NickAbbott

Have you tried these people http://www.belcherengineering.com/ - I've had Ford Model AA parts from them before, and they say they do V8 stuff, so might be worth a try. Nick

I've got a few more AEC badge drawings, the earliest is 1924, and they are all the same - dimensions in mm and hole sizes and plate thicknesses in imperial! If you look in AEC manuals, there are also a lot of uses of mm - As an example, I think the AEC 7.7 engine uses 105mm pistons. Nick

Can anyone tell me when AEC badges were and weren't fitted to Matador radiators? I know a lot have been fitted by later owners, but I believe that my 1940 Matador should have a badge, but I think the radiator has been changed, and there is no sign of how one would've been fitted. Does anyone have a Matador which has an original badge fitted to the radiator, that they could post pictures of? Is the badge fitted into a recess, like on the majority of AEC radiators, or is it fitted onto the surface? Attached is an AEC drawing of what the original badge should look like. Thanks Nick

Thanks for that info Mike, exactly what I was after.

Does anyone have the dimensions of the brake linings fitted to Matadors (front and rear), as I have been offered some new linings that might fit, but I'm not currently in a position to remove the wheels and drums and measure the sizes - so if anyone knows the dimensions, it would be much appreciated. Thanks Nick

There are some other big diagrams in the book, covering the different brake arrangements, and also the trailer braking. Nick

Is this the diagram you mean? If you are after the whole Westinghouse manual, I am currently selling a CD on ebay (item 280551523447), which includes this manual, and most of the other relevant Matador manuals, that I have scanned. Proceeds from the sales are going to the restoration of my 1940 Matador! Nick

I have been doing just what you are after Mike, but there is no easy way (that I have found) to make the documents searchable, unless you pay for expensive software, such as Adobe Acrobat Pro, which is what I'm now using. One thing I will say though, is if you create non-searchable PDF files, i.e. scan the images and use one of the free PDF printers as already suggested in the thread, that non-searchable PDF document can then be taken, at a later date, and converted to be searchable. Again this is what I've been doing. Initially I've been scanning the pages, and putting them into a word document to mange the order and layout, and now that I have Adobe Acrobat Pro, I've been able to convert them to searchable documents, which is great! If you are going to start scanning your manuals, any chance of scanning the early Matador manual you posted a few pages from a few weeks ago, as I'd love a copy of that one (as it's relevant to my lorry), and I doubt I will easily find a copy - I would also offer to scan it for you if you were willing to lend it to me Nick

What do Vass have in 1400 x 20, anything suitable for a Matador, that won't look too bad either?

Thought I'd add a picture of my Matador to the gallery - there is actually a picture of it in here before, but it's not quite as good as it was in the previous picture (you may notice some of the cab roof is missing now). I've had it about 6 months now, and before that it's been stored outside for at least 18 years. It's one of the 17 converted to petrol engines in 1940, for the Norwegian Campaign. It ended up registerd 95YY47, and if anyone has any info, or pictures of this vehicle, I'd very much appreciate it. The RLC Museum at Deepcut couldn't really provide any info on it, so I'm finding it quite difficult to work out it's history. Cheers

Mike, that sounds like the users manual that covers my Matador (mostly) - I've got a copy of a later one, from 1943, but there are differences. I do have an AEC publication "Simple Driving and Maintenance Instruction for Motor Vehicles" which has the same stuck in explanation about Matador being the new name for vehicles refered to as ForWarD - it also covers the AEC Marshall, and is dated March, 1940, it's only 20 pages, but is a nice little booklet. Do you have all of the book scanned, as I'd be very interested in getting a copy of the booklet, if that's possible.

Thanks for the photo Mike, I've not seen a shot of an early chassis like this, all the pictures I've seen have been of the later ones, with the oil bath filter - which book/publication is this picture from? The filter is mounted differently on my Matador to the one in the picture, it's on the front bulkhead, where the standard fuel filter is normally mounted, and obscuring where the near side cab vent would normally be, as the vent is plated over due to the autovac on the outside.

Thanks for the responses - it's so much easier to find out about something when you know what it is! Would anyone have, or be able to take any close up pictures of the lid, as it's missing from my air filter, and it looks quite complex to remake. Thanks

Has anyone else got an air cleaner/filter like this fitted to anything? I'd be keen to know what the element should be like, and what the top should be like, as both are missing from mine. The brass plate on the top states "Element of air cleaner to be compressed and expanded each morning before starting the engine until dust ceases to be ejected" This particular one was fitted to my Matador (petrol engined), so probably dates from about 1940.

Where did you get the 1400 tyres from, as I'm after 5 new or good 1400 x 20 tyres for my Matador?

My Matador didn't come with any windscreen wipers when I bought it - can someone with a Matador measure the length of the wiper arms and length of the blades please so I can buy some new ones. Thanks

Thanks for posting those pictures - the boom on my Matador does look identical to the series 4 boom. The way it is supported is different, so the Matador one has probably been made from a selection of bits, rather than directly taking the bits from the Ward. Does the crane on the Ward move, or is it fixed in that position? I've been in touch with the REME Museum, and according to their records, REME did not mount any cranes on Matadors, unless it was done unofficially when the vehicle was over seas. As I don't know where the vehicle served (still waiting for the info from Deepcut), I'm still none the wiser as to when the crane was fitted or by who - so a bit further forward, but not far!

Grasshopper, thanks for that info, do you have any pictures of one fitted to the series 4? The Matador still has the petrol engine fitted, and we are planning to keep it. I'm not aware of any other petrol Matadors either, so I think this vehicle is unique.

Yes you're right Mike - the winding handle is attached through a hole in the tailboard.

The Matador was ex Army, and I was told it has some history with the Royal Engineers, but that may not be correct, as I have yet to research the history. You are correct, I don't think the crane is intended to be used in the position it is shown in, and the winch wire is used to lift with. When the crane is raised, I don't think that it has a particularly long reach (due to the shape of it), but it possibly goes up to between 16-20 foot from the ground. I don't think the design of the crane would make it suitable for timber work, and it is far too well made compared to some timber conversions I've seen. From what I gather the crane was fitted when in military use. Tim Nicholson bought it from someone who was going to to convert it for timber work but didn't, and Tim used it briefly as a recovery vehicle with the crane in the position shown in the pictures I believe. I'm hoping to remove the crane during the restoration and return the rear body to original, but if the crane had some special use, I might be persuded to keep it fitted instead.

Can anyone tell me the purpose that this crane would've been used for? It's fitted to a Matador, but is not a recovery crane - there are no plates on it to identify it, and I believe the crane was fitted during military service, but I'm not really sure what it would've been used for. The jib is the full length of the rear body, when in the lowered position (as in the pictures), and sticks out about 3 foot beyond the body at the back. When raised it seems to pivot at the A frame on the rear of the load bed, and the jib stands upright. This is achieved by attaching a winding handle to a small winch, which slides the jib along a steel channel on the body, raising the top of the jib. The Matadors winch is used for raising and lowering things, and runs around an extra pulley on the tailboard. Any ideas welcome!

Attached is a rather poor picture I took in 2003, of the Thornycroft Coles crane in the Milestones Museum, at Basingstoke. I have no idea if it is an Amazon or not, as I know very little about Thornycroft vehicles. I also have a feeling that I didn't see it the last time I went there a couple of years ago, so it could be the one you mentioned in Yorkshire. I couldn't find any pictures of the Retriever, but the pictures of the crane look very similar. I know it wasn't originally fitted with the crane, and was originally an army lorry, but moved to the RAF when the crane was fitted.

Mike, the one I've bought is one of the ones you have listed! It's the petrol engined one from T Nicholson, hence the autovac on the front bulkhead. 140 also survives, which is restored as a gun tractor, but it's a bit of a long way away from me. The other problem with looking at the roof woodwork on the Weymann cabs is that they are double skinned, so unless you start to dismantle the metal panels, you can't see the wooden frame. Richard, and clue as to a name for the owner for the one you saw in 2004, or a reg number, as it may be 140?

Not that I know of, the last owner had had it since 1980, when it was first registered, and it's been stored for the last 18 years. Nick

Antarmike, I thought that might be the case, but there is no harm in asking! My Matador was one bodied by Weymann, and has the early shaped cab, see picture below. Phil, thanks for the offer of pictures, but from your profile picture, your Matador doesn't have the same shape cab, and it is mainly the roof where the problems are. The attached pictures show the cab roof, which appears to have most of the metalwork still present, but most of the wood is missing behind it, which is what I will need to reconstruct! Nick