Tomo.T

Sump Update. After careful consideration and a failed welding experiment. (Yes it's true, early cast ally does not weld !) I have opted for chemical assistance. Kes produced a first rate blasting job removing all the corrosion with just soda and a very low air pressure. He managed this without significantly enlarging any pinholes. Good Man. At the same time I happened across a bargain pack of Belzona 1111 on eBay. Buy it now it said, so I did. Although rather old, it was still viable, so I spent a few hours honing my sculpturing skills and this was the result. I think I shall call it ' Polished Turd Reclining.

Al, Thanks for the kind words. I am a relatively new boy here, riding on the backs of the true pioneers, who have inspired me to emulate them. Tomo

I also gave the bespoke seat a coat of Service Colour and it now looks less incongruous with its surroundings.

The next task was to remove the cylinders complete with pistons. The water jacket connector was already terminally damaged on this engine, so when the 5/16 W fastening bolts broke off too, I was left with no option but hack sawing through the remains. Fortunately I have been promised a spare from a 'parts' engine in Yorkshire. Thanks John. The Regimental engine lift is proving a very useful item and after some experimenting with lifting strops, I found the best method was to pass a thin strap, doubled over, through the upper water cavity as shown. This gave a nice balanced lift. The cylinders were deposited onto my work bench and as they laid over ( under perfect hydraulic control, ) a surprisingly large quantity of old sump oil ran out over the bench and the floor ! This had obviously been added by the previous owner to help free the pistons. Thanks Ian. Fortunately the L.A.D. has a an amply stocked rag bin and I was able to clean up the mess before anyone noticed !

Photos added from my phone due to my computer's inability to find them !

Well the poor old sump pan has got a bit maggoty, but at least it has kept the internals in good nick. Dropped out the crankshaft today and after wiping oil off the journals I was delighted to see how well they have survived. The white metal bearings are all in good shape and may well be fit for further service. Next mission is to check for wear with a proper engineer, but from visual inspection I am greatly encouraged. Without the crank in the way it is possible to see another interesting early feature of this engine. There are no anti- splash plates fitted and no fixings for them. I suspect this engine was re-badged war stock, sold off to the colonies in the early 20's. This suits me fine and matches the original engine. I am of course following closely the Gosling Gospel according to 'J ' ( which I am finding immensely helpful ! ) and I will be removing the cylinders complete with pistons in order to deal with their extraction separately. By good fortune the pistons are all lowish in the bore, which appears to have suffered light rust only from what I can see. Onward and upward, or downward if you are a piston please.

The blue cotton over jackets started off dark indigo blue but faded with use and boil washing, becoming progressively paler. Very similar items are still worn on the footplates of steam engines. The over trousers are possibly the same material, but they may also be oil skins (water proofs) and your guess is as good as mine as to the colour.

Hmm, Thanks Steve. The chap behind is actually wearing an engineers blue cotton jacket over his rather better fitting service dress. He also has on over trousers. This was to protect the uniform whilst engaged in oily/ dirty tasks and he may well have been a fitter in the unit LAD then known as the First Aid Workshop. John, otherwise a very credible effort which certainly brings the scene to life and I think you have a good likeness of your Grandfather. Tomo

Perhaps I should take a pew and mutter a quick prayer for the sump !

On a happier note my new seat arrived today via Steve Davis of HCS. Steve is a cabinet maker and a long suffering friend ! He has created this high quality piece from drawings kindly supplied by Gosling Restoration Inc. Shown here in position and freshly primed.

Further cleaning has revealed pin holes, further advice is now being sought.

Thanks very much for the replies, Tony, I think radiators are a case apart due to the electrolytic action involved with the hot water. Oil is much kinder in that respect and the interior of the sump is still reasonably fine. 'Oil pans' are mentioned in the things to mend section of the tech blurb, (unlike radiators) so I feel inclined to give it a go. The important thing obviously is to get the surface of the pits clean of corrosion without going through and I will leave the choice of medium to my blaster man Kes. If we end up with holes instead of pits the situation gets more complicated and Stan the welder will be consulted. If all else fails, Citroman's 'Dutch Cap'will be applied ! One way or another we shall prevail.

Thanks for that, some of these pits are 1/4 "deep and not yet through. My concern is blasting actual holes through the sump which would be tragic ! I am encouraged by the performance claims of some of the epoxy repair pastes, Belzona, Devcon, JB weld etc. and this seems to be the way ahead, the prices are shocking......but cheaper than a new casting obviously.

Whipped the sump off today and pausing only to spoon out the inevitable sludge, I took it straight to the parts washer to investigate two worrying potential issues; 1. Nasty looking cracks in the casing. 2. Deep and possibly penetrative pits in the outer surface. There was considerable deep seated staining inside and out which took some shifting. I eventually resorted to a wire brush with solvent rinses which gradually produced the desired result. The 'cracks' fortunately turned out to be merely casting marks and the pitting, although very deep has not yet got through the remarkably thick aluminium casing. Something very corrosive has been at work here and I believe several generations of Aussie chickens may well have been involved ! The pitting is so bad that even wire brushing could not get into it sufficiently, my plan is to employ soda blasting to clean it up and then fill with JB weld or Devcon to restore the surface. Obviously I need to be very wary of going through but at the same time I need to get rid of the corrosion still in the base of these pits. I am aware of the likely difficulty of welding this material. HELP ! Here are some pics :

I'll keep my ears open for another set Dunc. Pm me your phone no.

Hi Ian, The story goes that Thornycrofts had problems with nuts and bolts coming loose on early models. The tolerance was tightened up on all fastenings to counter this. The exhaust manifold came off today after copious heat was applied to the nuts by Stan ( who also had to use an open ended spanner.) As he says 'If it dont glow it won't go !' The cast iron inlet gave up without a struggle yesterday. Stan also finished off the chassis welding and performed some broken stud extraction by welding nuts to the protruding ends. Nice trick when it works. Tomo.

Well the crankshaft cotter pin resisted my best efforts long enough, so I've cut it off and will have to deal with it's remains another day. The good news is, the timing gears are in fabulous order with a functioning governor mechanism, (although the springs have been removed) the dentures appear to be all fine but would benefit from a quick session with the hygienist.

Here is the starter for the meat course. I am now at last in a good position to start poking about with the engine. However my attempts at a little foreplay, have been rebuffed by a stuck cotter pin in the crankshaft end, which is preventing removal of the timing cover. I shall return with the blowlamp today, which will also come in handy for the exhaust manifold nuts no doubt.( The inlet manifold came off quite readily.) I had the covers off her bottom end (!) and the crankshaft and camshafts are in remarkably good order with mostly clean bare metal throughout. There is much to be said for the Australian climate obviously !

Early last year I attended an auction in Lincolnshire where Messers Cheffins had on offer a miss matched pair of WD acetylene headlamps. One of these was a Miller, which was complete and would complement my previously restored WD Miller sidelamps. Unfortunately for me, Duncan P. had also spotted this desirable lot and we ended up in competition for it. So ferocious was the bidding that no one else got a look in and I ended up with it, after Dunc gave up the unequal struggle. Thanks Mate ! Another empty carcass was obtained from John Marshall and a lucky derelict find in Kent supplied all the bits I needed to make up a pair. The other lamp was a Powell and Hanmer and has been donated to the Gosling Peerless project. I am well pleased with the freshly painted WD Millers and only need a rear lamp to make up the set.

Wanted , set of foldable, troops seating benches from rear body of RL 3 tonner or similar. Will collect. Tomo.

Whichever one it is, while I'm on a roll, could I please have a gearbox, a diff gear and a water pump. Many Thanks, Tomo.

The above events took place in November and it has taken until now to obtain the necessary permissions to gain access to 4 Reg. LAD workshops, where the REME look after the vehicles of 60 ( Close Support ) Sqn. RLC amongst others. Moving day for 2393 coincided with the CO's leaving do and John Marshall brought down his 'J' type to transport the CO from his farewell ceremony to the gates of the camp. An honour and a privilege for us and the first military duty for J type 2282 for some considerable time. We were also accommodated in the Officers Mess ! A few pictures from two busy days. The Mushroom sign is the current emblem of 60 Sqn. ( Fed on bullsh*t and kept in the dark !) As you can see there is no shortage of space in the workshop which was previously a WW2 aircraft hanger with the RAF. In addition the REME lads have provided a storage cage for parts and a work bench with vice. Let battle commence.

Divisional Supply Column Ammunition Sub Park Look out for the new book on British & Dominion markings and insignia 1914-18 by Rod Dux & Mike Hibberd. Has been reviewed on this site. Tomo.

Sorry to keep you in suspense. The next development was a phone call from the 2 IC 60 Sqn. RLC. Wanting to know more details of John's J type. He had been contacted by our friend the Bursar. It transpired that the unit was due on exercise not far from John's place in Yorkshire in two weeks time. Would we be able to bring the lorry and meet the guys in the field, as it were ? " Oh yes," I said "I'm sure that could be arranged ! " Two weeks later we were ushered into the camp in the middle of a full tactical exercise 'Somewhere in Yorkshire' ! We were welcomed by all except the weather, which was proper Yorkshire. The Thorny was much admired although somewhat dwarfed by the Squadrons' MANN 10 tonners. The CO came to have a look and we were introduced, judging my moment had arrived, I went for an all time cheeky ask." Would you have any room for a similar project at Abingdon ?" I asked. " Yes." He said," I don't see why not." Final instalment tomorrow.

Warning, this will be a long story in several instalments ! A few years ago I was asked to research a likely unit for John Marshall's Thornycroft J Type.There being no surviving records of actual vehicle placements in the Great War BEF. Being an early 1915 model it would have been amongst the first ASC unit arrivals on the Western Front, which utilised this make of vehicle. This helped to narrow down an otherwise Herculean task. After much studying of war diaries I eventually settled on 60 Coy (MT) ASC who were involved from the start as 1 Divisional Ammunition Park. The diaries of this Unit were particularly well nourished with information and I was able to extract some actual WD No's of J Types under their command. This unit were actively swapping out non Thornycroft lorries until they had a full compliment of 83. ( This practice was officially sanctioned to ease parts storage. ) They also had a colourful unit badge which I endeavoured to copy onto the scuttle plate. This badge was noticed by the Bursar of Pocklington School when we attended the Remembrance Parade in 2018 and he informed us that he was once the 2nd in Command of our adopted unit ! This came as a bit of a surprise as the diaries had indicated that the unit was disbanded in 1918 and although elderly, he was no centenarian. He replied that 60 Coy. RASC had been reformed after the War, had then become 60 Sqn. RCT and were in fact still in existence as 60 (CS) Sqn. RLC. based at Abingdon, Oxfordshire. That is an amazing coincidence as I live about 8 miles away ! To be continued.