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Vulcan VSW 30cwt 6x4.


handy1882

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A few more pics of the steering assembly before and during stripdown.

 

A large gap where the worm and end plate should be.

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The wheel is in very good condition, hardly any wear on the teeth.

 

 

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There is now going to be a fair bit of head scratching to work out the dimensions of the worm and see if i can make one. The wheel is marked 2/20 i assume this means the wheel has 20 teeth on a 2 start thread.

Edited by handy1882
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It has been my intention to concentrate on the chassis and running gear and get one part finished before moving on to the next so that i dont lose track of everything and end up with a big pile of bits. However there was a set of brand new Vulcan pistons and rings on Ebay so i thought it would be a good idea to see if they would be of any use.

I know that they won't fit my original engine as it has 85mm bores and the ones for sale were for 102mm bores, but i didn't know if they would fit my slightly later spare engine. Time to get in to the spares shed and take the head off then!

 

 

 

This is the spare engine when i first got it.

 

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All the head nuts were very wasted away and not really worth reusing so i split them to save breaking any studs.

After a lot of persuasion the head came off and this was the result.

 

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After cleaning the mouses nest out it's not quite as bad as i was expecting!

 

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No2 looks the worst out of all of them.

 

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The head looks pretty good.

 

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Unfortunately this engine has 95 mm bores, so the nice shiny new set can stay on ebay. Nevermind, at least i can soak the bores with a parrafin/oil mix till i come to take it apart.

Back to the chassis in the nice warm shed.

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I've been getting on with sorting out the chassis rails on the Vulcan. There are 2 bits of 1/8th plate welded on the inside of the rail which forms part of the rear engine mounts, one had rotted out completely and one is not far behind it.

 

The one remaining engine mount

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Nice new ones.

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Welded in.

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I'm not sure quite how the engine is mounted to these as my rear mounting blocks are missing, but i'm sure it will become clear when i hang the engine in. One day!

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The chassis rails were a bit bent and out of shape. Both were kinked upwards in the same place where the chassis narrows towards the front of the vehicle, the nearside was fairly straight apart from that. The offside one was a bit worse as it was like a banana towards the rear, about 1" out along the length.

Poor old girl has been a bit overloaded during her working life!

 

I made a frame up out of some 3" box section and 3" angle so that i could gently tweak it back with a 5 ton bottle jack.

 

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I kept working it a little at a time every 3" or so along the rail and just kept going till it came back somewhere near straight. It took a while, but was well worth doing.

 

 

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The upward kinks on the front needed a little bit more persuasion. Enter Dad with a gas torch resembling an olympus jet engine!

 

 

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We got them just warm enough so that they would move with a bit of a tweak from a 4x2 timber.

 

They seem to be all over the place, a bit tapered in places and bulging in others you could spend years messing about trying to get them spot on! We layed them top to top and they looked pretty good with a line stretched along the join, so that will do for us.

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A job that needs a lot of patience, well done! You now have nice rails to start the assembly. With the cross members in place you won't notice any difference between the two.

 

Marcel

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been getting a bit more done to the chassis, gave both side rails a good clean up with a wire wheel and a grinder and welded the rear axle mount braces back in.

 

The chassis and service number show up well now all the paint and muck is off them.

 

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Looks better with a bit of primer on!

 

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A trial fit together to get the new chassis cross members to the right width and mark the hole positions.

The rear one was fairly straightforward as the centre cross member gave me a measurment to go to of 34 1/8"

 

 

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The front one was a bit more difficult as i have no real reference to work to other than it should be somewhere near 30" wide.

 

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I bolted the front suspension and axle on temporarily to make sure everything lined up

 

 

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It all seemed happy at 30 1/4" wide. It could have been pulled in to 30 1/8" but it would have put a fair bit of strain on everything to make it parallel and i would rather it was a little too wide for the rear engine mounts than too narrow.

 

 

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It actually looks a little bit like a truck! Shame i have to take it all to bits to drill the holes and paint everything.

Now to find some BSF bolts.....

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Finally! Something green!

 

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This was the paint i used, i was really impressed with it.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chassis-Paint-Vehicle-Military-Bodywork-/110668173315?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Paint_Varnish_MJ&var=&hash=item5f77a880c7

 

The guy at Palatine paints was really helpfull, can't recommend them enough. Bent over backwards to do a good deal and save me some money, makes such a nice change to find such great customer service.

 

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ONLINE-SURFACE-COATINGS?_trksid=p4340.l2563

Edited by handy1882
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I've been making use of the new Argos range of portable spray painting booths, otherwise known as a Gazebo! Works really well, it stops any over spray drifting over next doors washing, windows, dog etc!

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not much been happening recently due to having to earn a living and other non truck related stuff, but i have been making a few bits and pieces, a front towing shackle, rear axle check strap shoulder bolts and front spring shackle pins. The shoulder bolts and shackle pins were all 5/8" diameter and were made from M16 high tensile bolts, as these were slightly under 16mm and spot on size for 5/8".

 

 

I already had one original shackle but needed a matching one for the other chassis rail. To make it a bit of 5/8 bar was heated to cherry red and bent round a handy bit of pipe which was the right size for the inside diameter of the shackle and a couple of pieces were machined to be welded on.

 

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All welded up and a grinder ran round it then sandblasted. Probably not going to be strong enough for towing, but will look the part till another original one turns up.

 

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This was the only original shoulder bolt i had, the thread was a bit mangled!

 

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Full set of 8 new ones.

 

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The only original front spring shackle pin i have, the thread was a bit beaten up and the hexagon head was cracked where the grease nipple screws in

 

 

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2 nice new ones

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been meaning to pick up the back axles for the Vulcan for ages, but due to there being a lack of sunshine and having to be at work i've not been able to do much till now. Luckily the previous owner was kind enough to let me keep them where they were till i could get them.

Originally i had planned to move the whole bogie assembley in one piece, but this would have meant moving a lot of stuff out of the way, so we broke it all down in to smaller bits.

 

 

 

Whats under here....

 

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They look handy....

 

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The easiest way to take it apart in to manageable peices was to take both top springs off and split the ball joint mountings.

 

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Both top springs and top half of the ball joints off, so its now in three main parts, the two axles and the two bottom springs main pivot.

 

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Edited by handy1882
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I brought the top springs home today and started to strip one. (Note the chimp proof labeling for reassembley!)

 

 

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I thought it had quite a badly broken main leaf, looks like a break by the clamp..

 

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....and two more here....

 

 

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.....then we noticed there were more 'breaks' at 3" intervals, looks like they are supposed to be there!

 

 

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It's surprising what comes undone on this truck, there were hardly any nuts left. I've got nothing but admiration for Mr Whitworth and his thread system!

 

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This is the 'broken' main leaf....

 

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....all made out of 3" long jigsaw peices!

 

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Has anyone come across this type of spring before? Its not something i've ever seen.

Is there a reason why its made like this? All the other springs on the rear bogie are the same.

I thought it might be for ease of changing the spring bushes, but i cant see that it would make maintenance any easier.

Any ideas out there?

Edited by handy1882
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just been machining a new front axle hub cap, I had one original cast aluminium one to copy. I think that the lump on the original one could have been to fit a greaser, but for some reason it was never drilled and tapped for one, probably as its in a bit of an exposed position and it should get enough lubrication from the main hub greaser anyway. at some point, i'll get a blob of weld put on my new one so that they match.

 

 

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If you get that sandblasted with heavy grit you won't be able to tell the difference!

 

Yes, i'll do that and give it a kick around the workshop to make it look authentic. It will look odd if i have a smooth one on one side and one with knocks and dings on the other. Probably nobody else would ever notice, but because i know it's there it would stick out like a sore thumb to me.:-)

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  • 3 months later...

Rob - Do you have any headlights for this truck? I was speaking to a mate in Queensland today, and he casually mentioned in passing, that he had a set of old Vulcan truck headlights that he was considering putting on one of his old restored Caterpillar tractors.

If you're interested, I could find out if he would part with them, and what they look like. He restores old Cats and earthmovers, so he has sympathy for anyone doing restorations. I discovered your restoration via your request on the HCVC forum.

 

Cheers - Ron.

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http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300793340047?ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1120#ht_500wt_1192

 

Yikes,

 

Still trying to find my way through here. I may have PMd this, I'm not sure if it worked! Thought I'd double check with a posting just in case. Not sure if it is of any interest but I'd hate you to miss the chance to have a look. Keep up the good work!

 

Regards,

 

Danny

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  • 1 month later...

Rob, I've sent you a couple of PM's, but as yet, no reply. My mate's father owned a 3 ton single drive Vulcan, and it's been scrapped - but he kept the maggy, the headlights and the radiator off it. I now have some pics of the items. Check your P.M's.

 

Cheers - Ron.

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