Gordon_M

If there is more to the tank than meets the eye, it may contain a generator for the light/equipment?

 

The initial reaction is you'd never put a generator in a chamber like that, but it would explain very neatly why there are two connections - one for air in, and one for exhaust out .....

Putting all that together it could be a submersible vibration, electrical, or signal source to be used for detection instrument calibration / testing ?

Hmm

A sinker for anchorage, and a chamber containing equipment that has two conduit cable rung to the surface ( why two and not one, I wonder ? ) and a horizontal tether of some kind.

Maybe an anchorage point for tethering torpedoes to when measuring the thrust and duration of the propulsion system, something like that ?

If you are not crossing an Ocean you don't need a container.

You'd want the seller to secure all loose bits, lash everything down ( canvas, hood hoops, seat cushions, etc, etc. and also provide a bill of sale with the amount on it.

You would probably be liable for some sort of import duty and VAT but much less from the EU than outside. Not sure if you would need a customs form ( C&E 386 - something like that ) showing duty paid and chassis number before you could UK register it.

A non-running CCKW shouldn't be that expensive, so it might be worth declaring actual cost and paying some duty up front to avoid hassle later on.

That looks like one that is still being worked - there were a lot about on estates at one time. Closest place to Stirling for that sort of stuff would have been Andrew Allan at Callendar.

No wonder they took it out to the desert to turn it round. I don't know what the nominal wheelbase was, but the turning circle must have been 50% bigger than the Dragon Wagon.

I recall Fred Crismon commented it was a very conventional truck, and not dissimmilar to the ( Mack ? ) that eventually replaced the Dragon Wagon.

Don't recall they made more than one test vehicle as Fred referred to it in the singular, though Dart did make big one off vehicles.

It's the Dart prototype for the contract that went to the Knuckey Dragon Wagon.

Many years back I picked up something for that truck. I don't think it was a manual - I think is was a sales brochure of some kind - I will still have it somewhere but no idea where.

An Alvis and Berliet joint venture of some kind as Richard said, from what I remember

Ta, will have a look

There are plenty of companies that professionally rebuild compasses. :-D

Erm, know of any companies in particular Tony? I have a DUKW / Weasel Pioneer compass here that is leaking fluid and I dread taking it apart. Could do with a good compass / instrument rebuild recommendation.

Gordon

A WW2 Hull compass in Bakelite, commonly found screwed to the screen pillar on jeeps, Dodges, and the like.

The fluid is "compass fluid' and can be bought as such, but it is an alcohol and tends to vanish with age. I'd suggest that if there is enough fluid in it for it to work you should leave it - not sure how easy they are to fill.

If you want to see one in action, check out The longest Hundred Miles - a 1967 film starring Doug Mclure and Katherine Ross. He lays a marine washed ashore on a Phillipine island,who is persuaded to get running an old bus with a gas producer to convey a group of orphans on a long drive away from the grasp of the Japs.

I remember that one.

They were able to get away quite easily as the poor Japanese had to drive Austin Champs ... :angel:

While I'm here. I seem to remember, possibly in one of Fred Crismon's books, a photo of a GMC converted to fuel gas by the military as an experiment, so this might not be a civilian conversion....

Thanks for that . Didn't know International used the same setup on dual lies but it makes sense I suppose.

Got an image of the mounting face of the hub ? I suppose three ( or all six ) of the mounting stud faces must have recesses machined for those bevels?

Nice work on that, but I was surprised to see those wheel rims - are they original to that weapon?

Those rims were specially made for the rear of the 1941-47 Dodge WD20 and WD21 one ton civilian trucks, where the bevels on every other lug hole allowed them to lock together when used as duals - they have a slightly larger offset than the standard rim. They are really quite rare. The standard wheel that came all round on that truck when it wasn't on dual rears had less offset, no locking bevels, and would take a slightly wider tyre.

The desirable Chevrolet-specific cab parts are the script engine side panels and running boards, everything else can be made to work.

G

What Degsy says.

The manual values are for UNF nuts so just go with that, in the manual sequence.

Gordon

No

Cab is similar, but I think the GMC cab has floor / firewall differences for the 270.

Bonnet the same, wings the same, grille different, engine side panels different, running boards different.

At a guess the owner is buying the missing bits one at a time, and had just received that by post. :blush:

Just check one thing. Your studs should be UNC at one end and UNF where the nuts are. If all the nuts are UNF, use the same torque for all.

I vaguely remember some of the oil filter mounts depend on the bolts being there, so they must have worked round that. I do have a T214 in the garage ( in my T-36 Snow Tractor ) and I'll have a look next time I'm there.

The T214 head is held down but a combination of studs and nuts and hex head bolts for the oil filter brackets.

The studs are UNC into the block, but the "stud nuts' are UNF, whereas the hex head bolts ( cap screws ) are just UNC into the block, hence different torques because of the differing thread mechanical advantages.

Dodge practice was to have UNC thread into castings, and UNF everywhere else for better torque characteristics.

What engines would they have in them?

Ford flathead V8, not a fun engine compared to some, but still plenty around

That takes me back

Twenty years ago, or thereabouts, there was a clearance sale advertised in Cumbernauld - probably in the Glasgow Herald, and one entry was an" Bedford Armoured Car"

Myself and Hamish Taylor went for a look and had a good look round it, but we were told it had already been withdrawn from the auction and lost track of it then.

Very 1970's, I remember it had a generator and was able to pump voltage into a standoff hull, plus water cannon, external television and mast, and so on. Really it's a crowd control vehicle, especially if you are not too picky about what damage it does to the crowd....

Got any history on the last 20 years? I'd guess there would only be one.

Oh, no, it's another one of the three Gordon_M's that are into Dodges - welcome aboard fellow Gordon...:cool2:

We all have Dodge 4 x 4's and two of us have US Army Tractors too - if I can just get you interested in rail conversions we'll have pretty much a full set.

I'm sure pics of Dodge and Cat would go down well too.

Gordon_M from up north

My standard solution is to use another pair of the front blackout pod lights, gutted, with yellow bulbs or yellow-painted lenses.

Just to be clear, as long as they have the appropriate wattage bulb ( 21w ) you should be fine, as all the WW2 vehicles were in service on the road long before the regulations changed to give a minimum surface area for the indicator light.

If that nice traffic constable can't understand that you can always completely remove them as for strict legacy compliance they are not needed, though that would be a tad extreme ....

I normally use yellow bulbs in the lower fitting of the standard rear lights for the rear indicators too - much cleaner. If you have visibility concerns you really need a large reflective plate that is hung on the back ( and lit ? ) during motorway travel.

I agree on the thread file, but I think I'd be finding out the thread size and just buying a die nut on e-bay. Another neat item is a UN thread pitch gauge, as there are several variations on the number of threads per inch around the 1" diameter

Yes, I know you'll only ever use it once, but even the big ones aren't that expensive. Got a wooden box in the shed with all sorts of odd UN threads, including die nuts and taps for the LH wheel studs and nuts. Money well spent :angel:

Well, you can find a trustworthy dealer ( ) but there is really nothing to stop you doing it yourself, via a shipping agent, as long as you note the advice given above.

If you just want to look at what is available, and get something with the right paperwork immediately, but maybe pay a little more, go to a dealer.

If you want a specific type of vehicle in a specific condition, just buy on E-Bay ( using the links here, of course ) or via a US dealer and get it freighted over, using a good shipper and remembering about the title.

Gordon