pc1959

I bought rubber hose and ferrules from a truck air brake bit distributor and the spiral wire 'armour' from Pirtek. I think I posted a picture of my efforts a while ago, can't find it now :-(

It's Quatermass and the Pit Episode 1, a bomb disposal team arrive in an Austin Champ and a truck I don't recognise (Humber FV1600?) Here's a link to it: I'm watching the whole series, they don't make upper lips that stiff any more !

Is TV allowed?

Here's one for £495.....http://www.usedplantandmachinery.co.uk/everything.html

Thanks

What is the truck in the second picture (NTL 743)? It looks like it's been assembled from bits of other vehicles.

A bit off topic but in the late 60's early 70's Richmond Ice Rink had a Planet tractor that was used to pull a scraper to flatten the ice on their smaller rink. I was much more interested in watching the bloke who drove it drifting it round the corners than practising my ice skating....

Does anyone know where it ended up as I am quite interested in the jib/anchor bits if they're still about (and not too far from TN5)?

Thanks for posting those pictures Nick, they show lots of great detail that's going to be very useful when I get back on the case again and start dismantling my cab further. PC

Yes, that's him, he was really quite unpleasant! Just talking about things I actually saw: The Abbot overtook me going up Brixton Hill, I was doing about 30 and he had an old daimler hearse painted like Mr Blobby swinging off the back on a rigid bar with no driver. Definitely brown-trouser time for everyone else. As mentioned before, he stoved in the front of a mates car with his careless reversing then denied it ever happened. He would occaisionally tie another Abbot on the back on an A frame then give it some beans off the lights at St Leonards Church on the A23 (Steep uphill gradient) which resulted in a bit of tarmac removal. The local police were so sick of him that they wouldn't even contemplate taking any action if you complained, too much paperwork and no results. He portrayed himself as a local hero battling bureaucracy, everyone thought he was a tw@t From that second story it looks like he still is. His driver, who used to drink in the Tulse Hill Tavern, thought it was acceptable to scrape a few parked cars in narrow streets rouund Westminster because the cops wouldn't let him drive round Parliament Square. That kind of behaviour does more damage to the 'hobby' then all the parking protests in the world.

Anybody remember the "Norbury Tank Man" and his Abbot etc? He caused utter chaos in South London for many years with his AFV shenanigans which included: Disabling the Abbot in the middle of Brixton to block the road. Reversing into a mates car then saying "It could have been another yellow and pink tank" Sticking the gun through the doors of Streatham police station Decorating it with 6 foot plastic pigs in police uniforms and the slogan "Oi Rozzers, we're not going to take it any more" He ran a fastner company on Acre Lane SW2 and commuted from Norbury in the Abbot. Not a nice man.

From the other replies it sounds like it's an inline pump so stuck rack or cut-off solenoid would be my diagnosis as well.

What kind of pump is it?, Inline or Rotary? If it is Simms, Lucas or CAV unit I might be able to find somebody who designed/developed/worked on it. I work for Delphi Diesel Systems in Park Royal where most of the non-Bosch pumps on British engines were developed and we still have a few mature gentlemen who might know something. I was able to find quite a bit of info about the pump on my Matador there. Regards Paul

Here's a US army film about cold weather mods to vehicles, looks just post-war to me. [video=youtube_share;kAa4Ol794Iw] Lots of interesting vehicles and as a bonus, the chap doing the demos looks like a murderer from a 50's horror film!

Amazing!! I was reading this thread from the begining (which seems to have just been bumped) when I should have been fixing a battery terminal that has gone the same way on my Matador. I was going to file it round and wrap it in a bit of lead sheet but smelting some lead on the gas cooker is a much better idea. I'll be back later to confess to replacing one rear spring on my 2.8 Capri with a block of wood!

Here is Santa with his new sleigh........ The elves are looking a bit grumpy though. More details http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT-2PM_Topol

Looks like you are right about the reason for the grooves Phil: There is a spiral wire reinforcement inside and out on the pipes I took off (Which were completely sh@gged and very brittle) Here's a picture: The details in case anyone needs them are: i/d 1/2 inch o/d 1 inch Length of hose only = 18 inches. Hose crimped to swivel fitting (with the ludicrously fine thread) on both ends with brass ferrule and brass thrust washer between hose ferrule and nut. There is some hose identical to the original on eBay at the moment but I'll have to check out it's age in the light of Phil's coments on cracking. Would fitting modern hose put the rivet counters on a war footing? Paul

Thanks for the reassurance that the pipes are available and pictures of the fittings. I was doing some research on t'internet and found a firm relatively nearby that specialises in air brake bits, They sounded helpful on the phone and I'm going to see if they can crimp the original fittings to new hose (I think the grooves just behind the nut are to take the shoulder of a ferrule). Here is the modern equivalent that they make They are called Airbrake Connections International in Northfleet Kent, I'll report on how I get on. Once I pull the cylinders apart and measure the seals I will start looking for replacements

Well the Matador brake foot-valve got rebuilt, painted and fitted and now seems to work perfectly which is very good news. :-) Less good is that the air pressure only gets up to 40psi and I have found the next leak down the line. I'm hoping the lack of pressure can be cured by rebuilding the governor and unloader valve. The drivers side front air cylinder or the flexible pipe is blowing air freely (It was getting dark and I was getting fed up by this point so could be either or both). I want to rebuild the whole brake system anyway as shunting it around with no brakes is giving me a nervous disposition. I'd be grateful for any tips on sourcing the big seals for the brake cylinders or the type of hose to get to replace the flexible pipes. I had decided to replace the rusted 5/8 steel brake pipe with copper air con tubing but it seems wildly expensive so I may think again. Another thing I need to source are 5/8 olives, the modern ones I have found are thin and angular but I need round fat ones, any ideas? Thanks in advance Paul

I think the first pic in the post above is the back end of a Hough (pronounced Huff) HA payloader like this: I'd really like one of these!

After collecting all the relevant documentation (thanks to Wally Duggan and The British Commercial Vehicle Museum) I went to my local DVLA office in Wimbledon. I was amazed to find only one person waiting and was issued a HISTORIC tax disc within 5 minutes! The ammended V5 will come by post. Excellent service, but the place is shutting at the end of the year which is a real shame. Paul

Thank you all for that helpful advice, I'll get cracking with sorting that out straight away. Wally, Thanks for the offer of help, I have sent you a PM.

I have just got the V5 for my Matador from the DVLA, the details on it are: Date of First Registration: 03 03 1960 Taxation Class: Recovery Vehicle Revenue Weight: 8434kg Unladen The Chassis No indicates that it was built in 1942 and I am told it was sold into civilian life in 1949. I believe it's life history goes like this: 1942 - 1949 The RAF 1949 - 1960 Not Registered, maybe with Bus Co. on trade plates? 1960 - 1994 Registered and with Central Scottish buses then Dallas Recovery 1994 Last tax disc runs out 1994 - 2013 Beith Transport Museum, went to a shed near Leominster, I buy it. Questions: What do I need to do to get the Taxation Class changed to Historic so that I don't have to pay tax or go through the MOT? Do I need to get evidence of manufacture or first use? Does service in the RAF count as first use? The Revenue weight seems quite high, I think my licence allows me up to 7500kg. Can I remove the (Heavy!) crane and get the weight changed? Is there a process for getting it officially re-weighed? Paul

I made sure to save the end of the pipe I had to chop, the threads in the body of the valve that the pipe elbows screw into are BSP (so there's hope for a temporary fix using BSP fittings and hydraulic hose), they unscrewed really easily as did most of the rest of it. apart from the inlet valve seat and the operating lever and its shaft so its soaking in diesel before a further heat, hammer and breaker bar session. The strainer is meant to be full of horsehair but I think I'll use something like nylon pot scourer to replace it rather the chase down a horse with some scissors.

I had a go at undoing the brake pipe unions yesterday and had 50% success, one responded to the heat and plusgas treatment and came off with only moderate cursing (because of its position I could only turn it one flat at a time) but the other one refused to unstick from the pipe after a few heat, tap all over with hammer and squirt with plusgas sessions so I had, with regret, to get out the angle grinder. Luckily its the ouput pipe from the valve so it's quite a short length before another union, is there anyone still making this type of steel air-brake pipe? Here's the foot valve as removed, I'll take it to work and stick it in the parts washer, strip it down then try to fix the leaking exhaust valve. Paul