Simon Daymond

cheers Chris, South facing please :-)

was it designed so that years later you could put it on a forum and bug the hell out of me?? :? :-)

Hi Chris,

can you save me a space? :-)

was it used to raise an aerial mast?

for deploying some sort of shield?

... You get to the top of the stairs and only remember what you went up for just as you reach the bottom, or worse, part way up and you wonder if you were going up or coming down.

 

love it :-D, made me chuckle after a long day trying to argue the toss with VOSA.

is it for dislodging something?

very impressive :-)

..... When the side lever is pressed laterally the plunger is released up with significant force.

 

is is for prying backsides of pink cushions ;-)

a few years ago, I wanted some spark plugs for an old Bedford. It was urgent and in desperation I tried my local car spare shop.

They worked fine, whether I was just lucky I don't know. But a good point to remember, I had thought the old ones were fine, but the bedford simply wouldn't run right under load, we tested the plugs, by checking the spark. All seemed fine, it ticked over great, but after three days messing about, someone with more experience told us it was the plugs.

We were broken down miles from home, at the time, outside a motor parts shop. £7.50 later we were flying home. (not literally) :-)

I reckon, if the bellows being cracked was the only problem, it just wouldn't unload, as it is the bellows extending that unseats the unloader valve, allowing the air to escape.

the air is escaping at the moment because I think I have failed to seat the valve properly, before I stripped the valve down, the unloader valve was most definitely stuck in the bore, it would not move at all. Now I've lightly cleaned the bore, the valve moves freely, as it should.

I couldn't get to work on the militant this weekend, as work got in the way :-( but for bedtime reading, I did notice that the manual does say that if the valve is not correctly seated air will escape, which is what I hope is the problem.

Even if at the end of the day it still didn't work, at least I've learnt a little more. The lads in the garage are completely baffled by the whole concept of repairing something, as nowadays it's all about throwing away and fitting new.

The diagram HTML you sent me is almost the same, the only difference being that the Mk1 militant unloader valve also comprises a safety valve as well.

Hi Peter,

how's it going? :-)

water filtration kit?

Bring a bowser :whistle:

 

ok that would do for me, what about everyone else? :-D

thanks very much for your comments. I particularly relate to the bit about the fine thread being easily damaged! Which is exactly what I did with one of the unions, as I wasn't paying attention.

If I get stuck, I'm going to fit a modern valve for now, to get me out of the mire, and fit the correct one later, as I'm sure it'll turn up in time.

think of all the pens I could buy for £25! but you can guarantee I'd still not be able to flipping find one! :-D

If there is an address great, if it's £25 then it's £25, if they have the records from Beverley hopefully my money will be well spent.

I hope the REME bit was right, as I like drinking tea :whistle:

just to update, it's rebuilt, and refitted, and still leaking. But I think I know what's wrong, the unloader valve is either not seating, or isn't lined up properly or perhaps both, as now I can only get 30psi, so it's worse than before :-(

But I'll try again tomorrow :-)

Can anyone recommend a supplier for air fittings? The unions have two different types of threads, on one half of the union the threads are 1/2" BSP but on the other there is a really fine thread. I thought I'd try a local supplier, but to no avail, 1/2" BSP wasn't an issue but the fine thread, (whatever it is) was.

Please does anyone know how I can discover the military service history for my Mk1 Militant - 36 BM 01, chassis 0859 067 ?

Years ago I was told it over the phone by the then curator of the Museum of Army Transport, Beverley, Wally Dugan.

However it was part of a general conversation, and I couldn't find a pen!!

I seem to remember it served with REME, and a rifle regiment, but I could be wrong.

When I bought it, on the tailboard was a square which consisted of red and blue rectangles, in the middle of which was stencilled a Crown, any ideas?

Any help much appreciated.

ok, will do, should I bring a bottle? :-D

or your neighbour's drive? :whistle:

a cushion?

you could smear oil over the rest of the drive, then it would all look the same colour :whistle:

and be positive, the tyres are only flat on the bottom :-)

lovely picture Graham, I've missed all the shows for this year, but I hope to venture down south next year, what do you recommend I should put in my diary?

ok, first of all I rang the number, it's for a chap called Charlie, who turns out to be quite a sound bloke :-) Unfortunately he didn't have an unloader valve, but he is the owner of yet another mk1 militant gun tractor!

Thought I'd let you know the progress so far,

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/sdaymond/Inthebeginning.jpg[/img]

this was before I started, the union the spanners were on came undone, however the remainder required heating and plenty of it.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/sdaymond/strippeddown.jpg[/img]

after removing the unions, I decided that the unloader valve bolts were too dodgy to attempt to remove it from the bracket, so I opted to remove the bracket from the chassis. It was a bit awkward, but there was one bolt I couldn't quite manage, but there's always one isn't there?

After 5mins struggling it was off.

The unloader assembly stripped easily, but the unloader valve was solid, so I tapped it out, this sticking valve along with all the cack is the problem I hope?

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/sdaymond/fullofcack.jpg[/img]

I removed the felt filter carefully :whistle:

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/sdaymond/feltfilter.jpg[/img]

then set about trying to dislodge some of the cack inside the body

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/sdaymond/fullofthis.jpg[/img]

all went well, and the body is soaking overnight in a paraffin bath, which I hope will dislodge the rest of the muck, and will blow through with the airline tomorrow.

The only thing I'm a little worried about are these.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/sdaymond/bellowsslightlycracked.jpg[/img]

they are the bellows but they are badly cracked, they will refit, but I could do with a replacement sometime if anyone knows of any?

More to follow later.