Gordon_M Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Great - as usual. You have my permission to slap the first person that comes up to you on the run and says; " you were really lucky to find one in as good condition as that " Gordon:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlangham Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 What a beauty, well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Well done guys. It was good to see the truck in real life! Oh, and thanks for the Cola. :coffee: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 It was good to see you again. Amazing that you were staying in a village about 2 miles away. Sorry that we couldnt spend more time hanging out but we had a long drive ahead. Also in the photo is Tim from Canada who had come to see the FWD. Good to meet him as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 I should have posted these a while ago. As you can see i finally got around to finishing off the lamps. Quite pleased with the end result: Another fiddling job out the way. I may change the damaged brass for a better one later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 The Tailgate catches have gone on - the rope hooks have been fitted as have the pick and shovel blocks, tax disc holder and endless painting! The canvas protector blocks have been cut and fitted but are currently off for painting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Steve has been practicing his Blacksmith's skills - making brackets to hold the front wings on and also the twisted straps to hold the seat box to the chassis. Still more work to do there - tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 (edited) Another day on mudguards and wings - and of course, more of the endless painting! The brackets to hold the rear mudguards had previously been finished and with the painting of them now also complete, it was time to fit the mudguards permanently. The brackets were bolted to the lorry, ready to receive the mudguards. With the holes for the retaining bolts previously drilled when we did a trial fitting before painting, it was simply a case of offering the mudguards up to the brackets and bolting them up. In accordance with the original drawings, coachbolts are used for this with the mushroom head under the mudguard and the nut on top. Suddenly, the rear end looks complete! Edited April 6, 2011 by Great War truck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 6, 2011 Author Share Posted April 6, 2011 And then it was back to the brackets for the front wings - the brackets for these are more complex than the back ones and it was very much a case of getting the home made hearth out again so that the metal could be got hot to be beaten into a correct profile. Not an easy job, but after persevering, we ended up with a pair of handed and matching brackets, one to suit each wing. Steve was very pleased that his welding held up to the harsh treatment! And when the brackets appeared to be correct, it was a case of bolting them onto the lorry for a trial fit and to see if the mudguards were going to end up hanging in the correct place! After some further adjustments, it all looked well and the mudguards must now be drilled for the fixing bolts. The brackets will go off to the "Paint Shop" to be cleaned up and painted before final fitting.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Another full day behind us! The priority was to get the front wings brackets completed and the wings bolted down so that we could see that they were sitting comfortably. One of the brackets was not quite right from yesterday so it was re-heated and a big adjustable spanner put on it to lever it into the correct position. Both wings were then bolted or clamped into position and remaining holes were drilled. They were then fully bolted on with temporary nuts and bolts, just to ensure that they looked right! Next job there is to strip them down again and paint the brackets before they can be finally bolted up. The body is held to the chassis by four "U" Bolts and two straight strips of 2" x 3/8" steel bolted vertically from chassis to body frame. The "U" Bolts are roughly at each corner of the body whilst the 3/8" strips are in the middle. The two strips have been fixed in position for some time but the "U" Bolts previously made up with their Keeper Plates were fixed down today. It is usual for the Keeper to go underneath but in one of the positions the silence pipe would foul it if fixed that way - so we have turned that one upside down and put the Keeper on top - again accepted practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex van de Wetering Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Great work again guys! The fenders and brackets look excellent; very tidy. The sign writers job really does the truck Justice, far better than the modern spraypainted fonts you sometimes see on vehicle resto's. 152,936 views of this thread....Besides your dedication and craftsmanship, I also admire the fact there is an update every few days. That's probably the way all of us would like to do our restoration projects.....but few of us have the "drive" to keep the speed up as you do. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Our minds are now turning to preparing for the main canvas canopy for the body and to the bows and rails which will carry it. The canvas is on order through Martin at Allied Forces and this should be available very shortly. The four longitudinal rails are of ash and are already prepared and painted. There are three bows altogether - the two end bows are to be made up of 50mm x 5mm steel angle and we are just about to start work on those. The sides of the bows are vertical - the tops are horizontal and there is a curve of 380mm outside radius where the vertical meet the horizontal. The third bow in the middle is just a flat steel strip and should not prove to be a problem in making the same radius curve in that. To get the curves in the end bows, we will cut the angle where the bends will be in two places (at the start and end of each corner bend) and remove the section which obviously will not easily bend. The angle can then be easily bent without that section in place and we can then weld in a pre-laser cut quadrant of a matching radius and size to fit the bend. These are on order and promised for next week. Other work going on today is the making of the cab floor! We had a nice piece of red cedar in stock - left over from the first restoration that we did - the military Autocar - and Mark very kindly took this to his workshop and prepared it for us. So far, the two end supports for the floor have been made - but there have been some intricate cut-outs necessary to avoid other fixtures and fittings! The front part of the floor is inclined - nothing is ever straight forward! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pzkpfw-e Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 It looks absolutely superb! You must be chuffed to bits to see how it's so nearly ready! Bet you can't wait to start her up and drive out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Yes, it is all getting very exciting. Unfortunately, the wing brackets took far longer than I had hoped and we are getting very tight for time. We still have a floor to make, footstep brackets and the throttle linkage along with all sorts of odds and ends. I have to go back to work next week, 200 miles away, which also isn't helping much! It won't be finished for Brighton but hopefully won't look incomplete. I anticipate spending the rest of the Summer touching in bolt heads and just wrapping it all up. Keeping the momentum of such a project going can be very hard but the three of us keep each other going and, of course, so do all of you. If we don't put something up for a few days, we feel guilty! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefano Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 b****y hell, that is the grandmother of all adjustable spanners you've got there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nz2 Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 It is pleasing to see in the photograph of the body mounts, an apple box in the background with a New Zealand label. Was the contents of this to give nutrition to the working crew? Also appropite to the labeling on the truck. A comment to the NZ label. The 1 numeral needs moving over a little, leaving a wider gap to the N letter. Presesntly it looks like INZ. I have another photo of the silver fern insignia, a variation again on the pattern. Unfortunately its on my main computer which is down at the moment, and the lap top is a seperate system. I'm off this morning picking more apples. They are for the local market so it was not ours in the box! Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 b****y hell, that is the grandmother of all adjustable spanners you've got there!! It's just a cheap chinese one which is always a gamble but it has proven to be sound and very useful. One of the problems with this game is in building your tool kit. To buy the lot would cost thousands but we have gradually built it up between us either as we want things or find a bargain. Two of my best investments have been the ten ton hydraulic press and the engine crane. The ability to apply controlled force or movement has made life so much easier and reduced the chances of damaging things. I certainly wouldn't want to manhandle an engine back into the chassis again! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I hadn't noticed the box, Doug. You are obviously tuned to the letters 'NZ'! The '1 NZ' is as close to the original photo as we can make it. You will have to take it up with the original signwriter! I shall look forward to seeing another picture of the emblem. Getting the right info is so hard. The definitive answer invariably turns up just after the job has been done! Back to it tomorrow. A day and a half of my holiday remains and we are still behind. I had hoped to have the throttle linkage done by now but haven't started. There still remains the footstep and side panels too. It's all getting a bit tight! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 (edited) Yes, an engine crane is a particularly useful item. I bought a 2 ton crane some twenty years back and use it every week for something or other. I received my little K-38 trailer with the lid loose, and didn't think to check the body for out-of-square till after I had fitted an expensive new interior. Yes, it was 11/16" out of square, as I discovered after I had rivetted the hinge and lid back on - enough to stop it closing. So, dangle it from the engine crane, chain one corner down to an old Dodge tow hook, and pump it till it was 22/16" off in the other direction, then release ....:-X Job done. Just in passing this trailer design is pure civilian, it seems to originate with A.T & T in 1938. Edited April 8, 2011 by Gordon_M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 Pushed on with it again today where time is now getting very short - just 22 days before the "Brighton"! Steve has been getting on with the cab floor - the front inclined part of the floor is full of various cut-outs to avoid pedals, bolts and other fittings and it takes time and care to get it right - with the various trial fittings involved as he progressed with it. We were glad to have such a fine day as far as the weather was concerned as we were able to use the Trailer outside as an additional work bench! Finally, success at 8.30 this evening - after a full day of it - fits like a glove! With all of the cut outs, it will have weakened the timber, and supports in the way of perhaps steel angle - or steel flat - or even ply wood to go underneath will be necessary to ensure that it does not split in the weakened areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 And of course, the never ending painting continues! One of the front wings was not up to mark and this has been rubbed back and re-painted. All of the wing brackets have been primed, and we have started cutting the slots in the steel angles for the rear canvas bows where they are to be bent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Larkin Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Getting the right info is so hard. The definitive answer invariably turns up just after the job has been done! Steve The more I find out, the more I realise that the definitive answer is at the end of the rainbow. If only I had a couple of quid for each definitive answer that then got contradicted, I could buy myself a Holt and even afford to take it to Brighton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Peskett Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Don't loose the plot over detail !., in my experience of restoration, at my workshops we have restored a considerable number of solid tyred vehicles incluiding WW1 military . Reasearching brings up all the best contraditions imaginable and the contents of my library and photographic collection will prove this beyond doubt. No one person did all the sign writing , mixed paint ,drilled holes in brackets etc. etc., so variations occur. Immediate priorities were cost and to get the job finished, not cosmetic. The London General 'bus company were a fine example of this , hardly any London bus is identical in finite detail and constant changes and imporovements were being made. The conclusion is when a restoration is a 'new build' whatever you do providing it is well researched it passes !. Richard Peskett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Larkin Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Don't loose the plot over detail !., in my experience of restoration, at my workshops we have restored a considerable number of solid tyred vehicles incluiding WW1 military . Reasearching brings up all the best contraditions imaginable and the contents of my library and photographic collection will prove this beyond doubt. No one person did all the sign writing , mixed paint ,drilled holes in brackets etc. etc., so variations occur. Immediate priorities were cost and to get the job finished, not cosmetic. The London General 'bus company were a fine example of this , hardly any London bus is identical in finite detail and constant changes and imporovements were being made. The conclusion is when a restoration is a 'new build' whatever you do providing it is well researched it passes !.Richard Peskett. Absolutely right, Richard. A vital role of ASC workshops between 1914 and 18 was identifying weak spots in design and working with manufacturers to improve them or simply carrying out their own modifications, which if successful were then incorporated during overhauls. A Dennis impressed in 1914 could easily have been 7 or 8 different Dennises by 1918, even if it did retain it's original number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nz2 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Absolutely right, Richard. A vital role of ASC workshops between 1914 and 18 was identifying weak spots in design and working with manufacturers to improve them or simply carrying out their own modifications, which if successful were then incorporated during overhauls. A Dennis impressed in 1914 could easily have been 7 or 8 different Dennises by 1918, even if it did retain it's original number. This so true and highlights the problem of restoring such a vehicle. Like wise the prototype issue of early production runs as to correctness using my 1912 or 13 Thornycroft J as an example. So many mechanical features are Thornycroft, but others are not. Purhaps we should all build specialist, one off items for a particular use and have the feedom of choice and sole knowledge of what its for! I'll start with a mobile pigeon loft trailer. I feel a touch of Heath Robinson drawings as part of the planing system!:yawn: Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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