PB1954RNS

A Camouflage cover for a M1 helmet as used by U.S Army from WW2 - Korea - Vietnam. This cover was brought from a Army Surplus shop in Oxford in 1982. The cover is marked inside - Cover Helmet Camouflage, DLA100.78-FU048. 8415-00-105-0605. 05. MPLS. SOC . F/T BLIND INC. The cover where it has been fitted to the helmet, is a bit worn but not too major and also if part of any Vietnam re-enactment group will add to the details. Price looking for £10 Plus £5 P+P To be signed for.

A ORIGINAL U.S ARMY first edition - AMS 6303 1 road map of France published by Army Map Service, Corps of Engineers, U.S Army. Army Map Service, U.S .Army, Washington. D.C 1944. The map is folded in half and each section is marked as a page 1 - 8. The cover and map is in a good condition but there is a slight crease mark on the bottom of the front cover. This was brought from a shop in Arromanches early 1995. Price £10 plus £5 P+P First Class to be signed for.

These are spare wheel nuts from the Albion BY5 and are of 7/8th BSF, LH/RH threads. There are 19 of them and are 33mm across the flats. When I brought some correct replacement wheel nuts I paid a £1 each for them and these are being offered at the same price - plus P+P. Cheers. P.B

Hi. When putting the hub back together the first parts to be fitted were the dust shields. out of 6 only 3 were okay. They had been stored in the old side locker and suffered badly from being in a small pond, but I had got 2 tops and 1 bottom piece. The bottom half had been repaired but was a bit of a rough job and needed a good clean up on the welds, plus a hole had to be drilled to get it to fit correctly. The holes in the stays were cleaned up with a 5/16th BSF taps and ordered some 5/16th BSF bolts and to give the old girl a treat, ordered some 3/8th BSF castle nuts in stainless steel for the pins. These pins fit into the spring anchorage spherical bush housing and have two plates either side, top and bottom this fixes the leather gaiters to the bush housing. There were only 3 left in the housing and they were just pushed into it, I have now got the BMS 3/8th rod and this has now been cut into 3 pieces and is the next job to be done. It is just a case of threading both ends and measuring for the holes for the split pins .The outer bearing that fits in the hub was sized but with some WD40 the bearing races were freed and cleaned up, plenty of grease worked into it and is free to move. The leather gaiter that was left on, I did manage to repair it, but sewing is not my best skill and having stuck the needle into my finger a few times, was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. But it has been repaired/ cleaned and I have worked leather restore paste back in to it and is now soft and supple, ready to be fitted. There is still another gaiter to be made that fits on the inside between the spring and the housing. The inside of the axle was cleaned out of rust but still looking for a drain plug for it, before I can fill it up with oil. P.B

Hi. Back from my weeks holiday and time for a catch up. After stripping down the rear hub, I started to clean up the lubrication nipples and in the course of the cleaning of the first brass one; I found engraved on the body was 'OIL'. Thinking no more about it carried on with the other two brass nipples and found the same again. A quick check on the lubrication chart in the manual and found that 95 % of the lubrication nipples are for oil and found that these oil nipples were full of grease. The brake fulcrum pins were also full of grease and there wasn't any lubrication getting to the P/Bronze bearings in the brake shoes. So clean out and push some oil into the pins. Also on the chart was the oil reservoir for the trunnion bearing bushes If you look at the cover with 6 bolts between the two axles, you can see the top with a oil nipple on it and this is the filling point for the oil reservoir. So I thought I would check the oil level and took the top off, put my finger in to it - time for a dramatic pause - silent scream - moment over, it was full of grease and so was the other side. Had to remove the covers and clean out all the grease that had been pumped in and refill with fresh oil. On checking various other oil nipples these have been pumped with grease and having copied the lubrication chart, will have to work my way around them and mark off on the chart that they have been cleaned out and fresh oil pumped in. Before And after. Before And after. With the removal of the grease you can see that what was dry is now wet with fresh oil, 1 hub down 5 more to do. Cheers. P.B

Hi. Has anybody got details of any supplier who can supply me with B.S.F bolts and nuts at a good prices, I'm getting prices from £1 up to £1.50 for each 3/8th nut. Looking for 25 castle nuts to finish off a job on the Albion. Any help most welcome. Cheers. P.B

Having a clear out of the book collection all ww2. The cost of each book is £10 plus £5.00 P+P apart from the soft covered book 'Panzers in the Desert' which is £5.00 plus £3.50 P+P. All in a good clean condition and if of any interest please let me know. If you want to use Pay Pal, then please use 'Friends and Family' if not then Pay Pal take a lump out of the sale. Cheers. Paul Burns.

Hi Pete. My view on spares is down to bit of Engineering background and steam loco restoration where we had to get parts made so that it would run again. I want to keep the 'Ole Girl' running as long as I can and won't except it, if a part is broken or worn out that it should be stuffed and mounted in a Museum. Very interesting to read about reclaiming spares off battle damaged vehicles, this view was carried on the railways as loco's - steam or diesel to be scrapped had useful parts removed and sent back to the stores to work another day. Regards. Paul Burns.

Hi. Managed to strip down the hub today and I have broken it all down into it's separate parts for cleaning and exam. The locking collar was measured from the edge of the hub to the collar so that it would go back to the same settings and not over tighten the bearings. The rear bearing that I had some concerns over, was okay but will need a good clean and fresh grease working through it. On checking the wheel studs some of the threads have some slight damage to them but a run down with a L/H die nut has cleaned them up and will be okay. These will be added to the replacement list but to remove them will be a job of drilling the stud away from the nut as if any heavy pressure from a press or hammer will break off the lugs. As per the brake drums a pattern to be made and a couple of raw castings made up and put into stores. The 7/16th BSF threads have had a tap run down them to clean up the threads, these hold the brake drum on to the hub. The front bearing has been cleaned up and checked over and is still in a good condition. In the photo you can see the felt oil seal and this was found okay but needed a good clean and left to soak in oil. You can see the remains of the two half round leather gaiters holding plates, not much use now apart from being a pattern. I shall see about getting these cut out or have a go myself as they are only made out of 20 gauge steel with a extra piece inside to hold the edge of the leather. The 3 long bolts are just threaded bar with a BSF thread on each end and a castellated nut and a split pin put through. There are a max of 6 of these bolts which pass through one set of plates through the spring anchor brackets and into the other plate. The leather gaiter came off in one piece but is only fit for a pattern and will have 4 made up, I still need to have 4 of the bearing gaiters made up as well but will have try and rescue one off the other axles. The photo shows both sides of the gaiter. The brake shoes need a clean up and repaint and again these will have to be added to the replacement list as one is worn due to rusting over the years. But will try putting an ad in a commercial mag for any replacements. Cheers. P.B

Hi. These are now sold.

Hi. For sale two Ministry of Supply plates - Vehicle No 34 YZ 41, Chassis No 4164 - had a overhaul on 11/54 at M.T.R.S No 384. Next 50 RB 34, Chassis No 999 1794 2697 - had two overhauls one on 10/53 - 384, next 09/56 both at 384. Next is a builders plate off a Morris Commercial Cars Ltd, C8 Chassis No 1880 F.W.D 4566 and also has details of the engine number, gearbox, front axle, rear axle and rear axle ratio 6 57-1. A Ministry of Supply plate recording the engine overhaul to scale 2 by A.A.W No B217 on May 1952. Cylinder Bores STD, Main Bearings .030, Big End Bearings -030. And a Starter Switch indicator off a Morris C8. Looking to sell them as a job lot at £30 and £5.00 P+P. All funds raised going to the restoration of Albion BY5. Cheers. P.B

Hi . Just to say that the drawing is now sold. P.B

A copy of a drawing held by the National Archives, Kew on the hull drawing of a Mk 1 and 2 Bren Carrier - Design No C.I.A( TANKS) 8856, 8857. Part No T.L .1195A - 1196A. The drawing has details of all drawing numbers for parts of the hull. what size bolts, washers and nuts to be used. Also there are some details of what size rivets on some parts of the hull. The drawing size is 3 foot wide x 5 foot long and is in a good condition as it's been kept in the tube it was sent out. It cost me £30 plus £5.00 P+P and is being offered at the same price, if not of any interest then it will go on EBay. Cheers Paul Burns.

Hi. After the hassle of trying to remove the half shaft from the hub, I spent time this afternoon cleaning it up. This photo shows the state it was in, all covered in a film of rust as it seems water has got in to the rear axle. The splines were just one lump of rust and took several tries with the wire brush to clean them up. The rest of the shaft had some minor rust spots and were given a slight tap with a hammer. The end cap was full of dried up grease and thoughts are going as to the state of the roller bearings, I know from feel that when turning the hub the rear bearing sounds a bit not happy. It could just be the case of a good clean and fresh grease being worked through it. As the axle is missing the rear diff, the axle body is empty of oil and has been running like this for some time, the half shafts are just bone dry and so are the oil seals that fit at the rear of the hubs. The plan is to fill the axle body with oil and kept the half shafts covered in oil to protect them as at some stage the rear diff will be found and fitted. To help with the preservation of the half shafts, I have given them a coating of Red Oxide paint. Another part missing from the axle body is the drain plug and according to the spare parts manual it's a Tecalemit 4657 plug. I have checked their web site and they make plugs for sumps on BMW motor bikes . Any body out there who might know of it's sizes or have a spare one. If not it could be a bolt put in. Next job is to remove the brake shoes and the hub . P.B

Hi. The brake drum has been cleaned up and repainted. During the cleaning up there seemed to be a lot of muck on the inside of the drum and the more I dug it out the more I found damage to the brake face on the drum. When the lorry was in the scrap yard water got in between the brake shoe and the face and has pitted the drum. I have measured the depth of the pitting and ranges from 1/8th up to a 1/4 of an inch on the face. Having taken some advice about it, the out come was to clean the face and remove any high spots as the lorry has been running with this problem before me. I did consider having the drum face machined up but with the amount of metal to be removed it would scrap the casting and these drums are not on the counter at any motor factor. I have cleaned up the face and being careful not to make it oval, when it needs the next heavy overhaul I shall take a drum up to a foundry and get a pattern made and get 4 raw castings made. When checking the measurements on the pitting I found that two of the mounting holes were very thin at the edge of the hole to the edge of the drum. I can only think that the drum was set up wrong for machining and to correct this, the machine operator has put in a much larger hole to hide his mistake. The half shaft has been removed and is in a worst condition than the other side, it was a right game to get it pulled out. There seems to be water damage inside the hub and will have to check for this when I get around to removing it, I need to find a very thin wire brush with a very long handle to clean up the inside. Before I do take the hub off, I shall take some measurements at the locking collar so it goes back to the same setting. Two of the rear dust covers have also been cleaned up and painted ready for fitting back on the drum. The two metal strips that the covers bolt to are in a good condition and will only need a wire brushing and the threads cleaning up. The brake shoes will come off but only when the parts taken off so far are restored and put away in boxes until ready to be fitted back again. The rear wheels are painted and need to be taken to the tyre company for tyre fitting. P.B

Hi Pete. Many thanks for your advice and comments, with regards to the nuts on the spring plate it's a job that 'Do I leave it alone' and will it stop the lorry being passed fit for the road; or 'Do I change them' now and have no problems. The two complete dust covers are now fully restored and put into store - the brake drum has been cleaned also and ready for painting. next will to remove the half shaft, brake shoes and hub. Hope all is going well with your lorry. Cheers P.B

Hi. As the two rear wheels are now ready for having the two new tyres fitted, I thought I would move on to the rear axle and brake drums The drum is held on to the axle hub by 4 -7/16th BSF set screws and not 5 as I posted before. After much pushing and pulling the drum came off and only to find 'The Wonderful World of Spiders' and sat in the middle of a spiders nest was a big, black, mean and a thug of a spider. Please don't get me wrong not scared of spiders but I did have one bite me - not very pleasant. The drum wants a good clean up and repaint, the brake shoes are okay as they have been relined . Next is to remove the half shaft as this does nothing now because there isn't any worm wheel in the axle. When I removed the one from the Dvr's side it was a bit rusty and I expect the same state on this one but it will be replaced as it is a dust cover for the main bearing. The hub will also be removed and the bearings checked - cleaned out of the old grease and packed with fresh grease, but before that there are two metal strips that fit on the back of the hub and these have the brake drum dust covers are fitted to them. They will need to have the old bolts removed from them and just run a tap down the threads to clean them up. The original dust covers and are in bit of a state, there is two that can be reused again and the remaining ones could either be repaired or get new ones made up. Having thoughts about trying to make up new ones but it's just getting the radius and the fold over correct. Next on the list to be made is a set of leather gaiters that fit either side of the spring anchorage spherical bush housing and the leather gaiters are held on by two plates that are bolted top and bottom to bush housing. The photos show one original is still in place but in a worn out condition. I shall measure up the diameter of the rings and get them laser cut and find a supply of leather sheet to make up the gaiters. Last job will be to replace some of the nuts on the top of the spring plate as they have seen better days. PB

Hi. I take a look at the job before starting and when ready, work to the 'Belt and Braces' system. When I jack up a axle I place a axle stand underneath and then pack with wood along side it to be doubly sure. I had a saying when working on the footplate of the railways - 'Familiarity Breeds Contempt'. Right a few more photos and this time shows the Drivers side walk way again all brand new wood. There is a slight change to the original set up, due to the body work being out of line the side wall should be in one length but would have had a bow in the middle of it. So I made the choice to cut it into two like the other side. The metal strips are brand new and ready to take the adjustable tie downs that have the straps joined to the chains that fit on to the tie downs. The clamps that hold the tie down straps are in a poor condition and will have to be replaced and the hook at the end of the strap is missing and have no idea how they should look. All that I can do is make up some thing or look for a modern items. The rear brake drums are are being tackled one by one, check, clean and paint. There should be 5 - 7/16th BSF set screws holding the drum onto the hub but they are missing so will have to buy 15 plus 5 spares to replace the missing ones. The brake shoes are in a good condition as they were all changed during it's last restoration.As each brake drum is restored then the wheel will go on and then move on to the next one. A photo to show the triangle tie downs one spare new one and two old ones that have suffered being in the wet plywood. P.B

Hi Pete. Yes this is the problem I'm having to restore it outside and just cover it back up again when the rain starts. When I got hold of the Albion the main thing I wanted to do as many other vehicle owners have done and that was to strip down to the bear bones. Full restoration , new wiring and full repaint etc, etc but having waited and having a look around to see if a workshop could be found at a friendly rates, nothing came forward and I just 'Bit the bullet' and brought it back home. This changed the standard of restoration I could carry out, so it's what I can do at the time. I'm lucky that the lorry has had a full paint job on it and in some areas this is protecting areas that I cannot get to. Not quite military vehicles but to show the sort of restoration I do with a workshop. The black bike I brought from the USA and after £4.500 spent on it buying new parts - the final show. I just work on areas that I can remove and take into the garage and put back, but I do want to work on the front end but until I have more wheels back on the lorry I won't touch it as it is still on axle stands at the rear. Plus if the 'Hand of Fate' decides to pay a visit when a 3 ton lorry is on all axle stands, I have no plans to be found half way under the front end with a 3 ton lorry sat on my chest! Over cautious well yes. P.B

Hi. Just to say many thanks to Andy for letting me climb all over his Albion FT 11 and for taking me for a ride around the family farm. Also just to let you know that the bolt does fit the sump plug and the plug is just a bit loose ready to drop the engine oil out - hopefully in the oil bucket and not all over me as the space from ground level to the sump is a little bit tight!. Next to the other Andy who told me about the Folding Boat Equipment Handbook on E Bay - I did contact the seller about the book and is now sat on my desk, many thanks for letting me know about it. Right to finish off the last posting, I did put a photo up of the rear wheel that almost had the wheel pulled off but forgot to show the finished job. What I have been working on parts of the lorry and one of the main parts was to put back the correct walk ways on the chassis. I used a hard wood that comes from South Africa but when working with it, it can splinter and even break. The past owner had just used plywood to make up the walk ways and was pretty ropey and had a slight covering of moss all over it. The tie downs had also suffered due to being wet wood and I did manage to save the main tie downs with the hook and chains fixed to tie down. The only ones that could not be saved were the triangle tie downs and I had brand new ones made up. I felt that I had to do the lorry justice and put back the walk ways as per new build. The cab when I got to it was full of moss again - I don't know what it is with Albion's and moss ?. The passengers seat had turned into balsa wood and having took measurements to rebuild it - broke it up and removed it from the cab. The rear back rest had also had it's day and removed it. The drivers seat was also in the same condition and again I took the measurements before removing it. The brown roll is the new back rest for the passenger seat. I'm looking for a exhaust manifold as mime has a crack in it, the manifold still has the army quick fix - a exhaust bandage on it from the 1950's. Also I'm in need of the oil cup that fits the Clayton Dewandre main servo as the lid has broken off and possible water damage on the inside of the servo. Until I take it apart and check to see what else is required to get it working again I did contact the D-Day Museum at Portsmouth about any plans for the Folding Boats, the reply was that they didn't have any plans but did have a Folding Boat - but gave it away to the Royal Engineers Museum at Gillingham, Kent. I have contacted Rebecca Blackburn at the Museum and they are more than happy to let me take photo's and also take measurements of the boat as well. I just have to arrange a date for the visit with them, this will be late September as Network Rail have closed my local station due to overhead wires being installed, new platforms and other works. By the time I get to the Museum it will be time to turn around and head back to Bristol. PB

Hi. Many thanks Andy I appreciate any info for this type of lorry as it's a bit rare, I have sent the seller a note about it. With regards to the boats I have contacted the D - Day Museum Development Officer. Portsmouth about plans for the boats, they don't have any BUT they did have one of the boats but gave it to the Royal Engineers Museum and they have it on display. So I shall have to contact R.E Museum to see if they might have plans for the boats or see if they will let take photos and measurements of it. As for my boat building skills I did build HMS Victory - supplied by Airfix. Cheers. P.B

Hi. Just to give a bit more back ground to finding the Albion again, on walking around it there seemed to be some thing wrong with one of the rear wheels. Apart from the flat tyres, the rear off side wheel seemed to be out of gauge with the wheel in front of it. On closer inspection I saw that the wheel and hub had been pulled almost off the stub axle.<img src="http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=128082&stc=1" attachmentid="128082" alt="" id="vbattach_128082" class="previewthumb"> You can see how far it had been pulled forwards by looking at the brake pads. This left me with a problem as this had to be put right before planning any moves to Bristol. The next visit I brought along a jack and socket set to remove the wheel nuts - at this point the Albion was fitted with odd 33mm wheel nuts and the standard size is 28mm. I set about removing the wheel having jacked it up and placed it on a axle stand, then to sort on how to correct the damage.<br>The only way was to remove the brake drum, half shaft and the hub, then by placing piece of hard wood across the driving flange very slowly tapped it back into place. This took all morning to sort out and decided to call it a day as I had a 3 hour drive back to Bristol from the farm.<br><br>The half shaft had some cutting gear damage to it around the bolt holes and I had this repaired. The brake drum was cleaned up and painted along with the hub.<br><img src="http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=128083&stc=1" attachmentid="128083" alt="" id="vbattach_128083" class="previewthumb align_0 size_thumbnail" style=""><br>The next visit the drum, half shaft and hub were fitted back again, this photo shows them ready to be put back, the hub was washed out and fresh grease put back in.<br><br><img src="http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=128084&stc=1" attachmentid="128084" alt="" id="vbattach_128084" class="previewthumb"><br>All back together again. On chatting with one of our diesel fitters at work and explained how the wheel was to be found, he came up with a idea that when the lorry was on the farm they must of moved it with a tractor. Asked if there was any 90 degree bends - yes -well he thought that to move the lorry around the bend was to put a rope or wire around the back of the wheel and snatch it around with the use of the tractor and doing so pulled the wheel and parts forward.<br><br>Cheers.<br>P.B

Hi. Just to give a bit more back ground to finding the Albion again, on walking around it there seemed to be some thing wrong with one of the rear wheels. Apart from the flat tyres, the rear off side wheel seemed to be out of gauge with the wheel in front of it. On closer inspection I saw that the wheel and hub had been pulled almost of the stub axle. You can see how far it had been pulled forwards by looking at the brake pads. This left me with a problem as this had to be put right before planning any moves to Bristol. The next visit I brought along a jack and socket set to remove the wheel nuts - at this point the Albion was fitted with odd 33mm wheel nuts and the standard size is 28mm. I set about removing the wheel having jacked it up and placed it on a axle stand, then to sort on how to correct the damage. The only way was to remove the brake drum, half shaft and the hub, then by placing piece of hard wood across the driving flange very slowly tapped it back into place. This took all morning to sort out and decided to call it a day as I had a 3 hour drive back to Bristol from the farm. The half shaft had some cutting gear damage to it around the bolt holes and I had this repaired. The brake drum was cleaned up and painted along with the hub. The next visit the drum, half shaft and hub were fitted back again, this photo shows them ready to be put back, the hub was washed out and fresh grease put back in. All back together again. On chatting with one of our diesel fitters at work and explained how the wheel was to be found, he came up with a idea that when the lorry was on the farm they must of moved it with a tractor. Asked if there was any 90 degree bends - yes -well he thought that to move the lorry around the bend was to put a rope or wire around the back of the wheel and snatch it around with the use of the tractor and doing so pulled the wheel and parts forward. Cheers. P.B

Hi. Many thanks for post about rear diff's. What I don't know is during war time how many parts where made to fit all types of vehicles made by different manufactures, would a part supplied by an outside company fit all makes or is it only for one company. Did the W.D try to stick to a type of standardization - one one part fit only a Bedford or would it fit Morris and Albion as well. My own view is that Albion Motors were very much on their own when it came to vehicle building during the war and used their own designs and parts. When a new model came out they might of used parts left over from another class of model. I have the spares manual for the BY5 but all the parts are listed under the Albion parts ordering system and if ordering a part made outside the company, they would have a Proprietary Parts Section with a MT12 ordering system. The rear diff had a ratio 3/28 and the worm shaft and worm wheel were supplied as a set. The lorry can still be driven on the road as the first diff is still in place but to try and ease the the gear box and diff by putting the rear diff back in. it is classed as a 4x6. Speedo Cable, The problem with this is, the lorry was missing it's cable when I brought it and has never been replaced. The length - 11 foot - is due to it fitting the speedo in the instrument panel in the cab, but then runs along the top of the chassis and connects with the Auxiliary Gearbox at the rear of the cab. I have tried various companies who might be able to help BUT need the cable to make up the ends, so I'm well and truly stuffed as I don't have one. Cheers. P.B

Hi. Many thanks for the details for the web sites for Royal Engineers and WW2 Talk. There is lot of details on the folding boat and looks like I shall be ordering a fair bit of canvas, I hope the wife's sowing machine is up to scratch. As for interchangeable parts on other models I might be right or wrong the FT 11 and Chieftain models might have parts to swop but I have tried putting a post for parts or borrowing parts from FT 11 owners but with no luck. Cheers. P.B