Pete Ashby

If the knock is like a sharp hammer blow then it could be a little end, if it's more like a heavy thump then it's more likely to be a big end. The fact that you have isolated to one cylinder is useful but ultimately you'll have to drop the sump and pull the head to see what the problem is. Have you noticed a sudden drop in oil pressure on idle? this may indicate a big end failure or a main bearings however mains tend to rumble. I think your compression results make a broken ring unlikely they tend to click and scrape. I wouldn't recommend driving the truck with the symptoms you have described. Pete

Thought provoking thread. Iv'e often thought about this topic particularly when viewing cold exhibits in various museums. As to the static vs running discussion I think it may depend on the individual's own personal experience, for example if you have owned and or driven the particular vehicle on display you view the exhibit with that bank of information available with regard to the driving experience, sound, smell heat ect. If however you don't have that knowledge then looking at a cold exhibit is reduced to just that........looking.........., in other words the greater part of what makes up the exhibit.... it's essence if you will... is lost to the viewer. For me this is brought into sharp focus when I have visited Hendon for example, I know what a Lanc or Spitfire sounds and looks like in flight but I'm left feeling vaguely cheated as I stare at the Stuka or the Hamden and wonder what they sounded like on start up or in flight. This has been a rather long way of saying that for me I think it's better to keep our trucks on the move and by preference in our ownership, I agree with Matt's comment.... 'many military museums are rather behind others when it comes to how they deal with the conservation of vehicles'... covered in dust and often looking a little neglected in my experience. Pete

Done Pete

This is all good stuff, I had no idea that there would be so many YH series trucks recorded thanks for the input guys. A question comes to mind, how were the number sequences allocated what I mean is did the numbers start at 1 YH 1 and run on or is there some significance in the numbers. Thanks to H1HU ( sorry I don't know your name) I now know what YH means, thanks for sharing your key card info by the way, but the numbers remain a bit of mystery to me. Pete

Yes your right about the flat spot Tony, the earlier cast iron Zenith carbs are more prone to it. The problem can be reduced to a large extent by ensuring the accelerator pump piston on the carb is free and not sticking and the plunger piston is in good condition even so there can be a bit of a lag, a quick double blip on the throttle can usually over come the lag. Pete

As has already been mentioned you need to have a relatively low road speed and and a good boot full of throttle at the mid point in the double de-clutch, don't be shy moving from the neutral position the next gear down as the clutch goes down the stick should also be moving into the next gear, the lower the gear the more engine revs in neutral you will need. A further point, don't try changing down while the vehicle is on over run a little bit of power to pick up the load just before moving into neutral will make the change cleaner. It's really all about practice and understanding the rev curve of your particular engine. As a general rule the whole gear shift should be completed within the count one, one two, one the lapse of time between one two and one will be governed by the size of the engine and the weight of the vehicle ie how quickly the the engine revs drop off to allow you to match the falling engine rpm when off load vs the transmission road speed in neutral. You can practice the timing using your car and double de-clutching every one crunches them occasionally particularly in modern heavy traffic. Pete

Happy birthday Richard Are you really that old? if so you can join the ranks of a certain man from Sulham and become a seriously 'Old Git' Best Regards Pete

Thanks for the replies chaps, I'll contact Deepcut and see if any any records for 24-YH-46 exist. Having read the articles in HMV ( I should have done that first but forgot about them) I can see that vehicles on change before 1949 were given the YH designation so I guess that would explain jeeps with that census code. Pete

Tracing post war census numbers is a new field for me so I wonder if any of you guys can help out. I have recently picked up a GPW with a frame plate on the drivers frame rail which lists the post war census number as 24-YH-46 my question is this where do I go to start tracking down the vehicles record card with a view to tracing its service history and hopefully by back reference its war time 'M' number. I remember this sort of information used to be kept at the now defunct Beverly museum, I used it on several occasions to obtain contract cards for WW11 vehicles but I’m not sure where to start with post war numbers, any help appreciated Thanks Pete

Richard David and I came across the 'Q' at Tinkers Bush when we cut up the remains of a WK60 to provide donor parts for David's truck that would be about six years ago. From memory the Crossley was pretty far gone but would yield some useful mechanical spares, nice to see there is at least one other raving masochist on this site

My GMC and Jeep would ice up in wet cool weather never had a problem with the Dodge on a Carter carb I understand that the cast-iron Zenith can suffer icing though. An Austin K2 I restored for someone else was by far the worst, that would ice up in the summer!, found that you had to let everything come up to operating temp before moving off. Pete

Thanks for the post Adrian most timely, I have to make some non standard footman’s for the Retriever cab and was pondering how I was going to do it; the copper mould is a winner. Many thanks for sharing your method Pete

Try Namrick http://www.namrick.co.uk/ I v'e used this firm for years, not cheap but good quality, wide range and fast service. Pete

At some stage I'm going to have to do this job on two Dodge cabs. I have toyed with the idea of using a wall paper stripper and trying to gently steam the board into the corners, the problem I suspect is that the board may start to delaminate. Might be worth trying with some old packing material to see if the concept works perhaps working from the rear of the board flat on the floor to soften it then easing into place in the cab with a small wall paper seam roller....a two man job me thinks. Pete

My first was a Triang jeep circa 1960, after that they just got bigger

I think that the CDSW will follow standard British practice of the time and the window will be made of fine copper gauze Pete

Richard During 1940 a small number of 15cwts including a few CS8's were fitted with tanks similar to the standard water tank then in service, designated 'Bulk contamination vehicles'. Their role was to contaminate the mains water supply in the event of invasion, just may be one of these trucks that has been reworked to a conventional role?. If that is the case it would be an interesting survivor from a very dark phase of the war. Pete

Hello Matt Long time no hear, thanks for the suggestion unfortunately I don't have a record of the frame number but I did look at the G503 data base it looks very comprehensive. So you miss the D15 ? She sits in my barn nice and dry awaiting her turn, yes I am still interested in the block very tardy of me not to have picked it up from you. Where are you now? email me and we will set a date for the spring Regards Pete

Life's good in the Wild West thanks Richard, have I finished the Retriever yet? Well no but work is progressing slowly. I aim to have a running chassis cab by next summer. So far its 16 years and counting but to be fair I have done a couple of other trucks in between.

Hello Richard Good to hear from you again, thanks for the info did that come from the DVLA data base?. Pete

It must be an age thing, as I get older I find myself thinking more and more about my first restoration…. a GPW Ford civilian reg number BFF 325. I bought her in 1973 for £250 with an MoT , it took two years to restore then we attended shows all over the south and west of England until the lure of something bigger took hold and I swapped her for a weapons carrier around 1978, something I think I have probably regretted, first love and all that!!. Since then there has been a procession of trucks through my workshops but I still hold a flame for BFF 325. I’d be interested to hear from anyone who has owned BFF 325 in the intervening 32 years and does anyone know where she is now? Pete

Flaming ............. I learn something every day now I can impress my kids with my IT slang thanks for the clarification Jack Pete

I have an old 200amp Clarke machine that was cheap and cheerful in it's day but has worked well for the last nine years. In some areas of the UK Clarke spares can be a bit of a problem. The bottom line is how much to you expect to use the machine.... all day every day you need a top brand name occasional use go for a mid price machine, Clark, SIP, Draper, you'll find that these are basically all the same machines inside just branded differently with minor tweaks to attract the market. I would echo Steve use Argo mix or Argo shield do not be tempted to use pub gas it will produce poor quality welds. Practise with your machine on loads of test pieces and spend plenty of time getting to know what the settings actually produce before you get stuck into the real job in hand. Crappy welds or burnt through holes take a lot more time and money to fix than running a role of MIG wire through the machine on test pieces. Speaking of wire, buy good quality stuff, never second hand as it get rusty if not stored in dry conditions, this will give you all sorts of pain and grief with stutter, splatter, weak welds to metion just a few. Pete

Mark I'm a little confused by your post as well, I'm not clear what the definition of flaming is in this context, and more generally I thought we having a well moderated debate in this thread about generic issues regardless of club or individual.......... have I missed something ? regards Pete