Great War truck

Ah, look at that. I totally missed that in the catalogue. It has gone to Belgium I hear. I understand that lot 16 was actually a heavily modified WW1 White, which sold for 4,000 P442 was another one I missed, a Latil but in appalling condition. Sold for 1,500 The WW2 GMC's sold for 550 and 950 with the other two not selling. I quite liked P497 the WW2 US Searchlight which didn't reach a reserve of 400 so didn't sell. I am told the stuff which interests us most has gone to a Belgian dealer. I expect it will come up for sale again later on.

Since the worm straightening exercise, Steve has assembled the steering box. It was quite straight-forward. The original radial bearings were re-fitted followed by the new thrust bearings. Then the slotted discs were installed followed by the shaft assembly before dropping the whole lot into one half of the box. A handfull of grease was added and the other box half was fitted. The bolts were knocked through and the nuts nipped up finger tight before fitting the end-float adjuster plug. As we have discussed before, the adjuster plug is secured with a ring of piano wire which has the end bent over. This, in turn, slots into a radial hole through the case and into the plug. You can just see the hole at the top of the picture. Of course, our new thrust bearings are a very slightly different thickness so the radial holes no longer line up. For the time being, the plug has been adjusted up without drilling a new hole as we plan to do this when we assemble the whole steering column and mechanism. The main casing bolts have tightened onto the plug so hard that it cannot be moved by hand anyway. Finally, the base was added. The box has now been put away until we are ready to start on the missing column.

I think it would have been, but I don't think it would last very long.

The auction took place today. I had a phone call last night asking if I wanted to go but sadly couldn't make it. I did benefit today from a commentary of the results. The Nash Quad which is actually very complete sold for 2,800 Euros. The three Berliets made 3,000, 1,600 and 1,200. An unknown truck but which appeared to be US built sold for 4,000. A Delahaye made 3,100. I am told there was a Liberty there which didn't sell at 3,000. I am wondering if this was actually a Heavy Aviation (D33) which had been mis-described as a Berliet. I am sure we will see the photos in due course which should answer my questions. I feel a need to resubscribe to Charge Utile to see a detailed report. Marcel, did you make it?

The results are on line. it appears that a few things didn't sell such as the weird Jeep, BRDM and Model T. Highest wins were for the 251 chassis at 40.5K, Kettenkrad 40K, Stower 26.7K, Sherman hull 25K and AMX for 15K. Not a bad day doe someone. I wonder how much will come back to the UK? The AMX looks very tasty at that price.

it sold for 16,846 Euros. it looks like most of the vehicles made good money. Prices are listed on the catalogue if you are interested.

Had not been to Duxford for four years, but really glad I went this year. Another one crossed off the list: had a ride in it up the runway. Very draughty. Not used to travelling that fast: Strange to see so much stuff from Lambeth packed in. It gave an interesting different view:

Yes, it was very loud. Didn't wake up my daughter though. Anyway, we had a great time and it was wonderful to meet up withhold friends. Really nice to say hello to Mark and have a ride on his Albion: Why Church of Apollo on this Bedford:

Steve has been to see the Maudslay again and it is making good progress. The chassis is now an appropriate khaki-brown colour and the engine has gone away for rebuild. The transmission brakes shoes are terribly worn as the previous owner wore right through the lining and 3/8” into the iron! This has left them very weak around the anchor point so Steve has made up a pattern so that new ones can be cast. First, he glued some segments of MDF together and then sanded them off to form a curve. This he reinforced by gluing ribs straight onto it. He fitted fillet leathers as he went before fitting a boss at the end with a smaller boss for the grease cap hole. Then it was simply a case of a bit of car body filler to finish the radii followed by a good rub down and the usual two coats of Bondaprime. The extra semi-circular piece is made to support the main pattern whilst it is being rammed up. It is slightly tapered to ease its removal before the second side is rammed. The pattern is now with the Friends of the Museum ready for casting.

Fantastic story. Well done.

We have not posted anything for a little while but work has been going on! Steve has completed the first stage of the machining of the new pistons and they are now with our friend Andy W who is boring them for the Gudgeon Pins – his Milling Machine has greater capacity than our modest ones and he will also shorten the old gudgeon pins by 3/16” so that they can be used again in the new narrower pistons. They are of extremely hard material but again, Andy has the facility to machine them. When Andy has completed that job they will come back to us for the final machining here. We have been looking at the flexible coupling that goes between gearbox and engine. This consists of a leather disc, 7” in diameter with a 5” hole in it. It has six, 5/8” diameter holes in it for securing bolts so that it can be coupled to the two forks – three bolts to each fork. We had one original leather coupling which is beyond redemption with just one of the original steel “washers” still attached to it. But this provides us with sufficient information for us to replicate. Another of our great friends is Mark D – a former Submariner and Museum Technician and Restorer – and a man of many great skills – including leatherwork! We asked him for advice on making the leather ring and he immediately offered to make it, but not only the one but two others as there is a similar arrangement at the ends of the prop shaft – so we shall need three in total. Mark rescued a roll of Pump Leather from a Skip some time ago and it has been awaiting a use! The final ring is about an 1 1/4” in thickness and four layers of the leather sewn together – by hand – provide this! The six 5/8” holes remain to be put in the leather and Mark tells me to do this with a sharp 5/8” drill! The one recovered washer provided the pattern for 36 to be laser cut – sufficient for all three couplings, at just a very modest cost and saving a tremendous amount of work in having them made this way. These three pictures will give some idea of how the finished assembly will look! The 5/8” Holes are still to be drilled and the washers attached.

Not really a find or a discovery but the Fresne collection are selling off more stuff (Marcel put me onto this). Fresne has been collecting and putting stuff away for years. it looks like they have gone through the field with strimmers and just put labels on everything. lots of junk, but there are some interesting things there. Another Nash or Jeffery Quad for you Richard, it looks no worse than your last one. I expect the scrap man will take whatever doesn't sell. http://www.musee-dufresne.com/admin/doublons/pdf/20130603213529Carnet-doublons-2013.pdf I am still waiting for the big shed to open its doors and the really interesting stuff to come up for sale.

That looks nice. Has it got a new owner, or has it just changed location for storage purposes?

Richard What condition was the other Liberty engine and did it go to a Mr Dodd? Can you id this fuel tank. I have been told it is a Liberty B (obviously the one which goes under the seat and not the one which bolts to the scuttle). What do you think? I know it may be a long time ago, but do you remember what the hooks on the front of the Liberty chassis looked like. I was wondering if these Mitchell produced FWD hooks would be the same? Thanks PS. Thanks for your posts Gordon. I always learn something new from you.

I was wondering if the width would preclude it from road use. Almost certainly I would imagine.

Oh no, not mine. We are not buying anymore trucks. Not enough time and space. This has been purchased by a good friend of ours. Good spot on the wheels. The wooden ones are the early pattern, the metal ones later. Ideally he would like a full set of metal ones. They do turn up occasionally. A pair came up in the UK some years ago. I wonder what happened to them. This Liberty is in the USA at the moment and will soon be containerised so he is looking for metal wheels quite urgently. Thanks Tim

One and two halves of a Liberty B. Carefully packaged to fit into a container and ready to make a very long journey by sea. There are a few bits missing though (nothing too crucial). Does anybody have any Liberty bits they don't need? Tim

Here is a rather nice looking Riker which I did not know about. The question which nags me is what else might still be found in that yard:

The completed Gearbox had been standing upside down on a mobile table for painting for the last few weeks and with the bottom part now completed in that upside down position, it was time to turn it right way up so that the job can be finished with the top to be done. The pictures are quite self explanatory – but it was necessary to lift the gearbox – put it on the ground to be rolled over and then lifted again onto the table, but now the right way up. We have managed to find some old style wing nuts now with “Mickey Mouse” ears, and those shown in the picture which are the modern type will be replaced.

Richard What were the main challenges faced in your Quad restoration? The rad was destroyed in the fire I presume. What condition was the engine, gearbox etc in. To restore that truck today at current prices how much do you think it would have cost?

The BTR60 is one of my favourite looking MV's. I have seen several coming up for sale on the internet (mostly in the Ukraine), but never seen one in private hands in the UK. Can you drive them on the roads over here? Not planning on getting one (just yet - well, not while I intend to remain married), but are there any major issues with them? Thanks

Well done Richard. Yes, he did indeed pee on it everyday. I thought that formula would raise a question or two. Tim

Regular readers may remember the water pump inlet casting which had had the inlet flange broken off. Steve made up a pattern and had a replacement flange cast which our friend Adrian kindly welded on. Unfortunately, the joint was slightly pin holed and Adrian offered to take it away to seal it up. This he has done and on completion, it held a pressure of 30psi (hydraulic) for 20 hours without weeping. We were expecting him to weld it but he says not. Apparently, he put it in the Rayburn oven for a month to start with ( I must thank the long-suffering Fay for her patience and tolerance at this point!). He then took it outside and squirted it with a 95% aqueous solution of urea 9.3 g/l, chloride 1.87 g/l, sodium 1.17 g/l, potassium 0.750 g/l and creatinine 0.670 g/l. each day for another month simply leaving it to corrode between doses. He finally washed it off, sand blasted it and gave it a coat of paint. Job done! You learn something new every day in this hobby! Many thanks Adrian.

You must have gone to a rough school. Was it in Sarajevo? No, but seriously, you are right. Close call, no one got hurt. Lets make sure that we learn from this and we can keep on enjoying our hobby.

I agree. I certainly dont doubt that it is worth £25,000, i just cant see anybody paying that much for it.