Gordon_M

Theoretically if they got enough use the ball track grooves and ball diameters could accumulate enough wear between them that the balls could space out / bunch up. If you have a look at the worn ones pictured I'd guess they have forty years of wear on them, and the primary damage looks to have been pitting from standing, so good luck driving one of these trucks far enough for ordinary wear to become a problem. When they are being rebuilt now, it would make sense to rebuild them with brand new balls, possibly slightly oversize to accommodate the existing wear / rework on the ball tracks, and then forget about them for the next hundred years.

Well spotted Richard, I would never have worked that out. They positioned the headlight "kerb side" as appropriate then.

Build an assembly with a drive system, plonk it in something full of something like valve grinding paste and just let it turn for a few hours, basically lap them like valve seats.

Thanks Richard, learned something new there. The Scottish crown, found on Letter Boxes and Telephone Boxes north of the border, is different again.

I'm sure that is the English crown, normally seen as British. The other common one is the Scottish crown which is a lot flatter, and found on things like Telephone Boxes ( remember them? ) in Scotland

I know, you have already seen that, but the state of that strainer suggests that cleaning the gauge feed line may be even more important. 🧐

It has been a while, I think I had brown hair when we last met.😥 I wouldn't risk dismantling it now, but plan on at least a sump clean some time after all the germs have been killed. If you want a Baldric-type cunning plan which won't cost anything and may solve your problem in a single bound, take the gauge connection off the back of the gauge and blow through it ( compressed air? ) back to the oil gallery. There is a chance that some lump of dislodged crud is partially blocking either the gauge line itself or the gauge line connection at the high pressure gallery. I suppose you could take the whole line off and blow through it, but don't forget the connection into the gallery too.

Hello Mike, it has been a while since I saw your half ton, for sure. The weeping oil at the felt seal, no problem. Normally does that when well worn. As long as it doesn't get back to the clutch just clean it off and ignore it. I suspect your engine ran very happily for many years on non-detergent oil, and had a good supply of sludge in the system, then you drained it out and replaced it with modern oil with a detergent content which did it's job and washed all the gunge further down stream - and took all your oil pressure with it. Pull the sump and clean it thoroughly, check the big ends. The biggest effect on the Dodge oil pressure is the main bearings, so give the crank a rattle and see if you can detect play. Check oil pump for clearance and adjust or replace, consider your options for main bearing replacement if nothing else gets you to where you need to be. Do NOT forget the little 'h' seals in he rear main bearing cap if you have to remove and replace - gasket goo or sealant will not do.

Well it took a hundred years to get in that state, so a few more won't hurt. Avoid the Minibar at all costs. 8-)

Indeed, not sure how much value currently. Airborn Pick / mattock, many people call them. I bought a full original WW2 crate of them from the Barras in Glasgow 35 years back and sold them all to NEMVC members. Stupidly I didn't keep the crate. Four or so years ago I was using the only one I kept and the handle broke quite comprehensively, I may have been a little rough with it.🥵 Bemoaning the loss of such a useful tool I searched on that well known internet auction site and found someone, in Holland I think, selling original handles from a similar crate for about a tenner each. Before I paid for my two handles - I bought a spare ... I had a really good look at the auction images and the label on the crate was dated 1918, so my WW2 Pick / Mattock has a WW1 replacement handle. 😀 Your find would be equally type appropriate for any WW1 or WW2 US display, though I see 1945 cast on it, and the manufacturer is DIAMOND CALK, famous originally as a horseshoe manufacturer. ( Educational this Interweb stuff, isn't it ?)

Looks like exactly the sort of part you could borrow, 3D scan, upscale ( to allow for contraction ) and 3D print to use as a pattern for casting some in ordinary steel.

Nice work. It looks like they made the clips and bolts in house too.

I don't have anything here Paul. If I remember correctly the 236.6cu in engine was virtually identical in the T222 and T110 series vehicles, probably updated slightly for the APT which was several years later.

I'm guessing I know which features most ...

If you have a contemporary image of one of these and chains are fitted, I'd guess that it would be axle-deep in caked mud and the chains would be effectively invisible anyway.

You would want the frame to have support even unloaded, so they would have a preload. Here's a challenge for you Steve. Next time you are there, ding each side gently with a small hammer and see how they sound. In theory both sides should make the same note, even after all these years. (I'm reminded of Dave Engels in the buggy tyre video above twanging both the steel cables to check they both had the same note.)

Thanks Richard. I'd guess the two wheel drive and stunning lack of horsepower ( Triumph Herald engine ) didn't do the Amphicar any favours as a military prospect. They did tend to survive - it could still be out there.

Interesting to see the Amphicar on there too, I can only think they wanted to test them. What does the "NR" code next to it signify please?

Hadn't caught that one. Did you notice on the buggy wheels Dave matched the tension of both the tension wires by just pinging the wires to give the same note?

They certainly could be, but they may not be subject to sufficient abuse to be worth all that effort. Obviously there was enough of that going on to warrant producing specialist machines to do the job.

On the subject of hard rubber tyres on wooden rims, though not directly truck-related, I would never have guessed how this was done:

There's a pile of information out there on these 41-B-1640 boxes. They seen to have been made by several manufacturers, Kennedy and Simonsen being the most common, and they are mostly associated with USAAC, USAAF, USAF, USN, and NAF ( Naval Air Force ). They do not appear to have been in common service with the US Army for whatever reason. I have several, and they are really heavy even when empty, to the point that a single lift handle must have been useless when loaded. The G503 Tool Section is loaded with information and examples: https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=215765 I would normally expect an example with embossed USN to be post WW2, but the socket tray lid layout of your find is definitely WW2 type ( pre-WW2 the top trays were empty, even blank, with no lids or dividers, during WW2 they normally had socket dividers and one side had a lid, some time post-WW2 both of the top section got lids, though probably different manufacturers changes at different times ) It may be worth stripping or sanding the black paint to check for original stencilling.

It looks "good enough". but sometimes good enough- isn't. If you weren't intending to use it immediately I'd put it up on its side and load it a little to encourage the curve to come out. Definitely agree with checking the rivets, particularly around that third crossmember where I would have expected some to move.

What do you think of losing just enough rivets to get that third crossmember out of the chassis, then straighten and reinforce each chassis rail in turn, then refit the third crossmember?