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mike30841

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Posts posted by mike30841

  1. Having lost my storage, I nedd to dispose of a number of items, hopefully someone can make use of these:

    Wire mesh radiator grille, 26 1/2" X 27 1/2", believed Austin K5    £25

    Austin K5/6 cylinder head and manifolds, condition of head is unknown, manifolds are crack free     £150

    4 X 20" wheels and tyres to fit British/Canadian 3 ton trucks. Wheels were blasted and primed, but have been outside for a couple of years since. Tyres are modern 1100 X 20 bar-treads, tread is virtually unworn but sidewalls are starting to crack. Tubes and flaps were new when fitted. £400 the lot (they stand me at around £1k).

    Collection only from West Yorkshire - PM me if interested.

  2. Currently fitted to my Bedford QL is this body from a wartime 6 ton GS trailer. As the QL is now to be restored and fitted with the correct QLD body, the trailer body currently fitted is surplus to requirements - ONLY THE REAR BODY IS FOR SALE. Body is in decent condition apart from a couple of planks on the front headboard which need replacing. The planking on the sideboards at one side has been replaced at some time, as has the floor, I believe. The canvas is in reasonable condition, it appears to be american but I have no idea what it's from - the front and rear parts of the canvas are present but not fitted - hoops etc in good order. Body can be largely flat-packed for transport, but buyer will need to arrange lifting and transport.

    If you are restoring a trailer, or have a QL or similar without a body, this could be for you.

    £500.00 no offers - can be viewed in west yorks by arrangement - PM me for details/more info.

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  3. What torque have you tightened to? I was told by Norman Aish at Bygone Bedfords that correct torque is 78 - 83 lb/ft, increased by 10 lb/ft if anti-freeze added. When you say the head was checked, does that include pressure testing to reveal any cracks?

    Also worth checking that the coolant is circulating properly - if the system is pressurising it could force coolant out at a weak point, possibly.

  4. I agree with Mk3Iain, it's probably something simple, and related to disturbing/removing the distributor. Check the obvious - I don't know how experienced you are with vehicle maintenance, but problems I have seen introduced by inexperienced diy mechanics include: distributor not seated correctly therefore drive dog not engaged ( I once had one where the dog was engaged partially but there was enough play for it to occasionally slip out of mesh and cause the engine to cut out - that one caused some head- scratching!), points gap set on the low point of the cam (when they should be closed), so that they don't close at all, and finally the earth lead from the distributor to the engine block not re-connected.

    Worth checking all these, but I apologise if I'm teaching my Grandma to suck eggs!

    Incidentally, fitting electronic ignition is not necessarily going to solve the problem if you can't establish where the problem lies.

  5. A small stilson wrench or plumbers pipe grips, both of which tighten onto the nut when used correctly will shift it. If you don't have either of these and have already rounded the nut, just cut the pipe and use a six sided socket to get the nut out - then make up or buy a new pipe.

  6. The bottom hose is the large diameter (about 2") one that attaches to the bottom of the radiator. Have buckets handy so you can work out how much coolant, if any, comes out.

    As to clearing blocked waterways, it depends how bad they are and whether they are blocked with sediment or scale. If its sediment, it should be possible to flush clean with a hose or pressure washer. If the radiator is blocked with scale, pretty much the only cure is to replace with a good second-hand one or have it re-cored. If the waterways in the block are full of scale, it's a pig to get rid of, I'm afraid. Hopefully, bearing in mind the low mileages covered by the green goddesses, and the strict maintenance carried out whilst they were in the reserve stores, the problem shouldn't be that bad.

    Good luck with getting it sorted.

  7. Try removing the bottom hose and see what you get out. If nothing, then the coolant has leaked out somewhere. If it's thick and rust coloured, then the chances are that the radiator core and the waterways in the block are at least partially blocked. Other possible reasons for the low temperature reading are stuck/faulty  thermostat, or again if the coolant has leaked out, then there's no hot water flowing round past the temperature sensor to give a higher reading.

  8. Assuming you are certain the problem lies with nos 1 & 2 cylinders, and bearing in mind that you have replaced most of the valve train for these two, have you checked that the valves and rockers are receiving oil - if not, the valves could stick as the engine warms up, and the problem will disappear once it has cooled again. Presume that you also replaced the spark plugs? Try replacing them again, even new ones can sometimes be faulty.

  9. I believe I own the remains of the Bedford QLR - this is the one that Stuart Wright recovered from a Leeds scrapyard a few years ago. The rear body was beyond saving, but when stripping it off we found the display board for the vehicle from Grange Cavern Museum amongst the remains.

    The vehicle is to be restored (a replacement cab is currently being worked on by Melvin Bean), but because the radio body was beyond saving it will be resurrected as a QLD - I have an original GS body to go on it.

  10. You are obviously aware that this bod is one of the organisers of YWE, there is an e-mail address for him on their website, ywe.nelz@outlook.com, might be worth a try. Other lines you could consider pursuing might be to contact your local trading standards authority, pursuing the matter via the small claims court, or if you paid by credit card (always a wise move), you can claim the money back from your credit card provider - this is quite simple and a method I have used successfully more than once in the past.

    If all else fails, you will be sure to find him at ywe……..

  11. This is a nanny state gone mad!!!

    I seem to recall that legally, a de-activated gun is no longer a firearm - just had a look at the CPS guidance notes on firearms offences https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/firearms, which defines a firearm as follows "A firearm is "a lethal barrelled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged". By definition, it is not possible to actually fire anything from a de-activated gun, whatever the spec, so it is no longer a firearm and therefore this new legislation would appear not to apply. Confused? I certainly am!!

    Any legal minds out there who could give an opinion on this?

  12. When you say there is no compression, do you mean there is no compression on any of the cylinders, and have you verified this by checking each cylinder with a compression tester? Reason I ask is that I can't think of a likely fault that would cause a loss of compression to all cylinders at the same time, short of a massively catastrophic failure.

  13. Chris Morter 07860 520542 or 01953 602581. If you are really stuck, it's possible to make a sort of V shaped crank by welding two steel strips together so that the point of the V pivots on the small shaft on the side of the carb, and use a universal throttle linkage (I got mine from ebay cheaply) to connect it to the rest of the linkage. Probably easier to do than to explain. If you need further explanation, let me know and I will try and get up to where I store my QL and take a picture or two of what I cobbled together - it works very well and doesn't look too out of place apart from my awful welding!

    Regards,

    Mike

  14. As far as I am aware all the wartime and subsequent Bedfords were built as negative earth. My OX is still running with a dynamo - given the minimal electrics on military vehicles,  I can see no advantage whatsoever in fitting alternators. That said, my QL had one fitted when I bought it and I have never bothered to change it back.

  15. Hi Clive,

    Some interesting points you raise there. Unfortunately, I don't possess a dwell angle meter, and I'm pretty sure that the manuals don't give anything as exotic as the dwell angle - bear in mind these vehicles were designed to be maintained by squaddies with nothing more sophisticated than a hammer and a tyre lever.

    All the many different coils I have tried have been brand new from reputable suppliers. As they are all marked + & - I presume that they are for negative earth (if I understand you correctly, coils with the terminals marked SW & CB are positive earth?). None of the suppliers I have used specify coils as being for +ve or -ve earth vehicles.

    I did check the cold resistance of the primary windings on some of the coils before they were fitted, and they were around 3ohms, from memory, but I was only using a cheap multi-meter.

    As soon as I receive my newly-ordered tester, I will check the output from the battery, as well as checking the circuitry for voltage drop.

    It is very kind of you to offer to test a coil for me at GDSF, but as I'm in Yorkshire it's a but far to come at the moment (it is on my "bucket list, however).

    Hoping to have a good look at it this week, so will post any developments.

    Mike.

  16. Hi Richard & Michael,

    I can confirm that the various coils I have tried have all been connected correctly, with the negative terminal to the distributor ( vehicle is negative earth). The points are undamaged, which suggests that the condenser is functioning correctly, although it has been changed anyway, just in case! Ref Michael's point about heat transfer from the engine, Bedford originally mounted the coil on the side of the engine. I have run it with the coil in that position, although for some time I have had the coil mounted on the bulkhead in an attempt to keep it cooler. I suspect this problem was ongoing even before I purchased the vehicle, as when I bought it there was an illuminated switch wire across the + & - terminals on the coil, which I presume was to indicate whether or not there was a problem with it. 

    I have just ordered myself a proper automotive tester, so next job is to work my way through the ignition circuit looking for any voltage drop or poor connections, and to take off and clean all the battery/engine earth points.

    Cheers,

    Mike.

  17. Hi Richard,

    Thanks for your input. I am aware that some coils are designed to be used with a ballast resistor, and have always been careful to buy only the correct type which are not made for use with a ballast resistor. I have tried coils from various sources, including one of the well known Bedford parts suppliers, and have had the same problem with all of them, although some have lasted longer than others. I am pretty sure the problem lies elsewhere, but precisely what it is baffles me. I had similar problems with my QL but having replaced all the earth leads and some of the ignition circuit wiring a couple of years ago, the problem has not recurred.

  18. I have had problems with my Bedford OX for several years - basically, the ignition coil overheats after a few miles and then dies so that it is impossible to restart the engine until things cool down. Does anyone know if an electronic ignition setup would cure this problem? Has anyone fitted electronic ignition and what are your experiences of it? Who supplies them?

    Any advice gratefully received.

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