greyhound32122

ounce the chassis was revealed it was very obvious the gusset plates were knackered which i already sort of new but was hard to see with it all covered up. originally 1/4" plate the thickest point was just under a 1/16" which was proper steel not rust! so out they came which then revealed the chassis rails are badly corroded near the winch mounts mostly caused by the crane mounting points which had held the moisture in this area.

at this point it looked like some weld & rivet repairs to the chassis and fitment of new gusset plates and it would be sorted but the repair/replacement list only grew! while the 980 still looked like a truck i put my 969 along side for a quick team photo then carried on with the strip down.

cab is in a bad way but can be saved.

fuel tanks are generally ok as they have both been galvanised post war by the British army.

after riding shot gun in a friends 980 and being given the opportunity to drive Adrian Mason's 980 at south cerney a couple of years ago, i knew one day i would acquire one of these mighty and historic trucks with waiting for the ideal candidate to turn up being the key factor. in late december 2016 i went to see a truck a friend had recently bought as a project vehicle and after viewing the truck and lengthy discussions an agreement was reached and the vehicle bought.

collection followed on the 7th january 2017 in which the truck was transported the 50 or so miles back home.

ounce home no time was wasted in getting the Harvey & Frost crane removed and got stuck into removing the ballest box. i already knew the truck had a lot of corrosion in the ballest box, chassis and cab but as the truck was 99% complete it was right up my street, as my job involves re building traction engines boilers. before that i was a john deere agri fitter so it is only wiring & body work that i am stumped with.

if the workshops that worked on the diamond t's are any thing to go by don't be at all surprised if it was the same for the heavy wreckers.

as the trucks went in for major over hauls the trucks would be stripped down and the individual parts would be put together so radiators in one pile, bonnet panels in another pile and so on. so it is very unlikely a ward or kenworth would have the same parts on it as it left the factory today.

it is common to see a early diamond t 980 fitted with a late radiator header tank with no DT emblem or a late dt 980 fitted with an early ballest box. so it is no surprise if a ward has ended up with a kenworth brush guard and so on.

the top of the radiator brush guard on a ward is flat, were as the kenworth is raised in the middle slightly.

i don't think there are many differences between them at the mk5 stage as the parts were standardised so it was all interchangeable.

rare to find a kenworth made m1a1 in europe as they generally went to australia for what ever reason.

Hi Jack

that is a very rare gauge which you are very lucky to have the remains for, i can't help with a NOS gauge but if you can join the Diamond t 980/981 face book page there are a lot of knowledgeable people on there that may be able to help you out.

also what other parts do you think you may need? as i have some spare parts which i have collected over the years for my 969A. even got a spare RXC/gearbox/radiator on a skid up and running;)

regards sam

i spoke with a friend of mine who drove a hard cab 980 from 1956 to 1962 in the british army towing centurions on 50 ton dyson trailers and he told me you could get 26 mph with a Hercules but they were obviously not comfortable doing that.

average mileage per day was 20 - 35 miles due to small roads and loads of obstacles so the rolls powered T's rarely benefited from their larger rev range. from what 3 ex military diamond drivers have told me the Hercules had a large support from drivers due to it's better low end grunt and a nicer exhaust note.

the military section is getting better every year attracting more unusual vehicles each time. the pioneer gun tractor certainly caught my eye as did the 2 scammell commanders which are a rare sight at any show. the show has a lot going for it as it is easily accessible from both M4 & M5, tarmac ring road, laid back helpful stewards and great atmosphere.

friday morning the scammell contractor transporting the conqueror got stuck in a soft spot but was soon back on hard ground thanks to Martin Saunder's 8x6 scammell drop and John Deere 4650.

went yesterday and really enjoyed my self, met loads of friends a nice selection of quality vehicles rather than field after field of jeeps and cckw's. found plenty of diamond t parts which has hurt the bank balance and a much better set up with really happy stewards loads of clean facilities. the show is more alive after 5 pm when more vehicle movements are in progress.

only issue i heard but not sure if it is true is if the organisers can get the site on a fresh contract as this is the last year before it needs revising. also i may go to the hop farm show in august to see what that is like but i am strongly considering taking the 969 to either or both shows next year.

cheers sam

thank you Niels for your input.

as this load would make a diamond work hard i would imagine a 100 hp scammell had it's work cut out towing what must be a 60 ton+ load

this pioneer is certainly pulling it's weight!

post war Britain/Germany?

it was are pleasure to dine with you Olaf myself and Julian learn'd a lot from you regarding your extensive knowledge on both M1 helmets and the veteran stories that you have been able to listen to and remember. like Julian said it is people like your self that keep the veterans stories alive ounce they have gone. glad you had a safe trip home and look forward to meeting you again very soon.

best regards sam

being my very first A&E my self and my co driver thoroughly enjoyed every minute from leaving home friday morning to getting back sunday evening. massive pat on the back to the organisers and every one who attended as this was a massive team effort and i do hope that Adrian & Jim manage to push Jack to doing it all again in the near future.

Sam & Julian

thanks chaps work got in the way so couldn't get there

did the diamond t 980 sell and if so how much?

cheers sam

Joe Walker's foden is a nice truck and sounds just as good. the Fowler B6 road loco Joe owns and carries on the foden is a fantastic piece of machinery and dam heavy. we have a similar King trailer for carrying are own traction engines and used to carry 2 at a time fairly often, the 8 horse burrell agricultural weighed around 12 ton and the garrett showman's tractor 8 ton. a friend of mine puts a 22 ton fowler ploughing engine on a 2 axle king low loader with a 6x4 foden no problem.

no problem

what are you working on if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks chaps. What is the best way of supporting the armoured plate while removing the last few bolts? I imagine there must be an easy way, but it looks awkward.

we screwed threaded rods into the bolt holes and ounce all the bolts are removed the plate can be slid of 2-3 inches so straps can be attached to lift the plate off.

Andy & myself have had another productive day today on the comet getting the suspension oil reservoirs and the pipe work linking to the hydraulic suspension dampers removed from the hull. the periscopes are now out of the hull and the drivers front and top hatches are know functional again.

last jobs before shot blasting/painting commences is free up all the lifting and tying down D links, free up the lap gunners hatch, remove the break drums & finish removing the extra armour plating that's welded on.

hoping to have a fully painted and rolling hull on tracks by the summer so long as we get some good weather to do the out side jobs.

cheers sam

just to show scale my 969 next to steve's S26

with a bit of tinkering i reckon those tyres will fit you know :nut:

had a good day on the 969 today as the sun stuck it's nose out which made a refreshing change.

fuel tank back on and plumbing finished and found a few more wiring improvements are required but generally there. next big task is the front axle oil seals so i shall run the truck to the fuel station and fill up whilst prices are coming down then get straight into it.

a few minutes of the truck running last week after getting most of the jobs finished sorry in advance for the poor quality old camera and bad light

cheers sam

your going to have to restore it steve as you have already chosen the workshop inspiration pictures.

i havn't got anything else booked for those days so i hope i am lucky enough to get a vehicle slot sounds like a truly fantastic event already.

looks like a pioneer tank transporter tractor unit going by the extended cab

thanks for your replies chaps the blue truck has a rolls - royse diesel engine mated to an auto box. i haven't got a clue what type of auto but if it helps i can take some picks looking down on top of the transmission and the chassis.

there is a pto box mounted on top of the left hand side of the auto box if that helps which looks like it has some kind of hydraulic clutch on it.

the owner is in two minds weather to fully restore to mil spec with the hook lift or to move it on.

personally i think it is worthy of being restored as i can't say i have seen a restored scammell 6x6 prototype.

some pics of the scammell 6x6 which we know was one of the prototypes but any further information would be greatly appreciated.