Great War truck

Well that has to be Ron then. Which shows is he going to? Tim

That is a brilliant idea. Armortek turns out runs of only about 50 to 100 of each model and if they could make a realistic one I am sure they would be able to sell that many to re-enactors worldwide. With no need for turret, sound effects and firing weapon I am sure it would not be too expensive. I quite fancy one myself now. Tim

Yes, you are quite right. The chap in the front row second from left is Lord Saye and he was in charge of the signals for an armoured Btn. cant remember which one now.

I think that is the one that went to Overloon.

Here are photos of both types. The simpler curved scuttle: and the more difficult to make one with the rounded corners: I explained how we made the rounded corner scuttle in a previous post (some years ago). Steve came up with the method of making it (which i wont go into here just go back to the earlier part of the thread). Since then we have been able to study an original Dennis rounded scuttle and we can see that the original method of construction was very similar to the one that Steve devised. Tim

Here are some pictures from 1998 of the only restored Dennis subsidy lorry. It was a very long restoration and during the course of it someone stole the original water pump.

Tony has been keeping himself busy. The Oil Filler Plugs for the two rear hubs were missing and he has made these up and fitted them. They of course still have to be painted.

The casting of the mounting we were a bit worried about, due to the hole in it: The foundry said it was a very awkward shape to cast. However, looking at the original that we copied for a pattern you can see that there has to be a hole cut there anyway to access the gland: which was nice. So no problem there then and all very satisfying. The next lot of patterns are ready to go to the foundry, but we wont be able to get them cast for a couple of weeks.

We have the first three castings back from the foundry. Here we have the impeller: and the cover: Everything here seems to be fine, just needs a clean up. Very pleased with it all.

That is incredible. Where did you find that?

I remember a lot of harry Pounds stuff was brought up and sold there. Dont think it made very good prices. But at least it released some MV's on to the market. Tim

Yes. An excellent book.

I think it looks great. i would certainly have it as a daily run about. Not sure about the blue wheels though. A bit too Gallic? Tim

Tony has finished off the second universal coupling end cover:

Here is another Dennis photo. As you can see the lorry has suffered some damage. Saying that, the radiator and gear change still look to be in good condition. The engine can be just made out as well. I am sure that Steve could get it running again in an afternoon, if he could only find the back end. This wartime black and white photograph has been colourised by the very talented Chris Foster and used here with his permission. Thanks Chris. Tim

Thats a nice picture of a Lancia. One of 7 converted to run on the railway. Top speed of 45 mph forwards and 20 in reverse. Six of the seven were later converted back to run on the road. The axles were widened to run on the 5 foot 3" gauge of Irish railways. Thanks for posting that. Tim

Something that you might be able to help us with is locating as original steering wheel. Here are a couple of pictures of it. It has a 5/8" square hole in the middle, five spokes and is 18" in diameter. It should look a bit like this:

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. Dont be downhearted Chris. We still have three more trucks to restore and need plenty more bearings of all sorts. We will be in contact in due course. To keep the enthusiasm going, here is reminder of what we are aiming for: And this is what happens if you drive them too fast on a bumpy road: The same affect is acheived if you get hit by a German shell.

Quite agree. What an amazing bridge. I wonder whether supplied with an infinite amount of Bailey and plenty of manpower if Engineering Officers would push the boundaries to see how big a bridge they could create. Here are some interesting photos:

Fantastic job you are doing there. How many WLF's ended up in Switzerland and when were they pensioned off. Tim

Everything seems to be coming along quite well, but lots and lots of little jobs to do. Steve has made the nut for the clutch thrust bearing, as per the original drawing (look at the date in the corner). Quite amazingly, he had the 1/4" grub screw in stock and even more amazingly was able to find it. We needed a couple of thrust races, but Tony did some rummaging around and found exactly the right ones in a box of NOS bearings he bought years ago for just a couple of quid. It will save us a few pounds in not having to buy some (sorry Chris). Over the years we have accumulated a vast stock of bits and pieces which would otherwise have ended up as scrap. If we only ever use just a tiny proportion of it all we will have had a good return on our investment. I notice that the number of hits on this thread jumped up overnight by about 160. If any of you want to ask questions or suggest a better way of doing things we would always be delighted to hear from you. Thanks Tim

Thanks Ben It is amazing what original drawings have survived, so many thanks to you for finding them. Tony phoned the Foundry this morning to see if the castings were ready - they promise for Tuesday morning. So pending their arrival, he pushed on with the Universal Coupling end covers. These were cut from 5/16" mild steel plate. We require two identical ones - to eventually to be split into 4 halves - so the two have been cut out machined back to back as far as possible. After drilling the four fixing holes and drilling and tapping a hole for the Oil Filler Plug, the two were bored out together for the final diameter to take the shaft. They then have to be set up on a 45degrees Angle Plate so that a "Vee" slot can be machined along the centre line. We have the original drawing of this item as this is the method originally specified. The "vee" goes deep enough to allow just 1/32" thickness of metal remaining along which line the discs are split into halves. One disc now finished and the other just to have the "Vee" machined into it. And finally the Oil Filler Plugs to make.

Not a lot of moeny i am sure, but i (as would many others) be interested in seeing pictures of it. Whereabouts is it? Thanks Tim

Patton museum it will be then. One hell of a long drive but you have to do these things. I am sure that it will be worth it when we get there. Tim

The water pump patterns are now complete and have had two coats of 'Bondaprime'. This is really an anti-rust primer but works very well on MDF as the first coat soaks in deeply and hardens the surface. This can then be rubbed back to a good surface and the second coat applied. A final polish with some wire wool and the patterns are ready for the foundry.