Great War truck Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 The casting of the mounting we were a bit worried about, due to the hole in it: The foundry said it was a very awkward shape to cast. However, looking at the original that we copied for a pattern you can see that there has to be a hole cut there anyway to access the gland: which was nice. So no problem there then and all very satisfying. The next lot of patterns are ready to go to the foundry, but we wont be able to get them cast for a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cel Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Another milestone in this great restoration, very pleased to see that it turned out so well with these castings. Congratulations! Marcel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I am very pleased with them although, since Tim has posted a picture of the original mount next to the new casting, I can see a small error. Nothing we can't live with but it isn't perfect! I'll correct the pattern for the next person who does a Dennis water pump! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted December 10, 2009 Author Share Posted December 10, 2009 Tony has been keeping himself busy. The Oil Filler Plugs for the two rear hubs were missing and he has made these up and fitted them. They of course still have to be painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Although this looks trivial, the interesting bit has been missed out from the photographs - the cutting of the thread. Were they screw cut on the lathe followed by a die, or a die only? If a die only, what is your technique for keeping it square to the job? (and I hope the copper washers under the plugs will come along later....) Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Mainly screw cut in the lathe and finished off with a Die! I think that I was concentrating too hard on the screw cutting and forgot the camera! Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWDTEXAS Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Fantastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefano Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Although this looks trivial, the interesting bit has been missed out from the photographs - the cutting of the thread. Were they screw cut on the lathe followed by a die, or a die only? If a die only, what is your technique for keeping it square to the job? (and I hope the copper washers under the plugs will come along later....) Barry. I usually use a tailstock die holder, very useful things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Yes, I have one and would use it for smaller threads - but a 7/8" BSF thread is just a little too hefty, I find, to do it with a tailstock die holder on my gear! Screw cutting that one is a far better alternative for me. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Another lovely job ! Very inspiring ! Thank you !:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 Here are some pictures from 1998 of the only restored Dennis subsidy lorry. It was a very long restoration and during the course of it someone stole the original water pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormin Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Good to finally see one complete. I've been following this thread for some time and not actually looked what a complete vehicle looks like. Front wheels look a bit small for the rest of the truck, are they original? Bulkhead looks different than yours too. I seem to remember curved sides and top to yours. That one looks like a flat sheet with only shaping on the top. Did they change over the years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I think that Steve and Tim are probably the best ones to answer those points, Norman. Most of the pictures that we have show "scuttles" - which are sometimes called "dashboards", curved over top and sides with the top corners nicely curved around in both directions - like ours - but some did just have the top curved over with ordinary straight sides like the green "civvy" one in these pictures. The wheels look about the right size - but I was in the company of a knowledgable person when looking at this lorry and he thought that the wheels were not quite right. So you are perceptive! Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted December 12, 2009 Author Share Posted December 12, 2009 Here are photos of both types. The simpler curved scuttle: and the more difficult to make one with the rounded corners: I explained how we made the rounded corner scuttle in a previous post (some years ago). Steve came up with the method of making it (which i wont go into here just go back to the earlier part of the thread). Since then we have been able to study an original Dennis rounded scuttle and we can see that the original method of construction was very similar to the one that Steve devised. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Garner Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I've sat here absolutely fascinated at what a fantastic restoration this is. The standard of your work is just brilliant chaps, well done. Can't wait for the next installment! Regards, Lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Many thanks, Lewis! We really are amazed on just how much interest our Dennis has attracted and are so pleased that so many folks are getting some pleasure from these strange activities of ours! I think that we will be pleased to see it completed so that we can look to the next one. At the present rate of progress, I reckon that I shall be over 100 by the time that we finish the last one. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) In the note of the 26th November, Tim (and his family are at present in the USA on holiday with his in-laws) mentioned that we were getting on with the Universal Coupling whilst waiting for the Water Pump castings from the Foundry. Some of the parts of this have to be machined from a very tough steel - EN24 - which I really did not fancy taking on in my home workshop. The final two pieces of machined EN24 came back yesterday - these are the sockets for the Universal Joint and are contained within two mild steel tubes. Mild Steel tube of the required diameter is not available commercially, and the two tubes were machined out of solid steel bar. The photos show the completed two pieces of the EN24 with the steel tube fitted to the outside. We are well into making this assembly now and would hope to complete that sometime in the new year. Then back to the Water Pump. Tony Edited December 21, 2009 by Minesweeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 These clutch bits are not very obvious at the moment so here is a section of the clutch-to-gearbox arrangement copied from 'The Automobile Engineer' of September 1917. (It is amazing what you can find if you know where to look!) Left to right, you can see the flywheel with the cone clutch inside it. In the middle of that, with the spiral groove, is the clutch centre that we have had made. To the right is the small thrust race that Father found on the shelf followed by the nut that I made a while back. The end of the clutch centre is square and on it is a top-hat shaped piece of steel. This, Father will rough out shortly and then we can have the square hole cut by wire erosion again. Bolted to that are the two pieces that Father has posted above. These form a universal joint as there are two bronze blocks on the end of a cross-pin which engage in the slots you can see above. Got that?! The cross-pin goes through the end of a very short prop shaft that we have yet to make. I want to fit all the other pieces into place in order to check the length before we do! The whole of that joint is held together by the discs with the V-groove which Father made and posted a fortnight ago. There is another complete joint on the right hand end where the whole lot joins the gearbox. This one has a five toothed spline this time, rather than a square. Goodness knows why! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Tony, a lovely finish on the outside of the steel tubes - it is a shame to paint them green! Do you have a photograph of the end of the shaft so we can all see how the coupling works? Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) On proper Dennis's (Yes, Fire Engines!) the short coupling shaft is replaced by a PTO which drives the fire pump. As you can see from the drawing below, Dennis distributed all the 'heavy lumps' throughout the length of the chassis. Performance car makers today call this a 'low polar moment of inertia' essential for going round corners at high speeds. Just the attributes needed for a fire engine but maybe not so essential for a WW1 truck! Barry. Edited December 21, 2009 by Asciidv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil munga Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Hi, quote= This one has a five toothed spline this time, rather than a square. Goodness knows why! looking at the design of it all it doesn't look as thought the splined or square shaft need to slide on the joints ( ? ) due to the design of the couplings that have been made , Is the gearbox made by Dennis ? also looking at the drawing it looks as thought the engine could be closer to the gearbox but not much farther away if you can see what I mean , are the springs in the couplings just to even out the propshaft between engine and box ? how does the clutch disengage I see that the cone needs pulling to-wards the gearbox , can see maybe two ballraces one inside and one outside so I take it the inside one supports the clutch cone so the outer one must be the release bearing ,,,,,,,, Do you not have many parts for the clutch and flywheel because the engine came from a water pump ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 Yes, I take it that the clutch release movement is taken by the bronze blocks sliding in their grooves rather than the couplings sliding on the shafts. I think the springs just keep the propshaft centred and prevent it from rattling. The large thrust race is attached to the end of the crankshaft and supports a spider which holds the three clutch springs which in turn keep the clutch engaged. This race is always under load but not rolling except when gear changing. The smaller race is only under load when the clutch is disengaged as it pulls against the clutch springs to release the cone. It, however, rotates all of the time that the engine is running. The water pump still needed a clutch, of course, and the engine came with a centre, release bearing and short drive shaft. The parts are the wrong pattern for the lorry although we could probably have made them work. However, we decided that as we would have to make bits to use the wrong parts, we might as well go the whole hog and make the right parts. All more work but we are determined that nobody will be able to tell us that we have done it wrong! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I have been taking the opportunity to catch up with some of those little jobs which hang around whilst something more interesting is going on. The first one I have tackled is to fit hose clips to the few pipes we have installed. Now, I could use the classic worm-drive 'Jubilee Clips' but I don't think they had been invented during the Great War or at least, they weren't common so I have had to make up our own. This is a pity as the worm drive clip was a most marvellous invention! Anyway, ones starts with a strip of brass. This is marked out and bent over at the ends. The ends are drilled and then bent in the reverse direction. Finally, the strip is pulled around a piece of bar to make the clip. A simple nut and screw secures it onto the pipe. They are not too difficult to make, just time consuming. They also can't adjust to a very wide range of hose diameters so I generally make them to fit the job in hand. I have also straightened/rebent the water pipe for carburettor heating. It still has a kink but I don't think this will matter much as with modern fuel volatility, it will never be used. There's another tick in the box on the way to starting the engine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn deuce Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 :bow::bow::bow:Its all about the details isnt it !:bow::bow::bow: whole area of research by its self of the dates when certain automotive parts became used on production vehicles ,types of clamps, wire end terminals,instrument lighting ,Zerk's ( I know they would have used either threaded grease cups or oiling points) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 You are dead right! I have just Googled 'Jubilee clip' and found that it was invented in 1921 by ex Royal Navy Commander, Lumley Robinson. Never thought to try that before! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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