Old Bill

Thanks Adam. You are very kind. I can make quite a few things but rubber items are a bit out of my league! Will be in touch! Steve

Thanks for that Robert. We are always worried about boring everyone to death with mindless detail! Sometimes a photo does help you get your thoughts together with a problem though. This was our first experience of extracting pistons and we were not looking foward to it at all. Fortunately they were not too painful in the end. One of my friends filled his pistons with diesel and then set fire to it with the acetylene torch! It worked for him but he is braver than I am! Good luck with the Leyland. We shall look forward to hearing of the outcome! Steve

Hi Marcel. I remembered to measure it up today. The flywheel is 21 1/2" diameter and 4 1/2" thick. The journals are all 1 7/8" diameter. The combination is heavy! Steve

Welcome aboard Paul! I'm pleased to see another Great War fan. Interest in the era is certainly growing! Steve

Hi Jake! I'm glad you enjoyed the article. That lorry has made us many friends across the world all of whom would like to assist and it is great! We will try to keep the interest going with the Thornycroft but you will have to be patient as it is going to take a while. Welcome to the forum! Steve G. :-)

I build dust-carts for a living! Steve

OK. There is enough to be going on with. Have you done much pattern making for foundry work as these will be made from gunmetal castings?

What is the diameter across the wheel treads so that I can scale the pumps from the drawing? Also, what are the pumps doing? Are they sucking up water from anywhere convenient and pushing it through the filters or am I completely misreading them? It looks as if a suction hose might screw onto the bottom end. Steve

Thanks Dan. I thought as much but have always had trouble getting the stuff. I did find a supplier but they wanted to sell me a couple of gallons and as I only ever use a thimbleful now and again, I could never bring myself to buy it! I always use 'Bondaprime' a zinc chromate anti-rust primer. Not intended for this use at all but it soaks in and hardens the surface nicely before rubbing back. Cheers! Steve

Does it say anything in the text on your drawing about the pump such as displacement, flow rate, pipe sizes, thread fittings or any other clues about it? Do any examples exist somewhere to your knowledge? Steve

Hi Nige. Let's continue this chat on your water tanker thread. In the mean time, please could you let me have the diameter of the wheel so that the pump drawing can be scaled? Also, which way does the water flow through it? It looks as if it should be top to bottom but can you confirm? I know it is a silly question but why do you need a pump at all? What is the pump doing? If you poured water in the top, it would simply drain out of the bottom! Cheers! Steve

Looks wonderful! What does 'NBR' stand for? Might it be 'North British Railway Co'? Cheers! Steve

Nice job Dan. What sort of paint have you used? Steve

Hold on! Valentines Day isn't until tomorrow! Tim is right though. Your mock-ups don't look too complicated. You could easily produce a pattern to have the bodies cast in gunmetal. Machining shouldn't be too tricky. Do you have drawings of the pumps? Steve

Here's a thought: How do the pigeons find the loft after it has been moved?! I assume that the mobile loft is used to take the pigeons to the front from their home loft. Do you know how they were used and how many there were? Steve

I have never had to consider this problem before and the grease gun method always appealed. However, it does mean that the block has to be sealed up which will be quite difficult. The valves are very corroded and will take some extracting in their own right. My plan of approach will be to have a look up the bores and polish them if there is any rust. Then I shall try to pull the pistons out. Some sort of jacking arrangement may be needed. After that heat may have to be used but I am very wary about that due to the danger of cracking the block. A steam box may be the answer, other wise it will be a gentle gas flame over a long period. I have seen a block inverted and the pistons filled with diesel before setting the diesel alight with the oxy-acetylene torch. This was spectacular and effective but takes a brave man to try! Watch this space. Steve

What sort of engine and transmission does it have? (The replica?) Steve

Yes, I was concerned about that. The originals are definately cast iron, though, and I think I would rather break the tag on the sleeve than break out the top of the block! It was hard enough on my nerves cutting out the originals without damaging the blocks but we will go to steel if we have to. I think that if the cap is properly ground in, it shouldn't need much clamping force and I am sure it will soon carbon up anyway. Time will tell. We still have to get the pistons out and I am not looking forward to that much either. Steve

That gearbox is gorgeous! Whoever used it last certainly knew how to change gear! Good luck with the cams. I wouldn't like to be the guy who does that! Steve :-)

OK. Now we are on to Thornycrofts. This one is another remarkable survivor. It was built, I believe, in 1916. After the War, it was bought by Lowestoft Corporation for maintaining the tramway system and, when that closed, was donated/loaned the the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville. It remains in a totally original condition in every respect except for the red paint and has the body that we will copy for ours. The hood bows were still in the back when I last saw it and we have fitted copies of them to the Dennis! For any Great War enthusiast, it is worth a visit and the rest of the museum is pretty good too! Steve The photo, by the way, belongs to the Museum as all of mine were taken in a dark shed.

That one came out of a scrapyard in Warrington and was initially rebuilt by a potter in Runcorn. He had enough bits left over to do another one which was in military livery but which is now being slowly civilianised. I was fortunate to drive this one from Chiswick to Basingstoke for the Thornycroft centenary run and can report that whilst being a nice vehicle to drive, it did seem to have hexagonal brake drums making the use of the handbrake a bit fraught! Steve

Nice job Rob. Good solid progress being made now! Steve :wave:

That's a bit of a blow. Do you know how big the impeller should be or what it looks like? Steve

Nice job. It is a shame to paint it! Steve :-)

Hi Dan. I was wondering whether a Peerless axle might suit? The king pins are quite different but the basic profile is similar. Have a look at these and let me know if you think it might be close enough. Cheers! Steve