Great War truck

First coat of red

The cast iron radiator bottom tank and side were taken for sandblasting. 

Dad took the bottom Radiator Tank off - no problem and it unstuck very easily from the core - despite all the rubbish that was revealed inside of it when it was off! This one is cast iron and although heavily rusted and pitted, it is still sound and will be OK to use again. The bottom tank and the iron side frame will go for sand blasting now but the ali side frame is more delicate and will require more gentle treatment to clean it. The top tank is iron and was cleaned up some time ago when he made the new Filler Caps.

A bit more painting. First coat of green today. second one tomorrow. 

More photos of the core. The previous owner had removed some of the damaged tubes from back to front and then put a bolt through the holes.  We can make a new core, it is just another job to do and a matter of time

Finished removing all the fixings holding the Radiator together - the sides popped out very easily after the bolts were removed - the bottom tank is stuck and will need some gentle easing to remove it from the core. Surprisingly, one of the side frames is iron and the other is ali ! Both are fit to use again but we already knew that the core has had it and must be replaced.

Another job that was started some time ago and has been awaiting further attention is the first Radiator. The top tank was taken off some time ago so that a new Filler cap could be made and fitted to that one with a second cap to be made at the same time and to be ready for the other Radiator for the other Peerless in the queue.. The cores for each of the two Radiators will want replacement as they are damaged beyond recovery

So today, it was our intention to remove the bottom tank off the first Radiator and although we planned to complete that today, we ran out of time for as usual, every nut and bolt was a fight. Next time...........

We picked up some newly sand blasted bits today to clean up and prime - first of all there is the coupling bar between engine and gearbox. The bronze bearings from one end are missing and the remaining set on the other end which are still there are very worn and will want to be re-made in any case. The cross driving pin in each end of the bar need to be replaced - simply a tight push fit in the bar - 1" in diameter - the old ones have been pushed out.

The Peerles name plates are the ones to go on the rear of the chassis on the cross member - different from the front ones which we do have as these rear ones are flat whereas the front ones are curved. We never had these but were lucky enough to find one on EBay but only good enough to be used as a pattern and two new ones now cast from this.

Does anybody know anything about this Pavesi for sale in Devon:

Fiat Pavesi P4/100 Artillery Tractor - WW2 Military Vehicle - 4x4 Project | eBay

Progress has slowed because of the Pandemic where the three members of the team have not been able to get together here in Devon since last October. So much was planned to be done over the Christmas and New Year break - but it was not to be.

5 hours ago, Citroman said:

Nice Latil TAR. There must be a collector here in the region who has one of those.

 

There are a few survivors. I think there is just one TAR 01 in the UK, but several in France. Super looking truck.

We could of course done one of these subsidy conversions. We had a spare back axle, wheels and length of chassis, but we would never have got it in the shed.

Very interesting. I dont know the answer though. You might want to try the Great War Forum. Under the other equipment discussion there is a relevant thread on horse drawn equipment.

Some more photos of the springs in place with the lamp bracket on the other side.

Little progress of late because of the "Lockdown" where the team has not been able to get together for some weeks. So much was planned to be done over the Christmas and New Year break which came to nought - but Steve has completed the Dennis Radiator patterns at his home whilst Tim has continued with his writing - several articles completed for various magazines and lodged with them for publication. Tony managed to remove 18 of the rusty 21 Coach Bolts securing the Brake Drum to one back wheel and now awaits some help to finish the job. He has also stripped down and cleaned the brackets to hold the Radiator to the chassis. The situation is very frustrating!

There we go. Subsidy pattern body as well.

Thanks. I thought i recognised them. Did the civilian Karriers still have the can holder?

That looks great. Which bits are you still on the lookout for?

So it is. I didnt notice that. I googled "Frouth" and the closest match it came up with was "frothy urine". Draw your own conclusions........ 

All 21 nuts holding the Brake Drum to the wheel now removed - hoped the Drum would just slide off the bolts which remained stuck in the wheel but only a slight crack appeared between the Drum and the wheel and the Drum remains firmly stuck.

None of the 21 bolts are orthodox Coach bolts as we know them with a square section under the cap but they have a tiny sharp bit in that "square" position presumably designed to dig into the wood to stop the bolt turning.

The larger seven centre bolts are 9/16" in diameter with an 18 tpi UNF thread and are 5 1/2" length.

The outer ring of 14 bolts are 3/8" in diameter and with an unidentified tpi at the moment.

Anyone know of a source of 9/16" diam Coach Bolts - 6" long?

The Sprocket has now been removed from the Back Wheel and has gone to the Sand Blaster.

The next job will be to remove the Brake Drum - this is fixed to the wheel with a total of 21 Coach Bolts - one through each of the 14 spokes and 7 through the hub. Those 7 actually also hold the hub to the wheel as well as holding the Brake Drum to the wheel..

All are heavily rusted. The 14 bolts can come out now but some care necessary with the 7 through the hub as we do not want the wheel falling apart. Starting with the outer ring, the remains of the first 5 nuts removed.

Getting it in to the shed would be tricky.

All seven of Rear Wheel Chain Brackets now removed from the first wheel - it is questionable if any of them are fit to fight again but it will be simple to get a new set laser cut - 14 so seven for each wheel.

The next job is to get the big sprocket off which is secured with 14 nuts and bolts to the Brake Drum. Again heavily rusted and coroded so more fun ahead!

It is indoors now Steve and they have painted it LGOC red, well red.

Still no end to the pandemic and the team has not been together for some time. Steve has continued making the patterns for a new Radiator for the Dennis at his home in Leicestaershire whilst Tim has continued with his researches and writings at his own home in Oxfordshire. Tony back at base in Devon has been working on a new threaded Puller to enable us to get the very firmly stuck second back wheel off the Peerless.

Some work now being done on the back wheel that we have taken off the old chassis and at present, work is going on to remove the wheel chain retention brackets - all heavily rusted.

This latter work is revealing the true condition of the back wheel which is not as sound as we had hoped and something for the team to discuss when we next convene. It may be that we have no choice but make a visit to the Wheelwright for a professional opinion.