Great War truck

Has anybody ever fallen for these scams? I would think that most people would be smart enough not to part with their money for the tenuous possibility of receiving some bargain goods. But I suppose that is E bay all around.

The Frame has now had one coat of Bondaprimer – after that has completely “cured” in a few days time, it can have a second coat before we start thinking of undercoat. There are no cracks in it anywhere, but it is quite pitted – but nothing that we cannot live with.

The chassis is now back from sand blasting – a very nice job made of it! Priming now being quickly completed before the demon “Rust” strikes again!

This thread is going to stir up some emotions I think. When I was living in Devon we had one chap regularly complaining that local events he attended were not written about in the Area Report. Fair dues. But then again he never actually came to Area meetings, he didn't tell the Area Secretary (who wrote the Area reports) about these events and finally no one who attended the Area meetings knew who he was. Windscreen is full of show reports written by members, not the editor. I am sure the Damyns Hall event was excellent, but who's responsibility should it be to write about it? if the show received a grant from the MVT then the MVT would expect a report on the event to be produced by the organisers to go into Windscreen in return. If it did not receive a grant the organisers would surely write a report anyway to stir up even more interest for the next years show. As no report seems to have been done, did it fall outside the deadline for its submission. Maybe it will be in the next issue? Before you start down the road of "not being fit for purpose" I think you should ask who's responsibility it is to write in to Windscreen. Remember it is a club magazine not a commercial magazine. It is not the editors job to go around the country taking photos and writing reports on shows (unlike CMV and MMI), he is paid a small amount for editing purposes. It is up to the members. The perceived bias on certain Areas, groups or shows is down to those people writing about themselves. Some Area reports are longer than others. As an Area Secretary I am given a guide of writing 900 words for each Area report. I usually write more than that then whittle down to 900 and send in three or four photos to go with it. If I write less than that I feel I have short changed the Area members. No one will blow my local MVT Area's trumpet as loudly as me. If show reports were sent in on time and not published for Damyns Hall I would think that that would create a subject for consideration. If you feel that Areas or shows are not fully represented we should consider why that might be. Lack of Area reports, then it is down to the Area Secretary. Maybe nothing really happened that quarter, a deadline was missed, or sickness, IT failure, it could be many a reason. it can happen to us all. A lack of show reports? Who's responsibility was it to write? Not the Editor. Next year, find someone to write it. Write your own? Is your Area under represented? Write into Windscreen and tell everybody what great things you have been doing. No one will ever know unless you tell us. Windscreen is run by elected members. If you don't like any aspect of it raise it at a council of management meeting. Put yourself up for election. Fresh blood is always good. Change things to the way you think they should be run. Your final paragraph states: If the MVT fail to represent, support and help all groups within their organisation than they are falling very far short of their stated aims. As our governing body they should be there for all of their members. So tell us, what can the MVT do differently so that everyone feels represented, supported and helped? An opportunity for a lively discussion. I hope no one takes this as a slanging match, but as a positive way to come up with ideas to move forwards.

Tony collected the new pistons from our old friend and mentor, David H, today after David had honed out the Gudgeon Pin holes in the pistons so that the pins were a firm fit but could still be inserted and rotated smoothly. A fine job done! We are on course now to reassemble the engine over the Christmas break as we planned.

These photographs are copyright of the Imperial War Museum and are published here with their permission under their non-commercial licence. Impressed Anglo American Oil truck being unloaded. Looks like a Hallford. © IWM (HU72008) Daimler. Probably Salonika © IWM (Q32225) Not sure what that was, but captured from the Austrians © IWM (Q25993) Looks like a Vauxhall D Type. © IWM (Q4498) FWD Model B © IWM (Q10802) I hope he doesn’t plan to work under there without bracing the chassis or axle first. © IWM (Q25288) This next lot were taken while fighting the Turks. This abandoned truck is being burned to stop the Turks getting it. © IWM (Q24987) No idea. Something German built. © IWM (Q25992) Captured German trucks © IWM (Q24723) © IWM (Q12459)

Completed Artwork.

Our friend Andy C called back yesterday to attend to the crack in the front of the nearside chassis rail. It was ground out and welded together again – all quite straight forward for him. We also took advantage of Andy’s other skills – he was originally a Printer by trade and ended up being very skilled with the associated computer work – in the past, he has prepared the artwork for several of the replacement plates that we have required for the lorries – Instruction and Manufacturer – including reproducing the original Dennis logo of worm and wheel, so that they could be photo etched from his artwork, or used to make replacement Enamel plates . The wheels of the Thorny each carry a brass plate denoting the tyre size required but two of ours are missing. One front and one back. The Dennis ones were also missing and we went through the same process with them to have replacements made and although we had spares for the Dennis made at the time, the Thorny ones are quite different in style and lettering although the numbers are the same, so we will have to start again with those. Interestingly, British Tyres and Wheels were metric whilst American ones were Imperial. The two remaining plates have been taken off the wheels, cleaned up and Andy has taken them away with him so that he has a pattern to copy.

Monday – and another day at it. We still have three shackle pins or bits of shackle pins to remove but we thought that we would turn our attention to the bend in the front of the chassis rail – which was also rather strangely split. The chassis has obviously had a very hard knock sometime during its life. We decided to get the bent part hot and then attempt to straighten it by using a jack and wood packing piece against the opposite corner of the chassis so that influence could be placed on the bend but gently controlled with the use of the jack. We have always been puzzled by the split in the steel but this must be from a manufacturing fault when it was rolled at the Steel Mill all those years ago. The heating and jacking progress worked perfectly – with a bit of occasional assistance from the hammer – and the rail was straight again! The crack will be welded up tomorrow. And then it was back to the final three stuck shackle pins which were also successfully removed as described before. A visit to the Sand Blaster later in the day to arrange for him to pick up the chassis frame and take it back to his works to be done. This not likely to happen for a few days where he appears to be up to his eyes in other pre-arranged work.

All were finally removed – in some cases, the cut off shackle pins were still in their fittings but it would be easier to remove these from the fittings if we beat them on something solid – like the anvil! The stripped out back axle was moved into the shed and the clean frame was lowered onto temporary wheels and pushed back into the shed. It proved to be much easier to heat the spring ends and shackles away from the chassis as they could be easily transferred to the anvil for the pins to be knocked out against a firm surface. With the daylight fading again, we were left still with three pins or cut off pins to remove – and this was held over for the next day.

Sunday and another day. The objective that day was to remove the remaining shackle pins that were either still retained in the chassis – or lodged in the spring parts already removed from the chassis. They were rusted in solidly and were tackled with heat – and a big hammer. None of the shackle pins were fit to be used again so harsh treatment with the hammer would not matter as replacements must be made. Something that we had suspected became a fact –unlike the Dennis, we thought that the spring ends were not fitted with bronze bushes and as soon as the first pin was removed from a spring “eye” we could see that there was no bush there. Thornycroft were obviously content to run steel shackle pins in the steel eyes of the springs. Despite considerable heat and firm attention from the big hammer, some of the shackle pins would not come out and they had to be cut, either with a hacksaw or a thin cutting disc in the angle grinder – where there was room to insert the blades without damaging the castings or forgings.

The Back Springs were once again treated with caution with the nuts on the retaining bolts to the leaf springs slowly undone – after being released by heating them first of all. When the retaining nuts were nearing the ends of the bolts, we could see that there was still a lot of energy remaining in the springs so a temporary “corset” was put around the spring which could also be undone gradually so that the spring leaves could be controlled until any remaining pressure had gone. The springs were released from the chassis and the whole back axle assembly with the springs still sitting in situ on it were pulled out. By this time, it was Saturday evening and it had become dark – so we gave up for the day – with the job to be completed on Sunday – which it was, with more pictures to follow!

We then turned to the back wheels – fortunately, the retaining nuts had been well greased and came undone easily. The back wheels are very heavy and had to be slid off the axle with the weight of them taken by the engine hoist – revealing the bronze bushes as they came off. The Brake Drums are very rusty and will have to be skimmed. The Bronze Bush looks to be in reasonable condition, too

The other front spring was still bolted firmly to the axle but all of the leaves had spread considerably and we were very conscious of the amount of stored energy that must still be there. Ropes were placed around the leaves so that should they suddenly decide to go, then they would be captured. The bolts holding the leaves together were cut with an angle grinder, and the spring was released from the chassis, but the spring would not come away from the axle so axle and spring were lifted away together to be dealt with separately. Once the axle and spring were away from the chassis, it was easy to knock the spring off the axle and then work carefully on the spring until the leaves began to separate.

When we recovered this chassis many years ago, the bolts and the top retaining plate for one of the front springs to the axle had already rotted away so that side of the front axle was “floating”. This was the make-shift arrangement that was used to keep the axle attached to the chassis whilst the chassis was being moved. The nuts on this temporary arrangement were released gradually so that the spring leaves could be separated under close control and be removed separately as they became free.

The whole team assembled in Axminster this weekend with the aim of completing the strip down of the Thorny chassis so that just the frame would be left and that then would be ready to go for sand blasting. All of the smaller bits had already been removed from it and it really was just the heavy and more difficult bits that were left to come off. The three of us were joined by our friends Andy C from Taunton and John P from nearby Dalwood who came to help. Most of the nuts had already been removed from the chassis and in theory, we were left with a simple task to complete! We were very conscious that the springs would have to be treated with some caution as they were very badly decayed but that there was still a lot of energy left in them which could be hazardous if taken apart without safety planning. Fortunately the weather was kind as we really needed to get the chassis outside to have sufficient room to work on it. The front wheels came off quite easily and revealed bearing surfaces which were not in too bad a condition. This is the second of the two front wheels being taken off – you will see the method that is used to secure it to the axle quite clearly. The front wheel is quite heavy and can be managed – but not lifted by one person.

I would say that the can was an American can modified by the French post war to have a British top.

Sorry Robin, but when you said this I thought you had a specific collection in mind: I think they would keep some other nations vehicles not just US, but as Lauren said WW2 vehicles. The Panther would be a big draw, and maybe a couple of token British WW2 stuff. Post war non US stuff I think will go elsewhere quite quickly, but happy to be proved wrong.

Cracking job. Well done.

Yes, it does look like a good home. I find it a bit odd though. We are going to give you 80 tanks and sell 160 others so we can also give you the money to build a really big shed to put the 80 in. I guess there are not many collections in the world which could receive that many vehicles in one go and find a home for them all, so it makes sense to break up the collection. A bit of a nightmare of an exercise to be a trustee of this. I am surprised that Jacques did not work out all the fine detail beforehand concerning the endowment of the collection as he had been ill for the last ten years. I am sure that all the detail will come out over the next few months. I was under the impression that Robin was suggesting that the 160 being sold off would appear in the hands of another well known collector and not the Collings Foundation, or maybe I read that wrong.

Where?

Wow. They are selling of 160 of them! that is quite a lot of armour to come back on to the market in one go. Maybe the Toad will come back to the UK?

I will in a minute, but I can tell you now that they were photographed in Hawaii.

The final part was to add the finger grips. A trial was carried out done by cutting a 3/4” length of 3/16” half-round brass and filing the ends spherical before bending it into a curve and trying it on the rim. From the photos, it appears that there should be forty of them so Steve made the remainder by rather tediously filing them all individually and then attached them to the rim with Araldite. (65, . Finally the whole assembly was treated with our usual two coats of Bondaprimer, with the first heavily rubbed down to create a surface and the second gently polished with wire wool. The pattern is now ready for a trip to the foundry for casting in aluminium.

The rim was attached using contact adhesive as were the spokes. The spokes were simple flat strips which were then dressed to an elliptical section with glass paper. Then fillets were created by adding car body filler and dressing them back with the Dremel tool and glass paper.