mammoth

Just to give an idea of what I am looking for here is a pic of the engine and chassis Dennis T head engine.pdf Dennis 191x chassis_0003.pdf I have got the offer of assistance from NSW Museum of Fire who are doing a search of their records for it's service record.

I said earlier that the modifications to the chassis were well executed. As it turns out 15 minutes with an angle grinder was all it took before the rest of the welds simply broke off, so very reversible modifications. The Merc engine has been installed without chopping away the sub frame, so what I now have is the most un-molested and complete chassis of this era I have ever seen. The bonus is that all the original tin-ware is there and can be dealt with by way of some sessions with the english wheel, hammer & dolly. Where to now? I think the Merc engine can stay where it is as it is doing no harm, and as Ben has found, scouring the world for a spare T head engine is no mean feat. What hope of securing a Gwynne pump which is what makes a fire engine a fire engine. Do I go ahead and build a replica of the original braidwood body on the assumption that a younger generation won't notice the gaping hole. Or take the easy option to a quick finish by presenting it as a commercial lorry. After all, quite a number of engines did end up this way after end of service life. (reality in Australia was that as they aged they were re-allocated to smaller towns, then villages and not unknown to rack up a service life of 40 years). Incidently, these old hard rubber Dennis had overdrive and thus were good for 30mph at a time when trucks were rated at 12mph and pushed at 18mph. Must have been quite impressive back in the day.

+ Aaaarrgggh... A check in better light reveals that the chassis is 3033, verified by the actual stamping on the chassis rail. On the scuttle plate is engine No 4726, body No 3259. The spare engine has No 15049, and the spare gearbox 7204 I have been referring to brochures which can be downloaded off "Fire engines in preservation" web site, specifically the White & Poppe 1911 and the Dennis Motor Fire Appliances circa 1913. This was a time when nomenclature was far from standardised so for example Dennis give wheel sizes in inches rather than the later standardised metric range. It also seems that W&P label their engines on the RAC rating while Dennis have used the bhp rating for the same engine.

Thankyou gents for the interest in this project. The engine No I got from the plate on the scuttle, so I will check it as well as the body No which is also on the same plate for what appears to be an anomaly between the record and the physical.. Re; keeping the Merc engine: Some of you are up to speed with the thinking now enshrined in the Turin Charter promulgated by FIVA, and which is especially relevant to commercial vehicles which more often than not changed over their working lives. However, the engine transplant although well executed does not appear quite complete and may be an unfinished project. The engine as described by Ben would be the 35hp 4 cylinder T head type which would suggest the fire engine was one of the smallest versions with a 150 gallon pump . The radiator brass work on mine appears to be plainer than in contemporary photos and no sign of a badge - how were these fitted? The wooden wheels can be rebuilt but I will need the steel /rubber rims. The Dennis brochure states 32" , and is not clear as to whether this is the rim or outer tyre diameter. Google found an entry for 'Haes & Eggers' as importers in a Sydney directory of the time with Gwynnes of London sharing the business (not Dennis!?), so the next step will be to see if NSW Fire Brigade have this one in their records. So many questions.

It appears that it was converted to drive a pump fitted amidships, the Mercedes diesel engine grafted into the engine bay. Prior to purchasing the Dennis I thought I would be really clever and buy this Dennis engine and spare gear box at a big collectors auction in the same region. Alas, the engine numbers tell the story that it is not the missing engine (No 4725). Any ideas about the clutch?

I have recently acquired the remains of an old Dennis which, although not the oldest extent Dennis, may possibly be the oldest (by a small margin) fire engine. Apart from it being in the Bathurst, NSW region for a long time I have no knowledge of it's provenance. It is missing the Gwynne pump, tie rod and steering arms, engine, and other details. As cab seen the wooden wheels have been sawn off at the hubs. The front right wheel looks like it might have come off a car (had a 24-5.00 tyre on it). I can't locate the chassis list on the Surrey County archives so if any one could help I would be grateful. Steven

Leyland "modernised" their range of RAF types around 1925 by having equal diameter back and front, with 850mm for the 4, 5, & 6 tonners and 770mm for the 2 & 3 tonners. The advert from 1928 demonstrates that you could drive in and get new tyre bands pressed on while you waited. tye advert.pdf

850mm dia rims. So is English and not American (who used imperial sizes). The axle is obviously home made so not a reference point..

I have one of the hand ones and it does work. The pedal operated ones are worth the extra money as not only can you get extra pressure (or same pressure for longer) but you have got both hands to control the metal. There are also some available with a deeper throat.

I have an almost identical (but smaller) lamp bracket in my 1923 Leyland. The flat portion has a sand cast finish on the back while the rest clearly bears marks consistent with a forge power hammer with a rectangular tool of, say, 3/4" on the narrow edge. The ears have been bent up during the forge process. Also noted are the marks of a heavy handed grinding wheel.

Malleable iron is cast iron heat treated so it doesn't fracture - remember when all motorbikes were constructed with straight pipes joined with malleable cast iron head stock, bottom bracket, etc

The rim has a lip for the tyre to be pressed up to, and the scallops facing the camera are so the tyre can be pressed off. On the other side are lugs around the rim for bolting something on. Vulcan wheels are a lot smaller in diameter, though interestingly there were some Vulcan rears at the same sale as this pair.. The only marks on the hub caps (that I have noticed) are smudged casting numbers.

Can anyone identify this pair of front wheels. Rim diameter is 850mm. The longer hub cover contains a spring loaded drive, possibly a speedometer drive.

makers plate has been located (above turntable skid plate) The trailer is a Fruehauf 12 ton gross, model FF430 DFS serial No 85008 It has full air brakes and runs on 10 X 22" tyres on 10 stud Budd rims (ie 285 pcd) No further information has come to light so if the above numbers offer a lead to identification I would be grateful.

I have a Fruehauf 12 ton workshop trailer, just the thing you are looking for. Wrong country though - Australia

I agree with Robert as I was already thinking along the lines of getting this great record preserved in a stable format for future restorers. If it wasn't for the Dennis story demonstrating that it can be done I wouldn't have rescued the wrecks now in my yard. There is nothing more ephemeral than material stored on current technology;-. 5" discs, floppy discs, 8 track, video tapes etc etc, all gone to the tip.

On both counts it may be that a rebuild has omitted rather thick washers under the nuts.

Welcome to the Antipodean hard rubber club Ian. Did these parts come from Oberon, by any chance, and has anyone followed up on the chassis located near Inverell? Maybe uncatalogued items from Peter's recent clearing sale at Bathurst as he did have 2 at one time, I know he sold one a while back but does he still have the other one? Chain drive rescued some Thorny J parts a while back and they would be available.

price for 20 works out at 16 pounds for each m6 nut!!!!! or have I missed something

I am after sets of; 36x6 (24" rim), 38x7, and 33x5 (23" rim) That's all (!)

On another thread a restorer was going nuts trying to identify threads still attached to a Commer/Karrier which we wouls all assume to be imperial through & through. Turned out that Rootes used metric (and oddball metric at that)when it suited them, So may be a similar situation here.

There is no doubt that radials are a more modern tyre and can have a higher speed rating and longevity. The ability to stop and steer in the rain is down to the tread compound so it is quite possible for a (say,Chinese) radial to be inferior to rags in this regard. The feel of steering is down to experimentation and I know of one case where a truck owner has put rags on the steer axle of his (older) truck. The difference in looks is hardly noticeable with 20" tyres but in the smaller sizes it certainly is as it is hard to get a radial with the 100% profile of rags.

As you might have discovered banging on the threaded end results in mushrooming that end. A technique I have successfully used on heat set rivets is to drill down the centre, more than half way. Insert a drift into the hole and hit that, the theory being that you are pulling the bolt out rather than pushing.

What type of glue was used please, presuming it wasn't a pva which I have heard can creep over time.

In a similar application Velocette assembled the front telescopic forks of their bikes using soft solder, so in that context silver solder is overkill!