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Tomo.T

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Everything posted by Tomo.T

  1. I think that may be a K type Thornycroft, fore runner of the J, with an L4 engine, which was upgraded to the M4 for the J & X series.
  2. I have decided to paint all the controls in satin black, which matches a model built by Thornycroft of one of the last Military J types. Much as I like Service Colour, its good to have some contrast and this will make the controls stand out from their surroundings and match the steering wheel. This might well have been the original finish, which of course, would not have lasted past the first Army repaint, but I'd like to see how it looks. We also managed to straighten out the pedal shaft on Pete Read's press, the slight kink in it was bugging me ! Pete also spotted that the accelerator pedal matches the diameter of the old valves, one of which will be used to make a replacement. Recycling indeed. Also cleaned up another present from 'Rosso', in the shape of a grease pot which has found a new home in the pedal arm. These are marked up by a maker in Sydney, which is quite appropriate. I have plenty of jobs for these. Thanks Dave.
  3. I decided the accelerator pedal had reached retirement age and set about removing it. This was much easier once I'd discovered and removed the pin which was holding it. In fact that's all there was, as the parts were not threaded. In a moment of weakness, Stan has offered to turn me up a replacement. Thanks Mate! Also cleaned up the shaft and applied new washer and split pin. Elswhere the lamp brackets have been garnished with spigot pins and 1 inch Whit nuts and have acquired A couple of coats of Service Colour. They look the part, let's hope they will do the job.
  4. Hi Ian, I have found the 'Ozrust' is a strange thing, it will usually form a light coating on exposed surfaces and clean off easily, but internal shafts are prone to seizing up solid and will put up a good fight !
  5. Hi Andy, yes, I have been pondering this one as well. The chassis ends are big enough to look after themselves (I think,) but the arms are a weak point and there is not enough material to reinforce them internally or to replace them entirely with steel ones.
  6. Hi Dave, I'm sure the answer here involves the job they have to do. Both clutch and brake need to exert sufficient leverage to operate their respective mechanical contraptions. The throttle on the other hand, only works a linkage against a light spring. I think thats the reason for the comparative lack of stature.
  7. I also cleaned up the rather dainty throttle pedal which has put in some service too. Some head lamp brackets were also dug out and cleaned up. These were cast from an original by Lanes of Middlesbrough some time ago. The castings are lovely, but are cast iron, which is probably not ideal for the job. However, they took a thread well and will hopefully do a turn. All of the above were given a coat of Bonda, and this is the last of the bits which were waiting for paint.
  8. The pedal assembly fought off most of my attempts at gentle persuasion and it was, once again, Stan to the rescue, with the oxy acetylene The big guns did the trick and all the joints freed up nicely. The pedals are showing considerable wear from their former life in Australia.
  9. STILL waiting for the Gudgeon pin and bush from TI engineering, (3 months and counting.) So no progress on the crankshaft, apart from keeping the rust at bay. I therefore went looking for other jobs, which to be fair, didn't take very long to find. First up was the timing cover, which had been languishing in the stores in 'bush find' condition. It cleaned up well with rotary whizzer, but was never one of Mr. Thornycroft's best castings and required some attention to improve the surface for painting. A good few coats later it was looking more presentable and It was time to tackle the inner side. Note the hasty machining marks. A trial fit was attempted and it looks well in position. The exhaust manifold also cleaned up very nicely and after a bit of a strug locating some satin heat proof black, I eventually found this Techcoat stuff, which buffed up to a most pleasing finish. Next up is the clutch and brake pedal assembly which is rusted solid. This is another job that I have been avoiding, but the time has come. ...........To be continued .
  10. There were many examples of WD lorries of all makes, hastily diverted to the civilian market, following the cancellation of military contracts. Refurbished trucks were also readily available.
  11. Hi Roger, In 1914, miltary vehicles were painted in a 'battleship' grey. This was superseded during 1915 by the introduction of 'Service Colour', which was a drab 'bronze' green supplied in powdered pigment form, to be mixed by the units and workshops themselves. This led to a variety of shades and explains the differences found in surviving samples. My own project, Thornycroft J type 2393 has been matched to an original sample from a 1917 dated equipment box, the inside of which has been protected and has survived well. I would be happy to send you a sample to match to if you pm your address. Your project sounds very interesting and I'm sure there would be considerable interest in some pictures or even a thread ! Regards Tomo.
  12. Looking good, nice finish.
  13. Hi Dave, Thanks for that, the original nuts and bolts on 2393 (1915) are almost all of the later 'post war' style, ie, one spanner size smaller, with slightly longer hex and single chamfers. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, as I always thought pre and post war in this instance referred to WW2. It seems clear that there was a similar economy measure in WW1 also.
  14. Sadly no parts or message were received from TI Engineering, so progress has been limited to making gaskets and fitting the cover plates to the cylinders. I was able to recover some of the original nuts but also had some N.O.S. which are slightly shorter in the hex but otherwise identical. The originals are mostly of the reduced size of Whitworth nuts, (one size smaller across flats) and finished with a single chamfer. Both short and long hex versions can be seen here, the originals are on the right. If anyone has a good source of these nuts in Whitworth sizes please shout ! A trial fitting of one of the curious inserts, which seal the valve chambers was also carried out. We have three still useable and five are on Mike Lewendon's job list for the New Year. Here's hoping for a better new year ! Tomo
  15. Thanks Richard, unfortunately too late for the die in this case !
  16. With some time on my hands at present, I went to fit the cylinder cover plates properly, only to find that some of the 3/8 studs had not yet been cleaned up. This was belatedly sorted out by rather unconventional means, due to the close proximity of the surrounding studs. This rather tedious job was accomplished and the original nuts were cleaned up, a gasket made and the first cover fitted. Just the rest to do ! Quite satisfying to be sealing something up for a change.
  17. 2 pack fillers are no good on radiator tanks. Ask Steve Gosling. Tomo (no h !)
  18. Hi Dunc., The wisdom is that the cast aluminium of the day cannot be welded, however there are new low temp rods available, which might be worth a go, preceded by a thorough soda blasting to clear out the crud. T
  19. Best thing for painting anything at this time of year is infra red lamps. They heat the object not the air so do not circulate dust. They will disperse moisture and quickly raise the temperature of the substrate....... and keep you warm as well !
  20. The opportunity was taken to freshen up the paint on the sump and to temporarily replace it to protect the crank. There was a problem with the valve springs, which didn't fit nicely. On further investigation one of the original springs turned out to be a replacement from something else and was slightly larger than the rest. As luck would have it this was the spring I sent off to Tested Springs as a sample, with the predictable result that in due course I received a beautifully made set, of the wrong spring ! Unfortunately they could not be altered and another set had to be made to the correct pattern. These have now been fitted and now look much happier. Which just goes to show how careful you need to be !
  21. The starting handle bracket was cleaned up and painted, but found to be unservicable due to serious wear on the main shaft. There are two annular groves which should allow movement between the two positions, by means of a ball bearing and spring forming a detente. In fact the ball had been going 'off piste' for some time and had eventually escaped completely, leaving the shaft free to wander. Stan took on the job, and swiftly built up the shaft with weld. It was then turned down and new grooves formed on Mr. Colchester. A spring has been codged up as a temporary measure, which works, however a slightly stronger one will be required before any future starting is attempted.
  22. The forging ahead has now sadly ground to a halt, due to the lack of No.4 con rod which was sent away to have its little end properly seen to, about 2 months ago. The reason given is a delay in the gudgeon pin hardening process due to 'covid'. However, con rods one to three have been successfully fitted. No. 1 was a little reluctant at first, but it was trying to tell me something, which was that the upper bearing shell had become reversed in it's housing. ( Another trap for the unwary ! ) Even once rectified it was not quite happy and Mike Lewendon was called in for some blueing and light bearing scraping. This was successfully accomplished and the three big ends are now rotating smoothly and awaiting the return of No.4. The mains have been pinned up and the big ends will need drilling for theirs, once the No.4 prodigal son has returned.
  23. We have been 'forging' ahead with the crankshaft fitting and the main bearings slotted straight back into place. After a little detective work to sort out the shims, the crankshaft was nutted up and revolves freely, with Mike's dial gauge showing only a 10th of a thou play at the bearings. The crank was timed up with the cam shafts, once the tiny numbers had been discovered. The crank has useful tdc. position indicators. This was slightly confusing until I realised the marks were arranged to be seen from above the engine and therefore I needed to be seeing the other marks from the underneath. Hope this is clear ! The odds were then reduced and after checking that No. one was on it's power stroke and not the exhaust, (from the cam positions, ) We are satisfied that the valve timing is now correct.
  24. Strangely enough no, just a thorough clean. We think the crank was replaced as part of a major refurbishment later in it's working life.
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