Great War truck

You may recall that we wrote about the Radiator in earlier notes where despite our best efforts to repair and seal the original aluminium tanks, more leaks in them became apparent just prior to the Brighton Run - but we saved the day by drilling and tapping some of the leaks for screws and other slight "weeps" in the aluminium were sealed with a plastic metal. These have held out OK - but we are resolved now to have new top and bottom tanks cast to eliminate the problem of leaks once for all - this will be done later after the season but again, it will be back to pattern making. Another part of the radiator which was concerning was the threaded hole in the bottom tank to take the Drain Tap - which is a rather nice brass fitting. The thread in the aluminium was so corroded that we thought that there might be a danger of losing the Drain Tap as it was not possible to screw that in really tight. The hole was threaded 3/8" BSP to take the Drain Tap. As an interim measure we have re-tapped that threaded hole 3/4" BSF and will make up a Bronze Plug to go in it as a temporary seal. When the new tank becomes available, we we will tap the drain hole in that one 3/8"BSP to take the correct Brass Tap, but the Plug will be a good and safe fit and that will eliminate that potential danger for the time being.

The actual clutch "drum" is a steel pressing with the lining bolted to it. In was very firmly stuck within the fly wheel and it took constant niggling at it and with Tony and Steve working around the rim with large screw drivers and crow bars, to eventually free it - is that "New Zealand" water running out which has been trapped there ever since the engine left New Zealand? And it eventually came apart to reveal a wet interior. Overall very pleasing as there is nothing there to cause a problem! We are on our way again, but really do not intend to do a lot more to the Thorny until the autumn when the summer rally season is over.

The first job in dismantling the clutch was to get the clutch springs off. All badly rusted in but perseverance - some plus gas and brute strength eventually freed them and they came off. You will notice in the last of this sequence of five photos that the ball race is rather beyond its "sell-by" date!

Right. Here we go again. With the Dennis just about done it is time to take another look at the Thornycroft. Steve was down in Axminster this weekend - mainly to do some fine tuning to the Dennis in preparation for the Honiton Hill Rally next month. But we have it in mind that we shall start on the Thornycroft next - with the engine first of all - and with this in mind, his and Tony's curiosity got the better of them and they started to look at the thorny engine with the winter's work in mind. The engine was imported from New Zealand and nothing has been done to it since its arrival some time ago. We always knew that the clutch was going to be difficult to get off as it was very rusted in and the securing nuts for the clutch springs were very rusted over. It would be a case of some brutal but controlled force to get things moving. A hammer and chisel job! A look inside one of the inspection panels revealed that the inside of the engine didn't look too bad - although it is seized at the moment. The water delivery pipe of the water pump is broken off so it does mean some pattern making and a new casting there. You will also notice in the photograph that the flange on the large aluminum casting has broken away so that will have to be replaced as well. Yet another job for the foundry

Not a definitive list as such. I know of eight definite survivors (including three armoured cars) and rumours of two others which are probably no more than just rumours. Of the five non AC survivors one maybe coming on the market soon? I understand that it has to find a new home for sure. The Sandstone one runs ok, but i dont think they plan to do much more to it. There might be a second one in S Africa, unless the picture i saw was the Sandstone one in a different coat of paint.

Could it be the GMC that was in Overlord and the flag was fitted to it recently? I cant think of any pictures of GMCs flying the stars and stripes during WW2.

A neighbouring farmer has just discovered an old farm trailer in the undergrowth on his farm which was built on a light-weight lorry chassis. All pretty well gone - but does anybody recognise it?

Ah, ok. That narrows it down a bit. Is this you?

Yes of course. Thinking back i dont think he was all that well when he came up to see us. But we are the Gosling family - Tony, Steve and Tim and live in Devon. Tim

Propperjob! Your dad came around to our house to look at our Peerless pile many years ago (about 15). Very sorry to say that in that time we have done nothing to it, but we have been otherwise distracted. Tim

I went past there by train about 15 years ago. It looked fascinating. Have a look on Google earth for an excellent view.

That is a good bit of parking. You could get two more in there if you park them like that.

Very good point that. It will also increase the chance of the vehicle being used which we all know is crucial to improve their longevity.

Thanks. There are some good ideas there. i will let you know how we get on. Tim

Tony's PC has picked up a piece of malware which mucks around with the search engine and diverts you to a sellers website. If for example you type into google "WW1 Dennis army lorry", you would get the response "Buy your WW1 Dennis army lorry from these approved suppliers" and lots of links. I did check, but sadly none of them have any for sale. So the question is, what is the best way to get rid of the Malware? he has McAfee but that did no good at all. Anybody else encountered this kind of problem? Thanks Tim

I think you might be paying for all the extras. Did they ever have radios in the cab? is that a US navy gunnery helmet on the seat? Lots of other odds and ends i dont recognise.

Following the recent comments, advice and suggestions about painting with a matt paint, the Acetylene Generator has been painted in the following way to see how the paint holds up. The Generator was stripped back to bare metal, thoroughly cleaned and the surplus soft solder around the smaller label was scraped away. The brass labels were then protected with masking tape. It was then given two coats of Bondaprimer - our usual primer which we think is very good. This was followed by one coat of grey Masons undercoat, then by one coat of the original glossy Masons paint - this was the paint that was provided in error when matt paint was ordered and mentioned in a previous note, and then a final coat of the matt paint that we have mainly used on the Dennis. The result looks OK but time now will tell!

There was a picture in After the Battle from the 1980's (i think) of hundreds of 17pdrs and 25pdrs in a field near Monte Cassino. A friend went out to have a look for them, but by then they had all gone. what a shame. The 17pdr is the nicest looking gun from WW2 in my opinion.

No i am not referring to the end of the world as suggested by Harold Campling - who has apparently adopted the policy of continuously moving the date forward in the hope that he will eventually get it right (and i suppose will eventually). What i am thinking of is what confidential Government records are you waiting to see released. Personally the details of the mutiny at Etaples looks to be an exciting read. These are supposed to be released in 2017, so just 6 years to go (assuming the world does not end first). Is there anybody else who is looking forwards to reading something in particular?

Interesting to see how wide the spread of rounds was. I dont think he is Russian. i think he is an American pretending to be Russian.

Tony had a go at the Generator with a liquid paint-stripper. It appears that it has been sand blasted at some time and just the one coat of that awful green put on it after the sand blasting. The Radmore plates are of brass - not aluminum and they have suffered at the hands of the sand blaster. The body and lid have been galvanised - hence no rust! It will paint up well enough to be safe in our hands. You will see that the small plate was originally - and very generously fixed on with soft solder! I have washed the whole thing down and will let it dry out thoroughly before I attempt to scrape the last bits of green off it - then the usual primer, undercoat and final green.

A few years ago, we were fortunate to find the correct Acetylene Generator at Beaulieu - this is to provide gas for the headlamps. It was put away until required - but now is the time! It has been painted a "strange" green at sometime or other - but inside the lid, there are the remnants of the old "WD" green where it has not been re-painted. The makers plates are still on it and under the smaller plate, you can see that "WD" was stamped on it. The generator will be located on the floor of the cab, just in front of the driver's mate. The first three pictures here show the insides of the generator - on the face of it, it looks to be in good condition but some of the finer steel work has rusted through and that must be replaced if we wish to use it in anger! The last photo shows where it will be located on the lorry.

With the "Brighton" now behind us and after a week of not thinking too much about "Dennis", it is time to start thinking now of the finishing touches and all of the things that we could just not do before the Run in the time that was available then. On top of that, we did learn one or two things from the experience and we must turn our attention to those. The ridge bars for the back canvas should be held in place with brackets - eight of them - and for the short term, they were just bolted to the Bows to hold them in their correct positions. Steve is now making up these brackets in Leicester and they will be fitted in due course, hopefully before the Honiton Hill Rally which is our next planned expedition towards the end of August. Starting the lorry especially, was not as easy as we earlier anticipated - it just seemed impossible to turn the starting handle fast enough to get a good spark. We have an Impulse Starter on the FWD and the obvious immediate solution is to try one of those on the Dennis. They are not easy to come by but we have found one and just hope that it is suitable for our set-up - if not, I am quite sure that it can be adapted or changed as needs be.

What's a C Zug? Who are you writing for on the Jeffery Quad? I always enjoy reading WW1 truck articles (unsuprisingly really). Tim

Thanks for the ideas. Because Rosie said i shouldnt i wont punish her I will bow to her beter child care knowledge. Its a shame really as i had just got a pink NCB suit and gas mask for a 7 year old and fitted her cuddly toys with thunderflashes. I was thinking of something involving crawling through the sandpit and paddling pool while being bombarded with exploding cuddly toys. Anyway, instead i will give her a big hug and chocolate muffin and keep the replacement camera in my WW2 US Army safe now instead. Lots of good ideas on the camera front which i will look into. Thanks everyone.