that when travelling over rough terrain, the chassis will 'walk'a bit - maybe this was a design feature. 

Just about every CS8 I have seen here has suffered with bent or twisted front end chassis rails, must have been a weakness there in the design or people have tried to pull or tow something heavy from the front end "It's a old army truck, it is indestructible" 

I checked the other engine and the crank bearings are in good shape, this is relief.  . I can make a good engine out of the two - hopefully. 

Another problem is; the little 6mm water jacket cover bolts have broken off, I soaked them for a long time, they are made from plasticine , not steel,   the heads snapped off with only a small  turn of the spanner.  Might have to drill and tap the next size up . 

This is one method that has been effective in repairing broken water jacket bolts.. In this case a Hudson car. The engine block was mounted on a drill press. The Hudson owner has suggested: a mag drill would be another method. 

. https://metalworkforums.com/f316/t205712-drill-guide-plates-drilling-sheared-bolts?highlight=Hudson

The CS8 engine block showing  the broken water jacket bolts. Four of the bolts (M6) came out without snapping.  The M6 tapped holes are 46 mm centre to centre (x) and 82mm (y). Using the right angle triangle formula I confirmed my measurements are correct. This repair attempt could end in tears but the block is worth saving. The 1937 to 39 Morris 'big six' sedan and some of the  CV trucks had the same 82mm bore engine but there are variations in the cyl. head, pistons, water pump , manifolds , carburetor and the water jacket casting . 

Hi Mike

I'm glad to see you working on the Morris.

Thank goodness I defected to Humber, the engines are like a big jeep engine with lots of refinements.

The wartime Humber had poured big ends, but luckily I got a post war Commer engine in pieces, and they have rods with shell bearings.  Would there be any post war Morris engines with compatible rods ?  Sounds like a long shot though.

Mind you, I was lucky to get NOS bearings.  The crank had to be ground 2 sizes to suit the bearings available.

regards, Andrew