landrover nick

looking forward to it will be the first trip out this year with the bedford Nicky

can you point it out i think the radio stuff is going to be more involved than restoring the truck Nicky

The real job has been getting in the way of the MWR restoration over the last couple of weeks but i am catching up now so time for an update PART EIGHT The interior of the rear body and the cab are now mostly finished , i still have some work to Finnish fitting the wood rails to the rear seats The wooden dummy rifles i bought from guy selling them at croft last year . The truck has been refitted with its canvas and is starting to look like the one in factory photo in the earlier post , the truck is due to be driven to Steve s at Cromptons in Birmingham for modifications to the rear canvas ,a new cab canvas and side screens at the end of the month as the radio truck canvas is very different to the standard GS canvas the last photo for today shows my first NO 19 radio set i have acquired to go in the truck , it is a British mk3 set but has had a post war rebuild and the B set removed but it go in one of the lockers as a spare set all for now Nicky

Hi Tom chassis number MWR 61420 built late 1944, last 1944 chassis number listed 64454 (if we had an idea of numbers built per month we could get closer) i have a record of an MWR with a chassis number just 1,500 lower than your truck and a Z number very near the start the following contract . contract number 294/v/m5058 for 829 units (TRUCK 15CWT 4X2 ADPT FOR CONVERSHION TO WIRELESS) Z numbers from Z 4909516- Z4910345 so i think your truck could have been built as part of this batch hope this helps Nicky

time for an up date Stuart Wright has sent me a list of the wartime Bedfords entered so far they are . 4 x MWs 2 x QLs 1 x OY 1 x OXC it would be good to think we could get more trucks together than in Normandy for the 70th

Andy thanks for the copy of the contract card what an interesting document when i started the restoration of my truck i never thought i would get any information like this .i need to know if the date entered for the contract of 25/9/43 is the date of the start of the contract or is the date the completion of the contract , the completion date would fit in better with the information i have contract 294/v/m5275 as being the first contract for MWR s with production starting in 1942. i had always wondered why the British military had so many Bedford WM s and looking at the other entry's on the contract card it was simple economics with Ford wot2 costing £317.00 in 1944 ,Morris commercials at £388.00 and Guy ants at £390.00 all against the cost of £271.00 for a basic MW nicky

Hi found this on the the Dutch online archive it is a very early factory photo i have not seen before i cannot quite make out the Z number on the first truck if i could find the number we can get closer to finding the contract number etc Nicky

CALLING ALL WAR TIME BEDFORD OWNERS i thought it would be good idea to mark the seventieth anniversary of the end of bedfords war time production 2015 will mark 70 years since the last war time bedford was produced and i think it would be fitting tribute to our historic vehicles to arrange a gathering to mark this historic anniversary ,with this in mind i have arranged with Stuart Wright of the Yorkshire wartime experience to hold the gathering as part of this years show , i have arranged for all the vehicles to gather in the dedicated ww2 vehicle parking field were you can camp overnight or just call in for the day Stuart has promised a parade lap around the arena ,this years dates for the show are 3rd,4th,& 5th of July and entry forms can be down loaded from www.ywe-event.info as you can see from the info on the web site there are lots of things to see and do, hope to see you there Nicky

Andy is 25/9/43 the contact date ? any chance of a copy of the contract card or how i can get access to this and other contract cards it would be a big help and may be another big piece of the jigsaw ? Nicky

These are the photos of Z4908805 i have they were sent to me by Simon Thompson when i was restoring the truck in 2014 and were a great help , i have always thought they were factory photos but the truck has got its Z number on the drivers door and on the rear cross member it is a fairly early MWR as there is no observation hatch in the cab roof (from chassis number 547757) and sling plates on the axles (from chassis number 52620) as you can see most of the radio equipment has not been fitted to the truck there is no radio set ,generator control panel or radio Ariel s fitted i also have the same set of photos for Z5252482 taken in what looks a very similar location which is a much later truck from the last MWR contract 293/23/s/3053 in fact i have seen photos of other new bedford MWs OYs etc in the same location any idea s if this was the factory or when they were delivered would they have gone to the ministry of supply or in the case of the MWRs direct to the royal signals ? Nicky

Hi Ivor you sure contract T8102 had wireless trucks in it i think the rivets truck is either 1939 or 1940 aero screen truck my research shows the first wireless trucks as much later in early 1942 . Jeremy as Ivor says the info for the contract number and lists of Z numbers now we know were to look is straight forward but to find a link to the chassis numbers is going to be a lot harder , was your truck built as GS originally as i said in part seven of my restoration blog i have narrowed the number of possible Z numbers for my truck to 974 from Z 4908541 - Z4909515 i have a photo of Z4908805 this is a later truck with the sling flanges on the wheels so that reduces the list of possible numbers to 264 any body want to lay claim to any of the numbers between Z 4908451 - Z4908805 Nicky PS are there any factory production figures of how many MWs built per month in 1942

PART SEVEN The warmer weather is beginning to arrive and the Bedford came out of winter hibernation this weekend photos one and two are the truck coming out of the machine mart tent were it has spent the winter photo number three is my newly restored air cleaner it took a very long time time to find the missing air cleaner and the only one i could find was in Scotland and after stripping and shot blasting looked as though it had spent a long time full of water it was repaired by using the oil pan from the bottom of a landrover air cleaner which was exactly the correct size photo number four shows the rear body and hood frame after a fresh coat of British olive drab now this is done i can start assembling the rear body interior photo number five shows the final pre-assembly work on the rear control box mounting the ammeter and the covers for the control box and the no 5 generator control panel are now all finished and need to be fitted before the extra body planks as the back edge of the covers is screwed to the top edge of the GS body i think that this may be to give the electrical items some better weather protection I mentioned in an earlier post i had been working on the Z number registrations and contract numbers the observant amongst you will have noticed that the number on my truck is not an MWR Z number it is in fact a modified phone number i made up for Normandy last year . Bart Vanderveens kaleidoscope of bedford & vauxhall military vehicles lists MWR total production as 5,500 trucks under 4 contracts ,having managed to get a copy of Rob Van Meel allocation of b vehicle wd numbers and cross referencing both i have the following contract number , number built , description znumber 294/v/m5275 974 units truck 15 cwt 4x2 adapt for conversion to wireless Z4908541-Z4909515 294/v/m5058 829 units truck 15 cwt 4x2 adapt for conversion to wireless Z4909516-Z4910345 294/v/4714 1699 units truck 15 cwt 4x2 g/s adapted for wireless Z4903700-Z4905399 294/23/s3053 1999 units truck 15 cwt 4x2 wireless Z5252268-Z5254267 B8834 7 units truck 15 cwt 4x2 wireless Z4577022-Z4577029 N/K 6 units truck 15cwt 4x2 wireless Z4577030-Z4577036 TOTAL 5514 UNITS i think the last two on the list could be pre production batches looking at the low Z number MWR production is said to have started in 1942 the chassis number on my truck is 1942 i need to know how many MW were built per month i can then work out what month my truck was built in and the correct number will be some ware in the batch Z4908541-Z4909515 just have to work out which one to use are there any other MWR owners in this batch that i compare details with ? Nicky

Time for an up date part six The last couple of weeks have seen some slow progress ,trying to paint in this winter weather is hard work and very time consuming the red oxide paint being the worst needing a week to dry fully i think this because it is an oil based paint as you can see all the lockers ,battery clamps ,radio table and extra planks for the top of the body have now been painted in a base coat of red oxide and top coat of British olive drab the interior of lockers has been painted in eau de nil as planned , it looks better in the photo than i actually is but is making the inside of the lockers much brighter ,looking forward to some warmer weather so the truck can be run out of its tent and i repaint the inside of the body ready to start the final assembly

would these be markings , yes i use tony for all my stencils ,how do they conform to usual arm of service and unit layout my truck at the moment has a royal signals arm of service marking and 24th independent guards unit marking thanks for you help Nicky

Hi all so we are not going to be on our own then, couple of things i need some help with ,thought maybe it would be good idea to have some temporary vehicle markings made up for the parades and whilst on the island ,what would the vehicle markings for force 135 have been .Jules any chance of an update on your OGEL application i had a quick look on the recommended web site what a mine field i think i am going to need some help to get this right Nicky

these are the photos to go with part five i think they must have timed out whilst i was doing the post sorry Nicky

PART FIVE making steady progress ,all boxes now made ,the drawings seam to work fine with only slight modifications needed to make the drawings work correctly for manufacture ,photos show test fitting of table ,battery clamps, mounting for no 5 switch board ,control box and newly copied wireless operator seats [ATTACH=CONFIG]100622[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100630[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100629[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100628[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100627[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100626[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100625[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100624[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100623[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100631[/ATTACH] all have now been removed the no 5 switch panel needs shot blasting and then i can start painting the inside of the boxes will be BS216 eau de nil and the out side and every thing else will be British olive drab more soon Nicky

No progress here either got the correct short wheel brace from Chris Morter but it will not fit in the clips in away that looks correct my January 1945 hand book still shows the adapter in use for the split rim nuts Nicky

Tom what information do you need Nicky

Hello got my confirmation today that we are booked on to the 2015 liberation tour to Guernsey in May we are taking the Bedford MWR anybody else going from on here Nicky

Hi Sean yes your correct just checked on the factory interior photos they are the other way round will fit the correct way on final assembly Nicky

part four I have been working on the layout and drawings to make the wooden lockers to kit out the rear of the truck as i have only found one of the big steel boxes (i think they would be used to store the radio aerials )so far, i have decided that i am going to fit two spare radio set boxes and a radio spare parts box this layout i am told is correct for a radio intercept equipped truck ,this will also give more space for camping gear and can be changed if i find the missing box the timber has now arrived so i can start to make up the boxes more next week Nicky

part three The next set of photos show the results of my recent very successful trip to Pete Gains i came away a happy man with these the first two photos are the rear radio operators seat ,the truck would have had three of these in the rear fitted with very basic canvas seat covers , i can now use this one as a pattern to make another two The next item i had not expected to find and was in pile of unknown items ,it is the mounting bracket and cover for the no 5 charging panel something i was expecting to have to make. This is the no 5 charging panel i am still looking for this part anybody help with one ? Another good find was the rear control box this was used to control the charging system for the rear of the truck The next photo shows the frame work for the radio operators table and the clamp frames to hold the radio battery's the new battery boxes are being made and should be ready to collect from Stoneleigh Nicky

Tom i have been working on a list of the Z numbers and contract numbers for the MWR have you got any idea of the date of manufacture of of your truck or the contact number it was built under Nicky

Still looking for drawing / photo of wheel brace Nicky