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Adr1an

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About Adr1an

  • Birthday 01/01/1974

Personal Information

  • Location
    Hither Green
  • Interests
    Horology, vintage / veteran tractors and lorries
  • Occupation
    Refrigeration apprenticeship and horology volunteer at Royal Observatory, Greenwich
  • Homepage
    http://tractors.wikia.com/wiki/CSJ_655

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  1. Cheers! Maybe that’s what is written on the vehicle next to it 🤔
  2. Hi everyone, a friend of mine has just shown me the pictures here and we are intrigued to find out as much as possible about them. Apparently, his grandmother was born in 1894 and was an ambulance driver in WW1. This is her in front of a Ford model T? ambulance. She went on to serve in WW11 but I can’t identify the ambulance in the second picture. I presume it’s American, looking at the styling. The crest above the ambulance sign on the front is something that I will endeavour to research. apparently she died at 101, just short of her 102nd birthday! Luise Voltmer nee Barham her parents were both German!
  3. Incidentally, I totally agree with you about the wheel being out of the weather and a varnished finish will no doubt be absolutely fine. My qualification for making my comments is that I spent several years helping to preserve Cutty Sark and we had a lot of bother with the high sheen varnished finish, it all had to be stripped off and coated with Osmo oil instead! Not cheap but very effective.
  4. I thought that some discussion about how to treat the wooden steering wheel would be useful as this thread and others like it cover a multitude of really very useful information, which we can use in numerous different ways. With regard to the suggestion of using Osmo oil, it dries perfectly within the same timeframe as paint however it doesn’t chip or peel. It’s also a breathable barrier that prevents any future rot built up which can remain unseen if using paint.
  5. You could try Osmo oil, I’m rebuilding a wooden steering wheel at the moment for a tractor and I intend to use matt Osmo oil on it as it doesn’t flake off and has excellent protection against stains etc. I used it on my dining table years ago and it still looks great. I suspect that your steering wheel would probably have been painted originally, though. Of course, you could just leave it in its natural finish and wait for a patina to build up! excellent work all round, though. I can’t wait to see it on its wheels! all the best, Adrian
  6. I owned one of these trucks for a number of years, in fact I liked it somuch kept buying it back and owned it three times! It was built in 1978 and had‘Series 3’ on a badge on the front. The FMW I had was fitted with a 1300 ford Xflow, which was painted duck egg green/blue would have most likely been an MODexchange unit. It had a standard ford Cortina four speed gearbox that ran to amassive double reduction rear axle that looked like it may have come from afork lift truck. The steering column and wheel were early Transit. I know that FMW built at least up to a series 5 and the latest one Iever saw which I believe was at Holyhead port was registered on a civilian ‘V’plate, making it about 1980. I saw another FMW offered for sale years ago and phoned the vendor toask about it. He told me that it had a three cylinder Perkins Diesel mated to athree speed automatic gearbox. There also used to be one in use on Eastbourne Pier with the number plate‘STEVE’! I was told that FMW did not manufacture mechanical parts, rather theyraided the parts bins of other manufacturers, (usually Ford) to build theirvehicles. FMW apparently used to constructmany larger parts for Mercury towards the end of their life and when Mercurywent under FMW simply constructed complete vehicles and put their name on them.This was told to me by the chap I purchased my FMW from so I can’t vouch forthe accuracy of this claim but as the owner of a Mercury truck, (google CSJ 655)I can confirm that there is a striking family resemblance between the two vehiclesmechanically. I gather the ford petrol engine vehicles were favoured for use in ‘quietareas’ such as military hospitals etc. All a bit rambling, I’m afraid but hope some of this is of some use toyou. With best wishes, Adrian
  7. Hi is this of interest? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/c1932-FOWLER-HAULAGE-TRACTOR-amp-TRAILER-EX-MILITARY-ROYAL-NAVY-VINTAGE-VEHICLE-/331338918690?nma=true&si=4ax34bZYemTcDe1fkkija3OMAdQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Regards, Adrian
  8. Hi Lee, The next time I am at my garage I shall take some photos for you although CSJ 655 was a complete wreck when I acquired it and it only has two holes for gauges in the dash. I have fitted a 30 ampere gauge in one and an hour counter in the other, mainly because I had one that was the right size. It almost certainly wouldn't have had an hour counter originally though, I would have thought an oil pressure gauge would have been more likely. Switch wise, again everything was missing and I have a key operated ignition switch, which whilst not original is a good idea on the rally circuit as the whole vehicle is open and very attractive for children to climb on. It also has a foot operated starter switch mounted through the driver's footplate which is an original feature and for this reason I have fitted a kill switch on the battery. Everything by the way was fitted in to existing holes, and because I ran out of original holes I fitted a lamp switch on the new seat box. Interestingly, I did acquire the remains of another Mercury truck years ago to help with the restoration of this one which not only had front wheel brakes but also a speedo rated to 15mph, driven from one of the front hubs. It was from this truck that I got the radiator and numerous other parts like the double rear wheels all of which were missing from mine. What were you expecting gauge wise? Pictures to follow, although you will have to give me time to get them as the vehicle is stored near my parents house in Kent. At least I will be able to tell you what is original on mine and what isn't. Did you find a chassis number? Mine is on a brass plate on the front left hand of the chassis. You can see it in the photo above. All the best, Adrian
  9. Hello, There are a few of these airport tugs around, one like yours but with a cab is at Brooklands race track. See: as the owner of CSJ 655 (pictured above) I can offer the following information. Firstly, it is interesting to note that CSJ 655 is larger than the other Mercurys pictured here. It has the same running gear but has larger wheels and a drop side body of about 6’ in length making the vehicle about10’ 6” overall. The engine is a Ford sidevalve 10hp (1172cc) but would have originally have been an 8hp 6 volt engine. The gearbox is a Ford 3 speed, the same as fitted in the Ford model ‘Y’ car and some Ford sidevalve commercial derivatives.The rear axle is a massive worm drive unit shortened to practically the width of the differential housing. It is much heavier than the engine. It is a 15 to 1 worm drive and gives CSJ 655 a ‘cruising speed’ of about 12mph and a terminal velocity of about 15 if you really put your foot down. This is more than enough with only rear wheel rod operated brakes to stop you! Years ago someone told me that the axle was a cut down Leyland Lion bus axle but I have never been able to confirm this. As the smaller wheeled trucks all seem to share the same running gear they must be rather slower. I think CSJ 655 was probably made in the mid 1930s as there are a few tell tale signs such as the centre accelerator pedal. The chassis number is 3288. I wonder what the chassis numbers are on the other trucks? Not that Mercury necessarily used consecutive chassis numbers though. By the way, I gather the Mercury Truck and Tractor Co. lasted well in to the 1960s until being taken over by Reliance and then Dennis Specialist Vehicles. One of their main fabrication contractors towards the end was FMW who, I’m told started making complete vehicles after Mercury folded in the 60s. With regards, Adrian
  10. I suppose it's time I introduced myself, for the purpose of helping a bit with the Mercury information flagged up to me by a friend (thanks Tony). My name is Adrian and I own the blue Mercury truck pictured, some information on which is accessible by googling its number plate CSJ 655. I have owned the truck since 1990, in fact I bought it when I was sixteen! I'm 41 and live in London. I am particularly taken with the ongoing restoration of the Thornycroft and the Dennis before it, but have been too shy to get involved in conversation. All the best, Adrian
  11. Hi there, As Tony says, the running gear (on the one I had) was Ford, with a 1300 Xflow engine and four speed Escort / Cortina gearbox. I am pretty sure the back axle (and therefore the brakes) were a fork lift truck part. I sold mine with a shot master cylinder and weeping wheel cylinders to my friend Debbie so I'll try to find out what she did with it. I know she got it all going again. FYI the steering box / column was early Transit so there was obviously a lot of Ford parts bin raiding going on. After all, FMW used to assemble similar trucks for Mercury and when Mercury went under in the 1960s they simply built the whole thing and put their name on it. I have a mid 1930's Mercury and all the same parts are Ford!:-D
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