Swill1952xs

Thanks for the reply. This engine doesn't have any form of external oil filter whatsoever. I'm hoping to find a way of interrupting the oil supply from the pressure side of the lubrication system so that at least some of the oil is filtered. That way all the oil will have passed through a filter at some stage, and it should help reduce the amount of liquid borne contaminants. As they say.......... anything is better than nothing at all. There are companies that make remote oil filter kits that could be adapted, or perhaps I could use a filter mounting off something else and plumb it in using standard hydraulic hoses. The bottom section of the sump has a removable plate to gain access to the oil strainer. It probably wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility to modify the oil supply tube to the main bearings, and fit an oil filter actually inside the sump. ie cut the oil supply pipe, braze some hydraulic couplings on to the ends and pipe it to a filter fixed to the oil strainer housing. It wouldn't be that much different, changing an oil filter; to the normal procedure of dropping the sump base to clean the strainer. Something for me to ponder over. I will try to get to "Stinkers Park" next weekend and catch up with you. What vehicle will you have there? I went to Laughton yesterday and hunted down Gritineye, Julezee101? and a chap called Paul, but I wasn't sure of his forum name, if he's a member. I walked up to Bernard and said "Hello...... I'm looking for a miseable git that owns a Scammell" (An old joke from when I joined the forum and let off about a person with a Scammell at Laughton......... turned out to be a forum member........er .......Bernard :red: ) Nice to meet some forum members face to face.

What is a de-activated Lee Enfield like that worth. Not necessarily yours; but I would one day like to have a pair to stand in the back of my Albion cab. Er.. .......... when the restoration is finished.

An update on the saga of the donor engine. This afternoon I had another bash (Literally) at freeing off the stuck pistons in my Albion engine. Still no joy, so I decided to take the sump off. After removing umpteen bolts and studs, most of which were either loose or had stripped threads in the nuts; I finally got the sump off. As expected, there was a small amount of water in the bottom of the sump, and plenty of creamy thick sludge. As pistons two and three are the big offenders, I had a look from the bottom to see what was going on. Where the water has run down the bores past the pistons; it has left some quite substantial rust streaks below the pistons, stopping them from moving down the bores. Problem is, number two wants to go up, number three wants to go down! Number two wont go up because number three wont go down, and vice versa. Number three has a clean bore above the piston and seems to "Rock" in the cylinder; suggesting that it should with a bit of luck come up and out of the top. That should then enable me to persuade number two up its bore to be removed from the top also. It just remains to be seen whether the bores are damaged beyond being serviceable. Sorry am I boring you :-D The crank shows no external evidence of siezure, but it will be interesting to see what sort of state the bearing shells are in. It's fascinating stripping this engine, as I can't believe how simply its made. No fancy castings with intricate bored galleries for oilways. No external oil filters. (Needs something done about that :??? )The engine has an oil pump which feeds the crank via a large diameter tube interlinking the main bearings. Oil for the big ends comes from the main bearing journals. The big pipe goes to the back main bearing and has a pipe connected to the outside of the block. This then feeds the camshaft bearings and rocker gear. The cylinder block is seperate from the crankcase, and it is fitted with dry liners. Everything on the front of the engine including the fan, is driven by a hefty triplex chain. Camshaft, injector pump and compressor, dynamo and water pump and fan. There are no external pullies whatsoever, no belts to break, and nowhere to drive the power steering pump from.............. dooh :??? Spose you cant have it all ways. There are a few plates on the timing cover that may make it possible to fit a direct drive power steering pump. I will try to get some pictures of the underside of the engine as soon as possible, then you will see what I mean.

Sumfink else you could try.............. Are there any flexible brake pipes between the master cylinder and the airpack......... if there are; they have on many occasions become blocked with rubber debris which has come from inside the flexi hose. Where the pipe is swaged , ie compressed on to the metal fixing, it is very common for blockages to form at this point as the bore is very narrow. If a hose between the master cylinder and air pack is blocked, it could hold enough pressure in the system to activate the reaction valve in the airpack. This is assuming that the hydraulic master is connected directly to the brake pedal. The way to find out is to slacken them off very slightly to allow the pressure to escape. (At the end furthest from the master cylinder) Don't undo them completely, otherwise you will have to bleed the brakes again. Hope this is of some help to you. Jus' tryin ta be helpful. :-D

I could be wrong on this because I haven't had a lot of dealings with synthetic fluid for many years, but Dot 4 brake fluid has a higher boiling point than Dot 3. Dot 4 was, I think, intended for use in disc brake systems where the temperatures are higher. Normal brake fluid is ethylene glycol based the same as antifreeze, hence the reason it absorbs water and should be changed every two years. Synthetic fluid isn't hygroscopic and will not absorb water. I think synthetic has a higher boiling point and may be Dot5 spec. If my memory serves me well it is silicone based and should be compatible with all types of rubber. It is necessary to completely drain the braking system before using synthetic as it will not mix with E.G. based brake fluids. This is where problems can arise due to water contaminated E.G. based fluid, remaining in the system causing lowering of boiling point and further corrosion. I used synthetic in the Daimler I restored. I think I may still have some in my garage if you want to know more. Jus' tryin ta be helpful. :-D

Sounds to me like the clutch plate has had the centre ripped out of it. The pedal would feel normal, the clutch would very likely disengage and re-engage. Put some load on it and no drive. Noisy clutch because the broken lugs on the clutch plate are trying to drive the hub.............Simple. All the guessing will be over and done with. You'll have it on the road by Monday.

I'm not really a tank person, but what a fascinating story and so well documented. People often forget to take photos of finds like this and how they recovered them. Looking at the pictures; it's almost possible to share the excitement of the recovery. I hope you will keep us updated with both restorations. Many thanks, Will.

I've been contacted over the weekend by the Albion Club who would like to photograph my Albion for a feature write up in their club magazine. They are coming from Scotland to have a look at an Albion that has had an AEC engine fitted to it. It sounds like the one I tried to buy from the chap in West Sussex. I tried contacting him to see how he got on fitting it; but never had any replies to my E mails. Sounds as though he was successful. The people who are coming down have also told me they have a couple of spare cylinder liners to fit my donor engine if I need them. They have also offered to copy part of the HD57 manual that covers the engine. I haven't done a great deal to my restoration recently as I was unwell on my weekend off and worked last weekend. Never mind, it will be nice to see the lads from Scotland again.

I measured the sump plug as best possible, and it's either 1-7/16ths or 37mm. Anyone got one in their pocket :-D

Hello Stephane, I don't think you will get a big response immediately to your request for a Scammell. If it's a Pioneer you are looking for; there aren't that many for sale. This is probably a bad time of year to buy one as most people will be wanting to keep them for the summer, to attend meetings and displays. Many people are looking for the same as you, and very often it is a matter of good luck if one can be found. Have you tried looking through ordinary truck magazines for one. Sometimes they are advertised in the places you least expect to find them. I have seen them advertised in tractor magazines. Do you have any idea how much you want to spend buying one, or what sort of condition you are looking for? Are you prepared to travel to England to look for one? I wish you good luck in your search, and hope something suitable will come along soon.

If the dynamo is earthed to the engine, there should be a circuit as the field coils must be earthed to the engine. The field coils determine the amount of magnetism acting on the armature, and consequently the charging output. This is controlled by the regulator. Hopefully this information is correct as I haven't had dealings with dynamo's for some years now. Maybe someone could verify the information.

My translation.......... :-D Tony B, Vous et dans le merde maintenant (2nd Annee Francais...... you are in the poo now) His name is Stephane. I think he will be looking out for you with a 50 gauge Browning. He wants to know where you are staying so he can come and blast the crap out of you............... or sumfink like that.. :-D

Why not post them all on here so we can all see them........... paleeease. :-D

Having rudely interrupted the thread about "Memphis Belle" with my witterings about B25's that I thought were connected to the subject; I now find that they weren't.........(gasps for breath). So I decided to start a new thread. I thought this TV program was connected to the "Memphis Belle" topic but was in fact a story about a man called Jeff Hawke, who brought several B25's over from America for the filming of "Hanover Street" starring Harrison Ford. It's a fascinating tale of them finding and starting the aircraft after many years of storage and preparing them for flight to the UK. They had a band of "Cowboy" pilots, one of which hadn't flown since WW2 and arguments about the flight plans etc. They flew these barely airworthy planes after some really unbelievable antics on takeoff, and this makes great viewing. Enjoy..............http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Me81QS-AGY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Me81QS-AGYhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOB1o-AwMII http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNNr0uDjJFQ&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4AalxrEgO4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td2rhAXn4MU&feature=related I thought you might like to see this too.

Next week..............NEXT WEEK......... we can't wait that long..... dooh. :-D Seriously though, good luck with the engine, and we'll look forward to seeing your pictures. :thumbsup:

If you are testing the dynamo output, disconnect the wiring to the dynamo and bridge the terminals as you said. Put a voltmeter between the bridged terminals and the EARTH connection on the battery. If it is a twelve volt generator then at about 1/4 to half throttle, you should get about 30v from it. That is the only test you will need to do to confirm that the dynamo is working. As regards polarising the dynamo......... disconnect the wiring to it. Connect a wire to the LIVE side of the battery and flick it across the smaller terminal on the dynamo, several times. This will cancel any residual magnetism in the field coils and re- polarise it for your earthing sysytem. If it still fails to charge, then check that the dynamo is earthed to the engine, check the wiring to the regulator. I assume your electrics have been converted to 12v if you are using a Mini regulator. If the dynamo test and wiring check are all ok, then it's most likely a regulator fault. Regulator contacts can corrode when not in use and may need cleaning. (Contact points inside the unit) Jus' tryin ta be helpful........ Will

Any film of the recovery............... that would be fannyskating to watch. (Fascinating........ eh..... geddit :-D )

Thanks for putting me right......... memory's going.......old age I spose. Sorry fer pokin me nose in.

Sorry to hear of the setback after how nice you made it look. It'll be nice to see the pictures later. I'll put the kettle on when you are back........ :-D

Well done Stephane........... your English is getting better by the day. Another month and you will be an expert in English language. Who said these forums are a waste of time? :-D

Talking of Memphis Belle,.............. does anyone remember the TV program which I think involved David Tallichet bringing some B25's over from a desert storage compound in the U.S.A. They were for the same film. The program was called "B25's do fly in I.M.C." if I remember correctly. They brought over several of them; some via Iceland or Greenland taking the shortest routes over the sea, but there were also arguments over whether one of the crews wanting to fly via the Azores. It was absolutely fascinating to watch and I video'd it, but obviously haven't seen it for years. I remember them looking at the aircraft, starting them up after many years of storage and preparing them for the trip. I also remember the film during the trip, with oil streaming down the wings and Dzus? (Is that how it's spelt) fasteners rotating in the engine covers. What a tense and exciting adventure that must have been. Just had another flashback........ I think they were called "The Dolittle Raiders", or sumfink like that. Sorry to poke me nose in........... I'll let you get back to the proper subject:-D:)

Come on............... look, just forget about everything else you have to do at the moment............. we want to know if it runs and drives. This whole forum is going to come to a standstill if we don't find out soon. If you don't soon do it we'll come round and do it for you......... so there. :-D Oh and P.S. we want it video'd too, so we can share that magical moment.... Sorry I meant to say we want it video'd........... pleeeease...........

Not an expert on Jeeps, but 70psi aint good. I would imagine an engine of that age should have a compression pressure of around 120psi. (Modern engines are nearer 150psi) A drop in pressure on one cylinder will make it appear to run rich as the others are trying to compensate for the imbalance. Jus' tryin' ta be helpful. :-D ........ Now I'll let the people who really know what they are talking about answer the question.

Hi, I have an update coming for my HGV teasters manual, hopefully early next week. I had a look through my 2005 one and so far all I've found is a height limit for brake lights and outer marker lights. It does need marker lights on the corners, which I think is covered by the outer lights on your rear light cluster. There is a minimum height for stop lights of 850 mm from the ground. I will check the regs as soon as I receive my update. I don't think there's anything wrong with what you've done, but I will check. Are you going to put permanently fixed ramps on the back? If so you could put additional lights on the ramps. If you do that you will have to make sure you still have visible lights when they are lowered otherwise someone might use your new ramps for some sort of stunt flying. :-D