Richard Farrant

This was one of a small number of Hippos taken out of storage in Belgium in mid-70's and issued to Ordnance TMP (Training Materiel Park) in the UK when there was a shortage of 10 tonners. I know some were sent to the TMP at Ashford, yours was at Taunton and disposed of in 1977. A TMP was like a rent-a-truck depot in the army and units drew extra vehicles from there when needed. It was disposed of at a Ruddington disposal auction.

Hi Tim, The number 16 relates to the location of where the vehicle was disposed from, in this case 16 B Vehicle Depot in Belgium. Unfortunately there is no disposal date showing.

If it was issued a transport unit in Germany in 1945, then it is highly likely it was RASC and the sign at the time would have been red over green diagonally. As for the number on the sign it would depend on which division/formation the unit was assigned to.

Hi Tim, The blue and yellow square denotes RASC, Royal Army Service Corps (later on the Royal Corps of Transport, I think the last Hippos in service might just have been in on the title change). The sign colours are postwar, the WW2 colours would have been red over green diagonally. regards, Richard

With a leak coming from the bell housing it cannot be ruled out that it might be from the gearbox. Ascertain if it is engine oil or gearbox oil. As Phil said, if the engine has not been run for a long time and the old type of rope seals on the rear of the crankshaft are fitted then they could have dried out and could stop leaking once they have got oil on to them.

If are looking for liners, I use Westwood Cylinder Liners, they have stock sizes or will make to your spec. Sometimes you might find the right diameter but slightly longer, my machinist cuts them to length before fitting them. Then you bore to required size. regards, Richard

Just a guess, but 7DN could be Dennis as the army did have Dennis coaches at one time

Hi Simon, It is around 45 years ago when I had a couple of B40WD motorcycles. Just dug out some info and the BSA part number for the element was 47-7807. The army listed a makers number for the filter as CA2602, no idea who made the filter. regards, Richard

Belzona is excellent, and used in heavy industry. MoD use it and I have used it successfully in all sorts of applications. regards Richard

Hi super6, Looks like you have confirmed it, a Renault truck 👍

The badge looks similar to Renault, without checking old books to match the cab.

I think those vehicles were assembled by Pearsons. A few years ago archive photos from Pearsons were published in a book. I recollect some were initially posted on this forum by the late David Hayward, who was involved with the book publishing. regards, Richard

Jon I visited my cousin’s farm today and by sheer coincidence they were putting the rear hub units back on an old David Brown tractor and they looked very much like those that you have found ! Richard

Hi Jon the shafts appear fairly short, are these reduction units off a forklift truck or possibly a small tractor? regards Richard

Try a radiator repairer as they often repair tanks.

I am surprised this has not come up on the forum already. Bruce Crompton was practicing para jumping in Holland in April, ready to take part in the Daks Over Normandy jumps. However he landed in a tree, became inverted then fell to the ground. Bruce is still in hospital with serious injuries. Check out his Facebook site for more details; https://en-gb.facebook.com/brucecromptoncollection/ Wishing you well Bruce, in future leave the aircraft after it has landed. regards, Richard

The link in my last post did not work, this one does, it is another publication from around 1936, explaining the the American screwthreads were standardised in 1928 but a lot of info on alternative pitches in it. www.vintagemachinery.org/pubs/1617/3537.pdf

Hi Tony, Here is a US Government document of 1928 on special threads, it may well be useful in your restoration (this predates Unified of course). The link did not work, so entering it by hand; https://GOVPUB-C13-3cc9997c25b5b325f93a6f22367059d7-3.pdf

Morris bought the Hotchkiss armaments factory in Coventry and it was used to manufacture engines and gearboxes (going on memory). The reason for the metric threads was the Hotchkiss machine tooling was set up to produce parts in metric thread form same as the guns they had previously been producing. Hotchkiss being a French company. Some metric screws were still used in the engines of Morris Commercial during WW2, but checking parts lists only in certain locations.

"Do I take it Richard your money would be on a 55' pitch? the TPI I fairly confident about. You can't beat a BSF or Whitworth thread no matter how long it's been sitting around they always come undone with only a little application of heat." Hi Pete, I feel sure it would be 55 deg thread angle and the machine shop would be using the same cutting toos on all items such as shafts. My guess is the nut is reasonbly narrow and it would not have had enough threads on it using the standard BSF tpi for that diameter. I have come across this 'special' situation before. Like you, I still think BSF is far superior than what was thrust on us from over the Atlantic. In my 53 years in the trade I have had more trouble with NF threads than I ever have with BSF ............... and as for Metric, I have little time or use for it as I try to avoid modern vehicles nowadays.

Leyland was a good old British engineering product, the Retriever would not have had any US type threads in it, only BSF , Whitworth and as in this case a special size thread of similar form to affor mentioned. the only British built trucks of that period using NF and NC were Bedford as the were controlled by GMC and shared some mechanical components with Chevrolet. I work all day either British vehicles of 70+ years and BSF is a pleasure to use.

Hi mate, It does not get any easier I can assure you, after 53 years in the trade I can vouch for this !

The point I was making was that the 0EP220 was drained out and replaced by essentially the same grade. Auto gearboxes work through hydraulic principles and that needs a much lower viscosity. Hence why engine oil was specified I back what Sirhc and Terryb has posted. A heavy oil could cause cavitation in the oil pump and lack of lubrication through the box.

When you say you have changed the oil from 220 hypoid oil to 90, you may not realise that the number 220 is an army code and not a viscosity and in fact OEP220 is basically equivalent to SAE 90 gear oil. Do you have the AESP Maintenance Schedule for this vehicle?

Looks like Nick who used to be a regular on this forum, probably the only Explorer fitted with a Jake brake!