Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) WARNING: Pic Heavy Thread Ahead Whilst not quite a full restoration to the level of many on here, I did want to contribute more than just 'for sale' ads to the forum, so here goes! In the Shopland Collection we've had this stalwart vehicle working for many years. It's lately been running erratically, famously conking out from fuel starvation in the DFVS Arena this year, and then a knocking big end meant it had to come out of the running fleet for a while, and cosmetically it needed some work. It's a 1941 Chevrolet Field Artillery Tractor with the beetle back body. This example has been fitted with a Bedford 28hp engine at some point in its life, we believe it was used as a recovery truck in civilian life. The rear body had been cut in the middle to fit a recovery crane, and the two inner rear seats had been removed. The engine was removed by our good friend Pete, and the yard forklift was used to push it into the workshop where the fun could begin. We took the opportunity to paint the floor in between the 4.5" gun leaving and the FAT arriving! The stripdown began on the interior, which was always crowded, filled with junk, and cramped. This fuel tank was due to come out Taking the rear interior panel out made a lot of difference, and meant we could attack the inside and get some fresh paint in there. Edited October 13, 2016 by Corbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Time to clean up grotty hubs and axles and get some primer on there Body was rubbed down and areas of rust dealt with using the wire brush whirlygig thing These hinges were stubborn and needed some heat to get them working again. First coat of primer on, and Rich is working on the roof hatch (the metal on the roof had rusted and the hatch was very porous and not really attached as a result) New bit of metal welded in Primer on the important bits, the engine brace was particularly rotten and has had new metal added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Lots and lots of rubbing down, masking off, priming and painting followed. The door handles were given a freshening up and some oil. The interior started to go green - we wanted to get plenty of paint in here as it would take a battering from kit etc. Seats and other various parts were hung up to get painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 We finally got to put some green on her The windscreens were rather rough but still strong. We didn't have time or facilities to completely rebuild them, so used rust treatment from landroverblogger.com which worked well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Here's how she looked: Which meant Herb could get on with getting the interior in Meanwhile, Pete finished rebuilding the big end with fresh bearings, and the engine was painted. James, Herb and Pete spent a good few hours getting the engine over the axle and in (when it was removed, there was no sump which made it easier) A few nice touches - black radiator and some brasso on the dash labels, and she was ready to go! (well, there was a frantic evening of plumbing in on the engine, and lots of tweaking, but I was too busy to take photos for a change) All ready and hooked up to the 25-pounder for an important trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_bish Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Impressive!!! Fancy coming round to work on my trucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) Would love to however we've got an 'in' tray that would give a secretary a heart attack! So the above brings us up to last week (the truck went in to the workshop in June). We were busy trying to get her finished to take to a special training weekend on Salisbury Plain organised and hosted by The Garrison. It was a great event, perfect opportunity to practice many aspects of WW2 artillery drill and actions. A particular highlight was the convoy barreling down dirt tracks, no sign of the modern world anywhere, with a Piper Cub spotter plane overhead. Unfortunately the Chev got poorly mid way through proceedings on the Saturday, the transmission was making a rattling noise that got worse as the day went on, and there were still issues with fuel delivery when the engine was being worked hard. Luckily our convoy included Sam in his 969a Wrecker 'T Bag' which dragged the limber and gun back to Larkhill so the quad could limp back and be loaded on to the Scania for the journey home. Edited November 11, 2016 by Corbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 The paint job wasn't finished in any case (we had only managed to do one coat before the truck had to go), so the space in the workshop was still vacant. This past Wednesday, Paul almost single handedly removed the transfer case and gearbox, and the main bearing on the input shaft is confirmed as fubar-d. Both will be sent off for a bit of TLC. Meanwhile, Alexi and I rubbed down the paint with a bit of wet and dry, while Rich began installing some subtle indicators (largely hidden in the arches but highly visible when flashing) and dismantled the headlamps - one was inoperable and both needed a clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Shopland Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 If you want to take a closer look at the truck, check out our web site http://www.shoplandcollection.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbs Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) Finally got more paint on the quad! A more even coat. The gearbox and transfer boxes are ready to go back in now. Edited November 11, 2016 by Corbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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