Dave

I was hoping to save the actual u bolts by sacrificing the nuts. I won’t be doing the job for a week or two, I,ll see what I can find

Thanks for all your help. ive.heard of unc and unf but not uns Sod’s law says if I’ve got spares I won’t need them but if I haven’t, I will. Does anyone know where I can buy 4 of them? is Dennis Roberts still about?

Does anyone know the size for the u bolt nuts on the rear springs on a 981 Got to change a rear spring and trying to be prepared in advance..

All you drops owners out there. Has anyone got a drops rack going spare? Preferably in or near Essex. Going to be moving to Suffolk soon and packing my workshop into a 20' box . Thinking by the time I get a big hiab to move it for me it might be easier to put the box on a flat rack and hire a roll on roll off truck Are all racks for a 20' box standard fare for such a vehicle? Any sensible suggestions welcomed. Dave

I thought i was just losing my touch as i seem to be strugggling with my gear changing lately. My Diamond T has the Rolls C6 fitted, i think the clutch is ok, no nasty smells, still pulls like a train but the revs appear to be sticking when i lift off for a gear change. i know some Gardner engines need a little extra lubrication on the pump, is this the same on the lucas CAV pump on the T? The linkage seems ok , all moving easily and i had the pump serviced about 8 years ago because it was dunping fuel from the overflow at tickover. They said the pump was in good nick. They renewed the lift punp seals and all seemed ok. The governor level is a bit low, if i top it up it chucks the 'new" oil out goes back to its low mark. Then seems quite happy. Has anyone else had similar trouble?

Not sure about the electric set up but i like the look of the Ford / Bedford idea. i,m not after super light steering, i think it would just make the whole thing feel a bit vague . She doesnt like potholes at the best of times as there arent any shocks on the front end of a T and it tends to grab the steering a bit . I would just like to be able to go from lock to lock whilst manoeuvring without sweating. I have tried the old tricks ,like 10 extra psi in the front tyres The basic trouble is it isnt just the T showing its age!

Having been off the road for health reasons i am looking forward to getting out wih the Diamond T again. I am thinkiing of fitting power steering, either a full system or an assister ram set up. Has anyone done it?

Hi John, . Wise words indeed. i dont disagree with the rules, i just dont see the logic behind it.

Hi John, i totally agree, call me daft if you like but i get a buzz out of driving big trucks, always have. Dad was a driver for as long as i can remember so i suppose its in the blood . My TIA was serious at the time but i seem to have been very lucky. I dont appear to have any lasting after effects, other than my annual income will be £15,000 light this Year. why is it when you try and be honest it always seems to come round and kick you where it hurts? i should have said nothing. Hi Brooky. The situation regarding licensing on pre 1960 vehicles is something we obviously agree on but trying to get the school leaver at DVLA to understand the rules which their employer put in place donkeys years ago , is vitually impossible. I have had a mini stroke, not a heart attack, so the inital license suspension period is 12 months, of which 3 have already passed. The stupid thing is that i now have my wife as a named driver on the T as she can drive the thing on her B License, whereas i cant do the same on mine. she will only drive around the arena with me sat beside her. rules are rules, frustration is frustration,

Hi John, good advice but as i thought, getting a definitive answer out of dvla would be a minfield. Apparently it all comes down to weight because the Diamond T looks like a lorry and it weighs more than 7.5 tonnes. if it had a breakdown jib it would be a different story ( obviously a very big jib if it is to hide the fact that it still looks like a lorry) the fact that it is not used for hire and reward is a (towing) tractor on the log book and is pre- 1960 is irrelevant. the only possible way round according to dvla this would be to change its taxation class to a showman vehicle. ( which will still look like a lorry) If i send in a photo they might be able to advise me further. Can you imagine how helpful that photo will be? exactly as i expected. Utter bull**** i totally accept that they are trying to ascertain my fitness to drive the vehicle but my problem is having passed a test to drive a lorry 30 years ago i now find that regarding my hobby i am in a worse position than if i never held one at all. I can however still use my chainsaws, diggers and tractors. we will still attend shows this year but arrive on the back of a low loader.

I have held my old school hgv1 since 1995, so i have never worried licensing wise about driving my Diamond T however i know of several mates who drive their classic lorries on a car license.. I had a TIA ( a mini stroke) at the end of november and although i appear to have been lucky in that the after effects are minimal i have been told by the doctor that i cannot drive lorries for a year. if i can legally drive the T on a car license then i dont see a problem, if the hgv license is a must, then potentially it could be. Before i go to the dvla and get swamped with bullsh~t Has anyone come across this predicament before and if so what did you do about it? Any imfo gratefully received Dave

small living van built on an arrows 1 3/4 t trailer Runs from a 24 v battery supply charged from a split charge relay on the towing vehicle. Ex bt box is only 8' x 6' but ideal show accomodation for a couple. 12/24v fridge ( no gas) , unused cassette toilet, 2 ring gas hob , seating for 4 converts into a double bed. Complete set up ready to use, Reason for sale, we have upgraded to a motorhome. Call 07787 773061 or email dtdave@live.co.uk for more photos and info. Located nr Burnham on Crouch , Essex. £1850 ono

We are attending the ipswich to felixstowe road run in a couple of weeks. Can anyone recomend a b&b nearby with room to park a Diamond T and a Scammell overnight? Loads of b&b s on the web, but a bit of local knowledge needed here please. Any ideas?

That clip with cmg's foden setting up for winching. Did i see it right? It looked like he had the crane outriggers deployed but not the rear stiff legs. Did i miss somthing?

He certainly was, There was a story that he used to listen in on the net to find out where tonight's harbour area would be or that one enterprising section attack went in under wolfgangs diversionary tactic. I remember being backed into the densest bit of scrub on soltau, cam nets the lot, with a chieftain ARRV and a 434. Thinking that it should be a quiet night... Cue Wolfgang, might as well have been parked outside a nightclub in town. I can smell the Brattie and chips now.

I.ve seen pictures of wynns Diamond T s and there heavy hauling antics but I must admit to being a bit chuffed with this one. It shows ODW 937 heading a push-pull outfit form Tipton to Bradwell power station in 1957. The lead T has the Nash and Morgan cab but the pusher looks pretty original. The reason I,m chuffed is that this T was only 21 vehicles ahead of mine on the production line in Chicago and the picture is about 200 m from my house. Small world, you might say The pic is from a short film on you tube, called giant girder on the move.

Just found a picture of wolfgangs van on soltau, 25 years ago. For those who don't know Wolfgang was in the fast food business, You could be struggling through mud with a chieftain on tow and this guy would be following with a van full of bratwursts. Legend!,,,

Thanks for the offer Tony, as I said the two pictures you posted are in pat wares book on the T. They certainly are good quality, well worth a zoom in!

In the second picture tony posted next to the scotches there are two short wire ropes. Could these be the "chains" to secure to the chassis? If they are, would the hooks indicate how or where they actually clip on?

Thanks to everyone for their inputs The initial photo I referred to is the one Tony has posted, it's in pat wares book for those of you who are interested. As Howard suggested the ballasted tractor would certainly be a pretty good dead weight anchor, I just thought with a 2:1 laid out you might need something a bit more substantial to hold you back. I found a video on you tube of a scammell using scotches, showing that the length of the chains is all important. My T has a little toggle to hold the brake pedal down, I assume this is standard on a 980 as well as a 981 .It would be comical if this proved to be a comparison point between the two.

I,ve got a picture somewhere of the c.e.s carried on a Diamond T that shows a pair of wheel scotches. My 981 doesn,t appear to have any chassis hooks for the anchor chains so does anyone know the correct way of using them. I know they have a hard and soft ground position. Does anyone else have a different idea for anchoring their truck assuming that there isn't a handy tree right in front of you?

The proper adapters for chieftain and centurion are typically heavy. They connect together using the quick release pins as used with all ARV winching kit. They are so heavy that whereas with a hollebone set you have a drawbar and a set of adaptors, on an ARV there is a butterfly which locates in the towing eye on the rear of the vehicle, two separate tow bars and then the adapters to suit the tank you wish to tow all connected with 5 QRP s (sorry no photos.) Hollebones can be used on any vehicle with the correct size NATO hitch, there are four basic pairs of adapters A,B,C & D and specials for 430 series and CVR T.

Thanks for your help. I was looking for something completely irrelevant earlier and stumbled upon my own c6 service manual. Moral of the story, if it's lost, look for something else first.

Does anyone have a diagram showing the head bolts tightening sequence for the Rolls C6. Looks like the O ring where the oil way goes from the block up to the head has failed. No water loss just oil weeping down the block. Just steam cleaned it now looks like it needs doing again!