Great War truck

Oh Bu***r it. I wished that i had bought it when i had the chance. This one came back from Ireland and had been used by the Black and Tans. Tim (too)

Quite true, but isnt it truly amazing what they could achieve with the basic tools that they had then? Following a clean up of the splines the gauge fitted rather well: So we have gone ahead with the manufacture of the actual coupling by wire erosion. It is being done even as i write this and should be finished by tomorrow morning. Looking forwards to seeing it when it is finished. Here is the blank in the machine.

Was it Mike Sutcliffes old one? Tim (too)

We mentioned earlier that the new splined coupling was to be made by wire erosion - Steve prepared a drawing of the spline by measuring the spline on the worm and this was handed to the EDM Wirecutter Specialist. This was satisfactory for his purpose and he has firstly prepared a template which he has cut in 5/16" Gauge Plate for us to test on the spline. This has only arrived today and a first attempt to slip it onto the spline has failed as it is very tight. The actual coupling will not be cut until we are satisfied that it will fit. It appears that the spline on the worm is not as clean as we thought that it was and that there is still some dirt and rust in the corners to be removed. Then it will be tried again. The quality of this wire erosion is remarkable and the cleanness of the cutting is very apparent in the photo.

Interestingly, we met up with the two chaps who had the FWD HAR01 and were looking at the photos that Nick Bladwin took of their yard and published in Old Motor in the late 60's or early 70's. Their fleet was full of ex military stuff and was quite amazing. One of their first vehicles was an ex WD FWD Model B. The rad had a distinctive licence plate mounted on it. We suddenly realised that we had been looking at this rad a few days previously as it is located in our garage. Their yard is in Somerset (outside Crewkerne) and was cleared about 20 years ago. We had a look at it then but all the interesting stuff had gone by then. The FWD rad was bought by a friend from whom we later bought it. The owners of this yard still have a pair of SUCO's to restore, but they previously owned the Humber Hexonaut (which is now in the USA). When i wandered around the yard there was a rotten CMP and a matador and numerous old chassis. The Matador was so rotten the chassis had collapsed under the weight of the engine. i wish i had taken some photos. There were lots of other interesting vehicles which have gone into preservation, but many moew were srapped. I am certainly looking forwards to seeing their SUCO which they say will be ready next year. Tim (too)

Yes, very true. It looked to be a very professional job and certainly saved it from an otherwise early death. Interestingly, these old shepherds huts have become very collectable and lots of wealthy city people are buying them up, putting them in their back gardens and turning them into childrens play rooms, guest accomodation, studios etc. It used to be old gypsy caravans that everyone wanted but i guess they have become too expensive now. I saw one sell recently for about £60,000. In fact there is a local company to me making new shepherd huts on old veteran truck chassis. If it saves a few more WW1 truck chassis from being scrapped that cant be a bad thing.

Getting the Thornycroft out of the woods was a bit of a drag, but we got it on to the wagon in the end: However, once we had it in place a problem was identified: The chassis was just a little bit to long to get it safely on to the wagon. This sadly is what happened next: We had to cut the last two feet off of the chassis. Heartbraking: After an uneventful journey it arrived home: Not anticipating the hurricane that was to hit the country in the near future, the Thornycroft was wrapped up against the weather: This nice new tarpaulin was to be ripped to shreds in the storm while the elderly next door neigbour grappled with it in an attempt to secure it. Sadly without success, but luckily the neigbour did not get blown away. Not long later we decided to build a shed.

We knew of this Thornycroft chassis's existence from a friend, but it was on private land. Tony and friend went to go and have a look at it, but were confronted by an armed game keeper who thought they were poaching, which then required some explanation. Anyway, to cut a long story short they contacted the owner about the "old lorry" on his land and arranged to go and have a look at it. They were shown a Bedford OY tanker which is what the owner thought they wanted to buy and they had to explain about the shepherds hut and the chassis underneath. A deal was reached and the chassis purchased but the whole site had to be cleared and made good, which involved some extra work. Although the chassis was in good condition, the springs had suffered over the years: Steve had to do a temporary fix to keep the whole thing together for the jorney out of the woods: The wheels had sunk in a little bit which required some digging: Then the cladding had to be taken off the sides: Looking a bit better now: The plan was to get the whole lot to tip off and then collapse under its own weight: sadly this did not go according to plan as it just ended up with a 45 degrees list: Tony gave it a quick brush off so as not to scatter the motorway with lumps of wood and nails: Then we hitched it up to the lorry and the lorry moved for the first time in goodness knows how many years:

Not aware of anything surviving. There are several photos taken at Gallipoloi showing barges being used.

Right. I have finally dug out some photo albums and scanned some more pictures. One thing that is not apparent until you start looking at old photos is that with a digital camera you do take a lot more pictures than you would ever do with a film camera. Anyway, once we got it home, the project looked a bit daunting and Steve did not have much in return for his investment: Chassis and gearbox: Front axle was good: Front wheels and tyres were good, but fuel tank had a hole in it: After making some phonecalls Steve found a guy who had scrapped a correct Thorny M4 engine the day before. However, with the sun shining on the righteous, Steve found most of a correct engine up in Lincoln (i think it was Lincoln -Steve will correct me). it was however missing both cylinder blocks. With some more luck he turned up another front and back axle and the corresponding wheels: The back axle was not bad, the rest was a bit poorly: Then a real stroke of luck - a shed: A shepherds hut in fact: A really good find and purchase. This will be the basis of the restoration.

Excellent. That should reveal its history and possibly date it. I see that it has the large brush guard mounted on the front. That looks to be a military addition, but the way it has been mounted is different from what i have seen before. While you are taking photos, do get one of the rear tow hook as that might also indicate an ex military heritage. Tim (too)

Hi Steve Thanks for the very interesting pictures. The original wheels for the FWD's were made out of wood. However, with the enormous demand made on FWD to churn out their trucks their wheelwrights could not keep up with the demand, so they contracted out the making of the wheels to other companies. I think there are four different types of wheel used. Wooden spoke, metal disc, round metal spoke and angular metal spokes like those in your photos. The first ones that went to Hawaii would have had wooden spokes, but were no doubt replaced with metal spokes when the climate got to them (wooden spokes dont last well). Hope that helps Tim (too)

Thanks for stopping in Jeff. We are nearly there to making the FWD Model B the most common vehicle amongst forum members (well, maybe with just a bit more time). Tim (too)

That is nice to see. It looks to be in pretty good condition. To find out more about the truck, does it have any surviving data plates. These are mounted on the inside of the scuttle and should look like this: When you say it is too heavy to move, are the wheels turning at all, or is everything locked up solid? Anyway, there are several FWD owners that post on here so i am sure that someone will be able to offer you some help. John is down in Texas (sometimes) so he might be quite close to you. Tim (too)

Whats the story behind this one? It looks like it has snapped in half?

Yes, you are well on the way now. Or at least well on the way into the shed. Good luck. Love to see how this goes.

Good luck with that. Certainly a truck worth saving.

What an amazing find. It is incredible what turns up some time. Tim (too)

Thats the one. Well done. About 4 minutes and 20 seconds into the show. It is the same FWD that was used in the film Zeppelin. Tim (too)

Rob Can you identify the episode from this list: http://www.itv.com/ITVPlayer/Programmes/default.html?ViewType=1&Filter=365 You will have to be quick mind as they start dropping off the end. Thanks Tim (too)

The Torque Mounting Flange on the Diff case was heavily corroded and although the rust was removed when sand blasted, it left the face quite pitted and uneven. As this joint is highly stressed when in service, we were concerned that the surfaces would not meet closely enough to prevent the flanges from cracking. We have therefore, arranged for a friend with a large horizontal milling machine to skim the face flat. As the back axle is connected to the chassis by a torque tube, there is no universal joint between the propellor shaft and the differential. The connection is made by a piece of thick tube with an internal spline. We described earlier that we were going to be faced with replacing this as it had been exposed to the elements and there has been significant corrosion. We decided to make the "blank" ourselves and have the splines cut by wire erosion - a special form of spark erosion. A 80mm piece of EN8 has been turned down to to 2 7/8" diameter, a 1" hole has been put right through it to allow the wire to be fed through, and one end has been counterbored for lubrication purposes. This blank will now got to the Specialist to be completed. Tim (too)

I have just received some further information on this subject. I am currently awaiting photographic evidence to prove this but i understand that some certain Champ owners have not been exactly playing fair. Jack warned me about you Champ owners! I wish i had listened to his sound advice! Tim (too)

Interesting question Rob, and exactly the same one was raised in this Months MMI. I know of one that was used in the film Zepellin and wonder if this was the set that they ran by. As to which one it is, i am not yet sure, but i will try and find out. Tim (too)

I expect that you are right in that. I used to live on an Island many many years ago and historically they would get rid of old cars by pushing them off a cliff into the sea. I think they banned that practice a long time ago and now take everything back to the mainland. It would make perfect sense to load all of these ex military trucks onto a ship and dump them at sea. It is also quite possible that the other vehicles that you have seen might not be military at all, but i am very much looking forwards to seeing pictures of them. For the FWD to land on all of its wheels really is quite remarkable as it must have tumbled as it descended to the bottom. Interesting to see that it has a cast iron rad as opposed to the brass one that they were initially issued with in 1917, but this was no doubt a later replacement as the brass ones cracked very easily. Tim (too)

The Honiton Hill show is the only event that we take all of our (restored) trucks and the mini Land Rover to. As this currently numbers three it is a bit of an exercise. Steve and I come down and with Big Mark and Tony we go off in convoy (i drive the real Landy for back-up which you will see comes in useful). The day before the show we pulled all three trucks out of the shed to prepare them. The civvy Autocar not having been run for 24 Months started quite easily, but then the water pump seized. Steve and Tony took it out and rebuilt it ready for the show on the following day. All three trucks got there without any difficulty, although the FWD was beginning to overheat as we arrived. The weather deterioated to rain, then thick mist which detracted from the event somewhat. There were about 25 MV's in all including some really quite interesting ones. A highlight of the day was meeting a chap who's Grandfather used to be an FWD driver. He brought a photo of him and had a go sitting in the cab. We also met the Daughter of another FWD owner who had come a long way to see ours working. Theirs currently has a problem but we should be able to help. Then the problems started. The mini Landrover kept blowing fuses and then gave up the ghost. Not sure what the problem is yet, but we carried that one home. The grey Autocar - being without chains and having smooth tyres spun in the mud and had to be hauled out to the gate with the Land Rover. The FWD had similar problems and engaging the diff lock made little difference (we need chains). In a peak of intelligence i stuck some floor mats from the Landy under the wheels and that gave it enough bite to get moving (for a bit - we then repeated the process). Our leasurely exit obviously perturbed some people, as one lady made a gesture which i presume suggested that only one axle was being driven. I of course made a returning gesture demonstrating that two axles were in fact being driven. That seemed to settle the matter. However, on the way home the FWD stalled on a hill and would not start. Eventually and to my embarassment we had to make a tow start with the Landy and after that it ran very well indeed, until we got home to the shed when it refused to start again. Similarly the military Autocar stopped and would not restart and had to be pushed into the shed. The grey Autocar under the control of Big mark was problem free. A fun day out and a reminder as to why we only do one show a year. Tim (too)