Rootes75

So a question to other MV owners, my Commer has its petrol guage blanked off, not as an afterthought but a factory fitted guage. Is there a reason for this and do other British vehicles have similar?

Are you going to use the original loom or use it as a pattern to get a new one made?

Great photos.

I also noticed this in the sale. https://mathewsons.co.uk/auctions/auction-dates/vehicles/16966-willys-jeep-roof

I bet that was a sight for him, also the fact of knowing you are true enthusiasts.

What fantastic detail, it looks brilliant.

Superb!!

A friend pointed me in the direction of this website, some amazing photos. https://mashable.com/2015/08/15/wwii-surplus-vehicles/?europe=true

That's nice to see something saved from RGM, well worth it for its rarity.

That's very neat, looks very good.

Can anyone shed any light on this, I was advised to contact Geoff Fletcher at FMW about the possibility of tracing the history of a wartime RAF vehicle. But now I am being told that this would only be for post-war records?

If there are other examples either in a restored state or being restored, you could also add the question whether this example may hold some useful spares for the others?

This was a small section I rubbed down on the front wing just to see the paint layers on the 42 Commer. The first coat after primer is the Brown then the darker blue. We think she was an RAF truck, SCC2 Brown during the war maybe then blue after?

Under the various coats of paint on our 1942 Commer we have found plenty of SCC2 Brown but its so compromised that we wouldn't be able to get a good colour match off of it. We have started rubbing her down now properly with a view to getting the welding done and paint on during the summer months when the weather is more favourable.

In your experience Richard, where would you source SCC2 Brown?

That is a very nice and neat repair.

I also notice in one of the photos there are some more modern classic trucks in the background of the yard.

Looking very good.

So many scam sales on ebay these days, we often see the same person listing 100+ vehicles all with library photos and silly start prices.

We went down the yard again this morning, she started nicely with minimal choke that was released straight away. She then sat on tickover for 10 minutes without missing a beat. Very pleased with her. Its something we havent thought about before, its just one of those things that when you replace your plugs or the like, you dont check that new parts aren't faulty.

It is coming along, well done.

I would imagine the £8k would be negotiable. Prices of all older vehicles is on the up but at the end of the day though I suppose its anout how much someone is willing to pay.

I think they are around the £120-130 price at SOF. You don't see many second hand Denix guns on the market, we have been after a Lee Enfield replica for a while now.

At last, some joy with the Commer. We sort of went back to basics. Firstly, we tried to start her again but she simply would not fire and then would flood with lots of fuel coming out the overflow pipe. We also then noticed a small leak on the carb. So, we swapped the carb for a rebuilt spare that we have and we also removed an inspection brass bolt on the manifold to find that was wet inside. We then tried again and this time she did fire but would only run with choke and would pop and bang, she was missing aswel. We took the opportunity with her running to dribble some oil around the manifold to check for leaks, there were none. So, next step we re-checked the timing, it was correct. We re-checked the contact gap and spark at tge distributor, this was correct. But, upon checking the spark on the plugs, number one was weak, number two non spark and it went like that for the others. So, we checked each HT lead and found some not good connections at all, these were all replaced. We tried the engine again and although better sounding she was still missing and popping back. With her running, one by one we removed a plug lead, we found that removing the HT from plugs 2, 5 and 6 made no difference to the engine running. These are 6 new Champion Plugs, we found 3 NGK plugs on the shelf so cleaned and reset the gaps and fitted these. Next push on the starter and you would not believe the difference. Smooth start with no choke, engine running like a clock with some minor adjustment to the air mixture on the carb and best of all, give her some throttle and she doesnt cut out or backfire, just a lovely throaty sounding 6 cylinder petrol engine. I took some video which I will upload. It just goes to show, get the basics right. Small simple problems can really get you scratching your head and set you back. Onwards now with getting the body off with the bodywork and chassis to rub down and repair.

We are very much the same! Main interest being in Commers but I do very much like Guy Ants and Fordsons, any rusty old trucks could find a home with us if we had the money and space!