Jerrykins

James - Thanks for that. For my sins I'm helping a fairly comprehensive excercise rebuilding a Queen Mary (5 ton) at Debach (Suffolk) airfield. I'd always associated the Crossley with the 'Garden shed' coachwork, your vehicle's coachwork makes a handsome lorry. Jerry

Forgive my ignorance but was this type used for a 5 ton Queen Mary tractor unit? Jerry

My experience last Autumn was as your's Tony, I re-imported a previously UK registered vehicle. I got to the winning post with all the necessary documentation or so I thought, to be asked for importation/VAT docs. I explained I was waved thro' by Customs & Excise at Dover when I brought it over on a truck and had none. The local office staff were very helpful and looked out the appropriate VAT document, which I filled it in there and then. A couple of days later I got everything back with tax disc in the post. Good helpful folk - Sad to say the local office is closing in October. Life may prove to be a little more difficult in future! Good luck - Jerry

It's a damper out of a stove!! Jerry

A prop shaft wrap around repair device. Jerry

I can't believe such things exist but is it a spacer between shell case and barrel? Jerry

Now it looks like a form of clock spring, but can't be at 5'' wide & 16'' long, but the energy contained in it is limited to the end uncut bits. so it's a liner of some form - Jerry

an explosive panel for saboteurs. Jerry

A titanium plate cooler heat exchanger section plate (as used in modern marine engines, modern equivalent of tube stack coolers). It isn't is this either is it? Jerry

It's a the huge radio / radar antenna receiver mounted mid way up the mast, used in the 70's or thereabouts (although I'm not terribly confident it is!) - Jerry

Try: http://www.historic-military-vehicle-brake-carburettor-fuelpump-spares-kit.com/morris.htm Jerry

Were it I, I would machine a circa 2'' wide annular disc to the approx thickness of the existing bolt heads. Weld the disc to the outer diameter of the plate. Drill matching holes through the new disc from the existing holes in the plate. Countersink drill the annular disc and fit counter sunk bolts. Thus beefing up the assembly without upsetting the material where the cracking is underway. Jerry

My '43 MCC C4 is exactly as Tim described above, although colour is nearer black than brown. Jerry

Hi again Jack. At R-R the colour was called Duck egg blue, but there have been blogs and blogs about the proper name and code of the colour. Richard Farrant has forgotten more than most know about this and I'd recommend he gives you his Fatherly advice about the proper name and number (Fleur de Lys), to ensure you get the colour spot on. Lovely job - It's all coming together very nicely. Jerry

Aircraft launched flares, to put off incoming heat seeking missile. Jerry

It's not clear from your description if the engine has a pressure lub oil system or is splash lubricated (as is my J.A.P 6 series industrial engine driving an 1946 Opperman). I assume it is a motorcycle engine with separate oil tank. A tiny spring and ball bearing seating as a seal may act as a pulse pump regulating oil into the c/case and will need to be calibrated by adjustment to balance the oil burnt by the engine dependant on wear and use. Modern garden tractor engines use crankcase pulse pressure to drive fuel pumps with a rubberised membrane acting as a non return valve to pump fuel up to the carb, using much the same principle. Good luck. Jerry

Draft ale it has to be!! Jerry

Hi again Jack Crewe built R-R engines have sludge traps in the c/shaft this went back to when Adam was a lad, it dates from the days of poor quality oil that sludged up oilways. At major overhaul when they were removed all manner of s..t came out so they served a useful purpose. All R-R motor cars had c/shaft sludge traps fitted until very recently in the Bentley/VW era. The other thing, I'm pretty sure you'll find your c/shaft was nitride hardened (you'll notice it seems a greyish colour compared to Mr Austin's product). Crewe had a first class, if Dickensian, heat treatment plant used for Merlin production throughout the war, so everything was done in house. I remember seeing batches of BMC Mini c/shafts being nitrided at Crewe for BMC Competition dept when the Mini Cooper S was a dominant rally car. Going back to the Champ I assume Austin was cost concious and decided to do without some of the more exotic build characteristics of the B40 when they produced B40's in volume. Keep up the good work. Jerry

Allied Canvas, Jim Clark, I've found to be first class, they made up a cab canvas and tilt for the back (with proper copper gauze rear view window) for my Morris Commercial C4 (not too different to MW). An excellent job they made of them which fits properly. They're currently doing some windows for my CMP Chevvy C8a HUW and seat covers. Jerry

John I'd get one either way the price is more than a steal. The steer units were built at R-R Crewe, like the K60, Allison g/box & steer units for the fv432. The CET unit is a CGS312 & fv432 is a CGS311, for some reason I never knew why they were called 'Cletracs' at the factory. If you get one let me know as I have the parts list that was provided to the MoD for them to enter into there parts system. CET's are a smashing vehicles, I was lucky enough to drive one around Long Valley - happy days. Good luck. Jerry

The top items are CET steer units, unusual in as much as the core (centre bit) is a diff steer unit similar to those used in fv432 and the outer bits are skid steer assys (like a bulldozer). They were conceived to drive on road using diff steer and skid steer whilst digging! These are upgraded units as sappers found it easier to dig fast using diff steer and surprise surprise they broke. So a mod programme was introduced to enable them to do same (The stresses whilst digging using diff steer are horrendous and the intermediate shafts snapped like carrots, doing something they were never designed to do). There are some quite exotic materials and mods inside. I gather the modded units worked well. I can't say I blame the poor old sappers, if you're being shot at whilst digging you want to do it fast and with the mods boy could they do it fast. The easy wat to tell they're modded is by the stiffening webs on the outer casings. Jerry

Well I think it's a camel pannier, the hump fits between c & c. The strap goes under its tum and is tensioned with the bit of rope. Jerry

If I remember rightly the early B range engines had ally heads & used whitworth threads, UNF was on the later engines (also marked as such on the rocker box). Now I don't know if your engine was made at Crewe or was licence built by Austin. I seem to think it would have been a Crewe build, being early. The fact that the c/case appears to be undercoated with red oxide suggests Austin or a later rework as Crewe painted the c/cases using something called the SO treatment a sort of silvery finish (this almost indestructible paint included a baking process where the c/case was cooked in the black enamel ovens, it was a very good process in as much as any casting sand left inside the c/case was glued in with the paint). The final duck egg blue colour, as it was called in Crewe, was applied in the despatch dept. Whilst I was an apprentice at R-R Crewe from '64 (up until I left in '91) I never saw a B40, although roughly 90 x B-range 6 & 8 cylinder engines were delivered a month, plus a small number of base overhauls were carried out every month in the Car Repair engine shop. Happy days. Oh another thing - Crewe built engines utilized cast ally tappet chest covers & rocker boxes, Austin made them from pressed steel. Keep up the good work. Jerry

On a 'modern side valve engine' from what you learned gents are saying suggests the tappet clearance should be smallish and yet the workshop manual for the MCC 6 cyl Cs8 or 4 cyl C4 states 19 thou (inlet & exhaust) or 4 thou (inlet) and 18 thou (exhaust) respectively. I own the latter version and they don't clatter unduly and the pushrods aren't terribly long. From an operating view I'd rather they clattered a little rather than burned. I'd appreciate your views and thank you for a thoroughly interesting restoration blog. Jerry

Now then how about a set of three guns lethality range (drawn line) and max range (dotted line). Jerry