Pete Ashby

Gordons right, a lot of old seal sizes are available as always it's a case of knowing where to look do a google search for vintage and classic brake seal suppliers that should turn something up the classic car and commercial market is well severed with modern replacement equipment. Pete

I suppose the first question is how old is the NoS you are proposing to use and how has it been stored, as a rule of thumb I would suggest anything over 10 to 15 years old should be replaced with new equivalents. See also thread below yours by Howard Wade on the use of Si fluids on seals. Pete

Not come across this problem before Howard thanks for flagging it up I'd be very interested in your final findings with the new cylinders. I know there are issues when changing over to Si if the whole system is not thoroughly flushed washed out and the old seals replaced however Iv'e not heard of non Si compatible modern seals before. A question for the Moderators; depending on Howard's finale conclusions given the potential serious nature of the consequences is there any way this thread/information could be given a higher visibility for the benefit of all forum members new and old? Pete

I'll second that, Iv'e used a number of these for various jobs very good value sent via e-mail for a very small fee Pete

Excellent progress Peter, I know just how much time and effort is required to carry out this level of restoration, your doing a top job. Pete

Your welcome Richard, jeep, or CMP, both will do the job Pete

The opening time will be dependent on a couple of parameters 1 the ambient temperature......if it's cold outside then obviously everything takes longer to heat up 2 the amount of work the engine is doing.... for example on a cold day at tick over the exhaust manifold may never get hot enough to open the baffle fully. If however it's a hot day and you start up and run at fast tick over for 5 to 10 minutes it would not be unreasonable to expect the baffle to be near fully open. The short answer is the baffle should be near fully open after a couple of miles at road speeds on a average ambient temperature day Pete

Your welcome Mr Farrant....... credit where credits due Pete

The spring will try to get longer (expand) the outer end is fixed on a stop so the expansion happens at the inner end of the spiral as this is fixed to the spindle it therefore turns the spindle that opens or shuts the baffle. One thought occurs, you have got the outer end of the spring on a stop ? if not it won't be able to turn the baffle. That Master of the spanners Richard F will be able to give you chapter and verse on the vagaries of the Bedford 28hp it would be worth seeing what he thinks. I'm sure he'll be along soon when he sees your title. Pete

Tim with a frame number that low it would put it in the first week of March for production the other thing that makes it really rare is that it carries that number on a Ford frame it must be one of the very first to be produced by Ford, prior to this ie No1 and for an unknown number in February Midland frames were used (same as fitted to the MB through out it's production run) I'm still not convinced about the body however I really can't see a cut out on the scuttle seam at best I think it's a ACM2 composite body (post January44) do you have any pictures of the inside the rear body area?. Having said all with a couple of ~£1k spent it could still be an excellent example Pete

See replies in blue you can get new bimetal springs from most of the jeep spares providers Pete

That’s Interesting a VEP first contract March 42 GPW? going by the tooling holes in the rear cross member. My British operated GPW ( see here http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?44986-Just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe-another-one-turns-up) is the first week of April 42 and that showed similar additions/ modification to the one in your pictures including the 'B' punched into the spring saddle and I've no idea what it's for either. It’s got a green Sheler steering wheel which is correct for month, no black out driving light on the wing again correct but I can see I hole in the inner wing for a harness so it may have been welded up on the top face?. It appears to have been fitted with an ACM2 body at some point (like mine) and it’s lost it’s original spare wheel carrier and has a British army fabricated one by the look of it and it’s gained a latter grill along the way Both MB and GPW’s of this period should not have safety chain rings below the pintal hook. The windscreen outer frame is wrong for a early jeep it should have cast bronze locking catches and no rifle holder mounting brackets. The inner screen may well be Hotchkis as I can see a number of holes for brackets that take the large vacuum wiper units The engine bay shows the standard signs of age related changes ie positive crank case breather mod this was not fitted to early jeeps, it does seem to have the correct early standard air filter with the instructions embossed directly in to the body and not surprisingly it’s lost it’s original horn and gained a post war water pump. All in all not a bad job and with a little bit of TLC could be made very nice indeed, the hood is interesting I’ve not seen British made post war one like that before. Are we aloud to ask what the frame number is? at a guess I would think around the 10000 to 12000 mark I would hazard a guess it's one of 725 GPW’s and 175 MB’s withdrawn from US forces and re issued to the British in the late spring early summer of 42. Iv'e just looked at the pictures again particularly the dash photo and I can't see a cut out in the top center of the scuttle seam, could be Hotchkis or early reproduction Pete

You say the jeep shakes,... to be clear,..... are you feeling it in the steering wheel ie, you are having to hang on for grim death to keep the vehicle on the road or is the body/frame/drive line vibrating and the steering is more or less unaffected?, there is an important distinction and it may help to identify your problem a little more closely. Pete

Body related vibrations like the one you have described can some times be related to a bent prop shaft or one out of balance or worn splines or worn or failed UJ's or a combination of all of those........ in short it often turns out to be drive line related. Pete

Satin black is what you should be aiming for with a good undercoat a rattle can from Helfords will so the trick Pete

I'm not sure what type of shocks you have on the WoT 6 are they Luvacs or the small round Ford piston units ? Tony's point about the shock absorbers is worth considering. I had this once with a 109 FFW it was fine until it hit a rough bit of road and then it developed front wheel tramp enough to give you blurred vision.... not a particularly nice session.... on closer inspection I found the offside shock had failed, new shocks on the front solved the problem. You say that you have never had this problem before with this truck? so it may be worth coming at the problem from a different direction ie if it was fine mechanically when you stored it away for the winter it is highly unlikely that the problem will be a mechanical failure much more likely as others had suggested a leak, flat spot, or deterioration issue. Good luck let us know what you find Pete

Welcome to the forum, what other trucks do you own? we all like to see photos :-) Pete

You can get all the colours you require in the above gauges from Auto Sparks in authentic cotton covered PVC, battery to starter and battery to earth should be 0 or better still 00 gauge Pete

That's interesting Simon I've not come across that before I'll see if I can track a roll down Thanks for that Pete

Your welcome, just had a look through the Chilwell lists, the first MW's are listed on contract T7729 3927393 to 3928411 the next batch are on contract T8102 4108701 to 4110700 Pete

An option I have used is to search the web for the required font style then size up as required and print off and tape together into the required sequence. Use masking tape to tape onto stencil card ( oiled manila) and then cut through using a scalpel and steel cutting ruler, curves can be cut free hand with care. If a sign written finish is required the holding bars of the stencil can be cut as small as possible and the gaps touched in using a fine brush after the stencil is removed. Pete

Have just looked into this a little bit more and found this in Mike Starmer's excellent book 'British Army colours & disruptive camouflage in the UK France and Europe 1936- 45'. Reference as follows: ACI 465 issued 15th May 1940 'Disruptive painting and numbering of vehicles' "the War Department number will be clearly painted in white on both sides of the bonnet and on the rear of the vehicle. The dimensions of the letters and figures will be:- Height 3 1/2" Overall width 2 1/2" Width of every part of each letter or figure 5/8ths" Pete

Interesting Wally. I think the best thing to do RR is a bit of original photo research as the size and styles did in reality vary depending on theater and period. As a guide 3" or 3.5" high by 1" wide in white lusterless enamel seems to be most common for serial numbering, however if you check out period photos you can see that both stencil and sign written fonts of various styles were in use. As for the speed restriction again original photo research is your best option. In the early war period there is some evidence to suggest that the number was in red at 5" enclosed in a red circle. Mid war evidence suggest white 3" numbers and MPH in smaller 2" letters in a straight line across the tail gate. Pete

I think that will the case Mel as the contract group are listed as GS trucks there are other contracts that are clearly listed as 'Ambulance' so I think your contract is all for GS K30's. Pete

The Chilwell lists record contract 3903 as 'lorry 30cwt 4x2 GS reg numbers run 4474336 to 4475035 Pete