Minesweeper

Still chuckling! Tony

I really enjoyed that one, Jack! Tony

I saw it as it flew over Taunton - twice - really wonderful! Tony

About 1979, I called on an elderly couple that I had not met before on business. They were a delightful pair and on their mantlepiece was a photograph of a young RAF Pilot standing next to his Meteor aircraft. I commented on it to them - they told me that this was their only son who had been killed when his Meteor crashed.......

The Hunters are based in Exeter - I understand that there are as many as 20 down there - but not all able to fly. The Hunter Formation Team of 5 has been mentioned in the local Press two or three times recently as the Hunters are to demonstrate as a formation team at the forthcoming Yeovilton Air Display. I think they call themselves "Team Vixen".

A C17 flying low over Axminster, heading in the general direction of Exeter Airport.

Is a Satin Paint the same as a Matt Paint - that, I understand, is a Gloss Paint with a Matting agent added to it, but with the Satin Paint not having quite so much of the Matting Agent in it to it to give the different finish - or is it different altogether? This has just come up on the Dennis thread, and I read from that, the more matting agent in the paint, the softer and more vulnerable the paint will be and liable to chip or scratch. I have found that!

Thanks, Richard, that is very helpful, We have tried a matt varnish in the past - it looks OK initially but it is inclined to go white after a period and looks bad. We will not try that again! Tony

That is interesting! When we bought the first lot of paint for the military Autocar some years ago, it was described as "Richard Peskett Brown" - which always amused us! I guess in the restoration business, having a paint named after you is equivalent to having a Rose named after you at the Chelsea Flower Show! So what was the final ratio of the mix - you haven't said! Tony

Many thanks, Rick! Tony

Some years ago when we first "kicked off" with this restoration, we bought sufficient paint for it at that time, in one litre tins, to see the project right through. I cannot remember off the top of my head if it was 12 or 15 litres - but there was sufficient undercoat which was grey in colour to go with it - so the total cost was quite significant. We had previously used Masons Paint on the other lorries and were very well pleased with that so had no hesitation in going back to them. The paint was ordered as "dull" or "matt" which would be correct for an army lorry. It was some time later that we opened the first tin and found that the paint was far glossier than we wanted - but by this time, Masons had ceased trading so that there was no recourse to them. We used the paint on the chassis and on the wheels - and on some other parts that would not stand out as "being wrong". But we could not continue with it and be content with the finish. I painted a piece of steel with the Masons gloss paint and presented it to another manufacturer and asked them if they could colour match it - but with a dull finish. This they did beautifully and supplied another large quantity of paint - and assured me that it could be used with the Masons undercoat that we already had so that we had no need to replace that. We have been well satisfied with the finish but are disappointed that the new paint seems to chip off easily, revealing the grey undercoat which seems to be quite impervious to any knocks and does not come off. Where the canvas has been rubbing on the top coat, it has just come off. Now we still have a large quantity of the original Masons gloss paint and I understand that it is possible to add a matting agent to it to turn it into the matt finish that we require. Has anybody had any experence of this particular exercise? What is the matting agent that you use - and what sort of ratio is required? I will be very pleased and grateful to have some advice on this one! Tony

The "Run" is just one way - London to Brighton - and that's it! The vehicles line up on the sea front after they arrive in Brighton on display - and then they disperse after the prize giving at about 5p.m. Tony

We had a lovely day - met so many friends as well which was even more "icing on the cake" for us. There were one or two exciting moments but generally, it was trouble free. Tim is preparing a full report with some pictures - he is at present heading for home in Oxford after spending the night here in Axminster and I guess he will do that before the day is over. Steve is still here - he returns to Leicester later today and we are now awaiting the return of the Dennis which is expected some time this morning. I think that I shall forget "lorries" for the moment and spend some time on all the other things that I have neglected during the last few weeks! Tony

That's Tom ("Charawacky") and his son William who brought the Crossley.

The FWD was the first to leave C.P. at 5.50 a.m. and the first to arrive at Brighton at about 10.a.m. Graham, the owner had problems with his first two attempts at the "Brighton" in previous years and was determined to complete it this year. He rolled the FWD off his Transporter, bump started it and really then just kept going until he got to Brighton! No problems this time. Well done, Graham!

The Dennis has been loaded up. We are on our way: We look forwards to seeing as many of you as we can. If you see us give us a wave. We look forwards to an ice cold Carlsberg in Brighton. "Line them up Joe" Tim

Thanks Seb - and everybody! All three of us look forward to meeting so many of our HMVF friends - please keep your fingers crossed for us! Tony

We plan to be there at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning in time for a 7 a.m. get away! Tony

The Radiator top and bottim tanks are both in a very worn and corroded condition - we did a lot of work on them fairly early on in the restoration - all the internal corrosion was cleared out - they were plated on the inside and sealed with Devcon between the new plates and the original aluminium of the radiator. We thought that they were then sound but a couple of the small holes have opened up again. They have been sealed again today from the outside but it does rather look as if we will ultimately have to make new tanks - pattern making yet again and two more castings! A great shame as we do like to keep original parts. Tony

Thanks chaps. Your comments, interest and support is our inspiration. Now, if i have done this correctly this clip should show the Dennis moving under its own power for the first time.

And then before all the gang dispersed, we erected the canvas canopy over the driving position. More canvas yet to do! Now ready for the Brighton run next Sunday. I will try and post some video later on.

A superb day! This was the day that our first road-run was scheduled and we all were a little apprehensive on how it would go! We were joined by our good friends Barry W and Graham S from Bedford and Roley M and Timmy from Bridport together with our neighbour Chris R – all wanting to see the fun and help wherever and whenever we needed it. We have never fully seen the lorry from outside the close confines of the Shed and that was something else that we were looking forward to - to be able to stand back and see it as a whole. As before, more than one pair of hands on the starting handle rope to get it going as it is really hard to turn over but again it fired up fairly quickly and with Steve behind the driving wheel, it came out into the sunlight. We were surprised with the fairly tight turning circle for such a lorry, but it came out into the drive and was turned to face the gate for the road run. Its first journey and the first journey for any of the lorries that we have previously completed is the difficult one as we have to come out through a narrow gateway and immediately turn through 90 degrees to go down a narrow steep lane to join the main road. The National Trust Property is situated right at the foot of our hill. No problem! We stopped at the foot of the hill after descending beautifully in first gear under full control – this was the first journey! At the foot of the hill, we were joined by all of those that wanted a ride to drive through the village and then back again. A trouble-free journey although the fan was touching the back of the radiator and making a “tinging” noise which calls for an adjustment. So it was back up the hill, reverse into the driveway and stand back to savour the moment. More in a moment

Thanks Fayjo. That's pretty! We have been working on tidying the last odds and ends up ready for the first run but we are still not quite there. With eight joints between the throttle pedal and carburettor, the backlash is terrible! We hope to be on the road by lunchtime. Will keep you posted! Steve

Called on Martin and Jim of "Allied Forces" today to pick up the canvas for the Dennis. They were still working on the Cab Roof when we got there, just putting in the final touches - and what a superb job has been made again. As well as the cab roof, they have made the cushions for the front seat, the side "door" on the passenger side and the main canvas sheet to go over the main body. The "roof" has been put together on a jig which Steve made up, designed to hold the bows in their correct erect positions. The initial slackness in the canvas will quickly disappear as it weathers. The cab will go on over the coming weekend. We speak only as customers but they have made a superb job of it and have been really interested in the whole project as it has progressed. We would recommend them to anybody.

QUOTE Isn't it awful! You spend 10 years restoring a pile of rust to a magnificent Dennis and then someone 'nitpicks' about a split pin that you have used... No! I take that as a sign of an enquiring and discerning eye of someone, like us, who wants to get things right! Tony