Old Bill

I must admit that I am surprised by the wheel assemblies of the period. The British had cast or pressed steel wheels but plain bronze bushes usually lubricated with grease although Dennis used oil. The Americans were still using wooden wheels into the 1930's and yet had rolling bearings before the war. The Autocar even has ball races on the crankshaft! There must be some story behind it all. Anyway, to work.

After fitting the second wheel, we had a bit of time so I took the opportunity to fit Father's nice new half nuts to hold the blocks down.

No split pins, interestingly.

This week, I realised that I had omitted a felt seal between the sump and the bearing caps so the sump had to come off again. I did take the opportunity to fit the missing stud for which Father had made a replacement.

Felt seal stuck up with grease.

Dad has been busy with the paint brush again so here is the starting handle. It is now green.

The wheels took some punishment whilst we were fitting the tyres. It is very difficult to be gentle with such huge lumps so Father is now tidying them up again.

Home again and back to the carburettor. You may remember that we decided that it had been frost damaged and the sides had been pushed inwards trapping the valve. After pondering for a while, I cut two flats on the valve on opposite sides with the trusty Dremel.

And out it came!

Something else to repair.

The bulges are very clear here. The valve seat has also gone oval.

Whilst pondering that one, I set about cleaning up the threads. They had been a bit chewed up when I eventually unscrewed them due to the dirt which had got in. Not too serious though.

The bulges in the carb had to be moved out of the way, either by cutting them out or simply pushing them back. I took the latter option and with a certain amount of trepidation, came up with this set-up.

It actually worked quite well, much to my relief. I used a washer under the bar to spread the load out and that curved nicely. There is a crack visible in the casting but as we won't use the water jacket with modern fuels, it won't matter.

The other side went well too but, alas, the seat remained oval.

Back to the valve. I skimmed the ground surfaces flat in the mill and then silver soldered two blocks of brass onto the casting.

I intend to set it up in the lathe and turn the profile back to where it should be. It is going to be an awkward thing to hold though!

Steve    🙂

Well, not quite that easily. The drums contacted on the ends of the linings jamming it up.

Off with the wheel again and I dressed the ends up with the rasp.

Then it slid on OK although it was hard work simply due to the weight. Of course, we don't have a 2 1/2" socket so I wound the retaining nut on with a large spanner and a piece of packing.

On checking the end float, I determined that a new shim washer was required which Dad made up.

Wheel fitted and pinned!

Time to keep the muck out, Dad had already cleaned and painted the hub caps and also made a new pinch bolt. It has obviously been custom and practice in the past the screw the cap on and off by hitting the original bolt with a hammer and it had seen better days.

Job done. Now go and do it again!

The second wheel had the tyres pressed over some shim so this needed trimming back first.

Then prepare the bearing retainer.

I screwed this in using this most amazing tool that I picked up at Beaulieu last year. It must have been made for the job!

The ring is prevented from unscrewing by inserting a grub screw. The screw was missing so Dad quickly made one up, 1/4" UNS again of course.

This time we were tighter for space so the wheel had to be pushed all the way on its trolley. I was seriously concerned that it would get the better of me and fall over but we got away with it.

Then straight on over the previously prepared brake shoes secured with the wheel nut and appropriate shims and the job was done!

Four wheels on my wagon!

Once Dad has repaired the paintwork, we will drop it down and it will be mobile at last. On to the engine next!

Steve     🙂

We had a jolly good weekend. Firstly, a trip to the Great Dorset Steam Fair where we saw a lot of old friends, and then a couple of days on the lorry where we made some progress!

The wheels have had the tyres fitted and have been awaiting unloading.

Dad has taken the opportunity to repair the paintwork on the backs as tyre fitting is a brutal process and it is very difficult to be careful with them.

I think they are in excess of 400lb each. They certainly stretch my crane!

First job was to fit the brake shoes. When we last looked, they were too big to go inside the drums so I made and fitted new shim adjuster plates that you can see here and then chamfered the edge with a rasp to help them to enter the drum.

Select a good bearing and a trial fit.

This is the bearing retainer for the back of the wheel. I replaced the felt oil seal.

But then thought 'What does that run on?' There is no obvious surface on the end of the axle. We had a look in the parts book but it seemed to run on the axle end which was odd.

We then took a look in the 'stores' at another axle and this rusty collar was evident. Well, we understood the issue now but rescuing this collar would be a pain.

Then I found a box of 'mixed bits' on the shelf. These were mainly parts we haven't identified and, as luck would have it, it contained two filthy collars. Bingo!

Dad cleaned them up (he gets all the good jobs).

On each end of the axle is this hole which has puzzled me for a while.

Its use is now obvious so I turned up a 5/16" UNS pin and all was well.

Now to prepare the wheel. The bearing is all greased up.

Then fitted in the back of the wheel with the locking ring.

We craned it onto a small trolley with castors which was made for the purpose. The height of the axle was adjusted with the jack and the wheel rolled in.

Yes, I try to avoid putting non-ferrous in a blaster if I can. In this case, it was treated fairly gently and it is a rough-cast finish so I think it is OK. For machined bits, greasers and such like it really is a no-no as they are spoiled far too easily.

Must try that potion though!

Steve   🙂

22 hours ago, smiffy said:

I do make clocks but not for sale .

That explains a lot!

Steve   😁

Thanks Mike. I will try that on my next big soldering project.

I am enjoying the gauge and looking forward to further episodes!

Steve   🙂

That's a proper job, nicely done!

I hadn't heard of the citric acid trick to remove the flux. I wish I had known about it before trying to paint our tank as it kept reacting with it. Always something new to learn!

Keep up the good work.

Steve   🙂

22 hours ago, Asciidv said:

So I think the first question is whether you do really need to remove the valve, could it just not stay in place?

I did think about that but the valve doesn't seat  properly either so I am wondering whether the frost distorted the seating as well. I need to have a look inside to make sure all is well. This is going to be a tricky carb to set up just so and I could do without any other mechanical issues compounding it!

The grit in the thread is a real pain as I was just ready to have a go at it. I have drilled a hole in the side of the thread for a C-spanner so I can get some torque on it but won't be able to have a go for a few days as I am away on business. Very frustrating! Once I get the end cap off. I thought that I would try grinding two flats on the sides of the valve so that it would pass by the bulges. I don't want to have to replace the valve but I could if I had to. With flats on the side, I could silver solder some brass back into place and dress it to shape so all is not yet lost. With the valve out of the casting, I may be able to squeeze the bulges back into place. We shall see!

Steve 🙂

Another part we are going to want soon after the engine is installed is the carburettor. As you can see, it is a bit unconventional!

The principle is quite simple in that it has only a single jet and a secondary valve opens against a spring to let auxiliary air in as the throttle is opened. I am expecting it to take some serious setting up! The most unconventional part is the throttle valve which is of the sliding variety with two seats. When it is shut, the left hand seat is in contact but the right hand one has a gap, set by rotating the threaded ring, to control the idle. I am sure it works but it would be a real pain to set as the engine must be stopped each time, the ring rotated a bit and then the engine started again. Oh well.

When we got the lorry, there was no carb included. Quite amazingly, Tim found one on Ebay, in Maryland.

It is exactly the right one and dropped right on to the engine.

I have started to sort it out and began by unscrewing the float chamber cover.

The filter, built into the bottom of the float chamber obviously hadn't been cleaned for a while.

Then the water drain tap from the heating jacket.

The bolts holding the castings together gave in to a bit of heat.

Now the end of the throttle valve can be seen. I managed to free up the spindle but it still didn't move much.

Auxiliary air valve next. That also needed the heat.

The jet plug had a gob of solder on it. I wonder if that was to discourage 'fiddling'?

The jet would not move in spite of applied heat so I made up an extended bit for my impact driver. That soon sorted it without breaking anything.

Now, the top casting. The cover gave in to some heat and unscrewed. The locking ring also came loose with a C-spanner and more heat.

Desite the cover being removed, the valve would not come out. (to the left in the pic). I pondered it for quite a while and eventually asked for some opinions from my pal, Adrian. We eventually reached the conclusion that the bulge you can see here is not original but actually caused by frost possibly over a number of cycles. The elbow is a nice round shape so the water jacket simply collapsed inwards until the valve would not go past.

I am currently wondering how to overcome this one with the least damage but in the mean time, Adrian very kindly sandblated it for me.

And I have continued to clean up bits. This is the fuel filter again.

The float chamber cover polished up nicely.

The tap is a bit scruffy but will fight again.

The first curve-ball on this job was the frost damage. The second one is that a bit of grit has got into the cover joint and I can't unscrew it! It moved a bit and I worked it for a while but it is absolutely solid now. Another challenge!

Steve   🙂

Ah, thanks! A nice neat job. So you folded the edge with a sheet metal folder? Having the right tools for the job makes a big difference!

Steve   🙂

Coming on nicely! How did you go about folding the longitudinal seam? I have always struggled with that, usually tapping the edge over against a block. I can get away with it on something small but something this big is a real challenge. There must be a trick to it!

Steve    😁

Whilst Dad is repairing the paintwork on the wheels, I have picked up the job of sorting out the engine breathers. When we first took delivery of the lorry, we found the item on the left in one of the boxes. It took a while to identify it but we eventually realised that it was a crank case breather, sorely in need of attention. It was put to one side whilst we did other things. Then a few years later, we spotted the one on the right at Beaulieu Autojumble. We couldn't believe our luck and brought it home at which point we realised that the engine has one at each end and that we needed two! It was an amazing find though and I wonder where it has been all these years.

We still needed to repair or replace the first one and after some consideration, I thought I could get away with simply replacing the conical section. To that end, I turned up a piece of fence post to wrap some sheet around.

Then I dismantled the the remains, leaving bit at each end to which I could solder the new piece.

I drew out a paper template on the board and cut the brass to match. Here it is demonstrating the famous optical illusion that it is bigger than the brass!

The joint has a lap on the back, riveted and silver soldered in place.

Trial fit is looking promising.

Drill all the breather holes. This was done with trepidation as I was scared that the drill would bite and tear the brass. Fortunately, I got away with it.

Soft soldered at both ends.

And finally buffed up.

Another job ticked off!

Steve   🙂

Always something to be learned!

My latest efforts revolve around the starting handle. Dad had cleaned it and given it a coat of primer but on closer inspection, it could be seen to be pretty poorly with slop all over the place. Also, when we removed it from the chassis, it did not line up with the engine.

For some reason, Peerless have made it a most complex item. After starting the engine, the handle is drawn back, folded about its middle and tucked away under the chassis. Before replacing the bearings, the joint had to come apart.

A drilling job in the small mill.

And then punched through.

With the handle removed, you can just see the edge of the bronze bushing which was paper thin. I wonder if this amount of wear signifies that it was a poor starter? Food for thought!

The second bushing was equally thin. I had to take them out with a punch in the end.

The handle bearing surface was heavily pitted with corrosion and needed turning back. The handle is too big for me to swing so I set it up in the mill and used the boring head in reverse to skim the outside. The finish is nothing special due to lack of stiffness but it did the job!

OK. Next step. The brass sleeve was seized solid and despite my best efforts with heat , I could not get it moving.

I had to resort to drilling it out in the end.

I then put it in the press and pushed it out of the tube. I did have to make up a collar to support the end of the tube, however. The spindle was shot but I did save the tube.

A bit of a polish and a new spindle.

The handle was twisted and bent so a bit of heat and some heave-ho in the vice brought it back into line.

The spindle was pressed in and riveted over.

Then the brass retaining washer was fitted and the other end of the spindle riveted over.

Handle ready for action!

Now the bushes. I measured the bore for the larger bush and found it rusty and tapered. I pondered this for a while as it would be most awkward to set up to bore through and I could make a tapered bush but it would be a bodge. Then I had a thought and rummaged under the bench only to come up with a brand new expanding reamer, still in the grease and the exact right size! The gods were smiling that day!

This soon cleaned out the hole, straight and parallel once again and I machined the bush to suit.

All well here. Now bush number two.

I had previously given the spindle a light skim but it has been hardened to protect the dog and it made a mess of my tipped tool. I managed to clean it up enough, however.

A trial assembly was called for to see how it folds away after use.

There should be a spring clip to retain the handle but this was long gone so I cut a strip of spring steel and bent it to fit.

The whole lot is heading for the paint shop and it is on to the next job. What a palaver that was!

Steve  🙂

We went out on Saturday to a local get-together and had a great day. Weather was just perfect!

During my pre-trip inspection, I noticed that the brake adjuster had a crack.

On our return, although I wasn't too concerned, I thought that it should get some attention so I had a rummage in the stores and turned up two more.

A good wire brushing and some heat and I had a replacement which wasn't so crisp but wasn't cracked.

The question arises, however, as to why it was cracked. I came to the conclusion that I had run out of thread on the brake rod and that driving it over the end had split it. Solution to that was to cut an extra inch of thread on the rod.

It is all back together and ready for the next outing but it goes to show that I need to keep a close eye on the thing if I am to keep out of trouble!

Steve    🙂

Thanks for your sketch and all of your thoughts John. Much appreciated. It is nice to have that one up my sleeve if my attempts to borrow one come to nought!

What a useful set! They were what I had in mind but I have so far been unable to find any big enough! I shall keep looking.

Steve   🙂

Thanks Richard. I am on the scrounge for one at the moment but our valves do seem to be uncommonly large!

Thanks for all of that John. Do you have any sketches so I can make one?

A quiet week but a little more progress has been made. Dad has made up the 1/2" UNS half-nuts to hold the blocks down.

I have picked up the magneto base again. You may remember that it was broken and this old aluminium just doesn't weld so I made up a pattern.

Dad has picked the casting up from the foundry although, to be honest, I don't think they were having one of their better days when they did it.

Anyway, it has machined up without a problem although I have replaced the UNS threads with UNC.

The original pivot pin was corroded on the bearing surface so I turned up a new one.

I also made up the screws to hold it down. Not worth looking for just four!

Something we found when last I was down, was that the brake linings foul the brake drums and the drum will not go over them. There are adjuster shims which sit on the actuating cams so I have made up some thinner ones. Of course, the screws are UNS again so I had to make them as well.

Just going out in the shed again. Let's see what the day will bring!

Steve   🙂

Hi Chaps. Thanks for your thoughts. I have decided to stop the grinding and see if I can get hold of a seat cutter. This proving tricky as, at 2 1/4" diameter, my valves are a bit larger than most hobbyist's! I will have to ask around but it won't stop us fitting the engine into the chassis. My objective at the moment is to get the engine assembled enough to be fitted just as soon as the wheels return. I am desperate to reduce the pile of bits around us!

Whilst Father was turning up some new valve stem ferrules, I cut some new gaskets for the sump and fitted that.

Then the ferrules materialised. We fitted those to the valves in no short order and tried to fit the block to the crank case.

When we tried lowering the block onto the pistons, the centre distances didn't match with the pistons being closer together than the bores by 1/4". This seemed ridiculous as I am sure that the rods are straight. Anyway, we dropped the sump again, released the big ends and reversed the rods whereupon the centre distance grew by the missing quarter inch and we successfully fitted the block.

It is beginning to look engine shaped again but then we had to re-do the big ends and pin them up.

Finally we put the sump back. All is now well but there was a lot of consternation for a while and the whole exercise has taken all day!

It all looks very nice but we both have some homework before the next visit. Dad is making up a load of 1/2" UNS half-nuts to secure the blocks down and I have a load of brake adjusters to make to allow the brake drums to fit over the shoes. I also have the carburettor to look at. The carb is an absolute work of art but that will be a story for another day.

Steve   🙂

I have tried the sucker-on-a-stick method but I didn't get on with it very well as I just couldn't get enough torque to spin the valve against the grease. Perhaps I wasn't doing it right.

I have, however, spent the day grinding valves and one in particular. It is not very exciting so no pics. Where we have fitted a new guide, as the original was too far gone to ream, the valve is slightly off-centre to the seat so I have been grinding it in. It has proven to be a remarkably slow and tedious process so hopefully, I will complete it tomorrow. Then the second block can go on. I do hope I finish tomorrow as it is a remarkably tedious process!

Steve   🙂

That has prompted some interesting comment! I guess knurling would leave the inner surface under compressive stress causing the ring to expand in diameter. An interesting approach.

Not sure about the gudgeon pins. I have seen no mention of making them fully floating in any of the literature. Our bores have suffered at some time as there is a scratch along its length caused by a moving pin. It would be interesting to know whether this was due to a failed fixing arrangement or a deliberately floating pin.

I have been back to it and managed to get the block up on the bench. It was at the limit of my strength, however! Anyway, I was able to tap the paint out of some of the holes and clean up the threads inside the valve caps before looking to grind in the valves. Our beautiful new valves fit like a dream but, unfortunately, have no way of turning them to grind them. I therefore cut a slot in each with the Dremel so that I could twist them with a screwdriver and that worked well.

Once they were seated, I looked at the ferrules which locate the springs at the end. Four proved to be unserviceable so Dad is turning up some replacements at the moment. Interestingly, they are not solid but contain a cylinder of red fibre, 7/8" dia x 3/4" long against which the locking bar sits. (see lower left). This strikes me as very odd. Can anyone think why they might be fitted? I have managed to salvage the four and will put them in the new ferrules but I really can't see what they are supposed to do.

Ready to fit so I dug out my modified valve spring compressor and tried it out.

It worked very well and I soon had the valves fitted. Isn't it nice to have the right tool for the job?

Once the spring was compressed, a little piece of bar was fitted through the end of the valve and trapped by the ferrule.

Now, the moment of truth! I oiled the bores and pistons and we tried to fit the first block.

I hung on whilst Dad lowered.

The ring compressor worked like a dream and was remarkably easy to use. Fortunately, the band I had made for the Thornycroft also fitted these pistons.

And then it was on!

I have put some nuts on the studs and will finish the job tomorrow.

The second block shouldn't take so long!

Steve  🙂

Thanks Bill. There is great joy in these details, I find. Copying from a photograph is never quite as good as having the piece in your hand but this isn't too far away. Good enough until we find an original anyway!

I have just been able to fit the copy greaser in the correct position on the underside of the steering column and I must say that I am very pleased with the result. The steering gear is now officially complete!

At long last, I can start to reassemble the engine. We took it apart at the beginning of 2019 and it has been too long hanging around us. Mind you, we have made a number of new bits. I started today by assembling the gudgeon pins into the pistons. When we took the engine apart, we found that the pins were not secured but just prevented from scraping the bores by some brass bushes pushed into their ends. These were not factory fit but a later mod. The gudgeon pins have cross-coles in their ends into which a locking bolt is screwed. This is secured in turn by a tab washer. I had previously turned up the locking bolts and filed up the tab washers so they were in stock ready to go.

With no bolt in it for years, the locking bolt holes were thoroughly gunged up and had to have the tap run through them to clean them out. 3/8" UNS again!

Locking bolt fitted and it only remains to bend the tab washer, two wings down and one up.

I also found our two new pistons. What pieces of work they were. I had forgotten how much work we had put into them but I am very pleased with them and how well they have come out.

I have had a few hours of panic, wondering where I had put the rings as I could not find them. Dad then reminded me that I had decided to re-use the originals as they are so good. I had no recollection of that at all. Old age! Interestingly, the rings are knurled on their inside faces. Has anyone seen that before? Do you know why it might have been done?

Then to fit the rods back on their journals. Fortunately for me, there is no wear and they all fit beautifully with no rattle at all so I have not even had to tighten up the shells. Mind you, the next time I do a Peerless engine, I will build a taller engine stand. This one is killing me!

All four rods back on the crank and tightened up. Dad's brand new bolts just need pinning and I can look at re-assembing the blocks. Once they are on we really will think we are getting somewhere!

The temperature has calmed down nicely today to proper working conditions so I am inspired to make some progress at last!

Steve   🙂

That is quite a colour scheme so there must be a history behind it. Perhaps it worked for a showman? Great to see that it has survived!

Thanks for sharing, I didn't know about that one!

Steve🙂

We have been nearly ready to start reassembling the engine for some time and this is now getting closer. There are a few more bits to do on that front, however. One of them is the inlet manifold.

This is just an aluminium casting but has some interesting brackets fitted to it to carry the HT leads.

These brackets have insulating bushes fitted to them, made from red fibre.

One of them had been broken but, as it was threaded on the HT lead, the broken part was still there.

Some heat soon loosened up the screws and they all undid without drama.

I made a bit of plate to hold the broken one together and then silver soldered it.

It came out very well but I do think the bracket is a poor design for manufacture in cast iron.

Red fibre rod has proved unobtainable in small quantity so I resorted to tufnol which is more or less period.

The bits are all with Father for painting but the insulators are ready for the reassembly day.

You may recall that the steering box is all complete and fitted save for a large Peerless pattern greaserm mounted on the rear. We have the base but the top is missing.

However, I have had the great good fortune to be loaned an original to copy.

I turned the housing from a bit of bar, knurled it and then bored it out. I can't believe that it would have been made that way originally but I cannot see how it would have been knurled if it was hollow as it would have collapsed. Another puzzle from the mists of time.

The original piston was fitted with a leather cup washer but I have given in and used an O-ring. Much easier!

Result!

The timing cover has an oil filler hole in it and should have some sort of cap.

I have been puzzling over how it should look but have this photo of an original. The Tee handle is pushed down against the spring and rotated through a quarter turn to align a cross-bar with two slots.

The cap was a simple turning.

The tee handle was a bit trickier. I filed it from the solid to try to match the photo. The original cap would have been a casting.

Another job ticked off!

Looking forward to getting the wheels sorted and then getting stuck into the engine.

Steve    🙂

Of course, especially made in China!

Wheels are all loaded up ready for transport to the tyre press.

Looking forward to getting them on the lorry and having a rolling chassis, at long last.

Steve  🙂

What a wonderful source of knowledge this forum is! Thank you for sharing!

Steve  🙂

It is an oil hole! The whole casting is beautifully cross-ported to allow the oil to run into every moving part and joint in the complete assembly. The outer column tube rotates with the wheel. The next tube is fixed at the bottom of the column and has the quadrant casting on the top. the throttle lever (the longer one) rotates a tube inside it and and inside that again is the advance rod rotated by the shorter lever. Every sliding surface is lubricated and it is a work of art!

Steve 🙂