WW1 Dennis truck find

[N.O.S.]

I've just checked my Hot Rod and Street Machine magazine adverts - nobody seems to offer a LIFT KIT for a Dennis :cool2:

[Great War truck]

Well, thats a missed opportunity there.

 

This is what Steve has been talking about. As you can see, the axle is very close to the sump indeed. It would be a great shame to smash it now, after all these years so a bit of adjustment is required. We will probably have to put a new dimple in the top leaf to locate the clamp plate. Care will be needed as working with unclamped springs can be a bit exciting.

 

 

 

 

[Great War truck]

Father has had an interesting day. A chap from Leighton Buzzard spotted a Claudel carburettor on a stand whilst at a show at Silverstone. He told a friend in Woburn Sands who told Steve in Leicester. Steve then rang the stand holder in Harrogate who agreed to bring the carb to Beaulieu in Hampshire. Dad then drove up from Axminster to pick it up. Good grapevine in this hobby!

 

Anyway, this is what he has come back with. The stand owner actually had two carbs so Dad bought them both. One is a stripped body, a 28mm sized model A and the other is a complete 32mm version. The drawing says '28 A' so we now have enough bits to put one together. A fair bit of work will be required but that should be straightforward enough and we are another step closer to running.

 

 

 

 

[Degsy]

Great buy Tim, as you say contacts are everything, did I ever mention the old axle that is at home on the farm, wooden spoked wheels, too far gone to be used but would make a perfect pattern. Not a clue what it originally came off but was used for many years under a farm trailer.

[Great War truck]

Sounds interesting. Have you got a photo of it?

[Gordon_M]

Yet again two tired lumps of metal find their way to quite possibly the only people in the world that would have a use for them :cool2:

 

Where would we be without grapevines, and, though it pains me to say it, E-Pay.

 

Gordon

 

( still watching out for a steering wheel )

Edited May 17, 2010 by Gordon_M

[Great War truck]

Yes, lots of luck involved in this game. Not much has been happening recently as there have been other pressing matters that suck up time like a sponge. However, normal services will be resumed as soon as possible.

 

In the meantime, do you remember these two grotty headlamps:

 

 

 

Not quite so grotty any more.

 

 

 

 

We just need the brackets to hang them on now.

[Degsy]

Sounds interesting. Have you got a photo of it?

 

I 'll try to remember to take the camera next time I go to the farm.

[Minesweeper]

Gordon

 

( still watching out for a steering wheel )

 

Thanks Gordon! I was looking out for one again at Beaulieu on Saturday when I was there but no luck! It really does look as if we will have to make one!

 

Tony

[BenHawkins]

I have been reading "The Automobile Engineer, July 1918" where they are reconditioning a Dennis Subsidy model. It states "Some considerable trouble had been experienced owing to breakages of the front springs....log book recorded renewal of the engine base chamber and front spring at the same time". This probably helps explain the lack of Dennis subsidy model sumps surviving, and suggests your issue may have always been a problem.

 

It also states that the spring camber was 3 1/2" unloaded and 2 3/4" under full load. The final word is that if a spring breaks the axle can move back to hit the sump, the usual clearance between these two parts being only 1 5/8"

 

It might just be worth double checking those dimensions!

 

Ben

[Old Bill]

That's interesting Ben. Looks like it must always have been a problem. Dad has just checked our spare original springs (the ones which turned up after we had had a set made!) and they are identical to the ones on the lorry so it is not just our mistake. If we move the axle 1" up the springs, we should get 1/2" clearance which is still pretty tight and nowhere near the 1 5/8" claimed.

 

I hadn't thought of the effects of a spring breakage. That really would be catastrophic. Lets just hope that it never happens although, no doubt we could fix it if necessary. Fingers are crossed!

 

Steve

[Roy Larkin]

My untrained eye can't argue with the photos as the sump and axle do look way too close for comfort, neither would I argue with the Automobile Engineer, but I've not found any mention of broken springs damaging Dennis sumps while in France. Plenty of broken springs, as there were with all manufacturers, but no hint of broken springs being anything more than the usual inconvenience repaired without need for evacuation to Base Workshops. That could of course mean that it was accepted that a broken spring also meant a smashed sump, but my gut instinct is that if that were the case then the problem would have been rectified pretty damned quick and would certainly have been recorded as a black mark against the Dennis and the Dennis does seem to have won praise as a reliable and popular lorry. But, if you break the sump on the way to Brighton next year, you won't find me because, I'll be hiding vey well indeed!

[Great War truck]

I quite agree with you there Roy. If a spring braking on a Dennis would always result in a smashed sump then something would have been written about it for sure.

[42 chevy]

I hope all is well with you guys, I need my "weekly fix" on your project. Any updates?

 

John Gott

[Great War truck]

Sorry about the lack of progress and news here. A couple of other matters have taken precedence but normal services will be resumed as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

 

Tim

[42 chevy]

I will be awaiting your update(s).

 

thanks

 

John Gott

[Great War truck]

Nothing new to add at the moment, but i did take the lamps down to Devon and hold them up against the Dennis to see how they looked. Steve will get on and make the lamp brackets soon.

 

[Degsy]

Pics attached of old axle which I promised GWT I would post. I haven't seen this for many years and when I dragged it out from it's grave under a hedge I found the axle and track rod had rusted away and snapped.

Dimensions of the wheels are as follows: Rim OD 22" Base of wheel well 17" Shoulder of wheel well 19"

Tyre tread width 4.5" All sizes are approximate. The hubs caps appear to screw on as they have flats to take a large socket. I attempted many years ago to interest the vintage car fraternity but was treated with contempt which is why it has been under a hedge for nearly 40 years as well as lying outside for untold years before that. I should have mentioned the wheel spokes are wood. Any ideas or info on this would be gratefully received and should they prove to be any use to anyone as a pattern I will 'negotiate' with my son on your behalf as he now claims ownership. The axle has definitely been in the family for almost 70 years and possibly much longer.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Degsy

[Degsy]

I have had a PM from a new member suggesting that the axle is from a pre 1925 Model T Ford. From the pic he sent it appears to my inexpert eyes he is correct. What do the experts think, any comments/ideas gratefully received. I have asked him to introduce himself and post the info but as he has not done so hence my post.

[Old Bill]

I would certainly agree with Model T but have insufficient knowledge to date it. That really does need an expert!

 

Sorry about the recent dearth of postings. I have been concentrating on finishing my loco off, ready for a rally last week. I am planning to draw up the lamp brackets next so Father can make them up. We are also planning a working weekend later in the month to get things moving again.

 

Too many nice things to do and this earning a living business really gets in the way!

 

Steve

[Great War truck]

certainly looks like a Model T to me. Thanks for posting it Degsy.

[Degsy]

Thank you for your replies boys, it's really quite embarrassing to admit I didn't recognise it:blush: my father learned to drive on a model T and I always had a nagging thought in my mind that it was familiar in some way. The upsetting thing is that forty years ago when I first saw it a lot of the trailer it had been made into was still attached and the axle would have been restoreable. I'm kicking myself now but at the time I was too busy trying to run 2 businesses to spend much time or effort on identifying it . Hindsight is a wonderful thing:-(

[Great War truck]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing:-(

 

Very true indeed. So is that the same Model t that he learned to drive in then?

 

With a holiday now out of the way and after other diversions, it was back to the Lorry today. The Water pump is finished-painted, and the gland has been packed with a graphited yarn so the whole thing is now ready for final installation on the engine.

 

 

 

 

You may remember that we said earlier that the engine has to be raised by a 1/4" and the Raising Blocks have been cut and drilled and given one coat of primer. They need to be painted before fitting to save any future problem with rusting.

 

 

Next job now is to make up the bracket to hold the exhaust pipe.

[Degsy]

=Great War truck;208436]Very true indeed. So is that the same Model t that he learned to drive in then?

 

 

Tim

No, I have no idea where it came from other than it had been in my late father in laws possession from some time in the 1930's, sorry if I didn't word my post very well.

Edited June 11, 2010 by Marmite!!
quote tags

[Bystander]

I would certainly agree with Model T but have insufficient knowledge to date it. That really does need an expert!

 

Sorry about the recent dearth of postings. I have been concentrating on finishing my loco off, ready for a rally last week. I am planning to draw up the lamp brackets next so Father can make them up. We are also planning a working weekend later in the month to get things moving again.

 

Too many nice things to do and this earning a living business really gets in the way!

 

Steve

 

Very very nice indeed - I presume that it works both as a simple and as compound in the protypical way?