Minesweeper

Further hard wire brushing but using a rotary electric drill, this time, has revealed a lot more detail of the chassis number - and also pleasingly, the number of the original engine fitted to this chassis. What we thought was the chassis number is in fact the middle letters of the word "vehicle" - but we were reading them upside down! We can now read "Engine 5560" to the right in the pictures and then to the left of that is the word "Vehicle" - under that we believe the abbreviation "no." is there for "number" and under that again - but with the crack going right through it is the actual chassis number which is "7334" .

We do have the front half only of a second Thorny Chassis here and I have been having a go at that with the wire brush this morning. Sadly, that one is even more corroded - there would appear to be something stamped on that one in an identical position but it is not at all clear. I will try again later to see if I can bring something up. Doug in NZ might be able to help with the numbering and positioning system..................Tony

The Dennis together with the two Autocars will be going to the Honiton Hill Rally, this coming Sunday and Monday, 25th and 26th August. Tony

So there must be a series of adjacent holes that it can be pushed into - and you chose the one that you want to hold the object in the correct position. What size is it? That would help!

Well, it must be a clip for holding some part of a mechanism in place with a little "Handle" (being the bent-back bit) to hold on to, to extract it.

So it clips onto a paper or a file and the bit that is at perhaps 90 degrees to the main part is simply a "handle" to extract it?

Some kind of clip incorporating a "spacer"?

A clip for holding some kind of electrical object in place?

Some kind of spring or retaining clip.

With all the attention on WW1 over the next four years are you chaps going to be in any particular high profile events? There must be a place for wartime lorries driving down the Mall!

Yes, we have thought about that but really do not know what is on at the moment - so we are keeping our powder dry to see what happens. We would very much want to support anything that is arranged - two lorries would be appropriate for any British event - the Dennis and the British Army (WD) Autocar. Tony.

At present all of our "stuff" with the exception of the Jeep is in Axminster. The plan is to build a shed at Steve's place so that he can take at least one of the lorries there! This is still being worked on as the "Planners" will become involved..........

Tony

Great set of pictures and obviously a great weekend! Good, too, to have had kind weather!

I saw one in the MT Sheds at Bulford Camp - I think September 1960, whilst I was passing through there. It was the first one that I ever saw and had no idea what it was!

Two small piston engine planes flying together yesterday - did they have Russian markings - or am I seeing things?

FWD "B" Type on pneumatics!

There has to be a reason why the impeller retaining pin (is it tapered?) is so long, but you'll need to explain please!

 

Surely not for breaking ice....:cool2:

No! It is just a standard taper pin that we had in stock - it will be shortened on final assembly!

Should anybody be wondering about what has happened to the Piston castings, then they are still with our friend Andy W to have the holes bored in them for the Gudgeon pins. Andy works commercially and has been up to his eyes with his bread and butter work and has just not had time to do the job - so that is delaying the final work to be done here on them.

I would say as it would have had a heavy grease used in it, not like the oily stuff we have today, there would be no gasket. The two halves would have been machined together to accept the bearings and screwed end plug. Any gasket would not allow the casings to pinch the bearings and also effect the screw thread. That's my thought anyway

I think that you have it exactly right, Richard!

Tony

Tim - you are worrying me! Dad

Looks like a 3 Div Formation Sign - but in the wrong colours

It's part of some kind of optical test............

Just come back from a few days away to read these last few postings - and I think that all the questions have been beautifully answered! With the small hole - just 1/8" in diameter - then a rivet will be inserted through the two opposing holes (on each side of the leather) to keep them in place - but the rivet will simply be a bit of 1/8" mild steel rod with the ends riveted over! Barry's pictures illustrated this method very well! Tony

I was fascinated to see this well-preserved relic coming up for sale. While 25kEUR is a lot of money of course, I wonder how much man hours and materials one spends on the basket cases we see being restored here on HMVF. I'd guess the conclusion is that 25kEUR would not be a bad price for this De Dion truck.

 

I think that you are probably quite correct - much cheaper to buy one already restored! But what do you want from the project - the satisfaction of restoring it yourself - or just having a "toy" to drive around in? Tony

Out of curiosity seeing as there appear to be quite a lot of brass fittings to these engines, are they painted or left in the raw so to speak? My personal view is that they would have been painted as bright shiny bits on a military lorry wouldn't do, but what do I know?

If there is a difinitive answer to this one then perhaps Roy Larkin can come up with it from his great collection of records and procedures of that time!

But this was war time and I would think that the objective was to get the lorry on the road as quickly as possible, as safely as possible, as reliable as possible and with the minimum done, but still keeping the crew as safe as possible. Only paint where it is essential.

So with those objectives in mind, I would expect to see any bright object painted over if it was going to be visible to an enemy. Anything not visible but made of a bronze, brass or copper and which is tucked away would not be painted as the sort of corrosion that you would have with ferrous materials which need paint protection would not apply so painting for that purpose would be unneccesary.

In later years, we used to say that "bull s**t baffles brains" and it could well be that some bright fittings were continually polished to look smart if that was a Regimental or Unit procedure.

Tim does have in his collection, a picture of a lorry that has been "highly bulled" for a competition - and if I remember, it is painted with glossy paint, too"

Tony

Are the wingnuts on the top cover just for your assembly or is this how it was done?

This, apparently, was how it was done. There is no separate oil-filler hole in the top, so it seems that the whole top had to come off for filling the gearbox with oil! The wing nuts on it at present are the more modern type but we have just found some older style ones on E-Bay with the correct for the period, "Mickey Mouse" ears!

Tony