Great War truck

Does the FWD belong to Don Chew,and is that Ken's Nash Quad? They look great together.

Some good news at last. Just been out for a drive in the Jeep. I was happy that we had checked and cleaned everything and it was all now in order, just no petrol getting to the pump. We squirted lots of petrol down the pipe from the filter to the pump until the pump could squirt it out. Then reconnected the pipe up to the carb and the one to the filter. Pumped petrol up in to the carb and then it started just like that. We think the problem must have been an air lock and getting the engine running (even just for a moment) gave the pump enough suction to clear the airlock. Thanks for all the advice everyone. Tim

Can you post some photos of them here. we would all be very interested to see them. Thanks Tim

Sorry. I think you sent me a PM a while back and to my embarassment i did not respond. PM me again with your E_mail address and i will send you the draft version.

Gosh, when will this saga ever end? There is no fuel going into or coming out of (unsuprisingly) the new fuel pump. All the joints are sound. As i have blown through every pipe back into the tank i wonder whether as the whole system is dry all i am sucking is air. So, do i need to prime the system somehow? I have tried it on the starter but no joy. I am wondering whether a tow start might give the pump enough oomph to suck all the air through and get to the petrol. Any thoughts anybody? How did they start new Jeeps out of the factory? Thanks

The bushes are just an interference fit in the two sides of the case and they were easily pulled into position with a draw Bar. A quick initial trial fit looked good. Loosely bolted together – all it needs now is the Steering Screw and Steering Nut

it was purchased by a Herr Flick (no really) and he restored it. I thinkhe still has it.

The cleaned bits were then washed down with cellulose thinners before priming with Bondaprimer – a cellulose based primer. There are two big ball races in the mechanism – one of them is at present in Leicester but the other one still in Devon has cleaned up beautifully and can be used again. The one in Leicester is yet to be cleaned but we are hopeful that it is in similar good condition When the quadrant lever and shaft which is fitted in the “Box” was removed from the “Box”, it brought the two bronze bushes in which it runs, with it, as they had become firmly attached. It appeared that all that was holding them on the shaft was congealed oil. They could not be levered or slid off – some gentle heat was applied to get them to budge – but each one had to be heated several times as they would only move a short distance before they cooled and became stuck again. If they had come off easily, they might have been fit to be used again, but sadly, they became damaged during that removal process. Fortunately, we already had a small length of suitable shell bronze in stock – bought many years ago as “might come in handy, one day” and two new bushes were machined up.

Whilst the “Leicester Division” has been pattern making, the “Devon Branch” has been working on the Steering Box. The actual “Steering Screw” is still in Leicester and awaiting straightening, as you may recall that we found that it was bent when it was removed from the “Box”. The objective in Devon was to get everything ready for reassembly as soon as the straightened “Steering Screw” came south again. These three pictures show the whole “Box” again before it was taken to bits, just as it came off the chassis. The actual “Box” came apart comparatively easily and after the usual procedure of washing the two halves in a paraffin bath and then wire bushing them, they look quite reasonable.

Good thought. I had checked the tank and it is not that. I have however now found the problem. i painted the connections with water and washing up liquid, blew through the pipe and found the leak. I now need some replacement parts so i will be giving Mr Rivers a call on Monday. We are getting there. just slowly. Oh yes, i need it for next weekend for an area event/ fly in. The things we do for fun. Tim

Well i have changed the pump for a new one. I was told that the job was "a bit of a fiddle" by someone who knows and "a two minute job" by someone who doesnt. Anyway, it was a bit of a fiddle but done now. The problem is still the same. No fuel seems to be getting to the carb. I have got a spare carb to try but as no fuel is getting to the old carb i dont think that will make much of a difference. When i pump the lever on the fuel pump i can hear air going in to the carb, but no fuel. Next step is to replace the pipes going from the filter to the pump unless anyone else has any good ideas? Thanks Tim

Yes, Beamish is a fabulous museum. There are a couple of others which are similar, Black Country and Iron bridge. All would make a great backdrop for photographs. here are a few more photos:

Here are some more at Beamish. i cant imagine manybetter places for a photo shoot:

Nice job! Here is one of mark and his Albion.

Taken at Beamish. A really great picture.

Coming together now.

Mark is sending me some photos which i will upload. Just removed engine and gearbox and the big gear was the fire engine pump drive

After that, it was just a case of painting. We use Bondaprimer zinc anti-rust primer, even on MDF as it soaks in very deeply hardening the surface. The first coat leaves a very rough surface but sands back to a nice finish. A second coat really finishes it off and Steve just polishes this back with wire wool to make it easier to get out of the sand. The last part of the job was to make and extractor handle for the moulder. Dad will now take the pattern to the foundry for some grey iron castings. Then we will have the fun of machining them!

Then it was back to the Colchester to bore out the core box. Steve planed the two halves plat and then screwed them together before boring out. The various grooves were all positioned by measurement. before unscrewing the two halves. Next, he turned up and slotted two bosses to represent the gudgeon pin bosses. These were screwed in and then filleted using car body filler. This was cay back to a nice radius using the ‘Dremel’ pencil grinder with a ball-nosed cutter fitted.

Great job you did there Mark. Could you post up some more pictures of it, or if you are not sure how to one of us could do it for you. Thanks Tim Gosling

Steve is busily trying to move house so his workshop hours are severely limited at the moment. However, he has managed to make up the piston pattern. Firstly, he made up some blocks of MDF by gluing layers together, round ones for the main plug and rectangular for the core box. Then it was down to Devon where he set the plug up in Dad’s Colchester lather. This was a straightforward turning job although MDF dust is horrible and he did wear a proper respirator. Next he silver soldered a boss to a plate and let it into the crown of the pattern in order to give a strong point to extract it from the sand. Finally, he turned up a chucking piece which locates on the crown and will give a boss by which the piston can be held for machining.

What a great find. They are still out there then!

Yes, you are quite right. There is indeed an X Type at Milestones. I went to the museum last year and i have just gone through my photos and to my embarassment i didnt take any pictures of it. Anyway, there is lots more information about it here. I hope that you find it interesting. http://www3.hants.gov.uk/thornycroft/lorries/our-lorries/drivng.htm If you need me to go and do an in depth walk around photo shoot of it let me know and i will see what i can do the next time i visit. Tim

As this is fast approaching, does anybody know of any interesting vehicles which will be participating this year? Thanks Tim

well that makes me feel a little better about all the tickets i bought and never won anything. But £750,000! That seems a tad on the high side to me. I knew they had bought the bus, but the lack of engine and gearbox might prove a little problematic. Maybe thats what they need the other £740,000 for? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22173782 A bus once driven from the streets of London to the battlefields of France to help the World War I effort is to be restored. The B-type bus was one of more than a thousand taken to the trenches of the Western Front. It will be restored to full working order with a £750,000 lottery grant. The buses were commandeered to act as troop transports, ambulances and even mobile pigeon lofts to house carrier pigeons. Civilian drivers and mechanics went with them to the front, often into dangerous territory. The B-type's unique design, using standardised interchangeable components, made it ideal for rigorous wartime use. The project will be undertaken by the London Transport Museum. It will be completed by 2014, to coincide with the centenary of the outbreak of hostilities. Sam Mullins, director of London Transport Museum, said 2014 would be "an occasion for remembrance and a watershed in commemorating both the sacrifice and social impact of these years on London and the UK". "Our project will restore a B-type Battle Bus to its wartime condition, when over one thousand London bus drivers ferried troops to the Western Front and brought the wounded home. "The B-type was the first standardised motorbus for London and, through this project, one of the last known surviving examples will be returned to working order as wartime troop transport.