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WW1 Peerless lorry restoration


Great War truck

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We probably wont disassemble them. I dont think there is a need to. We did it previously on another truck and painted all the leaves, but the paint got squeezed out and it looked a mess. We have not lubricated the leaves either. I dont think there is a need. No hard and fast rules of course.

 

With the chassis being prepared for blasting Dad made up some wooden plugs to protect parts we really dont want sand in. While talking to the sand blaster he had two more shackles blasted. A bit worn but better than the others. 

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On 1/8/2020 at 6:35 AM, IAN_B said:

I see that you have prepared the springs for cleaning. Do you not dismantle them and clean all the leaves?

Ian

 

Hi Ian.

As Tim says, we won't be taking these apart as they are not showing any signs of spreading. There will be a little bit of rust between the leaves so I expect we will see some dust come out the first time on the road but I am not concerned.

The only damping in the suspension is the friction between the leaves so we won't grease them either. I had heard that they tried greasing the leaves on Jezebel, the 1916 Dennis N type fire engine, and that her handling was noticeably degraded but Mr Pugh will be better placed to comment on that. Her performance is also significantly quicker than a lorry so we probably wouldn't notice the difference either way.

Good luck with the International!

Steve  :)

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On 1/2/2020 at 5:42 AM, QL Driver said:

Isn’t the construction method here wooden spokes and felloes, with a steel band shrunk onto them, THEN the rubber and steel are pressed onto that?

Presumably you cut the bands off because you have NOS tyres ready to go on *(in preference to saving them for making new tyres). When Dad cut the bands off the Garrett front wheels 30 years ago, he used the old bands (suitably shortened and with a clamp arrangement) as a press tool for the wheel.

We have wheels of similar construction on our 1918 International. New ones are being made right now, having already had new rubber vulcanised onto the rims. Our wheelwright will heat the steel bands and fit them over the felloes, with the finished outside diameter of the steel band about 1/8" greater than the rim ID. He will then heat the rim sufficiently for it to fit over the steel band and then cool it to achieve a tight fit. The rubber is vulcanised at about 200C, and with 29" inside diameter, he believes only moderate heat will be required to expand the rims sufficiently. We are placing our trust in his expertise!

Ian

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48 minutes ago, 8_10 Brass Cleaner said:

I doubt it was done like that back in the day. It would be pressed on

I thought the same, thanks for breaking the silence. 
I would expect the outer rim of the wooden wheel to be shrunk on in traditional way. But tyre swaps would be cold pressed like they are with metal wheels. 

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The front springs have gone off for a rebuild and should be ready in a month or so. Dad is continuing to work with the shackle pins, shackles and nuts for both axles which are now nearly ready. He has dug out the head lamp brackets which now need a good clean.  He has also pulled out the spring U bolts some of which are looking rather tired. However, I think we have some in stock so we just need to dig out some better ones.

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And while we are on the subject of lamp brackets, we are undecided which lamps to put on the Peerless. We have a nice set of Miller headlamps and either P&H, Adlakes or King of the road side. Looking at this photo of the Peerless recovery truck which we intend to recreate, I dont recognise either the headlamps or the side. The side looks a little like an Adlake but is not. Any thoughts anybody please?

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They are lovely! How will you treat them? When we had wheels made for the Autocar many years ago, the wheelwright recommended painting them with a few coats of linseed oil diluted with white spirit. Took forever to dry properly but they seem to be OK>

 

Steve  :)

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2 hours ago, Old Bill said:

Hello Steve.

That is because he only gave you half the story.

Enamel paints are effectively 3 components, Linseed oil, tinter and filler. On that basis you have a paint that will take forever to dry. The addition of a quite small quantity of "Terebine" makes all the difference and results in the 24 hours to touch dry, 1 week to effectively dry behaviour.

Likewise this applies to straight Linseed Oil for wood treatment - usually "Boiled Linseed Oil".

If you don't add Terebine, it will take forever to dry. It is horses for courses. If you want to preserve timber long term and do not need to use it then the straight Linseed oil is ok as long as you aren't concerned about dust adhesion. Lets say timbers in a roof structure where you want long lasting protection and are not concerned about the sticky residue.

However, for all other applications, whether something that is handled (eg. a shovel handle) or in use in whatever way then you want the Linseed Oil to seal/harden once it soaks in, that is when you use Linseed Oil with Terebine.

In the paint industry Terebine was always referred to as "driers".

When using Terebine, less is better and it should be treated with respect as it is a nasty chemical, don't breath fumes and don't get it on your skin - gloves needed.  Follow the instructions as the amount needed is surprisingly little.

Being that Terebine is a concocted substance, its formula may have changed over time. What I have written above is the traditional view. Below is a modern MSDS for your reference.

<http://www.sceneys.com.au/media/pdfs/msds/Terebine.pdf

 

2 hours ago, Old Bill said:

 

They are lovely! How will you treat them? When we had wheels made for the Autocar many years ago, the wheelwright recommended painting them with a few coats of linseed oil diluted with white spirit. Took forever to dry properly but they seem to be OK>

 

Steve  :)

 

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5 hours ago, Old Bill said:

They are lovely! How will you treat them? When we had wheels made for the Autocar many years ago, the wheelwright recommended painting them with a few coats of linseed oil diluted with white spirit. Took forever to dry properly but they seem to be OK>

 

Steve  :)

We certainly face that dilemma and have been canvassing suggestions. Some examples of these trucks have the entire wheels, spokes and all, painted "International red", which we are using for the chassis and accessories. This would be a sacrilege in my opinion, so a natural finish of some kind is required. I have long used boiled linseed oil, mineral turpentine and Terebine (40+40+20%) (which I dub 'linturbine') as a treatment on old cast iron on stationary engines, but it had not occurred to me that it might also be suitable for timber. I will do a trial.

We expect the wheels to be complete in a week or so, and I will post more photos then.

Ian

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On 1/16/2020 at 10:30 AM, David Herbert said:

Hi Ian,

They look great, I like the toothed ring for the ABS sensor on the wheel in the middle of the picture 😁.

David

Just noticed your tongue in cheek comment! The "toothed ring" is the planetary drive inside the rear wheel hubs, a feature of International trucks from 1915 till about 1923. Ours has a 13:53 ratio, which enables the diff and gearbox to be lighter in construction and lower ratios because some of the reduction occurs in the hubs.

Ian

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3 hours ago, IAN_B said:

We certainly face that dilemma and have been canvassing suggestions. Some examples of these trucks have the entire wheels, spokes and all, painted "International red", which we are using for the chassis and accessories. This would be a sacrilege in my opinion, so a natural finish of some kind is required. I have long used boiled linseed oil, mineral turpentine and Terebine (40+40+20%) (which I dub 'linturbine') as a treatment on old cast iron on stationary engines, but it had not occurred to me that it might also be suitable for timber. I will do a trial.

We expect the wheels to be complete in a week or so, and I will post more photos then.

Ian

Ian,

That is a very high percentage of Terebine. Think of it more like you would a catalyst. Just some, to start a reaction happening.

At 20% I would expect drying to be very quick, but I would also expect to see detrimental effects such as cracking/crocodile skin and even flaking off?

Regards

Doug

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6 minutes ago, dgrev said:

Ian,

That is a very high percentage of Terebine. Think of it more like you would a catalyst. Just some, to start a reaction happening.

At 20% I would expect drying to be very quick, but I would also expect to see detrimental effects such as cracking/crocodile skin and even flaking off?

Regards

Doug

Drying is far from quick - touch dry in at least 24 hours, fully dry in much more. I have seen none of the effects you mention, but my experience is limited to metal. it seems to be as much a penetrant as a coating, and a little goes a long way.

Ian

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Thank you gentlemen. There is always something to be learned!

Once the Peerless wheels are cleaned up, they will probably simply be painted. The wood is too old and has soaked up too much 'other' for the linseed to do much good at this stage. An interesting topic!

Steve  :)

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