GeePig

Oh noes, it looks like some kind of detonation and local overheating to nibble away at the piston like that, and unless you have cleaned up the pistons and head they look remarkably clean, almost like they had been shotblasted. Do you think it was running very lean? What did the plugs look like? I would say that the nibbling away on the piston matches the squish area between piston and head. It reminds me of my R&D days trying to get a Norton Wankel rotary to run on diesel, where detonation in the squish zone used to nibble away at the aluminium side plates just like that. I know nothing much about Landies, but one possibility is that the gasket was too thin for flat-top pistons? Are there low compression engines with different pistons that use a different gasket? trevor

It still might, if the steering adjustment is off... I still cannot get over the rate of progress, that is a lot of heavy metal to be playing with! trevor

Whatever the truth, I am impressed that they managed to get it started. It seems to come with its own smoke generator as well. I suppose it would still have value in an emplacement against lighter armor, I cannot imagine that it would go far without more major renovation. trevor

That must have seemed incredibly impressive at the time! trevor

Interesting, do you think there might be a welded-up impact mark further down, under the paint? trevor

So, I see you have built yourself a BMX :-D trevor

I know that this might sound like (and be) a completely dumb question, but is there any chance of spinning a curved end onto a tube instead of spinning a flat disc into a deep cup shape? trevor

I don't think that you will even notice whether the butterfly is in there or not, assuming you leave it in the wide open position, as the actual rod will form more of a barrier. Performance-wise it would be like leaving out the choke butterfly from a normal carburettor - no noticeable change in performance but a certain loss of functionality. You could consider it your cruise control trevor

That is coming together really nicely now, excellent work! trevor

I was thinking more the folding boat type ferries as I could not think how the class load related to vehicles other than their actual rating. trevor

Bridge stringer depth? trevor

Yes, and very nice work there! trevor

OK, so it is a bit rustier than the Minis I used to drive, but with a bit of welding...! trevor

Ah, the optimism is so refreshing trevor

I had one as well, the alignment was poor when used with harder materials, was glad to see the back of it trevor

So, what is towing the sled here? And were they concealing tankers as GS trucks? trevor

... unless they reverted to iron after the war When did the finally cease production of this engine, as a matter of interest? I wonder if you could hear the atomiser whine at high speed, and whether the engine stuttered when/if it eventually ate the fatigued spinner blades? trevor

Nice... I assume some of those welds on the mudguard are later repairs? trevor

Looks like it held something like rubber-cloth discs to form some kind of valve, but it is mounted the wrong way around for it to work as I imagine it. A mystery trevor

Confetti! Do you know of there any militants in scrapyards with better beds? It does look like yours needs a bit of work... trevor

Yes, 10-15 seconds is really too short for most ignition faults, and restarting easily makes a fuel problem unlikely, unless it is a blocked tank vent. trevor

Now THAT is more like it, the previous was a bit of an apology for a door... Now all you need to do is to fix a wooden pole across the bottom of the flysheet and you will have a period garage entrance that can be easily rolled up - plus some kind of strap to hold it in position when rolled up. :-D trevor

That is coming along nicely! Is that the original tailgate, or have you just painted it? trevor

I would say that the 'Fordson' on the radiator was red, judging by the colour cast of the image. trevor

A magnificent machine, and you at least appear to have a decent amount of rubber left on those tyres What year is it? trevor