Vulture

mogmaner, shopnut and rbrtcrowther Thanks for your suggestions. Annoyingly I'm away from home with work until Thursday night. When I get back I'll give your suggestions a try.Kind regardsVulture

Charging problem ? Gentlemen, your wise counsel is sought (again) on how to proceed with a problem that surfaced yesterday.... Issue In A Nutshell 1. Battery did not have enough charge to turn truck over. Background facts 2. New 6v battery purchased by previous owner on 23 Jun 2012 and used a couple of times to do a few miles prior to sale. 3. I obtained the vehicle end of July. I reckon I have done approximately 300 miles since then, and 20 to 25 engine starts. 4. Amp meter never shows any charge, and never moves from the 0 position unless the headlights are turned on, at which point it shows a drain on the system. I have not done any driving with the lights on. 5. Truck has always started without a problem in the short time I have had it. Thoughts Prior To Yesterday. 6. Given that the truck had been starting fine, I'm thinking that the Amp meter might have a problem. What Happened Yesterday 7. Tried to start the truck. Classic low battery symptoms, engine turnover a couple of times slowly, before the battery became exhausted. 5.1 tons of immobile truck stuck on the drive, and one disappointed young son who was looking forward to a trip out. Was tempted to put battery on charge, but then remembered I have home start with Adrian Flux Recovery, so a few hours later I called them out. 8. On arrival the mechanic tested the battery and found it was showing 6v. 8. Mechanic suggested I try starting the truck, and low and behold, it turned over as normal and fired up without any problem. 9. Mechanic checked over the earthing straps and couldn't see anything amiss. 10. Mechanic on testing the generator could not find any output... How To Proceed ? I don't understand how the battery which appeared exhausted, can without assistance have recovered enough charge turn some four hours later to start the truck as if nothing had happened. I referred to the manual, which suggests removing the cover band. This I did. There was almost no dust, and the brushes as far as I can see look okay. - - - - Do I: a) Pretend nothing happened ? (the do nothing option) b) Take the Generator off and send it to a specialist ? c) Do something else ? If so what ? Your thoughts would be much appreciated Cheers Vulture

Good stuff ! Vulture

N.O.S. I like the quote, "you're in deep with the GMC now, no going back" ! Gulp :nut::wow:. Just about sums the position up for me :laugh:. Yes, I'll give Rex a ring, and talk to him about the parts required, also see how old the hoses are he is selling. Brad, awesome looking rebuild your doing there. Very handy to see parts of the system in that stripped down condition. Gordon, good reminder about the brake tap. Kind regards to all Vulture

So this 20/50 Mineral Oil from Halfords should do the trick then ? Link Or presumably this Comma Classic 20/50 Oil ? Link Kind regards Vulture

Gordon After crawling around the truck this afternoon, I've decided to take things one step at a time. I'll order a single front hose from Rex, and see how I get on. You can see the bulge in the old one, and when you press there it feels soft. Annoyingly, the bleed valve/nipple is totally buggered, so I need to get a new one of those as well. It might be a real challenge to get it out in fact. Kind regards to all Vulture

My brother spotted that the drivers side front brake hose in my CCKW 352 has a bulge in it. Looking round the vehicle the remaining five hoses all look the same age, so I'm thinking its time to change them all. A complete set of six from Rex Ward will set me back £100. I've spotted these on E-Bay for £45. Link What do we think ? Anyone else used any from this company ? Has anyone had any made up for them ? If so how much did that cost you ? Thanks for your help Kind regards to all Vulture

Guys With my recent purchase of a CCKW 325 I've been busy looking through the manual (TM9-801). I want to give the vehicle a service, a change of oils, grease up etc. Here is the UK I feel I should be fine going with a range specified for +32 degrees down to 0 degrees. Following this rationale I'm looking down the Key on the Lubrication order L0 9-801 Engine Oil: OE 10 Gear Lubricant: GO 90 Grease General Purpose: CG 0 Grease General Purpose: Navy Spec 14L10 Hydraulic Fluid Oil Lubricating Preservative Oil lubricating Light Grease (for Ball and Roller Bearing) Navy Spec 14L3 Gr11 Lubricant (for chain, exposed gear and wire rope) Can anyone help this novice out tell me what they use for these (and if possible where they source them from in the UK). I've tracked down Morris Lubricants for engine oil. They seem to sell OE 10, but holly s***e they only do it in 25ltr containers costing £ 76 !!! :wow: http://www.morrislubricantsonline.co.uk/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=294&product=Golden+Film+SAE+10+Classic+Motor+Oil Many thanks for your help Vulture

Hi there. Welcome along.

Ohhhhhhh yes, I'm definately planning to be there Vulture

Not sure I'm going it keep it grey in the long term, but for the moment I'll keep it as it is. More important things like changing the brake hoses (one of which has a bulge in it), and some of the pipework which is a bit corroded need my attention. It's quite possibly the only grey 352 in the UK unless anyone knows different ? (I've heard of a 353 in Grey) It's quite a good colour for me to get to know the vehicle, ie, the slightest bit of rust, and its v obvious, there is just no disguising it. Vulture

Totally ! As I pulled up outside the house I just could not stop smiling In fact I'm still smiling now I've posted a short narrative of the day and a few photos on my blog. Link Kind regards Vulture

I have my first Military Vehicle The collection went pretty much according to plan, after a 180 mile journey my CCKW 352b1 is now sat slowly compacting my drive LOL. For those interested there is a bit of a narrative and some photos on my wargaming blog: Link Kind regards to all Vulture

Guys thanks for your thoughts. As far as I can tell, I achieved around 9 to the gallon on the 180 mile journey to get it home. Kind regards to all Vulture

A straight forward question for owners of GMC 352 and 353. What is the average mpg you get ? I keep reading different articles and the figure seems to vary between 7 and 15 mpg. Kind regards to all Cheers Vulture

Amazing looking vehicle, please keep us updated with photos All the best with the restoration. Vulture

Very cool ! Vulture

Blackpowder44 Fact of the matter is that in old vehicles without proper crumple zones and air-bags etc etc etc, that going around in them can never be as safe as a modern car. Any sort of medium to high speed impact is likely to be fatal. I agree in the scenario of a roll-over that your chance of survival is 'probably' greater if you can get thrown clear, however...... I put it to you that the majority of car accidents involve 'relatively' low speed impacts (up to 20mph) when: a) you run into the back of someone, b) someone runs into the back of you. The latter has happened to me on three occasions (perhaps I'm just unlucky). Unrestrained in a Jeep, I'd pretty sure I'd have been killed in one of the impacts, and seriously injured in the other two. Regards Vulture

I (hopefully) pick up the vehicle on 30th July, so I'll be taking a bunch of photos within a couple of days of that, and sending them to the company for their assessment. I'll post on this thread how it all goes. Kind regards to all Vulture

Nice models That Conqueror looks excellent. Check out this U-Tube clip: Link Cheers Vulture

pbharcourt That could the contract that the vehicle was supplied under, although it doesn't look like any contract number I have every seen, and after 30+ yrs in the MOD I've seen a few... Sorry that is not much help. Cheers Vulture

Daz Yes, I see this as a family ride kind of vehicle . I've spoken to the company who can either fit them for me, or send them in the post. If I send them photos of the cab, they will recommend the best type to fit, and if I want to fit myself, where it should all go. For a standard three point belt arrangement prices seem to be between £45 and £70 per belt, which in the scheme of things seems pretty reasonable to me. Kind regards Vulture

NOS It's an open cab, and yes I think the way ahead that you and some others have suggested is to talk to a professional installer. I want to keep the vehicle as original as possible, as I'm sure most of want to, but safety is safety both for myself and any passengers. What I'm really conscious of is the danger of somebody rear-ending me, which in a vehicle that is probably only comfortable around 38mph is always a real possibility. I've been out in a friends jeep many times (in fact I went to Normandy in it for the 60th celebrations), and all he has is lap-belts. Must confess I was always conscious that the slightest accident is likely to be fatal. I won't matter whose fault it was, you will be equally dead. Anyway, I'll get back with some feedback from the installers when I have some. Kind regards to all Vulture

I shall give them a call today. It's quite a drive to get to them, wonder if they will come to me ? We shall see. Cheers Vulture

Yikes ! :shocked: Never realised that lapbelts even at slow speeds could do so much damage. Vulture