andypugh

It's probably about 20 lunatics reading it 50,000 times. :-)

Not in 1914 :-) It might not have enough shear area anyway.

Is it possible to change the flame chemistry? A reducing flame should cause less oxidation, but might not be hot enough. Is the real prop-shaft a tube or a bar?

Here is a supplier: http://www.fhbrundle.co.uk/products/25NOSE2__Pyramid_Non_slip_Nosing_35_x_5_x_3000mm I only mention it because the same place does many other useful steel sections and also sells actual wrought iron in strips. (Or at least they did when I bought some, though it is hard to be sure that it isn't just plain mild steel for making "wrought iron" gates.)

I am a bit surprised that Thornycroft expected anyone to do that. Our Dennis (admittedly a bigger engine) is impossible to crank all the way round and there is a trembler-coil second ignition system. So you pull it over TDC a couple of times and then turn on the trembler coil, hopefully kicking the engine round fast enough to bring the magneto in to play. I thought that was standard for the time. As for the engine getting stiff when hot, that does leave me wondering about the piston ring end gaps. But I seem to recall that you set those?

Wild speculation, but as you no longer have the long tube from the exhaust manifold to the carburettor perhaps there is less depression in the choke tube. Does it rev at all (or die differently) if you apply the throttle with the choke-board in place?

YouTube is probably easiest.

Interesting thought.

That's lovely, but I bet the steel tyres are a whole lot of no-fun on metalled roads.

I am fairly sure that amongst the stuff that my dad won't be getting to use up that he collected over the years are some sheets of Birmabright. He was planning to use it to skin a camper van he was going to make on an Austin Champ chassis. I remember us making a diversion on the way back from holiday to pick the sheets up from Birmingham, and we came back with them on the roof of another camper van he had made, on an Austin LD IIRC. The background was that he had been there with his job to fix their rolling mill, and managed to persuade them to give him some as a "special". I don't know what condition they are in after 40 years leaned against the wall in the garage, nor do I recall how many they are. But the sheets are at least 8'x4' and at least 6 of them. I don't know the grade, there may be markings. Is this likely to be of use to the Land Rover chaps?

Google "twinwall polycarbonate" (or possibly "multiwall polycarbonate")

Oh, OK. Well my £27 one from Screwfix (which I don't think they sell any more) has lasted years. So I still recommend them, just not the B&D one, it seems.

In the interests of saving some time, you might want to consider buying something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Decker-KA900E-power-sander/dp/B000XG3ORW I have a different (cheaper) one and it has proved invaluable. It is probably the only tool I have that it permanently plugged in and to-hand in the bench. It might even be worth you spending the money on a good quality one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/MAKITA-9032-Filing-Sander-Inch/dp/B0000614UT

I have a CNC lathe.... You could have forged them. (probably hammering a red-hot bar onto a ball at the bottom of a tube) then machined the other features as a second-op. But a ball-nose milling cutter is quickest (as in, it consumes none of your time, even if it takes a while for the tool to arrive)

Can't the ball turner make concave spheres? I imagine that some ingenuity might be needed with respect to tool shape and cutting geometry but I think it should be possible.

I made some headlights and headlight rings for my Ner-a-Car. http://bodgesoc.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Neracar11 The Eyes Have It The method for making the rings is only obvious once you see the tooling ;-)

Compared to Ben's other trucks this one seems unusually complete.

It's quite a posh lorry if it has two doors!

It does not seem to be the same as the Open one anyway. The Opel one is tubular and outside the headlamp bracket, whereas the one in the photo seems to envelop the headlight bracket and has a riveted or bolted-on top section. Whatever it is, it is chain drive so not a Dennis.

I guess you have a chassis number so are not in quite the same situation as I was with the Ner-a-Car. (For the benefit of others, this is what you need to do to register an old vehicle with no reg number or chassis number) Copied from my Blog: How to register a vehicle with no VIN or chassis number I tried to do some web research about how to register a vehicle like mine, with no chassis number while making sure to get an age-related plate, tax exemption and MOT exemption. Firstly it is very much easier if there is a chassis number. The DVLA do not appear to have an exhaustive list of chassis numbers. This is a hint. However, I didn't have a chassis number so the process is this: 1) Get a dating certificate from an owners' club. I got one from the VMCC and it took a little over a month. 2) Send off the V55/5 form. This is a paper form that you have to apply for on the DVLA web-site and takes 10 days to arrive. You can save time by sending for this in advance. 3) Return the V55/5. You will need lots of supporting info, including an insurance certificate. You might need to shop around. Footman-James were adamant that a bike could not be insured without a frame number or reg number, Adrian Flux were happy to insure on the engine number. If you don't have a chassis number the form will come back to you with a new VIN to have stamped on the Chassis by a garage, a demand for the £55 new-registration fee (new VIN = new registration) and a demand for a NOVA declaration reference. 4) Send off for the NOVA paper form. This is an HMRC form for imports. You can do it all online, except if your vehicle isn't actually an import. In which case nothing fits and you need the paper form and a covering letter. This also takes 10 days to arrive, so send off for it in advance. You can read the HMRC guidelines and end up convinced you don't need a NOVA for this situation, and you would be right, but you do need a reference number and letter to prove it. 5) Get the chassis stamped then send off the NOVA letter, V55/5, dating certificate, photos, £55 cheque, letter confirming chassis has been stamped, proof of address, driving license photocopy and insurance certificate then wait 3 more weeks. 6) Shiny new V62 arrives with a registration number to use.

Driving it down would be too much of an adventure? (I think it would be for me, but I am less of a loony than you)

Another way to make the spline. (et. seq.) It makes the wire erosion method seem all the more appealing.

An ironically vertical video for a horizontal engine.

What is "Terebin" ? The Internet finds nothing, but I am aware of "Térébenthine" as the French word for Turpentine. Turpentine is certainly available from artists suppliers, and is rather pleasant smelling being made out of pine tree resin. There is much scope for confusion with "Turps" which I believe to be the same as white spirit, which is a "Turpentine Substitute" only to the extent that it is cheaper and will clean brushes.

Engines of this period typically run unpressurised cooling systems, so the hoses have an easy life. And considering that Steve is concerned about anachronistic hose clips, I suspect authenticity is also part of the explanation.