Sean N

Hi Richard, yes; I think the question is more how these things appear on screen and how the paint ages rather than what eau-de-nil and sky blue look like new in the flesh. That engine in your link is definitely eau-de-nil on my screen.

Tamber, I'm not sure I believe this. How are you determining TDC? The flywheel is held on by six bolts, so assuming the flywheel was correct originally and it's not on correctly it must be at least 60 degrees out if it's out at all. Moreover, if I remember correctly there are also two dowels, which would mean even if the dowels are the same and equally spaced, it can only be right or 180 out. Not wanting to teach you to suck eggs, but you can also insert a plug loosely or put a thumb over the hole while you (get a mate to) turn the engine so you can hear or feel it compressing. It's a long while since I fitted a condenser to a Delco distributor, but if I recall correctly the condenser will slide in its clamp, and if it's in the wrong position it will foul. I may be misremembering though, or that may not be the problem. Timing wrong ... ?

Richard, I bow to your vastly superior experience. To be honest, now you make me think about it I'm not sure I'm remembering right. I noted the engine colour when I went to look at it, thinking of this discussion, but I should have reported it immediately I returned. I may be remembering wrong, perhaps led astray by the photo (not withstanding what I say below!). At least I'm not sure enough of my ageing memory to stick to my guns, so I'll withdraw this as a data point! Clive, It looks eau de nil on this screen, but I'm not sure I'd set too much store by looking at images on a computer (despite what I've said immediately above). There's too much opportunity for the colours to be wrong; camera calibration, white balance, colour gamuts, screen calibration and so on. I might try to get a couple of images of known colours so we can see what each other is seeing, as it were.

Hi Richard, I went to see the truck. Certain it was Eau-de-Nil. It is a 214 though! Would the rebuild date always be the same as the preserved date? I know little of the meaning of these stencils.

Another data point - Eau-de-Nil (presumably replacement) engine in the 1952 Bedford OLBC tanker sold by Bovington

The factory method for setting the timing is using a light. I'm pretty sure (without looking it up) that the advance curves don't start until above idle so you're OK to time using a light, though blanking the vacuum off never hurts. If you're unsure, time it static. You can fit a 330 diesel almost as a straight swap, and they were a factory option for civilian models. Plenty of other engines will fit, but with varying degrees of modification needed. That 300 petrol is such a lovely engine though...

Neils, I can't point you at an O type tractor unit, unfortunately. I do know of a couple, but they would not be for sale. However, they do come up now and again - occasionally even examples for restoration, though these are getting increasingly few and far between. I would think it's a matter of keeping an eye on the usual sources to see what turns up. Have they contacted other museums who might have information or sources, such as IWM, RAF Museum or Bovington? If I remember rightly, there is a lot of difference between the truck chassis and the tractor chassis, which might make it impractical to convert a truck. Somewhere I have an original book of Bedford drawings for the tractor, though I have a feeling it is for the Scammell coupling version not the fifth wheel version; I will try to dig it out and have a look. Several Crossleys have come up recently and been discussed on this forum, and I think there were a couple for sale though in extremely poor condition. It would be worth doing a search here to see what you can find. Here are a couple to get you started: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?54107-Crossley-Q-Type-Chassis-%A31000-(nr-Bristol) http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?19324-Crossley-Q-type-4x4

I have to say I thought that one in the Carlton Colville photo looked metal. Sounds a lot easier though - thin wall tube and solder?

Marco, I'm not clear; are you building these cranes, or just operating and maintaining them? If you are building them, it might be time for a redesign as these are now very old parts! A possible reason there are two numbers engraved on one of the crownwheels is that they were sold as a pair with the pinion, usually under a collective part number for both parts; for example, the part number for a K9 CWP pair is K2-430. I notice that both new and old have 1K7013 on, and that the ratio is 7/41, which is the correct ratio for a K9; so it may be that a K9 CWP will fit your existing housings. However, as you know it's possible to have the same ratio and yet be totally different parts. Do you have any dimensions? It would also be interesting to know your supplier's involvement and where he is (or was) sourcing parts from - presumably he has none and can't get any now? It might be worth talking to BMC Trucks in Turkey, who used to make Austin / Morris / BMC trucks under licence. It's possible they made these axles much more recently and may have more information. The next time I am at the workshop I will look to see what K9 differentials I have.

Must have been good - I went into Smith's thinking I'd buy a CMV for the first time in a good few years and there were none to be had!

Hello Marco, These are Austin, definitely, you can tell by the part numbers e.g. 11K7384, 1K7013. However I do not think they are K9 as the design is not the same. The K9 differential carrier is angled, so the gasket face is at 45 degrees to the axis of the pinion shaft, and the pinion shaft enters the housing very near to one edge, not centrally as this one. I also can't get the part numbers to match K9 parts, and I'd have to check, but I don't remember K9 parts being MOWOG branded as these are - that happened some time after the merger with Morris. I think these differentials are from a later Austin truck, possibly the Series 3 but more likely something BMC built from the 1960s like the WE, WF, FE, FF, FG, FH, FJ or even the Leyland Terrier; and probably the heavier weight models as I seem to remember the smaller trucks had Morris style axles.

Papier mache? Would be easy to do, easily mouldable and if made with the right glue and sealed would be just as resistant and mechanically strong. You could make up some bucks out of dowel or tube which you could arrange so they could be pulled apart to get them out of the finished tube. Alternatively, plastic pipe cut and glued - you could use filler to reproduce any curves etc. and might be able to flare it by warming and moulding gently? More difficult to paint though.

Wot 'retriever' says. As the firing order is 1 5 3 6 4 2, 1 and 6 are at TDC at the same time, so it's just a matter of which one's on the compression stroke. Easy for plug leads to be swapped around etc. and not unknown for assembly mistakes to be corrected on the leads, particularly since on some vehicles no. 1 is flywheel end. This is a Delco distributor: This is a Lucas distributor (though I don't think the right one for your vehicle, but similar): The cap clips are one easy way of telling them apart. If you have a dwell meter, setting average dwell not points gap is one way.

Marco, Austin K9s are quite commonplace but there are not as many scrap ones around as there used to be. Is it the differential itself or the housing you need? I may have one, I will have to look. I know I have some axles but I don't know how many and I would like to keep spares for our K9s. I'd be interested to see photos of your cranes if you have any.

Hi Tamber, glad to hear you're making progress. The U|C mark is TDC, the ball is the timing mark. It could be that it's been timed to 6 instead of 1 - you can check by popping the distributor cap off and checking what cylinder the rotor is pointing to when you have it on the timing mark. You can set the timing static to see what's going on, and if needs be pull the rocker cover off to check which cylinder is on compression (though that will mean buying a new rocker cover gasket) My experience is that the Lucas distributor in early engines is more reliable than the Delco distributor in later vehicles. The Delco is prone to wear in bushes or cam lobes causing variable dwell (points gap). However, they can be made to run well even with worn distributors. If you have been doing a lot of idling and moving around in low gear cold they do go through fuel very quickly...

Have David McCallum / Ilya Kuryakin become he who must not be named?

Thought there never was a real 633 squadron? Or are you suggesting the old chap wasn't entirely compos mentis?

Jules, I assume you plan to repair that frilly front mud wing? There is a slight risk of getting pulled for dangerous bodywork with it like that. This rubber buffer looks to be a fairly standard size and shape. You might get replacements from one of the truck coachbuilding supplies places such as Albert Jagger, or one of the places that does vintage vehicle body rubber parts. Edit - in fact, Albert Jagger 2023/002 is not far off, though a little shorter and wider. This seems to be quite common particularly on 4wd vehicles. The Austin K9 is significantly different - a good few inches at least. I once thought it might be to do with the driven front axle but it happens on 2wd vehicles as well, and anyway that doesn't explain it as the axle tubes and half shafts are different in any case. It also occurs to me it might be that the rear track is narrowed deliberately (rather than the front widened) so that drop sides can drop fully without striking wheel or wheelarch while keeping the body within the overall width, but that's just a guess (and in fact I'm not sure is true for K9s, which are very wide at the front) Alternatively it might be an attempt to make each wheel run in its own tracks to improve grip (another guess)? Often there is an offset on the wheel nave plate so that the wheel can be fitted opposite ways round front and rear which goes some way towards evening out the track.

Neil, what Tony said. Sorry, I probably sowed confusion because my initial reply to Tony was in general terms, not specifically on the E marking question - and in hindsight I probably misunderstood what he was saying. For the sake of clarity and speaking generally an MoT exempt vehicle must be kept in a roadworthy condition which normally means it has to comply with the regulations that were in force at the time the vehicle was built. I'll get my coat.

Tony, MoT exempt not Construction & Use exempt. You are still under an obligation to keep an MoT exempt vehicle roadworthy, you just don't have to get it tested.

Hi Robin, yes, I know where Wainwright and BATUS are, having been in Calgary a few years ago among other factors. What surprised me was that west though AB is, it's still some considerable distance to Vancouver (1200km?), and shipping there puts you in the north Pacific which means North West Passage (not open in the '80s), down to Panama or right round the world via Suez. It seemed a lot more direct despite Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario to put things on a train, take them to the east coast ports and ship from there straight across the Atlantic or vice-versa - your comment about Montreal seems to confirm that. Having said that, I suppose varying competitiveness of routes and shippers, availability of space on ships, ice and space on the many ships to and from Asia would all play a part.

There was a thread here some time ago in which someone suggested JeepParts Light Olive Drab is as near as makes no difference to Khaki Green. I don't know if it's a standard L.O.D. or their own colour though.

Yes it is, Ian

Excellent.

Ah, OK. So perhaps chopped about long before this programme was dreamed of then. Not saying it wasn't a MkII - I only saw a short clip on YouTube and couldn't tell. And they all look and sound OK on camera! Maybe irrelevant if Chris' comment is right though. When I was supplying stuff to TV to be blown up they used to do exactly that, lots of fuel to make a big fireball, lots of light stuff to make convincing debris / shrapnel but very little actual explosive. The stuff used to come back pretty charred and not exactly pretty but without any real mechanical damage. Incidentally, Neil, did you see the Artists Rifles silver bowl on Antiques Roadshow the other day?