Doc

It has been a particularly busy few days. The subject matter this time is wheels. The off side rear wheel was re-fitted (sorry for the lack of photographs) in order that the axle stands could be recovered for use on the near side. The wheel has still only had first coat gloss, but it was hard and so didn't scuff when lifting. Top coat will be applied in-situ. Wheel nut in position Fitting the retaining plate Removal of the near-side wheel presented no difficulties. First: remove the locking plate. Next the castellated nut. Jack up and rock and slide the wheel along the axle. Then on with a strap and let the crane take the weight. Finally swing the wheel away from the chassis and place on the wheel stand. Wheel nut and locking plate. Original bolts on the left. Will have to make a couple more of these. Beautifully cut eccentric oil groove on the thrust bearing Sliding the wheel off A bit of help from the crane And safely on the stand. No great surprises in the brake department Brake parts removed and awaiting cleaning. Removing the shoes from the callipers Ready for wire brushing. Preparing to remove the spring Spring safely removed. Wheel washed, wire brushed / emery clothed / conversion coating applied and first coat of red oxide primer. Brake parts after phosphate conversion coating. Red oxide primer in the morning before work...

Been a busy old week, so thought I would post early. Decided to make a start on the buttresses for the bulkhead. The originals were thin steel castings that must have been very badly corroded in that they had been discarded. It is much easier now, with the ready availability of plasma cutting, to produce faithful replicas, than in the 1970's when the replacements were made. I've had a kit of laser cut parts for a while now, stored in the airing cupboard. Some fettling was required: the bolt holes needed to be measured from the chassis and drilled into the bottom plates, some other parts needed the ends ground off at an angle to fit. Trial fitting of the off side bottom plate And the near side. Loose assembly of buttress parts. Near side buttress loose assembly. The front plate has been left over long and will be cut to size after welding. Frank the welder sent these two photographs of the buttresses tacked together, to check he'd got everything in the correct place (which he had!). Difficult to explain the job whilst maintaining social distancing. Now, turning to the bulkhead itself. The skirt along the bottom would originally have been supported by a piece of angle iron that ran across the whole width of the bulkhead. Somewhere in the bottom of the treasure chest were these: Remains of the skirt, angle iron support and the two spacer blocks - yes! they are originals. You can just make out the part number on the left-hand block. Here, trimming down a piece of 30 x 30 x 3 angle iron. Slitting disc in the angle grinder with another piece of steel clamped on as a guide. Final fettling with a flap disc, To match the height of the spacer blocks. I will return to this topic later, when the buttresses are back from being welded.

Social distancing precludes "Pinch, punch, first of the month" (and no returns!) so instead an extra post. The steering wheel had seen repair at some point in the past. Gone was the wooden rim; in its place a rolled and welded piece of galvanized pipe, with tabs brazed on, bolted to the spokes. Functional, yes. Ingenious, possibly. Elegant, no. Slitting disc in the angle grinder made short work of the tabs. In its place, a new laser-cut rim. Steering wheel casting is steel, so the rim could be welded on. (Thanks to my brother Gerald for doing this) A bit of work with the flap wheel on the grinder After filling and sanding and a couple of coats of primer, it's looking quite respectable again. At some point in the future (when free movement returns) this will be encased in wood. Another small job ticked off the list.

It's midweek again. You know the drill... I've made mention in the past of the tea chests and the treasures contained within. So here follows some pictures of treasure. First of all, a small cast brass disk reminding drivers to clean the oil filter. The holes line up with those in the remains of one of the valve chest covers. Which, when mounted on the engine, neatly coincides with the oil filter. Finally! a photograph that's ended up in the correct orientation. Next out of the treasure chest... The remains of the fan shroud. There's enough left to discern the constructional details. Alongside a radiator side-panel that had been used as a pattern. Sanding off the paint revealed the locations of the bolt holes for securing the fan shroud. And finally, most of two rear mudguard brackets. Those who are paying attention may recall that Messrs. Clayton stopped supplying chassis-mounted mudguard brackets - these would have bolted to the body. And finally, not from the tea chests but treasure all the same - the remains of the under pan.

It's that time again. Time for a catch-up on the week's activities. This week has been what weather forecasters sometimes call "a mixed bag". Re-fitting the off side rear spring ground to a halt when I realised that I didn't have a 1"BSF tap in Suffolk to clean the threads of the links. Fortunately our favourite online auction site came up trumps and one arrived in the letter box on Friday. Spring on its short journey round the workshop. So many memories associated with the old trolley. It's what our father used to move various of his stationary engines around when we were too young to be of any help. Spring fitted. Thanks to David for lending a hand with this job. Brake shoes, actuating cam, spring, pivots and link all pre-assembled. Lifted into place, a light tap with a hammer and block of wood on the bolts to drive everything home. (scuff marks on the actuating cam and pivot bolts just visible) Bolts in undercoat. Next out of the "mixed bag" Re-fitting the radiator mounts and the front bonnet support brackets. Front chassis member had been replaced by a previous owner. Holes weren't quite big enough for 3/8"BSF bolts, so I opened them out a little. Extra nut on the front bolts is for a P-clip to retain the gas pipe for the headlights. While I was de-cluttering the painting shed it was the turn of the steering box to go back on the chassis. All nuts and bolts have been worked up to top coat now, though I don't have a photograph. I also realised that the front bonnet support brackets were the other side of the line, so to speak, so ought to be black not green. This has now been rectified.

Here's some photographs taken by the late Derek Hackett of Ross-on-Wye. This vehicle was last seen by us in the Williams sale at Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, in April 2007. Lot no. 253, £180 on the hammer. Anyone know what became of it?

New thread is a good idea. Probably best not to name private owners; limit to country or state / province. Anyway, it's midweek, so time for another post. This time from August 2019. Like many lorries of the period, the hand brake acts on the rear wheels. To ensure both brakes pull up evenly a compensating linkage is invariable used. Hand brake compensating linkage. Not the best photograph but does show the shaft running across the chassis and the link arm to operate the near side brake. As can be seen, there was considerable wear in the hardened steel bushes of the compensating link. Fortunately these bushes are common to various parts of the mechanism. The tea-chests referred to previously yielded these two spare links with serviceable bushes. Some rudimentary tooling was made from off-cuts of copper and aluminium, allowing the bushes to be driven out. They were then fitted into the compensating link, which now looks a lot more respectable.

The standard of engineering on the Karrier is extremely high, as you note. I have no direct experience of Dennis vehicles but your comment does raise an interesting discussion as to the survival of companies and the survival rates of their products. Certainly the survival rate for pre-1920 lorries is far lower than pre-1920 tractors. Has anyone attempted to collate this for say AEC, Albion, Dennis, Leyland, Thornycroft apart from the minor marques. Andy

Wow! What an amazing photograph. So much detail. Torque tubes (think I can make out the small brass plate) different pattern to mine; the ball is bolted on, Leyland-like, but mine is cast in one piece with the socket that is riveted to the tube, half shafts, even a couple of inlet manifolds c/w carburettors hanging on the wall. Not sure about the chain sprockets- B series? Thanks for sharing this.

Looks like an awful lot of wear in one of the suspension links!

OK that's enough meandering. It's the end of the weekend, so back on course with a progress update. Continuing on with the torque tube, the chassis cross member was bolted back in position. A light smear of grease on the mating faces ensured that it went back into position a little easier than when it was driven up. Next the trusty high lift pallet truck was wheeled into position. A generous smear of grease was applied to the spherical cap prior to fitment. It was slowly lifted into position being balanced on the small round pad where the greaser screws in. It was only lifted far enough to get the nuts to start on the four 3/4" BSF bolts that secure the two halves together. Thereafter the bolts were tightened evenly until the joint was pulled up tight. Lifting the torque tube and cap Cap in position Fitting the first tension brace. Both tension braces in position. Nuts and bolts have now been worked up to green / black. Have now made a start on the steering drag link. As removed from the chassis. Dismantling the front ball joint Dismantling the rear ball joint. This one was tight! Lucky to have an 1.1/4" Whitworth spanner in the tool box. Heat, oil and a lot of too-and fro required. This thread is going to need some cleaning up. 1.5/8" x 16 tpi Whit form. Another odd one... Parts in first coat red oxide after the usual treatment. The large flat washers serve to keep at least some of the grease in and dirt out of the ball joints. There's four light springs, one per flat washer to keep everything in place.

Yes. My brother David is working on that one. There's a thread on this little corner of hmvf concerning the workshop. He's still looking for an inlet manifold for the Leyland. I'll PM you about rollers, so as to not completely derail this thread. Andy

Steve, What a coincidence! This is the very same roller you knew at Barfords. Gerald won the Road Roller Association trophy for its restoration. My J-type also came from Barfords. Unfortunately, whenever it gets close to the front of the queue some other deserving project comes along. Still, it's in the dry and saved from the scrap man. So far as rate of progress is concerned, you're starting from scratch. I'm finishing off on this project. Also very fortunate to be working from home at the moment, so get to devote evenings and weekends. As soon as we get back to normal, I expect progress to slow up considerably. Regards Andy

Doug, Off topic - true, but in the circumstances, lock-down and all... The roller under cover is a Barford and Perkins model D3 of 1914. It also belongs to my elder brother. Apart from the single roll at the front it is essentially the same as my D4, which was built for the War Office in 1915 for use rolling grass strip runways. 1914 Barford and Perkins D3 number D005 at "Woolpit Steam" in 2009. 1915 ex. War Office Barford and Perkins D4 number E071 waiting to hitch a ride to the Great Dorset Steam Fair, 2018. All loaded and being strapped down in readiness for the long journey to Dorset.

Hi, Actually neither. It's a 12-25. Nearly done now. Lock-down has interfered with the delivery of the new 1st reduction chain. I walk past the tractor most days to get to my Karrier. Maybe over the weekend I'll take the dust sheets off and sneak a couple of pictures for you. My brother had hoped to debut the tractor at "Woolpit Steam" this year. But that, like so many events has had to be cancelled. All the best. Andy

It's midweek again. So time for another catch-up post. We're back to November - December 2019... The near-side rear wheel was removed in order to access the brakes, spring etc and swiftly took its turn in the washing - preparing - painting routine. The wheel was first transferred onto a rather handy painting stand using the travelling crane. My brother Gerald built the stand to make the wheels from his IHC Mogul tractor a bit more manageable. As you can see, the wheel on its stand can be moved (with care) using a pallet truck. Next to go on the stand were David's Leyland RAF type wheels. Now it's my turn... The stand is adjustable for height. These parts started life as the jacking feet on the side of a portacabin. The rest was from the scrap pile. Second coat red oxide primer Grey undercoat First coat green Is now good and hard and awaiting sanding and top coat.

It's the end of the weekend, which means an up to date post. It's been a busy few days cleaning, de-rusting and painting back axle components, prior to reassembly. Like the steering box, the back axle assembly also has lodges where water can collect - in this case, between buttresses supporting the torque tube mating flange. To work with the chipping hammer, followed by a wire brush on the drill - looking much more respectable. A good brush full of the rather pungent Jenolite and these surfaces turned black. It's so rewarding to see parts all one colour. The Karrier has a double reduction back axle with bevel first reduction then spur gear second reduction. The differential is of the spur gear pattern. The design is such that practically any sub-assembly can be removed without disturbing the others. Note the adjustment for crown wheel / pinion mesh. The ever so useful high lift pallet truck in position to take the weight of the back axle sump. Difficult to get the truck close enough - the pallet was balanced right on the end of the forks. Note the G clamp to keep the pallet from tipping. And there it is, in all its (slightly out of focus) glory And after a lot of sanding and washing, washing and sanding, starting to look a bit more respectable Once again, nice to see it all one colour. A view of the differential from underneath. In the top right of the picture you can just make out the pinion of the second reduction. Sunday. The day of rest, for some... My elder brother takes after our Grandfather in so much as he does not do his laundry on the sabbath. To be fair, i'm not sure if Grandfather ever did his own laundry, but do I recall him declaring my mother a heathen for hanging her washing out on a Sunday. I digress... The point is that I was able to borrow a handful of clothes pegs to keep the gasket in place while I lifted the sump back up into position. In position, engaged on the studs and a couple of nuts in place. Clothes pegs removed before nuts and bolts done up tight. Easter Monday. Re-assembling the prop shaft and torque tube. Oh! How we struggled with this job. First task was to fit the prop shaft into the torque tube. Then lift in position and try and wiggle the shaft so that the splines would engage with the muff coupling. Then push the torque tube back and try and re-unite the mating flanges. Except that the spherical end fouled the cross member. So out with the bolts, drive the offending part up, out of the way (hammer and a block of wood) before finally getting the torque tube bolted up. Sorry for the lack of action shots; I was a little too cross at the time to take pictures. Mobile gantry and chain blocks for this job - a bit more controllable than the crane. Taking the weight on a strap. Note the cross member driven up, out of the way. The results of a morning's hard work. Thanks to my brothers for lending a hand.

Some more catch-up from November - December 2019. Off Side rear brake shoes removed from their calipers. Everything thoroughly de-rusted and treated with phosphate conversion coating prior to painting. Threads cleaned up, new nuts and washers fitted. Re-usable Grover washers saved for somewhere more visible. Leaf spring, pins and links got the same treatment at this time. Dismantled and ready for cleaning Red oxide primer. Chain blocks and gantry seemed a convenient way of hanging the spring for painting. Then there was the smaller bits... A ladder across the gantry seemed like a good idea at the time, though the number of times I've had to limbo under it to get across the shed - glad it is no longer there! Grey undercoat First coat black. Top coat will to be applied after re-assembly Back together And a dab of red oxide on the nuts

Took 5 minutes out from work. Do you think an approach as the attached image would work? No split line; everything draws away from the flange face. Crescent would be part of the core that closes off the trunion. Hollowness as cantilevered cores. Wedge shapes either part of the core or infilled with sand as the mould is assembled. Oval flange and T profile details via a side core. Something to think about, hope it is helpful. Best wishes, Doc.

A while ago I posted a drawing of a "Petrol Motor Lurry To Carry 4 Tons", kindly provided by Geoff Lumb. Well, since then I've been busy on Solidworks and have produced a 3D model of the cab and lurry and mounted them on the model of my chassis. I've only modeled ironwork / brackets for the near side also have yet to complete the tailboard and hinges. Some screenshots below: Near Side View Off Side Rear 3/4 View Front View (sorry, no radiator!) Rear View. And a special treat: video capture. Sorry about the watermark - trial version software. LYR Lurry.mp4

Torque Tube. I went round and removed all the split pins from the torque tube retaining bolts, loosened and removed all bar one of the bolts from the flange where this part is fixed to the back axle. With the aid of a second pair of hands, the last bolt was removed and the torque tube lowered down onto a pallet. Torque tube removed Spherical head. Note the hole drilled through and its orientation relative to the oil bung. With the bung vertical, the drilled hole lines up with the oiler fitting to the left of the greaser. Flange end of the torque tube. Note the rust scour in the tube ant the chisel cut across the flange, which marks the top. So there's another mystery solved. Final drive input shaft and bearing. and with the muff coupling. Final drive all turns freely, though there is a little bit of room on the splines of the input shaft and coupling. Bolts from the flange joint. So this weekend's tasks were broadly as follows: Knocking out a new gasket A fragment of original black paint. (the green is preservation era paint) Sanded down, paraffin washed and drying in the sunshine. Phosphate conversion coating on the rusty bits and two coats of read oxide primer all over. Prop shaft with cleaned and reassembled Hooke's joint. Pins and bushes are case hardened steel and show hardly any wear. Nuts and bolts from the flange joint have been cleaned up and prepared for painting. Bolts have had a die-nut over the threads. Castle nuts were new in 1977 and are still as new now. Even the bolts are stamped with part numbers! From now on I am going to try and maintain some discipline. I will endeavour to post as follows: weekends will be up to date, midweek I'll try and fill in the gaps - play catch-up. If nothing else, in these unusual times, it will help people tell the days apart. Or get completely muddled up. Doc

Sorry the last post was out of sync. I shall endeavour to play catch-up over the coming days and weeks. So here's the off side back wheel being removed (October 2019). Chassis supported on rear spring hanger, bottle jack under the back axle housing to lift the wheel off the ground. Retaining nut and locking plate removed and wheel slid along the axle, exposing the brake shoes. On with a strap and the crane just taking the weight. Wheel swung free of the axle. Brakes and spring looking a bit sorry for themselves. As soon as this picture was taken a second axle stand was placed under the end of the axle.

Not everything yields to the hydraulic puller. The spring saddles are tight on their bearings where they rotate about the back axle. The first indication that something was wrong came when I removed the bottom cap of the torque tube ball coupling. Based on Leyland RAF type experience, prior to undoing the bolts, I had taken the weight with the high-lift pallet truck. As I lowered the pallet truck I expected to lower the torque tube to the ground. In reality it hung suspended in mid-air. Having removed the off-side rear wheel, spring and brake mechanism (more of that in another post) I thought is would be a comparatively easy job to withdraw the various parts. Drawer plates were made, along with requisite spacers and an aluminium centre plug to go in the end of the axle tube. Drilling through both plates with tapping drill. (Plates 20 mm thick mild steel, laser cut from dxf) Starting the tap in the upper plate (thread = 3/4" UNF) Finishing the thread by hand on the edge of the bench. Drilling clearance holes in the second plate. The puller in all its glory. 3/4" diameter rods from off-cuts of EN16T On with the puller, wound it up as tight as it would go... and... nothing! The stubborn brake hanger bracket is splined to the rear axle. I should point out that this like most castings on the Karrier chassis is steel. Had it been cast iron I would not have dreamt of taking this approach. Everything was grease and oil, so unlikely to be rusted together. Perhaps these have fretted together over the years. Not wanting to damage anything, I reverted to plan "B". Judicious application of heat... And from underneath. Note the two fragments of fire brick. In with the pudrick and tightening the nuts. I had practised this operation while everything was still cold, so everything went to plan. Candle wax makes a good high temperature lubricant. Then a lot of two and fro on the hard work end of the pudrick. It's not completely free but there's a lit more movement than there was and nothing broken, which has to be a plus!

Dave, You should find the intermediate gear simply slides off the shaft. It may appear tight as the gear is really two gears with a coil spring inside. Anti back-lash presumably. But it might also be tight! Shaft may well draw with the gear. Key-slot in the end of the shaft should align with a key in the small 4- bolt plate on the timing cover. Good luck! Doc (Andy)

As one of the fortunate few who can walk across the yard to get to the workshop, I feel duty bound to share with those who cannot in these unusual times. So here's some pictures from earlier this year re-fitting the clutch. Flywheel painted, ready to receive clutch components. Grease applied to mating face. In with the clutch cone. Followed by the cover... and the spring. Winding in the spring adjuster with the new laser cut spanner. Note the grub screw and locking slot in the adjuster. Clutch release bearing, stop, lock nut, spacer and repaired retaining bolt for the drive coupling. Retaining bolt had deep gouges as a result of having been undone with a hammer and cold chisel. These have been welded up and filed back to shape. And back in position. New 3/8"BSF nuts and bolts from Trojan Special Fasteners at Birmingham. Pedal shaft and bearings ready for lifting into position... Pedal shaft in position. Thanks to my brother David for being a second pair of hands. Clutch stop and drive coupling fitted.