Old Bill

A closer look at the pump on the Sandstone Estates lorry gives another clue in that the pump handle has an arrow on the top and a square pump spindle. This suggests to me that you twist the handle to the front or rear sump and that the square rotates the pump to face the appropriate port. Ingenious, if a lot of extra work! Before getting stuck into the pump, I made up the top cover plate. This has a cavity underneath to align with the top of the pump itself. Then the valve block. This has a single hole in the side to face the relevant port and a thread to allow the valve seat to be screwed in. It pushes into the pump base casting as a close sliding fit as there are no seals on the oil delivery side. It can be rotated to allow the port to face either outlet. The top of the pump cylinder has a square hole so that the spindle can engage with it. Then the pump cylinder itself. The top four holes are for the set screws which connect it to the cap. The larger holes are to vent the top of the piston. The piston has a groove for an O-ring. I know it is not prototypical but I don't know what was there. The handle is a silver soldered fabrication (of course!) To create the arrow, I fretted one out and soldered it onto the top. The Bovington Peerless has a raised arrow so I am happy to do it this way. Piston and spindle, ready to fit!

We decided to start with the tank. You can see the tags which have been welded on. I wouldn't have tried this as welding old aluminium is very tricky. However, as they had been done, I marked them out and cut them to profile. The brackets are very slender and I don't hold out much hope for their survival. We shall see. Machining a lot of the weld away to give clearance for the nuts won't help much either. The suction strainer screwed into the bottom to meet the pump. That had seen better days as well. A bit of new gauze soon remedied it, however. The pump suction valve just needed a clean up. Repacked the drive shaft gland. The cap on the delivery banjo had split at some time so I made a new one of those up. And the pump is ready to fit. Now, the missing hand pump. Looking at the manual, it seems quite a straightforward device. However, the pump base casting has two outlet ports which feed down through the two legs and out of the bottom of the tank. This seemed odd but, unusually, the engine has two seperate sumps without a balance pipe so one port must feed each end. The question then arises as to how you control them?

Now that the engine is in, we are getting very close to hanging bits back on it. We have quite a lot in store and ready to go but one thing we haven't tackled yet is the oil top-up pump which is a 1 gallon tank hung on the side of the engine with the pump driven by a worm from the cam shaft. This is the one on the armoured car at Bovington. And this is ours. It is rather scruffy and there is something missing from the top, judging by the hole. Also, three of the mounting brackets have been broken off and a previous owner has welded some tabs on to replace them. Two deliveries beneath the empty hole. The filler hole and the empty hole which, we determined, should contain a hand pump. First job was to pull it apart and give it a de-gunging and a clean. This is the suction filter. Gosh it was horrible! That is the engine driven pump on the right and the base of the hand pump in the middle. Dad volunteered to run everything through the paraffin tank.

We have had an interesting weekend with a definite milestone reached. The aim this weekend was to get the engine into the chassis and safely out of the way. First job was to put the wheels on the ground for the first time. A vehicle at last which rolls and steers! We got the engine out on its stand. It will never look this clean again. Then the puzzle of how to sling it safely and without damaging anything. And it is off the deck, testing my splicing ability. Down we go! Tim fitted the bolts previously prepared by Dad who had machined the numbers from the heads and cut them to length. It's in! Great joy all round! We fitted the starting handle next as we really wanted to give it a swing. When fitted to the other chassis, the misalignment was hopeless but fortunately for us, with just a bit of shim, it aligned beautifully. We all had a go! We had a brief 'Oh dear' moment when we realised that the end of the crankshaft was very close to the crossmember which would stop us dropping the clutch in. Fortunately, as you can see, we managed to wangle it in through the gap and get just enough space to rotate it onto the shaft. Phew! Then it was time to sort the valves out. Number one valves were already ground in nicely and sealed up. Number two, however, was no good so I took out my seat cutter and had a go with it. After quite a lot of fiddling to get the rake angle on the cutting edge just right and playing with the depth of cut, it worked quite well and I sorted out both valves. The seats were both offset and you can just see that the tool is beginning to cut on the rhs. I kept going until I had a continuous cut not less than 1/8" wide and then lapped the valves in again. They worked out OK and I am very pleased. Number 3 and 4 remain for my next visit. At the end of the day, the lorry was safely back inside with two pots sorted and the handle fitted. Once the other two cylinders are done, we can start hanging bits on it and getting them out of the way. Then we really will feel like we are making progress. A good day! Steve 🙂

Nice progress. You are getting close now! Steve🙂

Hi Chaps! Thanks for all of your comments. You are right Barry, it should be proud of the surface or it won't cut but no more than a thou or two, I should think. If it were any more, then I could get waviness in the seat. I am relying on the non-cutting surface to control the depth as it comes into contact so that the edge only takes off the high spots. Some rake/clearance is also a good idea Jarrod. I have touched the edge with an oil stone but there is nothing to stop me taking a couple of thou off lower down to give me that clearance. I hadn't thought of that, Peter, but I don't think it will be an issue. The tool is only there to scrape the surface a little bit and clean it up and as long as the cutting edge does not protrude too far I should be able to stop before I cut too much. I have never done this before so I shall just have to suck it and see! The governor is more of a speed limiter and should do nothing until the maximum allowed speed is reached. It should then close a butterfly in the inlet manifold to stop over-speeding. I believe that it will govern to that road speed as long the driver keeps his foot down. I have never driven a governed vehicle before as both the Dennis and Thornycroft have the butterflies removed. I don't have the governor linkage or butterfly for this one either although I might make up the casings for appearance' sake. Steve 🙂

Readers may recall that I gave up grinding the valves in and went on to do something else. Well, they are becoming a priority again as I can't add anything to the engine until they are sorted. I have been looking for a valve seat cutting tool but these valves are too big for anything I can borrow and having a bespoke one is not really economic so I have taken advice and made one. The logic is that it is like a single edge countersink tool but with an extended mandrel to pick up the valve guide. I couldn't lay my hands on a chunk of tool steel big enough and so started with a piece of mild, free-cutting which I reamed to the valve spindle size of 29/64" dia It needs a cutting edge so I cut a 1/8" slot across it for an insert and also tapped a hole in the side for a locking screw. My insert is a piece of gauge plate which had very kindly been given to me. Notice that the bar has not been removed from the chuck so the hole is still true. With the gauge plate in place, I turned the 45° valve seat angle. With the gauge plate removed and hardened, I then re-fitted it and fitted the centre spindle and tommy bar and I am ready to go! The spindle is a piece of silver steel because I could get a piece of 29/64" rod off the shelf. The reason it is that weird size is that rather than make all new valve guides, I just reamed them out and then had the new valves made to fit! I do hope it works...... Steve 🙂

Bit modern for me. They are only 70 years old...... Steve😁

I don't think they were used this side of the pond but what a lovely find! Everything is there so it should be a doddle. I hope it finds a good home. Steve

We really want to get the engine back in the chassis so that is the current objective. Most of it can be reassembled in the chassis so we just want to do enough to get it in. To that end, I went westwards with the aim of fitting the timing cover, the last piece holding it up. As always, this was not as straightforward as it first appeared. I have been thinking about it for a while and something was niggling me. Eventually, I remembered that the governor could not be reassembled with the drive gear fitted and to fit the gear required the timing cover to be off. I therefore had to start by putting the governor together. You can just see the bob weights which I wangled in and then rotated so that the drive shaft could be inserted. Then the collar with yoke and spring was slid on over a key so that it too was driven. Then had to wangle the yoke in from the top into its half-bearings which are pegged into place. Then the top casting had to be bolted down on top of the bearings before the assembly could be inserted into the case. It all worked out OK since Father had cleaned everything up and we took plenty of pictures as we took it apart so that we could see how it went! The split pin is part of the water pump drive but that is one for another day. Now, onto the cover. First job was to cut a gasket and fortunately, my last piece of gasket paper was big enough. And it fits! It was at this point that I realised that five studs had been replaced with BSF bolts. I made up five 1/4x27 UNS studs to replace them and they were fitted. The timing cover has a felt oil seal and gland (with lock nut) for the crankshaft so that came out. Gasket and studs fitted. Replacement felt for the crank. Job done! Next step is to drop it in the chassis! That simple job took me all day! Steve 🙂

A little more progress has been made on the linkage. First job was to turn up some new ball joints. They are a little different from the norm. The seat in the bottom of the cup was cut with a ball-ended mill. Threads this time are 1/2"x26 which is a BSB size. Fortunately, I have that tap and die in stock. After some brass end caps and some cup-ended spacers, the kit is complete. I was not quite brave enough to assemble them until I know the exact lengths needed from the job itself! Dad has been working on the other end of the fuel system, starting with the tank installation. Unusually again, the tank is mounted inside the seat box, hanging in straps. This is one side of the seat box which we are fortunate enough to have. This is the installation made by a previous owner which gives the general idea. He used angle iron rather than bent plate for the angles which just don't look right. Dad had some plates cut for the seat box and some pieces bent to make the angles. The angles were then drilled and cut to shape. Dad has turned up some proper pins as well. The straps are currently waiting for their ends to be bent into eyes and a clamping casting to be rivetted on. This is one of the originals but is too poorly to be used. Unfortunately, our predecessor removed the clamp bolt rather aggressively and cut into the casting so I have had to make a replacement. I daren't show it to you before I had cleaned up my welds. My welding ability is not improving with age! It now has some filler and is ready to be rivetted on when Dad gets around to it. Steve 🙂

We are pressing on with bits that can be fitted to the engine once it is installed and I have been looking at bits of linkage. The first one is the remote linkage for the oil level cocks. This engine has two sumps and no dipsticks so there is a level tap on the bottom of each. These are linked together and operated by a lever which comes up the side of the engine and which looks like this: There is a nice shaped handle on the top and this weird joint in the middle. I started by removing the remains of the ball joint and link from the bottom. A bit of heat soon freed it up. The middle lump soon gave in to the heat as well. I think it gives room for the handle to be lifted up against the spring to release the lock. A bit of a wire brushing soon brought it back. It is nicely stamped on the top and the lock sits in a groove on the left to prevent it from rotating. A bit more brushing and it was ready for some paint. This one is from the throttle linkage. The foot pedal is connected to the one on the right and the paddle on the left pushes on the end of the throttle control rod. The return spring has seen better days, though, so I had a rummage in the miscellaneous springs box and found one that would do as a replacement. Another good wire brushing soon sorted that out. This one is the hand throttle linkage. It bolts to the side of the engine where the fork bears against a nut on the throttle rod to actuate it. The other end connects to the hand throttle lever on the bottom of the steering column via a ball joint. This, unfortunately, is missing. A bit of wire brushing and I knocked the pin from the damaged rod. Then it was just a case of turning up a new ball on an extension. trimming the end and silver soldering (of course!) it on. Then back together with a new taper pin fitted to secure it. Those bits are all in the paint shop now and the next job will be the ball joints. This is all of the information I have.... More next week! Steve 🙂

Bearing in mind that it was in a box of bits that I bought from your Dad, it may well be! 😄

Not many stories to tell although we are plodding on. My aim, at the moment, is to do bits and pieces associated with the engine so that as soon as it is in the chassis, we can press on with the reassembly. One item we didn't have was a magneto strap. Now that the magneto base is complete, a strap can be fitted. I had a rummage in the stores and found this rather sorry article. I have no idea where it came from but it was worth repairing as we have no other use for it. I checked the length and found it 3" too short so I started off by annealing it and flattening it out before rivetting in an extension piece. This will be hidden beneath the base casting. A quick buffing and re-shaping, a new clamp nut and there is another piece in stock for the reassembly. I have been working on the throttle and advance linkage recently but don't have quite enough yet to tell the story. Some time this week with a bit of luck! Steve 🙂

I was expecting to have to use Loctite to secure it as I did not expect to get such a good fit. Soft solder would have done as well but I don't think silver solder would have been necessary as any contact force is into the seat so it wouldn't need the strength. Also, access is awful! Steve 🙂

A bit more progress to report! I thought about your suggestion, Andy, but in the end managed to set it up with the internal jaws and a steady. It worked out OK although I only took small cuts. A bit of filing to dress the slots out and onto the seat. A couple of 5/16" UNS studs in the back to hold it to my angle block and I was away. The seat was 3/32" out of round and I had to take out as much as was possible. Then onto the insert. I had to measure the bore I had just cut by using traditional calipers set to the size of the hole. Then I measured them with the vernier calipers and turned the ring to suit. Amazingly, I managed to produce a perfect press fit. Someone was smiling on me! A trial fit was satisfying. The screw thread has the second seat on it and the distance it is screwed in beyond the contact point sets the idle adjustment. I'm not really impressed with the idea as it will be a right pain to set up. I have set it pretty tight for the time being so it doesn't run away with e the first time we start it. The valve on its new seat. Then on to the choke. This is the air inlet but the only sign of anything be fitted is the tapped screw hole on the right. There is an indication of something in the manual but I had to do a load of guesswork with this one. First step was to turn up a sleeve to run over the inlet. Then my favourite silver solder to fit a flange. The shutter slots were cut on the mill using the digital read-out to size them. However did I manage without one? Then I turned the dividing head round so that I could cut the securing screw slot. Followed by a reduction in the profile of the remainder. It has all gone together OK but it is only guesswork on my part as it is missing from both the Tank Museum armoured car and the Sandstone Estates lorry. This collar and spring were missing from the air-inlet auxiliary valve. They are visible in the parts book but goodness knows what size the spring should be! More guesswork! I then reassembled the thing and am pleased with the result. I thought I would just make up some pipe fittings for the fuel line but have been caught out again. The inlet is 0.678"x 24tpi. which I take to be 11/16" UNEF thread, which I don't have of course! Onto the next job! Steve🙂

Absolutely! It is actually quite good with negligible corrosion. The springs aren't spread at all and bent bits can be straightened. Good luck! Steve 🙂

Good to see you back and looking forward to further updates! Steve 🙂

I must admit that I am surprised by the wheel assemblies of the period. The British had cast or pressed steel wheels but plain bronze bushes usually lubricated with grease although Dennis used oil. The Americans were still using wooden wheels into the 1930's and yet had rolling bearings before the war. The Autocar even has ball races on the crankshaft! There must be some story behind it all. Anyway, to work. After fitting the second wheel, we had a bit of time so I took the opportunity to fit Father's nice new half nuts to hold the blocks down. No split pins, interestingly. This week, I realised that I had omitted a felt seal between the sump and the bearing caps so the sump had to come off again. I did take the opportunity to fit the missing stud for which Father had made a replacement. Felt seal stuck up with grease. Dad has been busy with the paint brush again so here is the starting handle. It is now green. The wheels took some punishment whilst we were fitting the tyres. It is very difficult to be gentle with such huge lumps so Father is now tidying them up again. Home again and back to the carburettor. You may remember that we decided that it had been frost damaged and the sides had been pushed inwards trapping the valve. After pondering for a while, I cut two flats on the valve on opposite sides with the trusty Dremel. And out it came! Something else to repair. The bulges are very clear here. The valve seat has also gone oval. Whilst pondering that one, I set about cleaning up the threads. They had been a bit chewed up when I eventually unscrewed them due to the dirt which had got in. Not too serious though. The bulges in the carb had to be moved out of the way, either by cutting them out or simply pushing them back. I took the latter option and with a certain amount of trepidation, came up with this set-up. It actually worked quite well, much to my relief. I used a washer under the bar to spread the load out and that curved nicely. There is a crack visible in the casting but as we won't use the water jacket with modern fuels, it won't matter. The other side went well too but, alas, the seat remained oval. Back to the valve. I skimmed the ground surfaces flat in the mill and then silver soldered two blocks of brass onto the casting. I intend to set it up in the lathe and turn the profile back to where it should be. It is going to be an awkward thing to hold though! Steve 🙂

Well, not quite that easily. The drums contacted on the ends of the linings jamming it up. Off with the wheel again and I dressed the ends up with the rasp. Then it slid on OK although it was hard work simply due to the weight. Of course, we don't have a 2 1/2" socket so I wound the retaining nut on with a large spanner and a piece of packing. On checking the end float, I determined that a new shim washer was required which Dad made up. Wheel fitted and pinned! Time to keep the muck out, Dad had already cleaned and painted the hub caps and also made a new pinch bolt. It has obviously been custom and practice in the past the screw the cap on and off by hitting the original bolt with a hammer and it had seen better days. Job done. Now go and do it again! The second wheel had the tyres pressed over some shim so this needed trimming back first. Then prepare the bearing retainer. I screwed this in using this most amazing tool that I picked up at Beaulieu last year. It must have been made for the job! The ring is prevented from unscrewing by inserting a grub screw. The screw was missing so Dad quickly made one up, 1/4" UNS again of course. This time we were tighter for space so the wheel had to be pushed all the way on its trolley. I was seriously concerned that it would get the better of me and fall over but we got away with it. Then straight on over the previously prepared brake shoes secured with the wheel nut and appropriate shims and the job was done! Four wheels on my wagon! Once Dad has repaired the paintwork, we will drop it down and it will be mobile at last. On to the engine next! Steve 🙂

We had a jolly good weekend. Firstly, a trip to the Great Dorset Steam Fair where we saw a lot of old friends, and then a couple of days on the lorry where we made some progress! The wheels have had the tyres fitted and have been awaiting unloading. Dad has taken the opportunity to repair the paintwork on the backs as tyre fitting is a brutal process and it is very difficult to be careful with them. I think they are in excess of 400lb each. They certainly stretch my crane! First job was to fit the brake shoes. When we last looked, they were too big to go inside the drums so I made and fitted new shim adjuster plates that you can see here and then chamfered the edge with a rasp to help them to enter the drum. Select a good bearing and a trial fit. This is the bearing retainer for the back of the wheel. I replaced the felt oil seal. But then thought 'What does that run on?' There is no obvious surface on the end of the axle. We had a look in the parts book but it seemed to run on the axle end which was odd. We then took a look in the 'stores' at another axle and this rusty collar was evident. Well, we understood the issue now but rescuing this collar would be a pain. Then I found a box of 'mixed bits' on the shelf. These were mainly parts we haven't identified and, as luck would have it, it contained two filthy collars. Bingo! Dad cleaned them up (he gets all the good jobs). On each end of the axle is this hole which has puzzled me for a while. Its use is now obvious so I turned up a 5/16" UNS pin and all was well. Now to prepare the wheel. The bearing is all greased up. Then fitted in the back of the wheel with the locking ring. We craned it onto a small trolley with castors which was made for the purpose. The height of the axle was adjusted with the jack and the wheel rolled in.

Yes, I try to avoid putting non-ferrous in a blaster if I can. In this case, it was treated fairly gently and it is a rough-cast finish so I think it is OK. For machined bits, greasers and such like it really is a no-no as they are spoiled far too easily. Must try that potion though! Steve 🙂

That explains a lot! Steve 😁

Thanks Mike. I will try that on my next big soldering project. I am enjoying the gauge and looking forward to further episodes! Steve 🙂

That's a proper job, nicely done! I hadn't heard of the citric acid trick to remove the flux. I wish I had known about it before trying to paint our tank as it kept reacting with it. Always something new to learn! Keep up the good work. Steve 🙂