greyhound32122

more progress today with the fitment of both rear spring units, next stage is sort out torque rods/pins & nuts then can lift the new axles out of their crates.

built up the rear spring units this evening, one more top coat of paint then they are ready to go on to the truck oiled the mating faces on the spring carrier and spring to keep corrosion away in the future. both rear spring units are built up from 90% NOS items only the plate under neath the U bolts was usable from what i had. one of the old units which is only useful as a garden ornament

spent a few evenings after work machining new pinch bolts for the rear spring carriers and getting ready to assemble/fit the rear spring assemblies. thank you Marcel the James Simpson rotary beam engine is a very long term project but hopefully will be returned to steam. regards sam

What are you waiting for? i have been aware of this award for a number of years but have never felt that i or my projects would ever be worthy so have never considered applying. regards sam

NOS rear springs removed from there cosmolin wrapping, cleaned and primed ready for top coat and fitment to the truck. also chassis has had it's final top coat so ounce it has had a week to harden i shall waxoil all the joints. chassis before and after glad you got the springs sorted Lee i tried the 2nd hand route and it didn't work out for me, also my old cab may be available but i shall check with to see if the guy still wants it. regards sam

agree with you 100% Ron i drove my diamond t to W&P this year £300 just in petrol. YWE last year £500 just in petrol. A&E last year £300 in petrol, ok i was offered £150 to cover some of the fuel but frankly i didn't want it as that is not part of the hobby, you do it cause you enjoy it. only reason i accepted was Jack said it would cause him more headache's if i refused it lol. i think if any one is worrying about the costs then perhaps you need to re think what you want out of the hobby? there are other shows, more fuel efficient vehicles etc etc i get at best 5.5 mpg out of my DT and i only count the smiles per mile :-D:-D:-D:-D:-D

morning pete i don't know specifics but we used a fine glass for the good area's and were there was pitting we used a very course glass type grit. it cleaned up perfectly but i did spend a lot of time needle gunning the chassis as well. regards sam

evening every one 1531 is progressing well and attended it's first show this weekend at the south cerney steam fair just out side Cirencester and naturally there was only one way it was going to travel!! regards sam

1531 is know green and just waiting for new tubes to come for the front wheels and she will be back up and rolling, still on track to attend the South Cerney show this weekend. Hi Mike thanks for the pointer shall check it out, regards Sam.

just google'd war & piece 2017 and the site work's perfectly no list of stalls/traders though regards sam

thank you for your positive reply Lee i have PM'd you regarding springs and cab. a good DT friend sourced me some second hand U bolts for the front axle, and got right on this evening making new nuts. being a steam man i use Whitworth but luckily UNC is identical bar thread angle and the u bolt threads cleaned up really nice so are know 3/4" Whitworth in stead of 3/4" UNC. regards sam

nice pic steve would like to have same set up for taking are Burrell traction engine around. Sam.

lots of painting and finally a bit more assembly, Belgium army re built brake actuators fitted and end of next week should see the chassis returned and front axle re fitted. regards sam

evening Mark the paint is "olive drab BS298 sheen finish" produced by dacrylate, it is a very high quality paint with very good resistance to wet/damp weather. the 980 pictured is painted with the same mix as i am using and the truck is owned by Andy Blackford who supplies me with the paint. the paint job on andy's truck is over 10 years old know and still as good as they day he sprayed it, so i can highly recommend it. best regards sam

evening every one went out today on a bit of a shopping spree, NOS front springs, winch pto box, exhaust manifold, front break chambers, rear spring U bolts & 2 NOS 100% complete rear axles. which have never been out the box since they were packed in the 40's!! regards sam

after noon every one 1531 is progressing very nicely and the project is stating on track so far. front axle going through the stages, generally in very good condition only hub seals, break shoe springs and track rod ball joints needed replacement the brake chambers i am replacing for piece of mind more than any thing else. chassis going off to be blasted & painted should see it back in 2-3 weeks. picked an embossed radiator up last weekend sadly the truck it come of wont ever run down the road ever again but it is keeping multiple trucks on the road. the truck that has donated it's radiator to 1531, the truck pictured has donated it's hercules engine & gear box to another 981 truck which has a cummins fitted. the holmes 45 is going back onto a 969 local to me so lots of positives. very lucky to find NOS Bakelite steering wheel, NOS horn button kit and original DT embossed horn button for the truck as well which really made my day when i put all the parts together. best regards sam

just watched all 5 pieces of film and incredible what the people and machines achieved. more impressive is the old foden started up and worked after sitting in the sea submerged for how many days. if that were a truck today it would be written off! have to say the 980 coming of the landing craft was my favourite bit but i am biased lol.

just another thing Mike could you get the trucks chassis number? as there is a dt register and it would be nice to add the trucks info to it. the number will begin with either 980..... or 981..... if it is not on the info plate on the drivers side of the scuttle it will be stamped on the right hand chassis rail to the right of the front axle rear spring hanger, in big digits. regards sam

i think she is beyond saving mike but the jewel is that cab because to some one restoring a truck with a bad cab that would be a project saver and the steering box, half shafts, wheels even the chequer plate running boards they are all parts with value and would all be worth good money certainly here in the UK and main land europe were there are a number of T's being restored. i don't know what the owner wants for it but if it is only scrap value i would have it and basically strip the parts from it as that chassis is no good and either keep the parts and wait for a more complete 980 or sell them on to fund a better project. my hard cab was scrap on my truck and was lucky to be offered a really good replacement, but hard cab's are running out really fast know i only know of 2 other hard cabs in europe. you can't save them all but there are parts there that will help save other trucks. regards sam

Hi Mike it will cost a lot to rebuild the truck as your missing a lot and you got to consider your axles are bad as i pulled the diffs on mine and they were so bad they were going to cost £1800 just in parts to put them right. the Australian army had a lot of 980's so you may find parts in oz, i know a chap here in the UK who has nos steering boxes, complete new front axle, new front spring assemblies etc. any vehicle can be saved the question is are you fully committed to saving it? my dt 980 is in the restoration section "another dt980 restoration" and though it was complete is was fubar all the way through the only good bit was the front bumper! i wish you best of luck with the truck and hope you save her and i am happy to help as best i can. regards sam

funny how we all acquire projects like these and we all say to are selves just needs paint then next thing you know it is stripped to the chassis lol. really look forward to watching your progress Mark and going from John's comment she will be a bute when finished. regards sam

think i have 4 projects in various stages, the 980 as you see it 969 which is a driving restoration 45 ton Fruhauf waiting to start 1899 fowler road locomotive from the Boer war 3/4 complete. so got loads to get on with lol. regards sam

did this on my Diamond T last month definitely only take one shim out of each stack as that will be plenty. my clutch went from slipping continuously to you could stall the truck out in 1st low and not a sign of clutch slippage. just a point the shims are not slotted to clear the stud they are just slit so you have to bend them around the stud. took me an hour to do mine all by myself, definetly pull the spark plugs as it will make turning the engine a lot easier. regards sam

Hi John yes the DT has taken priority over the fowler but over the winter i have got some good friends who are going to help me out by doing all the small niggly jobs. As it is connecting rods and valves to sort out and "capetown" will run. I have every intention to suspend tow 1531 to cerney which is why i am going to sort the front axle out asap. are you going to be attending cerney this year with your ERF John? regards sam

hello pete the rivet gun is ours as we over haul and build new steam boilers for traction engines, which is one of the main reasons i took the 980 on as i couldn't see any one else sinking the time into saving it. regards sam