Will Grime

Gentlemen, while I really appreciate and admire your dedication to the finest principles of restoration, I think you could be justified in replacing dodgy brake drums on a number of grounds: 1 They're consumables. Had the truck remained in service it would be on its fourth set by now... 2 it's reversible. Remove and retain - that is, preserve - the present drums, and wear away a set of replacements instead, and if you want to you can always reinstate them. BS7913 recognises this as an entirely acceptable conservation approach. 3. Look after yourselves. Brake failure through a cracked, broken or even simply distorted drum won't do you any good, and frankly I want to read about the next restoration rather than reports of broken limbs, or worse 4. Look after your public and fellow enthusiasts. Brake failure could conceivably result in collision with nasty consequences... Your choice of course: just setting out an option that might be further consideredi. Keep up the great work cheers Will

We have some old front wheel bronze bearings in stock – saved from other wheels and these were tried in the hub. It proved to be fine at the outer ends but both hubs appears to have “belled out” at the inner end so that there was a great deal of slop Two more daft questions: 1. The amount of wear at the inner en of the front wheel bush sees huge. Any chance they were tapered bushes? As a means of taking up water? 2. I couldn't believe that the wheels wouldn't have rusted hideously at the joint between inner plate and out plate, but looking closely at the picture of the greaser reveals what looks like a bead of some sort of joint sealer - pitch? - between the two. Was this a common practice at the time? Thanks for info on greasers. All makes perfect sense now! cheers, Will Dubai

Gents, please could you tell me a bit more about the greasers on the shackle pins? I've seen greasers on stationary engines, large brass screw cups, but these look rather different. Are they push fit or screw fit, and how do they work? Please keep up this awesome thread; it's the best learning resource on the web... Best wishes, Will (in Dubai)

I'm in Dubai, restoring a little three-wheeler truck that spent its working life soaked in seawater with predictable results. I've been stuck on a few occasions, but your thread has made my tribulations seem completely insignificant and got me going again, plus taught me a whole heap of new techniques in the process. I've found very little else so completely beguiling on the entire web; congratulations on a fantastic story, a wonderful blog and a superbly worthwhile enterprise. I look forward to meeting you both and your Thorny in due course. You should be on the national syllabus as an example of what's possible given some good engineering nous, a bit of British grit and a decent shed. With sincere good wishes from a distant foreign outpost, Will

Hello, I'm an architect working in Dubai, at present restoring a New Map Solyto. I love old military vehicles, and came across this forum while cruising about looking for information on restoring engine castings. Some of the restoration blogs are truly inspirational, and have kept me going when the odds got tough. I'm learning a great deal from you all, and enjoying every moment. One day I'll get a Stolly, but until then a Landie 101 will have to do. Just don't tell the wife... happy new year to one and all Will