Tamber

With my usual good luck and amazing care(!), I've managed to break my oil pressure switch. (Connected the *switch* wire to the battery feed, rather than the other side of the light bulb. :embarrassed: What a moron.) Now it's reading open constantly, which is not a good thing. I've pulled it out, and measured the thread, and would just like a little bit of a sanity check on my results. My thread gauges say it's Whitworth, 18TPI 'G 5/16', and it's tapered... I did write down what I measured it as, but can't find that piece of paper any more. (It's probably still at work...) Anybody know what thread it actually is; or -- in a less roundabout route -- where I could get a new oil pressure switch? (I'm going to try at the local parts place tomorrow, just in case they can find one.)

Mini-update! First signs of life! Okay, it's only those lights, and the starter solenoid, but it's the start of a long journey. The engine cranks over much much better with the solenoid than it ever did with the old starter button; but I've yet to fire her up since I last parked her up last week. I also drained the fuel tank, and yuk :-X Came out looking like morning pee; and stunk something unmentionable. Also, since I brutally mangled the drain plug removing it, I now have a grease-nipple stuck in the bottom of the fuel tank because it happened to be the same thread. It's the little things...

A tiny, miniscule amount of progress made on the brakes... I applied air to the outlet of the master cylinder, and tried to blow the piston out of the back after I removed the circlip. Well, it didn't come out (though plenty of foul-smelling oil did) -- it looks like there's a ridge of corrosion at the rear of the cylinder -- but it's now freed up and springs back like it should if I press it in with my thumb. Hooray, I guess. I've got to dig up/make a jack stand that'll take the weight of the truck, then I'll start pulling the wheel cylinder + brake shoes on each corner. I'm aiming to keep the truck as a roller throughout the process, as much as possible; so only one wheel off at a time. That way I can still move it if required; while I sort out the brake cylinders and shoes. Sunday's Update: New, pretty battery-box! Remains of the old one in the background... New, not-quite-so-pretty-anymore battery-box sorta welded in! It's not fully welded in as much as I'd like it to be, but it's solid enough that it holds the battery up; and it will do the job sufficiently until I can rebuild the rotten floor around it and it becomes fully welded in. I would've liked to have fixed more of it; but I was already at the workshop until 1900H, and didn't have much light remaining... and didn't want to leave my big yellow hulk blocking the doorway when everyone turned up in the morning. That'd get me one hell of an earbashing. (Especially since they'd not be able to move it... :angel: They'd have to figure out how to power up the fuel pump and the ignition coil, then figure out where the starter switch is, then figure out they'd need to bridge that with something because the switch doesn't work any more... then they'd have had to drive the whole heavy thing with no brakes all the way back to the compound, whereupon they would've run out of fuel exactly where I did, blocking the gateway into the compound. :rofl: Case in point: ) I did manage to drop the battery through the floor when what remained of the old battery box ceased to do its job; but the damage appears to only be cosmetic... no leaking, anyway. Today's Update: Got some electrical parts in, so set about with that for a while this afternoon. New positive battery lead in, routed through the cable hole in the floor and around to the new solenoid that replaces the dead starter button. Once I have all the wiring in, I'll make sure it's all properly protected from abrasion and the like; but it makes life easier for it to be out in the open for now. The twin brown wires on the battery side of the starter solenoid are the output from the alternator, the thinner red wire from that stud is the feed forwards to the fuse-box -- it'll terminate at one of two insulated studs that I'll use to feed the fuses; the other insulated stud will be ignition lives, connected to the battery live stud by a beefy relay that's switched by the ignition key. (I'll have to get the diagram drawn up, it should be a bit clearer then.) Started running the wires for oil pressure switch (black/red); alternator field feed (green/black), via the ignition warning light; the starter solenoid switch feed (green/red); and a nice large feed to where the new fuse and relay box will be. Then it really started hammering it down, and I decided I was too cold and wet to want to keep struggling with those wires as my fingers went numb; so I just draped them all off the carb and went home for some warmth. The drips/puddles on the floor (and inlet manifold) that you can see, aren't from the roof; but the seal around the top of the windscreen. However, there are a few places that the roof is now see-through; and inevitably, the drips will come through those just as your bare neck is placed right below them... :shake:

Bet there were a few red faces after that! Goes to show the truth in the malicious little book of wisdom, and its Rule 11: "Everything is air-droppable at least once".

From what I've heard, oils and greases are right out because they attract grit and grime that turns into almost an abrasive compound, wearing things out quicker than without the lube. Supposedly, the best thing to use is a dry powder lubricant, like graphite.

I haven't had a chance to start trying to pull the master apart, but I would be incredibly surprised if there wasn't any corrosion to the bore in it; especially considering the rusty brown gunge that was built up in the back of it. (Some corrosion is pretty much a given, with brake fluid's wonderful ability to pull moisture from the air.) I'll have to see if the machine-shop next door will bore and sleeve it, once I've gotten it apart and cleaned up. Likewise, I've not even started trying to get to the slave cylinders yet; though my current plan is to work through them one corner at a time, starting with the fronts, as they're the least scary-looking in the manual. :blush: Anyway, managed to pop the lid off the top of the reservoir and discover a black ooze that smelt vaguely like fish. Maybe, at one point, it was brake fluid... Slapped that lid back on, wire wheeled the rust off it all and gave it a quick coat of red primer; at least that way, it's not encrusting everything with grunge while it's sitting around. I'll have to get some pictures now it's cleaned up, and see if I can find something that looks like a part number. Well, that could be very handy; I'll have to remember that.

Don't worry, I'm definitely going to be keeping the yellow paint job. DBG is nice, but I just can't see my truck in it. (Though it most definitely was in it. Underneath all that yellow; the inside of the roof -- where it was covered by the roof lining; etc.) Update of the Day I've pulled the brake servo and master cylinder apart... well, the master cylinder off the servo, and dismangled the servo. Rusty brake fluid puked out of back of the master cylinder, so the seals are clearly well and truly shot. m/c was set aside for now while I focussed on the servo. Mmmmh, schmoo. To start with, the linkage to the brake pedal was just flopping about uselessly, and the rod to push on the back of the master cylinder wasn't going anywhere in a hurry; so I pulled off the cylindrical bit on the front, that runs parallel to the master cylinder. Caution: It contains a spring-a-mathing, and it sprung-a-mathung, even though I was expecting it and was bracing. I did manage to keep hold of all the pieces, though. Next move was to remove the other big daft chamber thing; again I braced for spring-a-mathinging, but there wasn't any this time. Plenty of crud, though. :-X But this let me peer into the mechanism. Nothing too complex; but that fixed pin on the right was definitely unhappy. Plenty of corrosion around one end of it; probably where it's been steeped in gunge for the last however-long. Over my lunch break, I dragged the mechanism-y bit and the Big Daft Chamber over to the pressure washer and gave it a good blasting down; which made it easier to handle. Then I used my 3 pm break to wire-brush the rust off -- 4" grinder and a wire cup brush FTW! Just be really careful that it doesn't snag an edge and kick back, or you lose fingerprints and sizeable chunks of flesh before you can say "Ow" --, and paint, the outside of the pneumatic assist piston's cylinder; looks rather nice, now, in satin black. Anyway, then I had to get the mechanism working again. I broke out the hot air-gun and gave it some warmth, and a lot of penetrating oil. After three or four goes around with this routine -- eyes watering heavily in the fumes of vapourising Double TT -- I eventually got it to start moving! With this wind in my sails, I broke out the air-gun, and started applying pressure to the assist piston. Whereupon it went to the end of its travel, and stuck there. Damn. Cue levering on the mechanism to reset it, and a few more cycles of heat & oil, and behold! The port I first applied pressure to, the wrong one, is the outlet of a little valve that's acted upon by the underside of the linkage to feed controlled air pressure to the assist ram. I still need to get a fitting or two out of the BDC, such as the main air feed pipe to it, which I have managed to snap the top off... without budging it even slightly in the threaded boss. (I tried heat & penetrating oil, put the right size spanner on it -- the ring end, even! -- and all I did was round the top of it off. So then I broke out the stilsons, and broke the top right off it. Ah well, these things are sent to try us.) Since there's no mechanical linkage between the BDC and the servo, the only purpose I can think that it serves is as an accumulator or other reservoir of air for the brake assist; so, in the worst case, I can cannibalise the chamber to turn it into a cover for the rear of the mechanism, and use another small air receiver -- with appropriate valving, etc. -- to replace it. And more wire-brushing uncovered... Cast in "AP 7374" and stamped "APGA5183 1971 REV4". A quick search has revealed nothing enlightening about those markings. Perhaps enlightenment shall be found on the master cylinder; underneath its total skin of rust.

The section of manual I copied that diagram out of is the section for the air-assist brakes, unfortunately. However, it's the 1955 manual, so I do wonder how much has changed in the later ones.

I more meant that I wasn't anticipating much trouble with getting parts for the wheel cylinders. Sorry for the confusion. :-) Even if they weren't potentially bad, I'd still go through them and change the seals; it doesn't make sense not to, considering how long it's sat. Definitely going for new cupro-nickel brake lines, too; the old steel ones are totally shot. I keep twisting them off while trying to undo fittings. (I'm also planning on replacing the air lines with modern nylon pipe, while I'm in there.) Mini-update from today: The alternator works; it's a little on the edge at idle, with the filament in the charging warning light pulsing very faintly, but I suspect that's mostly because the pulley is effectively larger than it should be due to where the belt sits in it, and that's slowing it down just enough so that it only barely charges at idle. Not a massive problem, though. I've also freed off the windscreen, so both sides now open; though it's all a little tiny bit crusty. More little bits to disassemble and clean up, at some point. Yay! :rolleyes: Also, the latch for the engine cover now turns! So now I can consider re-fitting that, once all my wiring's done. On the downside, the ...antique yellow Dulux coach paint in one of the side lockers has started to leak where it's eaten through the bottom of the tin; and it now looks like I've cracked an oversized egg down the side of the truck. :rofl: Eww...

A quick scan of the interblags -- I don't feel the need to phone people up and annoy them asking for prices, when I'm this far away from needing it -- puts it at just about £25/meter for 18mmø 6x36 wire rope; which is about equivalent to what came off. (When I'm nearer to needing the winch rope, I'll have a proper look around.) The 1958 handbook says the winch rope would be 250 feet of 11/16ths diameter 6x37 rope wire rope; and the WSM claims it should have a breaking strain of 16-1/2 tons, and have a 6 foot red-painted section. I did notice the remnants of the red paint while dragging it all out. Doesn't look like there's 250 feet there, though. That's definitely something I'll bear in mind; Hmm. That sounds promising; I'll have to clean the master cylinder and servo up a bit better and see if I can find some part numbers to narrow it down a bit closer. The wheel cylinders, I'm not expecting to have too much trouble with; but we shall see.

Now to work on getting it to stop. Doesn't quite look like the one in the manual, somehow... The master cylinder should be easy enough to figure out and get a rebuild kit for; it has "Clayton Dewandre" cast into the side of the fluid reservoir, but I've not yet cleaned it up to have a better look at. It's currently just sitting on the healing bench; getting in my way. (I subscribe to AvE's "Empire of Dirt" organisational scheme, as may be obvious. :blush: ) Hopefully, when I clean it up, I'll find some other markings, or a plate, of some description that helps me figure out what bits I'm going to need to get in order to make it all work again. I also managed to get the winch turning again, and hoiked off all the manky old winch rope. It's not gone in the scrap skip (yet?); but it's unlikely I'd be putting it back on. It's started to fray in patches, and it's got kinks in it; so I'd really rather not try and use it. Call me paranoid if you will -- some of my more ...stingy co-workers are; and I've been told that as soon as I price up a new wire rope for the winch, I'll be putting the old one back on. *eyeroll* -- but I'd really rather not have a winch cable snap if I decide to use the winch for something. (Apparently, in their minds, the only thing this truck will ever get used for is to go to shows and look pretty; so I only need a winch rope to sit on a drum and look the part. To be honest, I haven't thought far enough ahead to worry about what I'm going to use it for, but I'd rather like to be able to use the winch if I need to. I'll burn that bridge when I get to it, though.)

I'm also very very glad it's worked out so far. It wouldn't have been a deal-breaker, but it certainly would've been frustrating. I shall try to take more photos, and keep a better record, of what I manage to get done. Though there's not too much to show, so far.

Thanks, doug! There were no signs of a dropped valve, thankfully. Either it's a case of mistaken identity on the vehicle, or it was fixed at some point in the past. Progress is somewhat slow, but I'll just keep plodding on. A good lump of progress was actually made today; I got a phone-call from Phoenix Radiators this afternoon, and picked up a nice shiny rebuilt radiator. (My wallet cried a little; but it can suck it up. ) Which I rushed to work to fit (stopping along the way to get some more coolant/antifreeze.), in a fit of giddiness. (The scuff is my fault. Terribly embarrassing; but no leak caused. :blush: ) Only one small leak when all filled up, and that was a hose-clamp that was slightly loose. Brought up to temperature, and turned around, with no major drama; though it was a little bit of a struggle, having to do a loop around the cherry-picker someone parked next to it. Mirrors might be a good thing to fix next; but at least now she's fully mobile, so I can also run her up to the workshop to start on the rust & bodywork repairs. The underside of the cab floor on the passenger's side is worse than I first thought; but there's enough solid metal there that I'm not having to do a full reconstruction. One step at a time, though.

As I understand it, the destruction of the prop comes down to harmonics (or words to that effect); so that it really depends on the length -- and diameter -- of each span of prop, the speed at which it's being spun, any unbalance in that span, and a few other things I'm sure I've missed. Maybe it's possible to balance it very very well, so that you reduce the risk of causing unhappiness... but probably not enough to give you a great deal of safety margin if you're already close to the critical speed (i.e. the point at which your underpants have a critical moment as the prop does things you would rather it not.) fairly often. Making the span shorter by, say, adding an intermediate bearing and necessarily going to a 2-piece propshaft would increase the speed you'd need to spin it before you got into trouble once more; ideally increasing the speed to something utterly infeasible for you to reach. The other thing you could change would be the diameter of the prop tube. Going to a larger diameter moves the critical speed to higher RPMs; hopefully high enough to make it not a problem any more.

Well, that's very encouraging to know! Feels like I'm getting closer and closer to my goal; even though I still have a long way to go yet. In other -- and slightly older -- news, I tentatively drove it 'round to the other end of work last week to run it over the weighbridge, just as a matter of curiosity. ---------------------- 13:13:25 25 Mar 16 Vehicle: 5970kg Number of axles: 2 Axle 1: 2480kg Axle 2: 3490kg Speed: 0.8km/h ---------------------- I know it'll weigh a bit more, when the radiator and all the coolant is back in (I had to bodge a temporary cooling system while it's all out. The temperature gauge and thermostat seem to work marvellously, though!), and all the rust is removed to be replaced by solid metal... but that doesn't seem a bad weight! Also, she's a loud beastie (I couldn't hear the engine over the carb's whistling. That's probably less obnoxious when there's an actual intake system and air-filter, I imagine.), but not too bad to steer when moving, even with the soft tyres. An utter pig when nearly at a stand-still, though; to absolutely nobody's surprise. Edit: Finally found out what that completely painted-over plate on the side of the body says! "Body, 3 ton, GS, Cargo with winch, FV13105, Cont No. 6/Veh/26156/CB 27A", which would make it (originally) a drop-side body, I think. No remnants of a serial number, though. I should note, I don't believe the deep-scratches are from me trying to clean it up. I used a finer wire wheel than that; and from varying directions. And cleaned off most of the paint covering the MoS plate; resorting to thumb-nail scraping to avoid doing damage to the plate when most of the big flakes of paint were off . Had to stitch together two pictures to cover it all; but no biggie.

I ran down to the industrial estate where it's sat, today, and wriggled my way in to try get at the MoS plate on the chassis. After failing to get a rubbing, but being very sure I could almost read what was stamped into it; I incredibly carefully started wire-brushing... checking, after a bit, that it wasn't destroying the plate at the same time. And I've cleared it up enough to read at least two bits of information, and partial bits of some more. The bits I can read are: The chassis number, and what appears to be a registration number. As far as I can decipher it, it's 11 CE 32. But the RLC archive says it can't find it. Damn. Felt like I was getting so close. (I also tried a few other permutations, just in case. No luck there, either.) Looks like I'll be spending some more quality time under the truck with a wire brush, delicately cleaning all the paint off that plate until I can read the whole thing. I hadn't even noticed the other info that the picture picks up... I think I might have to take the storage bin out of the way first, and make my life a little easier. But I know how that goes... I'll spend all day trying to take the storage bin off, because it'll be easier than spending all day trying to ...yeah.

Well, the radiator shop just called me back; the bad news is worse than expected. It's not leaking from the end-tank. :undecided: It's leaking from the core, running down the side of the radiator -- under the steel strap that mounts it to the truck -- then pouring out at the bottom. :cry: Going to have the radiator re-cored with a modern core; so it should be good for at least another 30 years, hopefully. I suppose I could've gone on a hunt for a similarly sized (, etc.) modern radiator that I could maybe make fit; but at least this way is less hassle, even if it does mean I'm going to be doing a good bit of overtime in the next few weeks. Nobody said it was going to be easy, or cheap. :red:

Bracket for back of alternator made. Lopped the ear off the existing bracket for the dynamo, extended the bracket 30mm and stuck the ear back on 10mm taller than it was. Radiator re-fitted, re-installed, and re-filled. And that's as far as I got, because everything I put back in the radiator poured out of the bottom. :undecided: I've taken it to Phoenix radiators in Chorley; preliminary assessment is that it's just the bottom tank has split, but I'll find out more tomorrow. Did seize on the chance to make more noise, though; and drive about a little bit more. At just a trundle, the steering is ...a bit heavy. Once the radiator's in, I'll get a chance to see what it's like when I'm moving a bit faster. Hoping that the radiator is just a simple repair job, so I can have it back tomorrow and have the truck moving about; because I am incredibly eager to see what I get when I roll over the weighbridge with it. (Which shall take some finesse, considering the braking ability, or lack thereof...)

Update of the week! ...ish. Fuel pump arrived, and is bodge-wired in. (It's all bodge-wires, but at least fused, until I get the Grand Rewiring done.) Alternator turned up yesterday afternoon; so that's mostly fit. Not quite the right pulley for the belt, but it'll do. The local parts place had a new belt in stock! Slightly too short, with the alternator; which seems to be slightly chunkier -- but shorter -- than the dynamo. It'll do. So, of course, I had to have a little play... [video=youtube;SJ_Uh-LrEag] Today's plan is: Make up a little bracket to support the rear of the alternator; I'll probably use most of the old one I took off that supported the dynamo. Re-fit the radiator, and put the coolant back in. Go for a tentative trundle around the industrial estate, maybe.

Yeah, checked this morning, and the wheels currently on the truck are ten-lug; as are the spares in the bed with the 11.00x20s on. Well, one of the spares looks like it's got a dual lug pattern drilled in it; looks like Swiss-cheese, actually. :undecided: Anyway! As for the winch handle... Hope that clears things up a little bit.

Interesting; I'd not counted the number of bolt-holes on the spares, I'll have to do that while I'm grabbing a winch handle to take pictures of. Memory says they're all 10-bolt, though; but it's been wrong before.

I'll get a few photographs (and measurements, if I can) of the winch handle(s) I've got, when I'm next in the yard; but it's a pretty simple thing, from memory... the most complex part is the dog on the end of it that connects up to the winch. That's a good thought; I'm sure it couldn't hurt to see what they say. As for an update: Not much, at the moment. Buckled prop-shaft is out... At some point, when I'm closer to having it drivable, I'll drop it off somewhere to see what they say about making it more... er... prop-shaft shaped. I got the ancient and crusty radiator hose chiselled off, and the metal pipe bits cleaned up -- painted, too, in the case of the steel one -- with some new bits of radiator hose applied where appropriate. Not entirely all back together yet, though... I don't want to put the radiator back in until I've got an alternator fitted, simply because I have plenty of access and light without the radiator in the way; and I'm expecting some fiddling about making/tweaking brackets and such-forth to line up the pulley. Plus, this should prevent me causing damage to the radiator while trying to make everything fit. Not yet decided what alternator I'm going to use, but it'll probably be whatever's cheapest that I can get to fit. I can't foresee huge electrical demands, so something in the region of 55A will probably do just fine. I'm also still making up my new electrical 'schematic', which I'll share when it's complete if there's any interest; but it's probably a little over-engineered for most, I'd suspect. (Vehicle electrics is something I do a lot of and quite enjoy, for the most part) After I get the alternator and electric fuel pump put in, radiator reinserted and plumbed, and enough of the rewiring done to get the important bits working; I'll see if I can get the engine to run on liquid fuel through the carb, and if successful, I will probably make a very slow and careful lap of the industrial estate. Then I'll probably attack it with the power washer, and remove a lot of the built up gunge around everything; makes it a lot easier to see where the grease-nipples are, for one... EDIT: Ooh! And if it moves under its own power, I can run it over the weigh-bridge and actually get a weight ticket for it. Further edit: I did manage to finish the oil-change, btw. An equivalent filter element is readily available, via the usual parts stores; I took the old one in -- stamped AC 72 in the top -- and they got a Sogefi FA3448; but there are apparently quite a few different equivalents

Welding a chassis -- both when shortening/lengthening a truck, and as a repair -- is still fairly common these days; and the body-builder's manuals (if you can ever find them! Probably not, for the older stuff.) will generally contain a section somewhere concerning procedures for doing so. Usually right after telling you not to do it. But the general summary of the procedures, as ruggyjohn hit right on the head, is: low-hydrogen rods, if you're using stick Make sure both sides of the join are cleaned back to bare metal with no crud, paint, or rust. Bevel the edges that you're welding, to ensure full penetration welds 45° cuts for splices, if possible Try to reduce the amount of heat you put into the chassis -- it not only creates the risk of distortion but might affect the strength of the steel, since truck chassis' are usually an alloy steel, or heat-treated Dress the welds of splices flat with the parent metal and add fish-plates (ideally bolted) on both inside and outside (if it's C-section, but I've not seen many truck chassis' that aren't. ) that extend a minimum of 8 inches either side of the joint. We've never had a truck break in two after following the above. (I'm sure I've jinxed it now. :blush:)

Don't worry, I've seen how bad it can end up. I'm not just blindly stumbling ahead on that. (The concern is appreciated, however.)

I think I'm a way off dealing with the DVLA yet, but I'm definitely open to as much advice about dealing with them as possible; I've seen a lot of stories of things not working out as expected... they can be quite difficult to deal with at times. (I should note, I'm also getting advice elsewhere too, from someone who's also had a lot of dealings with the DVLA. Kapri on Rods n Sods, in case you know him.) The RLC isn't on the V765 list, and neither is the Bedford Owners and Enthusiasts Club, as far as I can tell. But I'll get a V55/5 ordered anyway; that way, it might be here by the time I get it done enough to start figuring out the paperwork nightmare. Yes! :laugh: (As for further updates on what's been done on the truck: half of an oil change. It was black as the night, stinks of petrol, but at least was still liquid and there was plenty of it. Half-filled a 25-litre plastic hydraulic-oil drum that was laid on its side as a drain tray. Then managed to drop the filter when I finally got the housing to break free of its crust... Sploosh. Black up to my wrists... Waiting on a new oil filter to turn up at the parts place. I'll be getting that at 0930 Friday.)