Stormin

Adrian, I don't suppose you have the name you bought the gear knobs and light switches from?

Is that a broken diff or half shaft I can here on the buggy Number 3 near the end? Guessing this is from the mid to late eighties. Comp safari has come on a lot in speed and cost since those days. I've been more involved with the Northern of Road Club in the past so not really familiar with many AWDC'ers apart from a few who made a name at the Hill Rallys.

Thanks for the e-mail link John. I'll give them a try. May also try army cars again in Holland, but it's not easy purchasing from them. Think there could be variation in the valves "crack pressure", the point at which they start to operate. I think I'm right in saying this is controlled by a load sensing device on modern trucks but just by the internal springs in the valve on ours.

John, Did you have to source a diaphragm or rebuild kit for the brake relay valve? If you look at mine pictured on the Ward La France restoration it's in a horrible state. Do you know of part numbers for the relevant bits for this relay. Great looking job so far.

Been signing too many copies already eh? :-)

Not the sort of object you'll be carrying into a bank to do a job though are they?

I'd definately go with a three phase motor. More power available and last longer than single phase. As others have said if it's not for commercial use you should be able to get hold of one that businesses are diposing of after three years due to tank conditions.

Haven't posted any updates for a while but I haven't been idle on the truck. Got the fuel pump back together and installed. Runs better than ever now with a very positive throttle response, something that was lacking before. Still a little smokey so injectors may need a clean at some point, but it hasn't really had much load on the engine yet. Working outside is getting more difficult at this time of year.

Easiest way to get rid of it all at the end of twelth night!

Wow looks fantastic! Was it expensive? Have you told Antar Mike the name of the refurb place they may be able to help him out with his Antar clutch?

I've got to agree with Gritineye and Andy Fowler. Really impressed with the engine restoration. Not just the complexity but the finish is stunning. Bet you ran it every week after that just to hear it and make sure it didn't seize up again of course! :-)

Is it a trick of the light or is that far one tilted over slightly?

Neil, The difference with John's two vehicles the CET and M578 is that they are more likely to count as plant/construction equipment or agricultural as they have a large and obvious bucket and a crane respectively. These are original design features and not modifications. I believe the DVLA's point is that your OT having neither of these features cannot be considered anything other than a tank.

Ordered my diaphragms for the rear chambers on the Ward La France from army cars in Holland. Total cost for four was 60 Euros. Now I just need the use of a blast cabinet to get them looking as good as yours John. Have you stripped the actuation valve yet? I'm just about to tackle that next whilst I wait for my diaphragms to arrive.

Mike, It's the principle of moments. If you take the turning point as the ground contact point then the rockets at the top have a far greater lever arm relative to this point than those near the contact point, hence the rotation. If the ground contact point is lost (loss of friction) then the thing would tend to spin on it's axis and only travel when contact is restored.

Great engineering work again! I'm surprised you didn't put a piece of scrap steel below the bar on the mill table just in case. I know I would have but I don't have your experience. What type of milling machine have you got? I spent ages looking for one just the right size to fit in my garage but it's still living outside under a sheet until I get time to install it.

So that's how you talked her into letting you have the OT90! "Honestly love when you stand in the turret commanding you'll be surrounded by metal armour, nowhere to go, far safer than the old beast." :rofl:

Are you tempted to modernize the sealing of the gearbox with a few strategically placed O rings to help retain oil? I can see a lot escaping between those selector rods and the brass bushes unless there's good seal on the retaining plate. More great work by the way, but that's what we've come to expect now!

With only two feet of earth cover on top I wouldn't rate the chances of surviving a hand grenade explosion let alone any real ordnance or a nuclear device. The Channel 4 programme on the WWI bunker showed they had to be 30 feet down to survive the ordnance of that time.

Bet that saw was warm the speed you cut through that handle! Take it you can't run the bilge pumps with the engine out of action? Judging by the fact that the boat isn't underwater I assume it didn't happen before you got there? So what's the full story?

Thanks John. I'll make some enquiries with these part nmubers soon. I agree about the rear dust seal, they only appear to be a simple rubber washer anyway, so not to hard to find a replacement. Tony, Do you know for sure that these Diamond T part numbers are the same for the Ward La France? Seems strange that two trucks of very different weight rating use the same axles and brakes.

Very nice but it won't build muscle lifting it in and out of the truck! Then how are you going to have the strength to tackle the other heavy jobs? By the way 830CCA is one third less than 1100CCA, and 56ah is only one third the capacity of my 170ah. I bet your little battery was more expensive too and a lot easier for the light fingered to carry away.

Think you mean 60amp hours. That is the total theoretical power in the battery. Will deliver 60 amps for one hour or 1 amp for 60 hours in theory. Doesn't sound particularly large capacity for starting a truck to me. Of more real concern is the CCA or Cold Cranking Amps. This is a better measure of the power the battery can deliver in a short burst for starting. If the battery is not upto the job extra heat and resistance will occur in starter cables and the starter motor. Eventually the wires or windings can burn out. The battery I recently installed on my Ward La France is rated at 1100CCA. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12V-TRUCK-BUS-BATTERY-TYPE-629-3-YR-GTEE-NEW_W0QQitemZ110285579538QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CommercialVehicleParts_SM?hash=item110285579538&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Following on from John's work on his brakes I'm just starting to attack mine on the Ward La France. Anyone know of a source for the diaphragm's in the U.K.? Or am I going to have to order from Army cars in Holland? Any idea of costs? Going to hit hard with the weak pound if I have to order from abroad! Only tested some of the rear chambers so far and they seem to work but I'm not really keen on relying on 60 year old rubber.

Not familiar with this particular engine but the way it usually works is that the distributor body has to be rotated on refitting to get the correct ignition timing. Could be that although the rotor arm is correct the main body of the distributor is a few degrees different than before. Have you checked the static timing?