MWMike

I’ll try the hose!

It’s been a long time since your post- I have a similar problem with my friends dingo that I’m looking at- it starts, runs but splutters when you touch the accelerator then after a few minutes dies away. Timing is fine, coil is fine and it throws a decent spark, but the plugs are dry when you take one out after it has spluttered to a halt. fuel pump? Dirt in the carb? What do you think? I’ve an electric pump and I’m going to jury rig to see if it’s the old mech pump that’s failing.

Hi Mark, I didn't go quite that far with my MW, she was misfiring on no 5 and 6 cylinders, so I removed the drain tap from the back of the engine, (through the panel in the footwell) and similarly the front drain tap, then I used a pressure washer at full bore to jet out the block, took quite a while to get the loose stuff out, then i treated the engine with Holts two part heavy duty engine coolant cleaner, from Halfords i think. This is a first stage acid treatment, which dissolves all of the rust and scale, and there are precise instructions on how long you leave it in the system with the engine hot and running, then a long flush to get all the dissolved sludge from the engine and radiator, and you add the second stage passsivating system which neutralises the acid (so it doesn't eat the block!) and creates a layer of magnetite on the iron components to help heat transfer and prevent corrosion. This fixed the misfiring (as 5 and 6 were getting hot) and made me feel a lot better, she hasn't missed a beat since then and handled the 2014 Arnhem tour without a problem....hopefully the same for Normandy this year! Obviously with the head off, you are further into the engine so its probably worth knocking the core plugs out and getting better access! A pressure washer will come in handy! ("core plugs international" on the internet can resupply you with any sort of replacement plug so you need not pay through the nose.) As far as the head is concerned, to see if its flat I normally "blue" them with engineers blue and then use a surface table to check for flatness, but I don't have one big enough for this beast though a good engineering shop may have one....! bonne chance!

Is it the butt rest for a lee enfield? mike

Had to make some up for mine, I used some cupro-nickel brake line I had lying around. Maybe one of the local garages can make some up using the old ones as patterns? Mike

I've a 37 (first registered Feb 38) Minx in early war RAF (hence Blue) colours,. When restoring yours did you have problems sourcing window regulators and the internal (or infernal!) bakelite window surrounds, or were you fortunate enough to have them with the car? Another question, where did you find out about the serial numbers and application of squadron markings for the vehicle? (I've a picture of my late father driving a wartime Ford with a RAF number on it and thought about using that (but I'd rather mock her up as a real Minx in service!) She came in a box of bits- well several actually, and needed a complete body off restoration, including engine, gearbox and diff strip and rebuild. But it was either this or consign her to a parts stripper or hot rodder.............sacrilige!! Mike

Just to show how 70 year old kit still can work- and I don't mean the guys in the photos! this is my MW and 10cwt mortar trailer (restored last year- see earlier photos on this thread) on the XXX corps 70th anniversary run in September this year. We were 6 guys strong, with all authentic gear, living from the back of the truck and trailer, the only concession being mobile phones and plastic cards to obtain money! Truck and trailer ran without fault Valkenswaard streets. lovely day near Sonne! Ginkel Heath

Same sort of trailer with MW! Though this is a mortar trailer and doesn't have the toolbox in front and has the stabilising support on the front RHS rather than the centre. These trailers seem to be very rare!

Thanks guys, Norman from bygone bedfords has contacted me and explained all the possible sizes and shapes of the guides and valves and as long as they are available I am confident that I can rebuild the head if necessary....I just have to make the decision to do it- before the Arnhem XXX corps run, or after! Mike

I was at Foxhall saturday with a 10cwt trailer in tow, with my blue Hillman staff car next to it............mike

My MW oil consumption has started to climb, and I am considering refurbishing the cylinder head and fitting new rings after a bore-hone, so I have a couple of questions...... Are valve guides still available for this beast, or is it a case of making some? I heard a story, although it may be bull-deposit, that a set of Transit engine valve guide seals work on the truck and are a better option than the feeble felt washers supplied, if so, which transit engine? Is it possible to slip the pistons out with the engine in the truck? (Accessing the crank via the sump, obviously) and do they pop out upwards? ( In my 1938 minx you have to insert from the sump side which means crank out!) I don't really want her off the road over the summer but she is getting to be a bit of an oil junkie, and is always looking for her next 30 SAE "fix"! ...oh! Cylinder pressure readings are all consistent around 185-200 psi. in anticipation... mike

If you find out what modern, ethanol proof, kit fits the fuel pump I'd appreciate the number, am going to Arnhem in september with the XX corps run and a spare diaphragm is on my list of essentials!! mike

Trailer seems to have sold very quickly......in demand no doubt.... latest photos of mine, sadly not at a show as yet, as no one had the sense (including me) to take one of the trailer and truck together, so its in its store, but now sports a great tarpaulin, manufactured by Luke at wear-n-tear tarpaulins at Stowmarket, as advertised here on HMVF, he did a great job, even came around to trial fit so the eyes matched the cleats and are the right place, he also fitted correct ropes to corners with appropriate "soft splice " in the eyes for the corners. It looks great. info@wear-n-tear.co.uk Here we are at Wetheringsett, firing a mortar with the beast behind us!

I am by no means a B80 expert but have worked on lots of equipment like this. I would suspect that there would be a large O ring above the shoulder on the pickup tube, with the split pin holding the pickup in, below this, you would then get the o ring seal between the top machined face of the hole in the housing and the shoulder on the pickup shaft, with the pin giving some sealing pressure, you would have to push the assembly in against the rubber O ring to give some sealing pressure. hope you have success...... mike

Thanks for the advice chaps, I already have a 5 gallon drum of SAE 140, courtesy of Morris lubricants and a local farm shop, so I am sorted! I just happen to have a few litres of EP oil to use up too. But best not in the MW! Mike

Has anyone the knowledge of the MW gearbox and whether modern gear oils can be used with sulphur based additives, such as the EP grade oils? eg EP 90. These can attack brass bearings and thrust rings and I don't know whether there are any in the box, ..............or should I stick with some SAE 90 or SAE 140? mike

The trailer looks great behind the trusty MW! Cant wait to finish badging and get a tarp for the top! mike:)

Trailer 99% finished.....markings to put on, I know Tony is the guru of such things, and she should just have a census number, but i am hankering after the 43 Wessex Wyvern and a recce divisional sign on the back to match the MW,........plus a couple of discrete small invasion stars......timeout to think required...... The cleats arrived and hopefully Sean is able to complete his too....I have some hints on timber for anyone wanting help....order 2 of the floorboards and one of the side boards for each slightly wider, say 1/2 inch, to allow one to be planed back to suit eventual floor width and variable heights of side support steels! Side Front with headboard down and again with headboard up rear view...... The wonder of magnets......reflectors, number plate and lamps all removable in seconds......very strong magnets from RS! Lovely clean bottom...... Deep joy...just axholme to contact for the census number stencils, and first outing to the Mid-Suffolk Light railway 4-5 May!

Nearly done, photos tomorrow, does anyone know what markings would be on a trailer in late 1944, divisional signs and stars etc? Struggling to fnd a decent photo showing things! mike

I had to replace the five intermediate vertical support struts with new as the old ones were bashed about and had been weld repaired in all sorts of odd angles, but I managed to keep the corner struts, and also recover the mudguard support plates, two of the corner struts needed cutting and rewelding to get them back vertical, the chassis itself was ok apart from a couple of holes that needed welding up from some sort of bodged rear lift out tailgate, the grit blasting and priming came up very well, and I had no problem stripping the brakes and hubs, though the brake drums took a bit of persuading! The springs weren' too bad but i stripped cleaned and re-greased them. (I am trying to keep as many bits original as I can as I don't really want "Triggers broom" ( 400 years old, and had six new heads and four new handles....) Am hoping to get woodwork finished next weekend and hopefully the "golden" cleats will arrive soon, after the wood I only have new fore and aft support legs to remanufacture- the previous owner must have been using a sledgehammer on them- they had quite impressive mushroom heads! I will drop some more photos on here later!

From piecing together many threads I understand that the trailer was covered with a simple rectangular canvas tilt that allowed a 6" "overload" to be carried, ie the load could extend 6" above the sides of the trailer. This would make it around 7' by 5' assuming 6" either side, does anyone have actual dimensions of the tilt and spacing and size of the rope eyes? .....and any experience of anyone making one eg grade of canvas, colour etc? Progress is good, latest photos of assembled frame, timber now well under way!

I'm thinking about machining/brazing a sleeve up for my MW, when I brake hard the water sloshes to the front of the rad and she looks like she's steam powered! Don't forget the little sealing ring on the underside of the castellated collar! Where did you source the spring from? I was thinking about making one from piano wire. My manual says 9/16" from the top too. Mike

Excellent! More tin bashing for me! - But at least I know they were fitted- Thanks Simon! I guess that means there had to be a lamp too......so yet more to do! I recognise the brake drums and hubs too! Mike

Thanks for all the info, I concur with the bearing numbers- i managed to tease one off without damaging the oil seal, but i am now thinking with my perfectionist head on, should i sell a kidney to get the aforementioned seal? So how big was the convoy plate on the axle, I presume it was painted white and not some other exotic colour, and .....would a trailer used in september 1944 have one or is it a post war luxury? ps Ive found another definition for rave..... Cambridge Online Dictionary/ rave:to speak in an uncontrolled way, usually because you are upset or angry, or because you are ill, e.g. He's always raving (on) about the price of parts. She was ranting and raving about him spending too much time in the garage. I think this is the best description, and so I am now going to call the sticky up bits of metal on the trailer, "sticky up bits of metal on the trailer" to avoid doubt!

Yes- they were welded, and the trailer had signs of the original rear rave welded on, though it had been removed and a removable tailgate contraption fitted, so I re-welded the mudguard supports back onto the new raves in the same locations, and patched up the additional holes that had been flame cut in the frame! My third spare wheel sadly has been shot blast and turned to lace! (water must have been sitting in it for years!) The trailer was a tender to a council steamroller that has been converetd to a traction engine- its an Allchin based somewhere near Dorset i think- NV100 is its registration, this has meant it has survived relatively intact underneath and has obviously been maintained once or twice in its life- though it is caked in tar, dirt and ashes! Have painted the wheels and will have tyres refitted tomorrow, hopefully, ....and my friends Austin 10 leaves my garage giving me the space to reassemble!