Old Bill

That's a nice find! Can't help with the terminals though. Electrics in vehicles are far too complicated! Steve 😁

Foster Daimler gun tractor. I believe that they built 96 of them but Tim can tell you more. I wish one had survived but they didn't seem to find any sort of use after the war and all are gone. Steve 🙂

Sadly, it is back to reality tomorrow. We did do a bit today though. I fitted a running board that Dad has painted up. I couldn't do the other side as we realised that one of the brackets is bent so that will need a bit of attention from the press first. The next thing to mount on the running board is the toolbox. Amazingly, we spotted an original Peerless item at Beaulieu Autojumble some years ago and instantly recognised it. It wasn't even very expensive. It was, however, pretty mucky. Tim has spent a considerable amount of time cleaning it up and it has come out very well. It appears to be made of oak. Certainly, it is pretty hard. Of course, we need one for the other side as well so it is currently with Mark the Chippy to copy. I will then do the banding and the lid to match. It is Beaulieu again in a couple of weeks. I wonder what else we might find? Steve 🙂

Hi Alastair. I think that vehicles were grey with black lettering up to 1915 when they went to a khaki brown, fresh cowpat colour known as 'service colour'. Poor old Tomo would have been the expert on that subject but Tim might have some views. Steve 😊

Hi Barry. You are quite right, I forgot to try blipping the throttle. I was more concerned about it running away! Something for next time when we have the mag sorted. The bonnet does simply seem to be a raw edge on the chassis rail. The Sandstone example which is the most original around, shows this. Mind you. It could be that I have got the bonnet a bit long and it should just hang, held by the catches. Yes, my mill head does swivel but it is quite a performance to get it true again that the angle vice was a much easier solution for this job. Next job is the seat so we can take it out! Steve 😊

A few more things have been going on recently. In the collection of bits was this rather nice iron plate. It appears to have been commonly fitted onto the side of the floor support. However, our floor side extensions would hide it which would be a pity so we have fitted it to the dash panel at eye level as you get in. The floor around the pedals is a bit of a puzzle. We had an original iron casting (broken) for this corner so I made up patterns for a replacement and its opposite number. You may recall that the patterns were completely destroyed by the foundry but I did get two good castings. I drilled the holes in it to match the support angles. However, the main panel has continued to puzzle us as there is very limited support for it. I went ahead and cut a piece of hardwood ply using a very nice saw that Dad gave me for Christmas. After cutting out for the pedal, that fitted quite nicely. However, there is nothing to support the lower right corner. After some thought, we fitted a flat strip of steel along the edge and the full width of the cab. To it, we also fitted the second casting thus carrying the load to the other side. I am not convinced that that is how it was done but have no evidence to the contrary. It does seem to work though! A while back, I started turning up the fan pulley and bored the centre hole. However, it popped out of the chuck as soon as I tried to cut the vee-groove so I decided that it needed mounting on a mandrel using the key. I therefore had to work out how to cut a key-way. My keyway cutter is intended for the Myford but the Myford isn't big enough to turn the pulley so I bolted it to the face plate above centre and packed up the cutter to match. This came out quite satisfactorily. Then, using my fancy new vice, I drilled and tapped for the clamp screw. Back to Father's Colchester and today, I turned up a mandrel with a key slot in it. This held the pulley very securely and I was able to cut the groove. Despite my using the vee-groove standard for a B-section, something has gone wrong and the initial straight cut groove is wider than it should be. It matches the standard but it isn't right! We have elected to suck it and see and if it doesn't work, I will have to make another. I reversed it and machined it to thickness but despite my best efforts, I cannot get a decent finish. I tried heavy and light cuts, fast and slow feeds but it was always awful. In the end, I resorted to emery paper but there must be a better way. I always have trouble with cast aluminium. Anyway, I pressed on, made a key and fitted to the crank. Another job ticked off! Steve😊

The handle is quite a distinctive shape. This was the best I could find. I could have made them up myself but that seemed to be going a bit too far. Drilling for rivets. I did the riveting out in my forge as the bench is very heavy. Fortunately, I have remarkably tolerant neighbours. A trial fit of the top panels went well. It is apparent that the radiator is about 1/4" out of square so there is a bit more gap one side than the other. The 3/4" rise to the rear is quite noticeable. Then a trial of the side panels with a blanket to protect the paintwork. Fortunately we didn't do too much damage. Not a bad fit. The bonnet catches line up but the springs are a bit weak. Something else to address. That's all ready for painting and then it will be time for the signwriter. In the mean time, we need a floor and seat for the driver! Steve 😊

Thank you everybody. It was an exciting occasion but hard work. I still ache now! The magneto was a disappointment but all was well in the end. You may notice, in the first clip of it running, that there is a lot of smoke around the inlet manifold and periodically, a jet of smoke and flame out of the manifold towards the magneto. This was due to a bolt hole in the manifold that I had forgotten to plug. The hole was left over from the governor which we haven't fitted so no doubt it was making it very lean which certainly didn't help the starting! A bolt soon sorted that. We have been doing other things as well and the recent focus has been on the bonnet. After our trial fit, we decided that my new hinges were too small so I had to make some more. At least I knew how to do it this time! 50 blanks cut from the old Daimler bonnet. That was well worth saving all those years ago. Drilled and ready to go. The catches also needed making. This is the one on the Sandstone Peerless. It took me a while to puzzle out how to bend it but I made up a press tool from mild steel and it did the trick. Should have been hardened really but I only wanted four and got away with it. A bit of fiddling to get the curve in. Behind each catch is a rib. I think these were castings but I elected to fabricate them. My little press-brake put the first bend in. Then it was the gentle bend to match the bonnet. They came out quite well. The rib was harder as the strip had to be bent sideways. I slotted a couple of bits of bar to support them while I pushed. I had to add the clamps to prevent the rollers from being fired out sideways. My favourite silver solder, Ready for riveting.

Still pushing on with the job and looking forward to swinging the handle the next time we can all get together. The first thing I did on my most recent visit was to try the incomplete floor panel. I was very pleased to find that it dropped straight in and looked like it was meant to be there! Since then, the cracks in the ends have been welded up and the the whole lot dressed off. I have also cut the finger hole which is the only detail that can be made out in any of our publicity material. A good spot by Tim. Then fit the oil pipe clip. That was satisfactory. Followed by the fitting of the new wing bolts. Unfortunately, one sheared off so I had to make another up from scratch as I only had exactly the correct number. My usual silver-soldered fabrication. That sorted that out. Time to think about the bonnet. It sits on bonnet tape secured with bifurcated rivets. I have always found the things a pain to spread so I made an attachment for the mole grips. That proved quite satisfactory. # Then a trial fit of the bonnet panels. I was very pleased with the outcome although the ends did need a little trimming just to square them up. The gaps for the hinges came out a little larger than planned so I now have to make up some more hinges of larger proportions to fill the space. Not the end of the world. The whole effect was really quite pleasing. Getting closer to running so it was time for some oil. Three pints in each sump. It really is a weird system with two sumps, two level cocks connected by a linkage and twin drip feeds but only splash lubrication. It now drips so it is coming to life! R Roll on the next visit! Steve 🙂

You're winding me up now! I desperately want to get stuck into the job but must do one job at a time. The Peerless is so close that we must finish it first. Then we will have another toy to play with. It is getting close though and we are busily collecting data. Very soon! Steve 😉

Oh yes. We are very keen to start it as soon as we can. Living 200 miles from the project does make it frustratingly difficult some times! In the mean time, I have finished off the edges of the running boards so Dad can get stuck into the paintwork as soon as I can deliver them. With the three oil pipes in place it can be seen that a clip to hold them and stop them flapping is needed so I set about making one by starting with a press tool. Making the tool took the time! Result is satisfactory, however, A lot of hand dressing and a couple of hles finished the job. I also made up the drive dog for the oil pump. These parts can be fitted before the crank-up. After my comments on here about wing bolts, I have been given twenty four 1/4" coach bolts with oversize heads. After machining the squares off and giving them a polish they were ready for the paint booth. I had a call this week to say that the bonnet panels were ready for collection so I hauled up to Preston and back to bring them home. Nigel has left me to fit and rivet them so that will be the next job when I go down. We have been puzzling over the floor panels as there is no space in the thickness for the centre panel without having a small step as a tripping hazard. There are no original survivors to look at so after a bit of thought, I realised that a steel floor would get over the problem. I therefore drew up a copy of the Autocar floor panel and Dad had it bent up. Unfortunately, the fabricator misread the drawing and bent the ends incorrectly. I hammered them out flat again and gave some thought to the surface. A smooth steel panel will be very slippery in the wet and I think some sort of tread texture would be advisable. The Autocars have pimples on so I elected to press some in. Positioning them is tricky as I have nothing to control the relative positions of the punch and die so I drilled a 1/16" hole through on each centre to allow me to insert an aligning wire. There are 224 pimples on the panel so it was a bit tedious but successful in the end. After riveting the replacement end pieces on which were miss-bent, I fitted a centre rib to give it some stiffness. There are a couple of cracks which need welding up after which, the panel is ready for the paint shop. Dad is continuing with the paintwork and has been coating the pick and shovel brackets and also the rear wings. Next visit will see the engine filled with oil and the bonnet trial fitted with pilot holes drilled. After that it will be a case of getting us all together to give the engine a swing. Exciting times! Steve 🙂

Well, I carried on by soldering the ends of the brass hand-pump delivery tubes. These were then wangled into place. Fortunatey, I had already made up some gaskets for the banjo couplings. Then, the soldered and completed copper pipes were fitted. it only remains to make and fit a pipe clip to go between them at the bottom. Dad has just taken delivery of these beautiful pieces of sapele for use as the running boards. I am going to break the edges with the plane and he can get on with painting them With the fitting of the oil pipes, the engine is ready to start. It just needs some oil and we can have a go at swinging the handle. Something to look forward to the next time we can visit! Steve 🙂

We have been doing a bit more and are getting ever closer to the first swing. Dad has started painting the rear wings. As always, we are tight for space! I have installed the throttle rod so the pedal now operates the carburettor. I made up the other rods and installed them too so we have a hand throttle here And magneto advance linkage. As the magneto was in position to set up the linkage, I did the HT leads and ran the wire through the dash to the magneto switch. All controls are connected and functional! Dad wanted to push on with painting the wings so I cut the mounting pads and then drilled them through and screwed them down. I suspect that the fasteners should be 1/4" x 1" bolts with 1" dia mushroom heads but I have yet to find any. I didn't want to make them so we have settled for round head screws for the time being. Making 24 of them will be very tedious! Dad has masked the area up and started painting them. The last items to complete before swinging the handle are the oil pipes and I have been tackling these today. It really is a weird oil system of unreasonable complication. The big ends are splash lubricated so the engine driven pump is only for top-up purposes. However, the sump is divided in the middle so there are two independent reservoirs, hence two feeds. The first pipe I put in was the overflow return to tank. This is the main feed line from the back of the pump housing to the sight glasses. Access to make the connection is hopeless. The gap here between the crank case and the pump is about 1". How I am supposed to connect the union nut to the banjo, goodness only knows. Wangling the pump in with two feet of pipe attached to the back will be challenging too. A job for tomorrow. All the pipes are cut and bent and have their end fittings silver soldered on save the pressure line where it fits to the back of the pump. That joint has an olive so I shall have to turn up one of those tomorrow as well. Once all of those pipes are fitted and clipped, there are two more delivery pipes from the bottom of the hand pump to the two sumps which is a ridiculous level of complication! Steve🙂

Had a nice time in Devon last weekend and did a bit more. We are getting very close now so it is time to think about getting a licence number for it. To start that process, we needed some photographs so the first job was to push it outside. Moving it outside is quite hard but not half as hard as putting it back again as it is uphill! Dad took the opportunity to look at his paintwork and was satisfied with the results. The whole thing suddenly looks quite big! Once we had got it back inside, I fitted the angle brackets at the rear end, ready for the tailboard. Fortunately we have the bolts in stock and I didn't even have to trim them to length. Very satisfying. Dad has been pushing on with the tailboard as well and has been painting the planks. And also the ironwork. I have yet to make the hinge blocks. Then we cut and drilled the side capping strips and fitted them. Dad had already got them up to the undercoat stage. I made a start on turning up the fan pulley. I couldn't get a good enough grip on the centre to cut the belt groove so I have brought it away to cut the keyway and to make up a mandrel to hold firmly in the chuck so that I can cut the groove. Once that was done, we positioned the wing and remains of the running board so that we could confirm the size of the boards. The timber for them is now on order. Dad has painted up the brake rigging so I installed the last rod and connected it to the pedal. Another functioning control! Behind the brake pedal, you can see the unpainted throttle rod which I cut to length and fitted. I also propped up the floor support angle and screwed it to the dash board. A bit more throttle rod cut to length here, ready for finishing and also the new petrol line. I found a bit of old copper pipe in the workshop which I straightened out and it proved to be exactly the right length with no trimming at all. I just soldered on the end fittings and ticked another job off the list. I fitted the petrol tap extension. This went exactly through the brake rod! I resolved that by putting a kink in the middle of the tap rod. I was tempted to kink the brake rod instead but that would have made the brake a bit spongy and it is that already ! Today, I have made up the last of the thottle and ignition rods, turned up a sleeve for the water pump drive and turned some insulating bushes for the HT leads so it has all been quite productive recently. # The current focus is to get the engine running as soon as we can. To do that, we need HT leads and oil pipes so we are very close. It is all getting rather exciting! Steve🙂

Hi Mark. They look very much like the right kind of thing. Certainly the sort of style we are after. I think they should be about 3" dia or thereabouts. It is always amazing to see what keeps turning up. Thanks for sharing them! Steve 🙂