TooTallMike

Someone said it's a 680?

What do the experts think?:

But what engine has Heliops got in his back pocket?

If he thought he was breaking things now, what's it gonna be like with that in it...

Worth continuing from NOS's mention of the bellhousing issue: the original Continental engine and Fuller gearbox are SAE 3 (smallest size), most of the engines on my list are SAE 1 (largest size) or SAE 2 (like my C), therefore adapter plates and spacers are necessary which adds to the complexity of the conversion. As Tony also notes, most of those older engines need the bonnet to be extended as they generate their power by being BIG. The newer engines such as Cummins B & C have similar or greater power outputs but in a much more compact unit and revving higher because a lot of their power comes from turbos rather than cubic inches.

In terms of stretched bonnets, this is one of the more hideous ones in my photo collection (dunno what engine it's got though, also note art deco cab roof!):

Ok, I'm not going mad, wrong about the name though D'oh! :-X

Photos of the restored one here. I think it was Badger's old one (?):

http://www.penguin-mayhem.net/gallery/album97

For one moment I thought you meant White as in the manufacturer...

 

So I will ask again, what is the best diesel ENGINE conversion for a WLF:confused:

I put a 1994 220hp turbo Cummins C in mine which for me is the perfect conversion. Low end torque is poor so if you drop the clutch it stalls - In my opinion this is good as it means the drivetrain isn't going to be overloaded at low revs. You'd have to KNOW you were doing it. If I add the aftercooler I'll get a little more hp but I don't need it. Fuel economy is good and it goes up hills. Top speed is unaffected as the red line is pretty much as for the petrol.

Other conversions I've come across include:

Leyland 600

Leyland 680

Leyland Power Plus

Henschel

Deutz

Hispano Suiza

250 Cummins

Continental 6602 (10l petrol)

DAF

Gardner

Fuller roadranger gearbox

Recce Stuarts were known as Honeys and had their turrets removed to improve visibility, reduce weight etc. Someone restored one that was at W&P last year. Couldn't comment on why the engine is absent though!

- Mike

We got 3 aluminium scaffolding towers out of one a few years ago. One of them now forms the basis for watchtower on the Gulf War display at W&P & my Dad uses one of the others for cutting hedges. The third is not complete so will probbaly get weighed in when I get round to it. The tripod we used to manoeuvre Marks WLF engine is made from some of the braces lashed together!

I think the grey might just be faded OD as it's been sitting outside for some time, judging by the green slime on the windows.

- Mike

There's a tatty one at the RE collection, Chatham:

White...

Nice bikini!

I'm an evil dictator! Where do I send my address? :cool2:

Couldn't help noticing that hole is exactly the right shape and size to install a 110 jerry can locker...

Does anyone know what the situation regarding using red diesel in boats is at present ? I think I recently read that leisure marine use must now be run on white. Was that just inland on rivers or any UK based sea going leisure vessels as well ?

The fan being back-to-front shouldn't be considered a bad omen: I rebuilt that engine for my truck in 2004 after it consumed a piston in Normandy that year. It has new bearings throughout, new pistons & rings & new gaskets. I removed the engine over winter 2005 after only about 800 miles to diesel-ise mine but there was nothing wrong with the petrol, it was just gutless! I chose the better of the 2 fans to paint green for the diesel engine but in the end didn't use it so it's possible the yellow was the poorer one and I just chucked it back on any old how to keep the parts together. Alternatively it may have been running like that, in which case the fan can't be doing very much as the engine ran at the same temp. as Mark's did before the Big Bang.

- Mike

The AEC Militant MK 1 on eBay that we have been discussing in the last few posts has just been sold for £1750 to someone who, on 31th May, also bought this bus. What can it all mean ?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170223040721

I was also going to suggest that he's a scrappie; that or he likes a challenge...

It's a shame to see so much going under the torch because of the price of scrap but on the bright side it increases the value of what remains.

- Mike

:thanx:

 

Joris, I haven't had a problem with those type of plates in the last 3 years.

In that case I'd say you've been exceptionally fortunate :police: :nono:.

Lovely work on the Jeep! One question - why do MD Juan not pre-drill all those holes?

The Macks are LMSW's: a 6x4 5-ton wrecker version built for the British and Canadians. Identifiers are the skid plate below the front bumper and the sizes of the wheels & tyres relative to the front wheelarches.

These three are LMSW-57's, identifiable by the soft top, so they are Canadian, from a contract of only 160 delivered 1944.

Observe the hoop above and behind the cab to disguise the wrecker body as a cargo truck.

DT is a 969 wrecker.

- Mike

There should be a brass blank plug in the hole,It leads to a very small hole in the venturi.Block it off,take off the air cleaner elbow so you can see down the carb,run the test again,see if it floods.I suspect you may have float level to high,or needle valve not shutting totaly off.:n00b:

Thank you very much sir :tup::.

it's over to you Mark!

And here's part of the problem:

Observe #2 big end and the crankshaft webs either side are dry and free from oil - maybe they've got a bit hot?

And this is how hot - that's white metal bearing material poking out the side of the bearing cap. There was lots more sprayed over the inside of the block.

And here's some more of the bearing at the bottom of the sump.

I don't believe this alone is enough to seize the engine but the piston may have overheated and stuck in the bore. Mark is going to look at that another time. The priority for now is to get the truck on the road again.

We removed Mark's gearbox (again) and engine today. No real problems to report.

Where's the engine gone? :confused:

Apparently there should be a plug in there but mastic will do at a pinch! Does anyone know what this hole leads to?

A peice of advice: don't mention on the advert that (if) you're advertising it elsewhere, reserve the right to end auction early etc. I recently had 10 auctions pulled at once thanks to that bit of small print. Fair enough - their site, their rules - but it cost me a bit of cash to learn the hard way. :-(

- Mike

We observed an interesting phenomenon on MarkHeliops' Land Rover 2.25l carb today. There is a strong smell of petrol around the vehicle, it runs fine, drives fine, but starts like a dog if it's sat for any time at all. He drove 25 miles today and when we stopped we had a look under the bonnet to see if there was anything leaking. There was nothing there at first so we'd just begun to eat our sarnies when we heard bubbling and observed a pulsating flow of petrol coming from the small hole indicated by my trusty number 2 digit in the photo. The petrol was pouring out and onto the manifold below where it happily evaporated in a hiss.

We feel there is a potential safety issue here so... should there be a plug in this hole, or what???

We moved the replacement engine to Mark's shed today so that it can be prepped for install. 'Somebody' wants to paint it before fitting, presumably so he can claim the 'Biggest tart's handbag in show' award at W&P this year :rolleyes:. What was that? "All show and no go" do I hear you cry?

We used the Red Indian Teepee method of engine hoisting to get it off it's pallet and into Lightweight's trusty former Sankey. We reckon this must be close to the trailer's capacity and I drove the 25 miles gingerly as it did lean a bit on corners.

Mike, thank you again for posting these wonderful 'photos. Did you, by any chance, visit Watson and Sons' yard at Little Stoke, Stone in Warwickshire at about the same time. They had a very beautiful, and complete, open cab 1930's fire engine in a shed and quite a few MV's, Militant, Martian etc in their yard.

I don't recall the name but I've been to loads of yards over the last 20 years. I only remember the ones I photographed and made a note of. I've got some of Charlie Russell's place in Liphook to go up in the next few days. I'll plonk the non-MV ones from these 3 yards on Photobucket and people can look if they're interested.

- Mike