Old Bill

I think the inspection vehicle is a Great War vintage Baguley railcar. There is one preserved at the Statfold Barn Railway near Tamworth. Steve

Ah, but it might have been! Tillings are interesting too. Riding in one is like being in a vehicle with a badly slipping clutch! Is this one war time or later? Thanks for investigating! Steve :-)

Wonderful pictures! I think that these are all Peerless trucks. You can just make out the Peerless plate on the back of the rear crossmember in the second pic. We are planning to put one of ours into Mesopotamian service but we have seen very few pictures of them. These are terrific as they are rear views which are very rare indeed. That second photo is very interesting because of the livery. It looks to me as if it was painted a darker colour (khaki green?) but is so smothered in dust that it looks a lot lighter. I thought at first, that it had some sort of disruptive camouflage on it too but on second thoughts, it is just shadow from a low sun almost square on to the front. We may not have nailed the colour scheme yet but we are getting closer! Thanks for posting! Steve

I think that lower picture is a Thornycroft, a little smaller than ours. Maybe an X or a BT if they were making them before the War. Thanks for showing it. Steve

Brilliant! I knew somebody would know what it was! Steve

Thanks Rick. Great pictures! I had forgotten that Tim had already posted so much about it so sorry for the duplication. Thanks for the Alice Springs photographs. Their vehicle looks different in a number of respects and I am wondering whether it is post war? It looks smaller than the Coventry lorry and the engine appears to be a monoblock but it is very much from the same stable. One thing the Coventry lads don't have is an original steering wheel. Do you think this one is original or perhaps a bit newer? Is that the edge of an enamel instruction plate hiding behind the steering column? It really is great to see another! Cheers! Steve :-D

Amazing information, Johnny. Thank you very much for sharing it with us. Steve

Thanks Jason. We would be very pleased to hear about it. We thought that we knew what was left in this country but things keep turning up! A local one would be of enormous help. Cheers! Steve :-D

BRILLIANT! Thanks Rod. I knew someone would know! Steve :-D

Last Friday, I had the great good fortune to go and see the Maudslay Subsidy lorry under restoration at the Museum of Transport in Coventry. We had a great time with Chris and the Friends who are doing the work. Unfortunately, with the Maudslay, information is scant and there are no vehicles to inspect in this country. There is, however, a survivor of 1918 vintage in Australia. This was rebuilt by the Geralka Farm Museum with a slightly unconventional bus body and used to transport visitors around the museum. In my trawlings of the net, I find that the museum sold up in 2010 and the Maudslay has gone to new owners. Does anyone here know of its whereabouts or how I might contact the new owners? I would very much like to ask a few questions about it and whether a few photographs might be taken to help the Coventry lads on their way? Someone on this forum will know, I am sure! Many thanks, Steve

The springs are standard off-the-shelf from the Lee Spring Co at £7.72 each. As there are fewer coils the spring rate will be greater. However, they are 1/32" bigger in the bore so that will soften them. The wire size and free lengths are identical so I don't think we will notice the difference! Interestingly, they are wound the other way. Is there a convention for spring coil direction? Steve

I don't think truck racing is really our thing although it is on record that a Mack running down hill, deliberately out of gear, could exceed 70mph. This is with wooden wheels and solid tyres. All sounds a bit hairy to me! The rings are what I could get off the shelf. The plain ones are 110mm dia (4.331") but our liners will be 4 5/16" bore (4.313"). This diameter difference will not cause a problem other than that I will have to remove a little more from the ends when setting the gaps. The scraper rings in the packets are 4 5/16" so they should need little adjustment. I must get my drawing board out now and draw up the new pistons ready to start pattern making again. The grooves will be cut to suit the rings we now have. Steve :-)

Nice job! Another little piece of history with which I was not familiar. The more one learns, the more one realises that there is to know! Thanks for sharing it with us. Steve

Thanks for all of that Gus. I certainly know the problems of scaling from photographs! That square-on one is a corker and provides some very good info. Rear views are the hardest to find, I think. We built the Autocar body from a single photo which was nearer to a front view than 3/4 view. Fortunately, it is only a very simple body but we simply guessed that it would have a drop-down tailboard. Of course, once we had finished, another photo turned up showing that the back is fixed making the body a simple box. Never mind. We did try. Your body is super (vehicle that is..) and makes a great addition to the Great War fleet. Cheers! Steve

Great! We like to hear about restoration/rebuild progress whatever the vehicle. There is always something to be learned, both ways! Welcome in and enjoy the company! Steve

Thanks Gustaf. Same old story! At least no one will be able to tell you that you are wrong! It does make it that much more difficult though. We shall look forward to seeing progress on the next one. Good luck with it! Steve

Hi Steve! Glad to hear that you are enjoying the Dennis. We have had some wonderful help from some of your compatriots for which we are most grateful. This website helps you to 'meet' some great people! Are you a vehicle owner? Welcome in! Steve

Hi Gustaf. It really looks good! When you built the body, what construction information did you have? Did you have drawings or did you have an original one to copy? I find that planning the job often takes longer than actually doing it! Super job! What's next? Steve :cheesy:

Hi Rick. Yes, we build railway engines as well! Dad was posted to work in the bank on the Isles of Scilly for a while and during that time, decided to build a steam locomotive. He bought himself a lathe and a book on how to use it and just did it! Even now, I am amazed, firstly in that he taught himself to do it in a place where there was no one to ask and secondly, in that he persuaded Mother to allow him to spend the money! You can see a photo of my locomotive on the Dennis thread, page 82, 7th June 2010. I am currently building a pair of electric locomotives and they have slowed my progress on the Thorny. My part of that project is coming to an end now so I hope to return to the lorry very soon. Steve

Thanks for the feedback, Steve. Glad to hear that you are making progress andlook forward to pictures of them out and about again! Steve

All suggestions are very gratefully received. Thanks John! Steve :cool2:

Hi John. That's interesting. I could make one of those, I think. Just fit a grinding wheel to the correctly sized arbour and use the lathe, with a diamond in the toolpost, to dress the grindstone to suit. Thanks for the tip-off! Steve

Thanks Cel. That makes it a lot clearer. I have seen cutters like that around but never knew what they were! Are they just turned with the tommy bar rather than a power tool? I think a trip to the second hand tool shop is called for. Cheers! Steve :-D

That's an interesting one. I have also had a recommendation for the process from a pal in Australia but have not yet tried it. What is the chemistry that is going on? I have heard tell that it smells like gangrene but is amazingly effective at shifting rust! Steve

Hi John. Thanks for that. How do you grind in a valve seat? What tools do I need? I have only ever lapped valves in using paste but this seat looks like a bigger job than that! Steve