Freeland Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Winch installed and cab complete: If only we would know what these plates are for (we have 6 in total)......: Anybody has a clue?? Many thnx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
42 chevy Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Those look to be floorboard pieces. The flange should bolt to the cover piece that goes over the transmission or it could be bolted to the toeboard. Put it in and see what way it fits. Mine were fastened with sheet metal screws. I upgrade them to weld nuts (1/4-20 thread) as the holes that the screwa went into and "grown" in size. John G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Hi John, thanks for you swift feedback. Actually I was thinking along those lines, although none of the original documentations we have (manuals, SNL parts) makes note of any of these six plates. Four of them are heavyweights and rather look like reinforcements/armoured plates to me. So having them placed underneath the vehicle would make sense...As long as these are not post-WW2/"after-market" additions I am fine with it Tomorrow I have planned a full day at the workshop so I will check this rightaway. Edited February 7, 2014 by Freeland typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marvinthemartian Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Great restoration job there. It's good to see the Dizzy T coming back to life. Well done, keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) Those look to be floorboard pieces. The flange should bolt to the cover piece that goes over the transmission or it could be bolted to the toeboard. Put it in and see what way it fits. Mine were fastened with sheet metal screws. I upgrade them to weld nuts (1/4-20 thread) as the holes that the screwa went into and "grown" in size. John G Well, I finally found out these do not belong to the Diamond T at all...but to the Daimler Dingo that is simultaneously being restored :red: :blush:! Prob. the result of having more people dis and re-assemble parts of the DT over 20 yrs time On close inspection some of the plates were stamped with the several digit combinations, year and a broad mark...Also, the whole structure of the material did not check out from what I had handled so far with the DT. The plates belong to the Dingo's underside: But besides this smal distraction, the cab parts have now been assembled as well as the front fenders: Meanwhile, we also have to split valuable time overhauling the Ford M20 and Scout Car M3A1 for the upcoming D-Day festivities...I will make sure no more parts get mixed up :-D Edited January 20, 2015 by Freeland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 :blush: A little embarrassing that I did not post in this thread for almost a year so about time I give a little update on the project! As said in my last post, we had been engaged with multiple vehicles in a variety of events during 2014. 10 days in Normandy (where, as I recall, we ran into "diamond-t-steve" and his DT, just outside Arromanches) and multiple weekends around Market Garden and the liberation of the Southern part of The Netherlands. We got occupied with the necessary (and often unforeseen) time maintaining, rigging-to-specs and troubleshooting the different vehicles involved. Some had not run for a couple of years... Besides these events, the museum and its collection also required to be running and maintained. But in the background we kept being busy gathering bits and pieces for the restoration projects (Diamond and Dingo) so I knew it was just a matter of time before I could present some real updates here. Below some pictures to give you an idea where we are at. You may notice there is some bending and fitting to do to the bonnet. Once completely fitted and running, the entire Dt will get a second and final, professional spray paint job eliminating any colour differences. Right now we have sorted out the exhaust system and the complete set has been sent off to be replicated to original specs. Also, the window pane has been blasted, glass panels will be fitted soon once we have been able to weld the missing push handle (anyone that has the right dimensions for this part?). The upholstery has also been taken care of by an external party. And once the Dingo has left the spray booth, we can get busy with the ballast box. We aim to restore the vehicle as close to the original specs as possible. Since we now got our hands on all correct UNF-/UNC-sized nuts and bolts (put in a huge spreadsheet taken from the SNL:sweat:) we now can get busy refitting smaller parts. Still, we are quite a way from completing the truck, esp. since we have a long list of hard-to-get (if not impossible to come by) parts for the DT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 So enjoyed reading this thread. thank you for posting. The one job I did not undertake on mine was re-painting the engine but it is on the cards this year. I will be using your restoration as the standard to achieve. best regards, A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted February 6, 2015 Author Share Posted February 6, 2015 (edited) Thanks Adrian! Just drop me a note by then if you need any details. Note that we never took care of removing the fuel section from the block. It was already overhauled at an earlier state and it is said to be a small nightmare to have it running properly afterwards. Besides, that part of the engine was originally never painted. I will post some pictures of a NOS DXFE engine straight out of the crate for your reference. You will see that the original color is much darker than our engine but a lighter color will prove more practical in the end when checking for leaks etc. By the way, I have the impression that some part is missing in the cabine section, underneath the floorboards to be more precise. If you look at the second-last picture from my last post - the one taken from the cabin top down- and compare it to this picture: [ATTACH=CONFIG]101512[/ATTACH] The part where the arrow is pointing to is we do not have. Anyone can clarify what this part is all about? It looks too close to the bottom of the cabin to be a part of the co-driver's seat I suppose. Also, I have not come across any part that looks like the one on the picture. Many thanks! Edited February 9, 2015 by Freeland Added picture, edited text accordingly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Time for an update on this project. We got the engine running now for the first time. We just intended to bleed the fuel system first but the engine turned over almost immediately Afterwards taking care of a leaking oil filter cover and copper gasket we had our second run: No leaks, good oil pressure and clean exhaust fumes! You may have noticed the bumper is in a "different" state than it was previously; we decided to give it a good Berlusconi-treatment in order to get some of the more obvious dents out. Right now, we are in need of some hard to get parts and I have a list available for anyone that might be able to help us out in providing these items (@DT-Steve: did you get my email on this?) Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhound32122 Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 a very inspiring restoration which i keep coming back to view as i am in the process of hopefully acquiring a 981 which will be my first military based vehicle restoration and thanks to threads like this i really can't wait. the 980/981's are one of my top 5 military trucks of all time and i look forward to more updates on this truck. best regards sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted June 22, 2015 Author Share Posted June 22, 2015 Thank Sam! It is an "easy", straighforward truck to work on compared to some other vehicles as long as you have the adequate space. So far there have not been any corners that were difficult to reach, yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamond-t-steve Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Hi Freeland. I've been following your restoration with great interest and I'm very impressed with the standard of your work. I have just seen your email and I appologise for taking a while to get back to you but I'm sorry to say you have the wrong person. Unfortunatly I have never taken my 981 outside the UK and have never had the good fortune of meeting you in person. I am sure that if you mention your meeting on here that the person your looking for will reply to you. I wish you well in locating the parts you are looking for and keep up the good work. Many regards.. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 (edited) Hi Steve, thanks for letting me know and not a problem; someday the Steve in question will turn up Meanwhile we noticed something I am hoping someone here may have a answer to. We found out that, when putting the DT in 1st gear, the gear lever hits the cowl. As you can see from the picture, sitting in 1st gear the stick is too close to the dashboard: The cowl is 100% properly attached to the rear of the cabin so unproper seating of the cabin cannot be cause. Does anybody know if the travel of the gear stick can somehow be adjusted? Edited June 6, 2016 by Freeland Rotated picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeePig Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Does everything appear normal at the other end of the stick? Nothing been assembled the wrong way around, for example, as sometimes happens when things have been apart for a while? trevor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Everything looks in order; the complete stick only fits one way and was removed from the housing as a whole for spray painting. When I had it removed the inside looked fine; no wear or tear of any kind so it was left untouched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
42 chevy Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 The gear shift lever should have a bend in it closer to the top of the shift tower, not that high up on the lever. A little heat should fix the situation. John G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 John, thanks for the tip on this, will have a look tomorrow if this indeed would be the case. Tomorrow we will also commence working on the cargo box now that the rebuilt Dingo has left the spray paint cabin. Talking about a small challenge; we can only move the box just inside the workshop with the help of the Ward LaFrance. Then it is about 30 meters or so to the cabin....:undecided: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 The lever seems to be bend backwards at the base and then bends forward before going straight up again. A little heat should indeed do the trick. With more effort than expected we managed to move the cargo box in the cabin this weekend: Upon inspection we noticed several modifications, some of them I am not sure are original, others are more obvious. I hope someone can comment on this: LH rear: the chalked off holes and the crossed-out "mount" I believe are not wartime. RH rear: same with these holes, not wartime(?) RH front: the cable guide, welded place holders for the bows and L-shaped corner bracket do seem to be field modifications LH front: apart from the welded L-bracket and non-original cable guide, what is with the two holes? Modification? This is where the tire lifting device sits, fixed with a canvas strap. RH front, inside: is this tube original? Welded in place and seated in a cutout in the side, it goes right through the bottom of the box, open at the underside. Frankly, I cannot find any specific purpose for it. Again a modification? I am very interested in your comments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruggyjohn Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Hi Steve, thanks for letting me know and not a problem; someday the Steve in question will turn up Meanwhile we noticed something I am hoping someone here may have a answer to. We found out that, when putting the DT in 1st gear, the gear lever hits the cowl. As you can see from the picture -sorry, I could not get it to rotate- sitting in 1st gear the stick is too close to the dashboard: [ATTACH=CONFIG]105902[/ATTACH] The cowl is 100% properly attached to the rear of the cabin so unproper seating of the cabin cannot be cause. Does anybody know if the travel of the gear stick can somehow be adjusted? hi, mine does the same, you have to be careful you dont trap your fingers, just thought it was a quirk of the vehicle, never been a problem when i drive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruggyjohn Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 The lever seems to be bend backwards at the base and then bends forward before going straight up again. A little heat should indeed do the trick. With more effort than expected we managed to move the cargo box in the cabin this weekend: [ATTACH=CONFIG]106344[/ATTACH] Upon inspection we noticed several modifications, some of them I am not sure are original, others are more obvious. I hope someone can comment on this: [ATTACH=CONFIG]106345[/ATTACH] LH rear: the chalked off holes and the crossed-out "mount" I believe are not wartime. [ATTACH=CONFIG]106346[/ATTACH] RH rear: same with these holes, not wartime(?) [ATTACH=CONFIG]106347[/ATTACH] RH front: the cable guide, welded place holders for the bows and L-shaped corner bracket do seem to be field modifications [ATTACH=CONFIG]106348[/ATTACH] LH front: apart from the welded L-bracket and non-original cable guide, what is with the two holes? Modification? This is where the tire lifting device sits, fixed with a canvas strap. [ATTACH=CONFIG]106349[/ATTACH] RH front, inside: is this tube original? Welded in place and seated in a cutout in the side, it goes right through the bottom of the box, open at the underside. Frankly, I cannot find any specific purpose for it. Again a modification? I am very interested in your comments! it takes the jib for the spare wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 The only holes that should be left in the rear of your ballast body is the one circled in my photo. It lets the water out of the drain channel for the locker lid hinge. Same on the other side also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Thanks for your comments John and Andy, again makes things more clear to proceed for us. As for the various holes; the "channel" ones make sense to me, but how about holes in the body's floor? Both body and stowage compartments floors have holes in them. The cargo floor itself has one in each corner, each stowage compartment also has three holes. To me it makes sense to have some sort of simple water drainage solution but should there be any in the original configuration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 This restoration is still in progress so again here are some updates in pictures... Ballast box gets the first coat of paint after some pitting/mods repair. The underside was of course also taken care of: With some effort we managed to load it onto this small trailer This week we received the canvas for both Dingo and Diamond. It does need additional trimming as you can see. The doors will be added later Tomorrow (22-10-2015) the ballast box will be put back on the truck again and then the lot -minus wheels- will be prepared for the final coat of paint in the spray cabin. Next step are the electrics and air lines. Still, the search goes on for parts like ten pieces of good 1200x20 bar grips.... Keep you posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted October 31, 2015 Author Share Posted October 31, 2015 As said, a week ago the ballast box was put back on the truck with a little help from the Ward Lafrance: We are now working on one of the front springs that needed attention as well as on the bumper that could use some extra tlc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freeland Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) Two steps forward, one step back....We decided to remove both front springs as the DT was leaning too much to the left, something we took into account from the beginning: Note the difference...: We also decided to re-overhaul the front bumper as it had too much small cuts and dents to our liking: Other than that, we took care of the screws that attach the brake chambers' equalizers since these were worn and would not sit properly. Also touched up the rear beams with steel filler since in the past someone had obviously tested his angle grinder to remove the post-war tow hooks. And of course much time went again into finding the proper UNF/UNC nuts & bolts for various small parts on and under the truck. On the bright side, I salvaged the original bracket for the fire extinguisher ,:-) just needs a respray: Does anybody know if the bracket is fitted with canvas padding as is the case with for instance the standard rifle holders? Keep you posted, Marco Edited November 18, 2015 by Freeland typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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