Jessie The Jeep

It's a year today since the Dodge made its first outing in the new olive drab colour scheme. It's been a great first year with the new look Dodge. A couple of weeks ago, I had all three vehicles outdoors together for the first time with the full set in olive drab. It would be nice to get them all to an event together next year.

I've done well to avoid it for two and three quarter years! I use Stabil in the fuel to help it last, but always use the vehicles over the winter. I just try to minimise air gaps in the top of the tank to reduce moisture content.

I checked the gauge with a jumper cable and that is working. One possibility is an earth problem. However, I want to check the brass sender float I made eight years ago. I noticed when draining the tank, that the mesh filter on the tank filler tube had come loose in places and I think the solder has been attacked by the small amounts of ethanol in the fuel. If so, it may have also attacked the solder on the brass float. I'll have to pull the sender out to check further.

I'd also adjusted the handbrake and clutch cables before going out, so wanted to make sure the gear change was fine and handbrake band wasn't binding. Overall, the Ford ran well, though the engine cut out at idle a couple of times. I think the idle screw needs a slight adjustment and I discovered the fuel tank sender isn't sending. I'd suspected this on the last trip out when the needle didn't move from empty, despite 5 gallons of fresh fuel being added.

Ford GPW Test Drive and Two Jeep Fuel Stop - October 16th I took the Ford GPW out for another test drive today, following the work on the carb and tank drain. Jessie came along for moral support! We took them both to fill the tanks for the winter. It had been sunny all day, but clouded over shortly after getting both Jeeps out of the garage. The trip almost didn't happen, as I'm recovering from Covid. This was my first ever bout of covid, was more mild than many winter colds I've had, but it has left me very tired. It took until mid afternoon to raise the energy to go out. As a result, the original longer planned drive was cut short to a fuel stop and return via our usual photo-stop lane.

The starter motor was bolted back in place and all the other engine components refitted. One last small job was to repair the cylinder head temperature wire. At some point before I got the Jeep, the insulation had fractured and it had been taped up. The insulation was quite hard and the wire was starting to break at the point where the insulation failed and also at the spade terminal joint. I cut the wire and soldered some new silicone wire in place, using some heat shrink tube to form a strain relief across the soldered joints. I gave the Jeep several test starts and the starter motor behaved for each one ( see the video below ). On the last start of the session, I left the engine running for a while to heat up to check the cylinder head temperature gauge was receiving a signal from the sensor.

You need to hold the brushes out of the way of the commutator to put the end cap on. However, the wires aren't long enough to leave a gap big enough to get fingers or any tools in to hold the brushes. I solved this many years ago by drilling two tiny holes in the end cap and inserting two small metal pins to hold the brush springs back. Once the end cap is in place, the pins can be withdrawn, allowing the brushes to spring towards the commutator.

When the Jeep was upgraded in 1966 to the NATO 24 volt standard, the Hotchkiss starter motor also had a starter solenoid fitted. This takes the starter current rather than the switch and also mechanically throws the Bendix gear out and pulls it back via a spring. That was all cleaned too. I had hoped to replace one of the copper threaded contacts on the solenoid, as the end of the threads were slightly stripped. Despite my best efforts, it wouldn't move, so I left it alone for fear of shearing it and making the solenoid useless. Putting the starter back together in the past was a challenge.

The surface was cleaned up with some fine wet and dry paper, wrapped around a small wooden block. The surface has some pitting, but I'm not sure the shaft will fit in my small hobby lathe to true up the surface. So for the time being, I just clean up the surface. After the wet and dry, the gaps between the contacts cleaned out with meths and a cotton bud. The Bendix gear was removed next and washed down to remove grease and dirt building up in various locations.

October 2nd Following my three vehicle garden photoshoot yesterday ( posted in my GPW thread ), I was back to maintenance today. For a while now, the Hotchkiss Jeep has had an intermittent starter motor problem. When the starter button is pressed, the starter spins, but the Bendix gear isn't thrown forwards to mesh with the flywheel. It's something that happens every couple of years as a result of use and wear. The starter is at the bottom of the engine bay, so the rear battery, dizzy cap, and coil had to ome out to get access to the mounting bolts. Once out, it was taken to the workshop to strip down. The end cap and main body were removed first to access the commutator. As I've found before, it was filthy.

Both Jeeps were blown dry by the wind and a bit of warmth in the sun, so were dry for the pictures. With a selection of photos taken, it was time to wash the Dodge. It was left to dry off a while, then they were all put back in the garage.

Vehicle Wash and Photoshoot - October 1st With the recent maintenance on both Jeeps requiring one fender to be removed, there was a certain amount of paint chipping happened around the bolt heads. I wanted to touch up those areas with fresh paint. At some point, I also want to carry on the painting of the Dodge, such as under the fenders and rear wheel arches. Before I did any painting, I wanted the areas cleaned of the dust and dirt that has built up over the season. The Ford also hadn't been out of the garage for over a year and was rather dusty. Jessie needed to be brought out of the garage first, in order to clear the doorway for Hope, parked in the middle. Both Jeeps were jetwashed, starting with Jessie. With both of them clean, the Dodge was backed out of the garage and turned around. This was the first time all three vehicles had been outdoors together since Faith was repainted into olive drab. It was an opportunity not to miss, so the three vehicles were lined up for some group photographs before the Dodge got wet.

I called in to the local church yard before heading home, as it has a nice view over the fields. From there, I returned through the village and back home, getting "Hope" and "Jessie" back in the garage before the heavy rain came. I still need a longer test drive while Lynne is around, in case I need recovery, but initial signs are all is well again.

September 30th - Ford GPW Test Drive The last small job this morning, was fitting two new brass fuel pipe unions to the fuel pump and carburetor. Despite very light rain starting, I took the GPW out for a local test drive. "Jessie" had to be brought out of the garage first, to get "Hope" out from the middle of the garage. The whole drive was only two and a half miles around the village lanes, stopping at a couple of places to check for fuel leaks at the new unions and to take a few pictures.

I pulled the carb to bits, checking various gaskets and screws for potential leak sources. It went together and came apart a few times, with test runs between and the leak continued. The fact that it only happened after a little while running suggested the float chamber was filling up and then overflowing out of the metering needle hole in the top. I stripped it all again and adjusted the float, which simply involved bending a tab on the brass float, so it wouldn't fill the float chamber as much. Each time the carb came off and apart, the fuel line had to be disturbed at the carb and pump unions; leading to additional small leaks when reconnected. Probably a good job I'm going to replace them. Anyway, I think I got there in the end, as after the float adjustment, the engine fired straight away. It idled ok, picked up smoothly from idle both slowly and with a quick rev, without the burbling and hesitation it had previously shown at the Beamish 2021 show. Now I just need to take it out for a test drive. Engine test run video below. One run while the fender was still removed in case I needed to strip things down again. The second run was after the fender was bolted back in place, the light wiring reconnected and the horn refitted.

September 27th Reassembly and Testing I think I'm back up to three green vehicles on the road again, following the work done today. The new exhaust gasket was fitted and then I started reconnecting the fuel system. A test prime with the pump showed fuel weeping from the end of the pump union. One of the brass unions on the fuel pump had slight damage through to the threads on the inside. I ordered two replacements, but soldered the hole so I could carry on testing today. After getting the pipe work back together, I added five gallons of fresh E5 fuel. I gave the engine a test run which appeared ok for a short time, then I started getting fuel pouring out of the carburetor cover plate.

Sunday's show followed the same format with another convoy mid afternoon. Some of the vehicles present on Saturday were only there for one day, but several different vehicles turned up on Sunday, so the overall vehicle count was about the same. At times, it was a chilly weekend, thanks to a stiff Northerly wind on Saturday, but thankfully the wind dropped for Sunday and was a little warmer from the West. That was the last 1940s event in our calendar for this year, but we're still likely to be having a few more rides out before the year is over. There's the possibly of a trip out collecting for the Royal British Legion before Remembrance Sunday in November and I'm sure we'll still manage a few more rides out before the year is over too. More pictures and a short video of the locos here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2022/tanfield.htm

At around 2pm, a seven vehicle convoy set off from the show field along the main road, which runs more or less parallel to the railway, down to East Tanfield station. That station is quite a bit lower than Andrews House and being sheltered in a bowl surrounded by trees; was much warmer! We stayed there long enough for a coffee & cake stop before returning to the Marley Hill show field. It gave the public at both stations the chance to see the vehicles on the move, rather than just parked up for the day.

In addition to a number of vehicles at the show, there were several dioramas from various groups and a field kitchen providing food. The main events field was located between the Marley Hill yard and Andrews House station. The military vehicles and the dioramas were located in this field. The Seatones singing group were based at Andrews House station while swing bands played in the carriage shed and another singer performed at the other end of the line at East Tanfield station.

We were expecting some of our friends the following day, members of our unofficial group "The Hedgehog Heroes". The name came from the Beamish show a few years ago, where a member of the public tried to steal a ration box from our display. Without realising Neil was in the back of his GMC, the offender came into the display, picking up the ration crate explaining to his accomplice that it would make a great hedgehog house. Some sharp words from Neil put him straight. I'd recently got some magnetic plastic patches made, copied from an original bomb group patch of a hedgehog. All our vehicles now carry this patch. Not all the group were there this weekend, but we still had two Dodges, two Jeeps and a trailer on show. The other guys arrived on Saturday morning and stayed for Sunday.

Tanfield Railway 1940s Weekend - September 24th & 25th This was the first Tanfield Railway 1940s event since 2019, our last show before Covid shut the world down. It's been a long time coming back and I think it was the first large event at the railway since covid restrictions ended. We took the Dodge and M201 to the show, arriving late on Friday afternoon. For the first time, we decided to camp there, living a little further away now and with high fuel prices. Lynne had also just bought a new modern plastic tent and wanted to try it out before the year ended. She's not a huge fan of crawling around in canvas tents. The new tent was hidden under our large camo net in the corner of the field and it blended quite well into the trees behind. I've always thought that a modern tunnel tent would sell to re-enactors if the main body had a corrugated iron print with the ends having a brick print, making a mini Nissen hut!! Two locomotives were running during the weekend - the 1943 Austerity class 0-6-0 saddle tank No.49 and recently restored 1904 Andrew Barclay built 0-6-0 saddle tank "Horden".

As a result of investigating the fuel system, I drained the remaining two gallons from the fuel tank. While I was working on the valve cover plate, I noticed the centre was sooty on the outside, suggesting the exhaust flange gasket was failing, so I pulled that apart and ordered a replacement. I've left the Jeep in bits until that arrives and will then put it all back together again and add some fresh fuel before further engine tests.

The fuel in the fuel pump had turned green. While it was E5 petrol which is allegedly 5% or lower ethanol content ( not E10 ), this eco fuel is useless. I don't know how old the fuel was at the time of Beamish last year, but it was well gone now. I had disconnected the fuel feed from the pump to the carburettor to get the valve cover off. While it was disconnected, I hooked up a pipe and a container of fresh fuel directly to the carburettor and tried starting the engine. It started straight away, idled smoothly and picked up cleanly when I opened up the throttle. This is where it had shown signs of burbling and slow pickup before. I had already disconnected the fuel feed on the bottom of the tank, but with only a couple of gallons in there, it was below the level of the fuel pickup pipe. I did two or three tests on fresh fuel, which also helped to pump out the fuel filter on the firewall and fuel pump of contaminated fuel. Draining some fuel from the tank showed that was also badly contaminated.

September 20th 2022 - Rough Engine Pickup Investigation I spent part of today looking over the Ford GPW, which hasn't been out since Beamish last year. It wasn't running well at the event, but we'd trailered it there, so getting home wasn't a concern. Since then, life has been so busy, I haven't had time to look at it, other than turning the engine over every so often to keep oil splashed around the engine and exercising the brakes and clutch. Like "Jessie" yesterday, I took the fender off and the valve cover and checked all the valve springs were ok. I also checked that the valves were moving and checked the gaps. All the valves but number eight were ok and even that was within tolerances, but the gap was opened up a fraction more to match the rest. The PCV gasket on the valve cover plate was torn, so I made a replacement. I also gapped and fitted four new spark plugs.

I grabbed a coat and my daughter and we went out for a test drive, to put some load on the engine and check it operating under normal driving conditions. We left the village and took one of the back lanes until I came across the first parking place; then pulled in. There were no sign of any fuel leaks, but I also wanted to make sure there was no oil leaking from the valve cover. Everything seemed well and the engine was running well. We carried on a couple of miles further and pulled in again for another check. Once again, all was well, so after a couple of pictures, headed back home after a 5 mile round trip.