Pete Ashby

Sold elsewhere I'm rationalizing some of my uniform collection as I'm running out of space to store things so I'm offering this matched pair of 1944 dated Canadian Royal Artillery Battle dress blouse and trousers, I bought these about 20 years ago from a house clearance sale these are not reproduction items or a post war Dutch military copy. Battle dress blouse Condition: The jacket is perfect and appears to be unworn, I believe the flashes and rank are originals and contemporary to the uniform there is no moth at all anywhere on the jacket all metal buttons and clips are in place and in perfect condition. Trousers: Condition: The trousers have side and hip pockets but do not have the bottom leg straps or the first aid leg pouch, they do not appear to have been altered so may possibly be Officer issue ?. All metal buttons are in place and in perfect condition. There are unfortunately two month pin holes circled in red in the photo these are very small and could be mended easily with a needle and thread otherwise the trousers are in unworn condition These are a collectors item and are being sold as such I will take offers over £200.00 +p&p with insurance on posting . Pete

This entry to the blog concludes the sub project to get the rear axles cleaned, diffs checked and set up and all brake shoes, drums hubs and brake linkage cleaned adjusted and refitted effort will now be switched onto the D15T project with a view to getting the frame, brackets axles and springs blast cleaned and undercoated so this thread will be dormant for a few months while attention and focus shifts to that project. A few photos to be going on with. Brake drums awaiting there turn for cleaning After a session with the wire wheel on the angle grinder fortunately the inner drum surfaces were in good condition with no scoring or permanent rust damage, without doubt the quality of the steel used in the construction of the truck has played a major part in it's survival. After a coat of phosphate rust killer on the outside surfaces a coat of etch primer is applied And to close this chapter in the restoration saga a photo of the reassembled axles and drums along with the WD articulated bogie system. This basic design was common with minor modifications depending on manufacturer for all 3 ton 6x4's produced from the mid thirties onwards up to the point the type was phased out in favor of 3 ton 4x4 variants around early 1942 . Pete

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Very wise, as Adrian notes the use of modern detergent oils in an unknown engine has the potential to lead to serious problems with blocked oil ways the same applies to the use of flushing oils, I tend to believe if the lubrication system is that dirty then something else is wrong with the motor and it needs to come apart to be checked, fixed then cleaned properly. I've used Morrison's straight 30 in several Canadian 216 Chevrolet engines these early war engines have no filtration, splash feed big ends, and very low pressure relief settings both have performed faultlessly for many years so just make sure you change the oil every couple of thousand miles and you'll be good to go. Pete

I've used the Morris range for many years in a range of MV's not the cheapest but I think you get what you pay for. The grades and types you suggest above are fine and fit for purpose. Your right there is all sorts of chat on the web or at the bar in the beer tent about what's the best for maintaining oil pressure, reducing engine heat, not dissolving all the yellow metal in your power train ( bronze thrust pads in diffs or phosphor bronze thrust washers in the gearboxes etc etc etc etc The one useful point here is to avoid the ones with the additives that may possibly attack the yellow metal in the power train and if you buy supermarket home brand engine oil you get what you pay for. Pete

OK Bob I'll post them here for you it will be a couple of weeks until I finish the work on the Leyland Retriever rear bogie. Then I'll turn my attention back to the Dodge, the plan is to get all the big lumps ready for the media blaster so that by the end of the summer the frame and fittings will cleaned undercoated and refitted, not ideal working on two project at once but time waits for no man as the old saying goes . Pete

I promised to come back to this thread and give some feedback on the performance of the 6 volt 50AH 800 amp CCA Red top Optima RTS 2.1 that I fitted last summer to the jeep, these are not definitive tests and should be regarded as personal observations only. The battery maintained charge and condition throughout the winter period without the need to resort to additional trickle charging No off terminal corrosion at all It is an ugly red beast sitting in a very visible position in a jeep engine bay if you can live with it fine otherwise some effort will be involved in disguising it Starts jeep from cold every time I found it a problem when starting from hot there is not just not enough cranking amps to maintain sufficient cranking speed to start a rebuilt engine this is no surprise really as at 50AH there’s not a lot left in reserve perhaps two batteries in parallel would fare better? The battery charges well using the factory set up of B charging 40amp dynamo and matched CVC box As an experiment it has been useful and I think my overall conclusion is that Optima batteries are very good and do exactly what they say they will do and I think it was asking rather too much of an 50AH battery Will I keep the set up? No I don’t think so I need a little more cranking speed when hot (when swapped over to a conventional lead acid battery at 90AH the engine would start every time).

Looking really good, I had to smile at your comment 'so many parts to clean and check' it's those parts that seem never ending and the time at the bench endless but it's the effort put in there that turns an 'OK' restoration into a first class reliable restoration. Excellent attention to detail, keep up the good work and keep the photos coming Pete

It could be any number of issues from mechanical to electrical to static or ignition timing. As Chris notes above it will need a methodical investigation starting with the easy to do stuff first do not be tempted or persuaded to start ripping things apart until you (or your mate) have gone through all the basic checks including making sure that the valve train and distributor drive are functioning correctly. When you mention a weak spark with a 6volt system I'm guessing your referring to the potential for coil robbing as a result of a tight engine after a full rebuild?. If everything else checks out OK above disconnect your main light feed and also the generator wires to the CVC box and try a 12 volt battery direct to the starter switch with a 12 volt coil, the 6volt starter will be fine as long as you don't hang on the starter button for extended periods and don't run the engine too long with the generator wires disconnected as it can overheat the wingdings a few minutes is OK. Pete

Taken advantage of the bad weather to hide away in the workshop and continue with the reassemble of the rear axle instead of doing all those outside jobs that need doing before Spring arrives . So all the diff housing studs have been removed, a new gasket made and while the studs were out all the threads were cleaned greased and then the suds replaced. The differential drive is an overhead worm drive with solid phosphor bronze ring gear this was cleaned disassembled and checked for ware the carrier bearings were in excellent condition so everything was put back together the tooth contact being set up as per the manual using engineers blue, the photo below shows the reassembled unit upside down on the pallet truck The unit was then craned into position and the case bolts nipped up evenly then tightened down this is another 'Hammer tight' job according to the manual but I used a torque wrench two views of the completed unit below first rear view while the second photo shows the driven end Last job for this session was to take the drive shafts out of storage grease them up and fit them into the axle tubes, this type of drive shaft does not have an end flange the castellated ends lock into the hub cap which is then bolted up to the hub Pete

Thanks for the encouraging words I'm pleased your enjoying the blog it's a useful spur to keep plodding on. A full jeep restoration will require as much input in terms of time as a truck like the Retriever the difference is in the size of the kit that has to lugged about without a gantry crane, pallet truck and tractor it would be very hard work indeed. Regards Pete

Following on from the last update both hubs have now been completed and refitted. The wheel bearings were in excellent condition and have been repacked with fresh grease and set according to the manual, the pre-load is set using shims on a spacer tube that fits between the inner and outer bearing then the one hub nut is done ( the ends of the axle tubes are handed threads left and right) up 'hammer tight' and a threaded lock pin fitted through the nut and a corresponding slot in the axle tube. Taking advantage of the 18'c with full sun we have had in the wild west today I moved the rear axle case and diff housing outside the workshop and and set too with the spray gun to put a coat of red oxide over everything. Axle case on the crane soaking up the sun Diff housing left hand side Diff housing right hand side Diff housing Rear The next task will be to reassemble the diff housing on the axle get the drive shafts out of storage and fit them then mount the whole assembly on the truck and fit the brake shoes. Pete

What you've got above looks correct Chris V= 5 Corp, 146E is your combat engineer battalion, * is the US Army marking for front bumpers HQ= Head Quarters section, 4 = 4th vehicle in the order of march Pete

These might be worth a try Bob https://burlen.co.uk/ Pete

The engine looks very tidy Kevin nice work, keep the updates coming Pete

Hello Alan, it is not an easy task to identify a vehicles war time history unless you can uncover the remains of an original Div or unit sign by carefully sanding down to the wartime paint always assuming it has not been stripped back to bare metal at some point in it's life as a great number have been. Post the Z number and the frame number here and perhaps some of the Bedford guys on the forum may be able to give you a little more information with regard to build date and contract number. Pete

The temperature has not been too conducive to working in an unheated workshop recently however some progress has been made. The rear axle the differential worm and wheel assembly has been lifted out and put aside for checking and cleaning, meanwhile the case and axle tubes have been cleaned ready for painting once the weather improves I’m working on one side at a time so the next set of photos show the right hand axle hub and back plate wheel bearings and races are in excellent condition as are the leather grease seals so these will be cleaned and reused. Hub cleaned and etched painted right hand wheel nuts sorted out awaiting cleaning painting and thread chasing It’s the small parts that take the time in any restoration project here are the brake shoe adjuster and bisector unit that h ave to be cleaned, disassembled, checked, greased with a smear of copper grease and then reassembled # Here's the same bisector unit cleaned and stripped ready for reassembly. . Leyland made a large amount of fittings in house including nuts, bolts and spring washers all made out of high grade steel and stamped Leyland Motors with the specific part number for the application. Where ever possible these fixings are being cleaned and the threads chased with a BSF die or tap and a dab of thread cutting paste then reused. Cleaning nuts and bolts is a mind numbing job so this is the tumbler I made out of some scrap laying around in the barn and a coffee tin donated by my son ( I drink tea) . I use it for cleaning nut's, bolts and washers using sharp sand while I get on with something more interesting. Pete

These are off the web note the source credits on the photos Pete

Try these guys they do spares for various vintage carbs including Solex http://zenithcarb.co.uk/ Pete

Like many things in life there is not a definitive answer to your question it really depends on number of factors, the first and probably the most critical is when was your Pioneer built ? as this will determine what the specification for the factory finish would have been which may sound not a very useful way of answering your question however bear with me. Front line units engaged in the second front were issued with a lot of new vehicles and your are correct that by this stage of the war they would be coming out of the factories in Olive Drab British standard camouflage colour No 15 (not quite the same shade as US olive drab) and for the most part would not have have had a camouflaged over pattern applied. However second line and support units used vehicles that had been on muster for perhaps a couple of years and unless they had been into workshops for a full rebuild as specified by ACI.533 dated 12 April 1944 it is unlikely that they were repainted so it is more than likely to have seen trucks in G3 Khaki green with Nobel's Dark Tarmac No4 disruptive patterns in the pattern now commonly called 'Micky Mouse' . There is now another "but I'm afraid" and it's this since 30th May 1942 (ACI 1160) the basic colour for both A and B vehicles will be 'Brown' SCC No2 disruptive patterning would be SCC No 4 until stocks were exhausted then No 1A (very dark brown) would be used instead and once again if these vehicles had not been through workshops they would not have been repainted. All this is a long winded way of saying basically the choice is yours go on the web and look up Mike Starmer his book on 'British Army and Disruptive Camouflage in the UK, France and NW Europe' is the accepted authoritative volume on the subject with colour chips of all the colours used appended in the back Pete

Thanks for sharing the photos lovely restoration, good to see another early MW restored Pete

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West Wales Llandysul I can post by courier if that would be easier for you and unless you live west of Swansea I think it will be much cheaper. If you are interested I'll get a price including p&p in the morning, .I can take payment by Paypal or cheque or choice Pete

Yes still on the shelf here Pete

You may find this publication will supply the answers for you, 'The GMC Truck in US Service Historical Reference' author David Doyle ISBN 9780897477246. This is the definitive work on the subject and can be obtained from the usual web sales outlets, put the title into your search engine and shop around second hand copies are now available. Pete