Old Bill

I have the great good fortune to have a few days off this week. Mostly, they are dedicated to chores but I did find a couple hours to go in the shed yesterday and have a look at the engine breather. This is a simple bronze elbow, bolted to the top of the crank case and directed into a thin steel tube which brings the hot air from the exhaust manifold to the inlet to the carburettor. There is no seal. The casting just pokes into the side of the tube. Over the years, vibration of the tube has eaten into the side of the elbow. Step one was to cut the end off and trim it back with a file. Then I turned up a new end in gunmetal. Silver soldered it on. (My favourite process!) Dressed it off with a file so it is all ready to fit. Unusually, the joint is showing but I don't think anyone will notice. Back to the chores! Steve

Yes, just like that! Steve

The shells are solid white metal castings with no backing. They are about 1/4" thick and simply dropped into the crank case and onto the ends of the rods. I have not seen them like that before! Steve

that gasket material you have used on the crankcase inspection covers....is that stuff made by flexitallic?....as they are fairly local to me (cleckheaton)... I don't know who makes it. It came in a roll from Beaulieu Autojumble years ago! Steve

One day, one day! Thornycroft first!

We wish you could have been there too. We are all becoming very popular at the moment! The Crossley looked splendid with the wreaths on your wonderful trailer. Cambridgeshire is pretty flat, Doug, so we could happily cruise at 12-15mph. Probably achieving 5mpg or so. Steve

Sorry, no video yet but I have been sent this pic. It works! It runs well, I understand but is suffering from an oil pressure of 165psi when it should be around the 20mark! The relief valve is due for investigation. I went to the museum a fortnight ago with the magneto we have had rebuilt for the Thornycroft as I knew it's history. I started to fit it but thought I would have a look at the drive key position compared with the contact breaker to see if it needed re-timing or I could just fit it and this is what I found with the key straight up in both cases: Much to my surprise, the contact breaker cams are in quite different positions and I don't understand why this should be so. The RH mag is my Simms SR4 (clockwise) and the LH is the Museum's Simms SR4LX (clockwise). Can anyone explain this to me? Does the SR4LX have an anti-clockwise cam ring fitted? I looked for alternative fixing holes for the cams themselves but none were evident so it is a bit of a puzzle. Something else I would like to ask is can anyone tell me the difference between an SR4, an SR4LX, an SR4LEo r an SRM4? I'm sure there is a difference but it must be quite subtle. Once my mag had been fitted, the lorry gave a chuff, almost immediately but refused to run further. Since then, the lads have got it going but I won't hear the story until the Shuttleworth Old Warden show tomorrow. The weather is not looking good but I am sure we will find something to talk about! I will post some pics in due course. Steve

I hear that the Maudslay ran for the first time today. When I have the full story, I shall pass it on but it is now all set for the WW1 day at Old Warden on Sunday. Praying for a dry day! Steve

There is no indication of an impulse coupling and we have just a standard vernier type. I have gone through the Museum stores but with no luck. I have been looking for one for the Thornycroft for when the time comes but they are like hen's teeth, it seems. There are two plug holes in each cylinder but no signs of a distributor of any sort to enable trembler coils to be used. Actually, the magneto arrangement is quite bizarre. One gets the impression that the engine was drawn up and the magneto forgotten entirely! As a result, it is on a bracket bolted to the chassis and chain driven from the front of the crank. Not sure what this is doing to the earthing but we have run a wire from the bracket to the block to try to help the spark a bit. I went along yesterday and the lads were playing with the inlet manifold and the valve timing. They wanted to check that the manifold was sealed properly but unfortunately, broke a stud getting it off so there was something else to fix. They also reached the conclusion that the camshaft was one tooth out so they will have a go at that next week as well. We didn't get the opportunity to try to start it again. The joys of old engines with no manual!

Yes, I did file them off again but not quite so brutally! The engine was finally set up on Thursday and initial attempts were made to start it. It was, not unexpectedly, very stiff and despite having a number of people on the rope, it did not run. I went along yesterday after work and we had another go but it still won't start! Not even a 'chuff' which is very disappointing. It appears to be getting fuel OK but the spark is very weak. The magneto has been checked by a specialist and found to be OK but it is the electrical system which remains in doubt. We plan to try changing firstly, leads, then plugs and then to a known good magneto and see what happens. It will go eventually! After all of that, the engine is noticeably freeing up and one person can swing it now but, gosh, do I ache this morning! Steve :-) Sorry. Forgot to take the camera.....

All good progress and nice to see. How did you cut the spiral grooves in the shaft? The pitch looks very large for normal screw cutting. My approach would have been doing them by hand with a pencil grinder following a rough spiral marked with a pen but yours are a proper professional job! Do you think the phasing of the ends is deliberate or accidental? if the gearbox output flange and the differential input are not parallel then you would need some phasing but I am not sure how to calculate it. Thanks for sharing! Steve

Here's another one.

Yes, exciting times. They hope to start the engine in the next week or so. In the mean time, here are some more pics of some of the things we have done. One of the lads has made up the fuel tank and soldered it up. It has been tested to 5psi. I then took on the lamp brackets. These had been bent outwards to accept some bigger electric lamps but we want to fit some Lucas 742 oil lamps. The first task was to straighten them using some heat and the vice. It can also be seen that the prongs had been hacked about so I cut them off and turned up some new ones. After milling the end square, I drilled a pilot hole using a simple jig to align it. The underside is drilled to the diameter of the prong. Then they were simply silver soldered on. At this point, it became obvious why the sides of the spigots had been filed off! A final clean up and ready for painting. One more step in the right direction.

Thanks Chaps. Number one project at the moment is to give the Dennis a permanent home but local authorities just don't understand the needs of the average lorry restorer! I am trying to fit in some time making bits as well as taking the Dennis out and this earning a living really gets in the way too! I am pretty sure that the big radii only occur on the ends with just the corners broken elsewhere. Interestingly, our original plates have square holes in the centre whereas the Carlton Colville ones have round ones. Some pattern making is planned next. Steve :-)

You have a wonderful shed, Cel. So many interesting things everywhere! There is great joy in using old tools but I am pleased to see some guarding on the bandsaw! Wonderful progress as ever. Steve

Our next outing will be to the Shuttleworth Collection WW1 flying day on August 10th. The three of us are going together again. I have also been gently encouraging some more friends so we may well see two more Great War era three tonners making a total of five. A rare sight if it comes off! Steve

Thanks Caddy. We had a great day thanks to all the organisers. Tim has posted some photos here: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?44017-IWM-Duxford-Military-Vehicle-Show/page3&highlight=duxford Steve

Looks a bit like this one which I saw in Hertfordshire many years ago. Sadly, I can't quite remember where other than it was deep in the undergrowth! I am pleased to know what it was, even though it is of no use to me! Steve

I quite agree in that it should have a washer. Unfortunately, the split pin hole is drilled too close to allow one to be fitted in and it is the original pivot pin. The pivot pin does have a feather under the head on the other end and that should stop it rotating. It seems strange that the split pin sheared off as there is no axial load on the pivot. Also, once it had sheared, I would have expected to find the centre of the pin still in the hole trapped in the grease but it wasn't there. A strange one but one to keep an eye on I think! Steve :cool2:

We are planning to take the Dennis, in convoy with a Hallford and an AEC, to the IWM Military Vehicle Show at Duxford next Sunday, 15th June. To get ready, I have today been over to give it a quick check and oiling up ready for the trip. It started very nicely and ran well on the three mile trip to the petrol station. There, I three quarters filled it with £125- worth of fuel. Ouch! On return, I oiled all round and screwed down the grease caps. When I did the one on the foot brake clevis pin, the pin came out in my hand! Closer inspection revealed that there was no split pin to secure it. Whether it had fallen out or I had simply never fitted one, I don't know but it certainly has one now! It is the top pin in the photo. If any of you are at Duxford next week, do come and say hello. It is great to be able to put a face to a name. Steve

I think the axle is a 'Sheldon' from the Sheldon Axle Co of Wilkes-Barr, Pennsylvania. There is a nice article to be found here: http://199.253.17.48/downloads/new_6_6_05/penn22.pdf Not sure about the chassis though! Steve

Hi John. Solid tyres are specified by the inside diameter of the band and the width across it. For example, the Subvention scheme specified that approved vehicles will carry 720x120mm tyres on the front and 881x120mm on the rear. American tyres are specified in inches. Not sure about FIat but I would expect them to be metric. I understand that Dunlop stopped making them in around 1995 which is a pain. We need four 881x120 for the rear of the Thornycroft so if you turn up a stock, then please let us know! If we can't turn up any originals there are a couple of companies who will do them. B H Leake and Clifton Rubber will mould new rubber onto your old bands and then machine them to profile. On the Dennis, we had the same problem and had rears made of Polyurethane by a fork truck tyre manufacturer in Cornwall. These are a bit shiny but do the job very well and were significantly cheaper than rubber. I am also pleased to say that the shine has dulled with use so we may go that route again. Big solid rubber tyres should cost you less than £1000 each. Solid tyres are a pain! Steve

Wonderful. A real step forward! Well done! Steve :-D

'KF' is likely to be the 'Kirkstall Forge' of Leeds. They made axles for Dennis too! Steve

I was surprised that it swelled as well but as Sarah the Chemist (as Andy says) spent six years in a Fluorine lab, I bow to her superior knowledge! I can say, however, that whilst smooth as silk when new and for a couple of years dry, once petrol had been introduced to the tank, the tap tightened up to the point where I am concerned that I might break it out of the tank. Hence my current thinking with cork. I am also surprised at the table that does not recommend cork for contact with ethanol. Guess where I got the cork in the first place! Anyway, I have had another go. The first cork I drilled (high speed and low feed rate) came out 1/16" bigger than the drill which was quite a disappointment so I had another go with a smaller drill. That was OK so, as before, I ground it to size using the Dremel in the toolpost. this appeared to be OK so I trimmed it to length, oiled it all and put it back together ready for a trial. Brighton is looming so we will have to get the lorry out and try it again very shortly. That will be my opportunity to change the tap but It might be a good idea if I invest in a nice new bucket to catch the fuel! Steve