Jessie The Jeep Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 (edited) Today is also Faith's birthday, 72 years old today! Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoranWC51 Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 What type of aircraft are they going to put these four engines in? There were quite a few that used that type of engine, namely: Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle Avro Lancaster B.II Avro York C.II Bristol Beaufighter Bristol Freighter Bristol Superfreighter Breguet 890 Mercure CASA C-207 Azor Fokker T.IX Folland Fo.108 Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Hastings Handley Page Hermes Nord Noratlas Northrop 8A (One Swedish 8A-1 was bought by Bristol to test the engine) Northrop Gamma 2L Saro Lerwick Short S.26 Short Seaford Short Solent Short Stirling Vickers Valetta Vickers Varsity Vickers VC.1 Viking Vickers Wellesley Vickers Wellington Back on the aviation theme, we had a rare Bristol Hercules aero engine which was running at regular intervals across the weekend. It made a nice change from the 'Merlin' and 'Griffon' engines often seen at airshows. The team operating it are restoring four into running condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 They don't have an aircraft. They are just rebuilding them to ground running condition. A Halifax would be nice, but there aren't too many lying around that haven't had 70+ years of salt water corrosion! Just hearing four on trailers would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 (edited) Last event of the year! Blackfell Primary School - November 4th I had a great morning at my daughter's Primary school this morning ( 'though not her class ) teaching the kids about World War 2 history. The year 6 class ( 10~11 age ) have been studying WW2 this term, including a recent visit to Eden POW Camp in Yorkshire. Living close to the school helped with getting the vehicles there, so I was able to take all three, and a friend brought his Jeep. Another vehicle owner had to drop out due to illness, not wanting to spread bugs to the kids. I'd recruited some other local guys to do lectures. Before morning break, we had a guy from the local aircraft museum talk about the war in the North East, a talk about the entertainments association ENSA plus a sing along, and childhood memories of WW2 from my dad. After break, we took the kids onto the school field to see the vehicles, some weapons and gas masks etc., then it was time for Head Teacher Mrs Watkins and Class teacher Miss Kitchen to have a go behind the wheel of my '43 Ford. Their smiles said it all. With half an hour left, we went back to the classroom and I did a 20 minute presentation on the air war and the 8th Air Force, followed by questions. It was a very enjoyable way to end the week, and great to see the kids so interested in history. I'm hoping to add some pictures of the teachers behind the wheel, and also some taken by the school, but need permission first and the kids faces blurred out. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) For some time, I've been concerned about the visibility of the lights on the Dodge. I rarely drive it at night, but always drive with the lights on to make the Dodge as visible as possible due to its slow speed. However, the 6 volt lights aren't that bright, and the 5w indicators virtually pointless. So I decided it was time to upgrade. Many of the replacement LED bulbs have the majority of the diodes mounted on the side, pointing to what would be the reflector in a normal car. Due to the shape of the housings, and the lack of a parabolic reflector, these aren't very useful. I decided I would have to find or make something more suitable. After a quick internet search, I found some ultra-bright 12 LED clusters designed for 6 volts. The brake and tail light will have two clusters fitted into the original 6 volt housing. This is the glow from the current 6 volt tail light. The first conversions were the indicators. I had some spare 12 volt BA15S bulbs which would be the donor for the fitting. The glass was smashed and the filament and support wires pulled out. The centre terminal was drilled out and a new brass pin glued in, with the solder built up the base again for the contact, and the LED cluster wire attached to the other. The negative wire was soldered to the inside of the metal fitting. The cluster was then epoxied onto the end of the fitting. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) On November 3rd, I brought the Dodge home ready for a school visit the following day. Before the afternoon rain came, I got the front indicator covers stripped of their paint and rubber slits, and cleaned and polished the plastic to reveal a much larger area of amber. The inset image shows how it used to look. It doesn't look quite so good, but it's far more visible to other drivers. I also got my first two amber LED clusters fitted. The LED's have a nice clean cut off between on and off, unlike the filament bulbs. I tried fitted the other amber LED's to the rear, but there wasn't enough resistance in the circuit, and the LED's stayed on permanently, rather than flashing. I'm sure I can sort this with resistors to increase the load, but that can wait until it is warmer next year. It was too cold to be messing around for long outdoors. So for now, I've fitted some 21 watt filament bulbs to replace the 5 watt bulbs that were fitted. They are much brighter, but don't really flash properly, as the filament doesn't cool down enough before powering on again. So currently they alternate between bright and dim. The gif animation below is from two frames of a video of the light to give an impression of how it is currently. I'll do another next year once the LED's are fitted and the circuit resistance sorted. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) Today I removed the brake/tail lights to convert them to LED's. Originally I thought I was going to have to cut open the metal bulb housing, but realised I was able to prise open the glazed end that was crimped over the main body. This allowed access to the bulb, which was carefully smashed, leaving the filament wires behind. One of the coloured lenses had been cracked for some time, so I ran some cyanoacrylate glue into the crack. The LED clusters had their wires shortened a bit, and they were epoxied onto a plywood plate which would go into the bulb housing. The LED wires were then soldered to the tinned filament wires and covered in epoxy to give a little vibration protection to the solder joints. Once the LED's were epoxied to their mounting plate, the plate was epoxied into the housing. The front housing and lens were then crimped back onto the housing. One of the light covers had quite a bit of surface rust, so it was stripped back to metal, primed and resprayed green. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 (edited) These stills give a comparison between the filament and LED lights. It's not a perfect comparison due to different lighting conditions for each picture, but give a general idea. The animated gif below is compiled from a video shot during testing. It shows the tail light LED coming on first, followed by the brake light. Each LED cluster is quite close behind the coloured glass, and so doesn't illuminate the whole glass as the bulb did, but the light is much more intense and noticable. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatchFuzee Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 I tried fitted the other amber LED's to the rear, but there wasn't enough resistance in the circuit, and the LED's stayed on permanently, rather than flashing. I'm sure I can sort this with resistors to increase the load, but that can wait until it is warmer next year. It was too cold to be messing around for long outdoors. All you need to make the LEDs flash front and rear is an electronic flasher unit that can operate LED indicator bulbs:~ http://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/flasher-units-shop.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Buy the LED flasher, about the same price as a standard one, as so much easier than trying to solder resitors on. :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 6, 2016 Author Share Posted November 6, 2016 I'm not going to worry about it until the spring. The Dodge is going to bed for the winter tomorrow, as it's far too cold to be messing about on the drive now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1212 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 These stills give a comparison between the filament and LED lights. It's not a perfect comparison due to different lighting conditions for each picture, but give a general idea. The animated gif below is compiled from a video shot during testing. It shows the tail light LED coming on first, followed by the brake light. Each LED cluster is quite close behind the coloured glass, and so doesn't illuminate the whole glass as the bulb did, but the light is much more intense and noticable. Is it just a combination of the video then viewing on a laptop that makes the LED tail and brake lights appear the same intensity, rather than the brake being much brighter as it is with filament bulbs that are normally 5 and 21 watt respectively ? As to the indicators I'm sure discretely fitting a resistor of suitable power rating to dissipate the heat of drawing the same power as two indicator bulbs will work. Another trick would be hiding two filament bulbs somewhere. If you can just swap the electronic flasher unit for an electronic one that would be the easiest and neatest solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) I got an email this morning giving permission to use some of the other pictures from the school trip, and apparently, the kids are still talking about the visit this week, so we must have done something right. Colin Bourdiec, our ENSA entertainer My dad's talk was illustrated by several watercolour paintings he'd done. Here's a couple of them. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) First behind the wheel of the Ford GPW was Head Teacher, Mrs Watkins. I took her for a ride around first, then she took over for a few laps of the school field. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted November 11, 2016 Author Share Posted November 11, 2016 (edited) Next was the turn of Miss Kitchen, though it was somewhat of a surprise! I shouted out to the kids, "Who wants to see Miss Kitchen have a go" and they all cheered. Again, I took her for a ride around first showing her the gear changes etc., then she had a go. The Dodge went back into storage on Monday, and will probably hibernate now until spring, bar the odd engine run, exercising the brakes and a slight move in the container to avoid flat spots. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted November 11, 2016 Share Posted November 11, 2016 A history lesson and getting the next generation involved. I would think it makes all of the hard work worthwhile Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 It's been a bit of a traumatic week. On Monday, I got a phone call from the yard where I keep the Dodge truck, telling me that they had been given notice, and everone had to be off the land by early May. I could have moved the truck to pretty much any caravan park exposed to the weather which was less than ideal, and finding somewhere that would take the 20ft container was a problem. Everything was too expensive ( three or more times our current rent ) or the sites wouldn't take containers. We had to consider outdoor storage without the container or selling the Dodge. Forced into a frantic search, a bit of good luck resulted in finding a storage company only two and a half miles from home that would take our container and the Dodge. It would cost only slightly more money than we currently pay, and he had a contact for a cheap HIAB truck to move the container for us. Relief!!! HUGE relief. This morning for the last time, I brought the Dodge home from the yard, a former Anti-Aircraft Battery. This was the first Dodge trip of 2017. I'll keep the truck at home for a few days to give it a pre-service look over prior to ordering any parts. The container move is set for Tuesday morning, and then the Dodge can move to its new home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hall Posted April 9, 2017 Share Posted April 9, 2017 (edited) Things do have a strange way of working out in the end. i happened to click on the link to your first post on this thread and saw the photo of your daughter. I remember my son was about the same age and he's almost 7 now. Time flies!! Edited April 9, 2017 by Chris Hall Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 She's seven and a half now! and has already driven the Jeep aged 5 ( although I had to do the pedals as her legs don't reach yet! ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 (edited) On Tuesday April 11th, the container transporter arrived at the rapidly emptying old yard, collected the container, and made the trip of a few miles to the new storage yard. I followed him there to get a key for the new place and to check the access to the container was suitable for the Dodge to drive in without obsticles. Later in the day, I drove the Dodge over and squeezed it back into its home. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryH57 Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I was thinking a container for some might be a cheap solution instead of a garage and with your Dodge in a container you are lucky you can climb in from the rear. Any other MV with a cab and doors though would not be such a good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 (edited) It's a squeeze! But three inches each side is still clearance!! Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Would be relativly easy to fit a door in the appropriate place to exit the cab Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted April 15, 2017 Author Share Posted April 15, 2017 Not when the yard owner is planning to put more containers along side!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie The Jeep Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 (edited) On Tuesday June 20th, I brought the Dodge home from the new storage yard to do the Spring service. This was the first trip back since moving, and although there's a steep hill to drive up on the way, the whole trip is now only three miles door to door. Today was all the basic maintenance like oil change and greasing everything, but I also waterproofed the roof canvas too. I've noticed gaps opening up above the rear window panels, where the old hinged side joins, so that needs some sealant and I also want to add some angle steel to the rear body roof, to stop it sagging and pooling water when it rains. I've also got to add some resistance into the indicator circuit to allow the yellow LED's to be fitted to the rear lights, and finish the LED headlights. Next week is the first show for the Dodge, although I've already done six shows with the two Jeeps. Edited October 21, 2020 by Jessie The Jeep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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