Stormin

Thanks Mark, I've looked in TM9-976 and there's a comprehensive list of tools and there locations but no mention of the crane bed tool boxes. The pictures show a completely different arrangement with two longitudinal boxes either side of centre.

Clive, I don't suppose you've been able to check out a Series IIb Forward control. I believe they used Env axles and may well have had different hubs to suit the heavy duty application.

As some people may know. The M1A1 specification vehicle is loaded with toolboxes. Trouble is mine came with none. Has anyone got dimensions or even some good photographs of these boxes so I can get new ones made up. The one that's particularly important at the moment is the small one hidden under the load bed. The bottom is completely rotted out on mine such that it's impossible to tell the depth or the internal dimensions. My fabricator friend is starting work on the rear body of my truck this week and needs information. It's the one under the lid in the bottom right of the photo below.

No he's going to get some longer jump leads and have his wife follow him everywhere.

I'm surprised it's that early a model. I had assumed it was a later model than my friends old one. His had the boiler in the cab near your left knee. Certainly kept you warm. Is your one still a large chain drive to the back axle? Sentinel continued to sell steam powered wagons into the 1950's I believe, so even though you say the engine was poor, compared with a Gardener diesel, there must have been something about them. Once you've got the pioneer restored you'll be able to do a back to back 1930's road test.

Looks a beauty Jim. Never seen one with the flat front cab before. A friend had an earlier flat bed sentinel and extended the cab to create more room for the family.

Looks like a good oily mix of fuel in there. :-) And a great area to go playing in. :cool:

It wasn't all big vehicles for you then? Suppose you had to have a run around.

Fuel was about a third the price back then though!

They look far too small and modern and thoroughly out of place on an historic vehicle! Not so bad if they're hidden away in an enclosed battery box but you're still going to have to make modifications to clamp and secure the little thing. Some people on here swear by them, but you'll need deep pockets for the initial outlay. Bet Jack would love one :rofl:

Same difference financially. You don't get your other costs back. Would you want to have to take it back the year after though, after you've had to get shirty with them? Not so bad with ordinary MOT stations plenty to choose from but HGV testing is a different matter. Next nearest VOSA station could be miles away.

Bit of a farce when it's down to who you get on the day! I know this particular vehicle and it passed the test at the same VOSA station last year no trouble. Blokes just stumped up £50 for test plus fuel to get it there and usually time off work as well. You could appeal if that was the only failure point but the most you'd get back is your test fee.

I'd be thinking of using both. Needle gun is really for getting heavy rust scale off. It's not going to get you to clean metal all over, which is were the shot/grit blasting comes in.

I'm guessing the last one is a Dennis as the bulkhead looks much like the one being restored by Tim.

It's remembered me for months then yesterday I got logged out and had to reset my password as I couldn't remember it. :-(

Good to see it's all back together and working again. Doesn't seem to be smoking at idle, once warmed up, like you thought it would.

The only remaining and somewhat corroded data plate on my late Ward La France M1A1 is the boom capacity plate. Definately original and brass. These would have been used in 1944 at the earliest as all previous models used a different boom. So some brass was available for plates up to the end of the war. Seems it could have been a local supply issue that determined zinc or brass plates.

I seem to remember when viewing Jim's pioneer, that the owner said something about the flanges on the hubs only being fitted to ones exported to the middle east. I think they were for straps whilst being loaded on and off ships.

Not sure, but I think the snow blower is a unimog. Saw a similar looking one in quite a bad state for sale a while back.

Quite right. You know you'll be into a whole lot of other work whilst it's off. No point putting it back without a skim and grinding the valves in.

Great to see a proper job being done on this one. As I think I've mentioned before I viewed this one before you and decided it was too much work to take on. I didn't have the room and facilities. Glad to see someone else has and giving it the care it deserves. Please keep on with the updates of progress with plenty of photo's. Plenty of other interested parties here.

I'm sure that's what I'd try. If you've got new injectors and the old ones are effectively scrap then nothing to belost in trying to drive them out. Worst case scenario is you need a replacement head anyway. Hopefully you don't have to resort to such methods Chris.

So when's the test run? Or have you done it already?

You think they've been taking over here? You should have seen it down at the Great Dorset steam fair. :rofl:

Is that not a gap bed model of student with the travel handle on the right? Recently cleaned up some brake discs on mine and even though it'll spin 18 inches in the gap getting the tool to reach out there is awkward to say the least.