Great War truck Posted August 24 Author Share Posted August 24 (edited) Back on the handle again we had some more progress - but no cigar: Edited August 25 by Great War truck 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted August 24 Author Share Posted August 24 With two of us on the starting handle rope and Steve kicking the starting handle we at last managed to get the engine to run. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted August 24 Author Share Posted August 24 We undertook some adjustments and tried again. With three of us on the handle it started just like that. Quite remarkable considering the last minute replacement to a previously untested magneto and carb. A great day: 17 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john1950 Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 It's still a wow moment. Proves you are on the right track, brilliant work. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flandersflyer Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Good 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornishMade Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 Absolutely fabulous 🙂👍👍, I will be showing dad this tomorrow, we have been watching all they way through the restoration, great job👍👍👍👍 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtskull Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Superb work! Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Thank you everybody. It was an exciting occasion but hard work. I still ache now! The magneto was a disappointment but all was well in the end. You may notice, in the first clip of it running, that there is a lot of smoke around the inlet manifold and periodically, a jet of smoke and flame out of the manifold towards the magneto. This was due to a bolt hole in the manifold that I had forgotten to plug. The hole was left over from the governor which we haven't fitted so no doubt it was making it very lean which certainly didn't help the starting! A bolt soon sorted that. We have been doing other things as well and the recent focus has been on the bonnet. After our trial fit, we decided that my new hinges were too small so I had to make some more. At least I knew how to do it this time! 50 blanks cut from the old Daimler bonnet. That was well worth saving all those years ago. Drilled and ready to go. The catches also needed making. This is the one on the Sandstone Peerless. It took me a while to puzzle out how to bend it but I made up a press tool from mild steel and it did the trick. Should have been hardened really but I only wanted four and got away with it. A bit of fiddling to get the curve in. Behind each catch is a rib. I think these were castings but I elected to fabricate them. My little press-brake put the first bend in. Then it was the gentle bend to match the bonnet. They came out quite well. The rib was harder as the strip had to be bent sideways. I slotted a couple of bits of bar to support them while I pushed. I had to add the clamps to prevent the rollers from being fired out sideways. My favourite silver solder, Ready for riveting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 (edited) The handle is quite a distinctive shape. This was the best I could find. I could have made them up myself but that seemed to be going a bit too far. Drilling for rivets. I did the riveting out in my forge as the bench is very heavy. Fortunately, I have remarkably tolerant neighbours. A trial fit of the top panels went well. It is apparent that the radiator is about 1/4" out of square so there is a bit more gap one side than the other. The 3/4" rise to the rear is quite noticeable. Then a trial of the side panels with a blanket to protect the paintwork. Fortunately we didn't do too much damage. Not a bad fit. The bonnet catches line up but the springs are a bit weak. Something else to address. That's all ready for painting and then it will be time for the signwriter. In the mean time, we need a floor and seat for the driver! Steve 😊 Edited August 27 by Old Bill 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Brilliant, very well done, looks great with the bonnet on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cordenj Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 Great progress, wonderful to see it run after all that work! Could I ask about the paint you use? I've had issues again with my long term supplier of "Canadian Brown" for CMP trucks. Not matching on colour or consistent level eggshell finish. What is the colour you use as it seems very similar to my C8a. Also what % sheen to give the perfect eggshell finish you achieve? Lastly, who you use to supply? Thanks John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 1 hour ago, cordenj said: Great progress, wonderful to see it run after all that work! Could I ask about the paint you use? I've had issues again with my long term supplier of "Canadian Brown" for CMP trucks. Not matching on colour or consistent level eggshell finish. What is the colour you use as it seems very similar to my C8a. Also what % sheen to give the perfect eggshell finish you achieve? Lastly, who you use to supply? Thanks John Thanks John- and for your question about the paint! It was several years ago that a friendly Professional who was restoring a ww1 lorry for a museum found an acceptable sample of the original paint on an old chassis which he could colour match. This was done and the name of the supplier which he then used was passed on to us. We used that for the Autocar. That Supplier went out of business and we then found another Supplier who did a fresh colour match from the Autocar paint. Craftmaster Paints supplied us with that specified colour from their range which they named as "WW1 Khaki" We decided that we did not want a glossy paint or a matt paint and settled on a satin finish - which is known as "Raddle". This has been used on our Thornycroft and on our Dennis! I hope that this helps and good luck with it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cordenj Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 2 hours ago, Minesweeper said: Thanks John- and for your question about the paint! It was several years ago that a friendly Professional who was restoring a ww1 lorry for a museum found an acceptable sample of the original paint on an old chassis which he could colour match. This was done and the name of the supplier which he then used was passed on to us. We used that for the Autocar. That Supplier went out of business and we then found another Supplier who did a fresh colour match from the Autocar paint. Craftmaster Paints supplied us with that specified colour from their range which they named as "WW1 Khaki" We decided that we did not want a glossy paint or a matt paint and settled on a satin finish - which is known as "Raddle". This has been used on our Thornycroft and on our Dennis! I hope that this helps and good luck with it Thank-you, I will try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 A few more things have been going on recently. In the collection of bits was this rather nice iron plate. It appears to have been commonly fitted onto the side of the floor support. However, our floor side extensions would hide it which would be a pity so we have fitted it to the dash panel at eye level as you get in. The floor around the pedals is a bit of a puzzle. We had an original iron casting (broken) for this corner so I made up patterns for a replacement and its opposite number. You may recall that the patterns were completely destroyed by the foundry but I did get two good castings. I drilled the holes in it to match the support angles. However, the main panel has continued to puzzle us as there is very limited support for it. I went ahead and cut a piece of hardwood ply using a very nice saw that Dad gave me for Christmas. After cutting out for the pedal, that fitted quite nicely. However, there is nothing to support the lower right corner. After some thought, we fitted a flat strip of steel along the edge and the full width of the cab. To it, we also fitted the second casting thus carrying the load to the other side. I am not convinced that that is how it was done but have no evidence to the contrary. It does seem to work though! A while back, I started turning up the fan pulley and bored the centre hole. However, it popped out of the chuck as soon as I tried to cut the vee-groove so I decided that it needed mounting on a mandrel using the key. I therefore had to work out how to cut a key-way. My keyway cutter is intended for the Myford but the Myford isn't big enough to turn the pulley so I bolted it to the face plate above centre and packed up the cutter to match. This came out quite satisfactorily. Then, using my fancy new vice, I drilled and tapped for the clamp screw. Back to Father's Colchester and today, I turned up a mandrel with a key slot in it. This held the pulley very securely and I was able to cut the groove. Despite my using the vee-groove standard for a B-section, something has gone wrong and the initial straight cut groove is wider than it should be. It matches the standard but it isn't right! We have elected to suck it and see and if it doesn't work, I will have to make another. I reversed it and machined it to thickness but despite my best efforts, I cannot get a decent finish. I tried heavy and light cuts, fast and slow feeds but it was always awful. In the end, I resorted to emery paper but there must be a better way. I always have trouble with cast aluminium. Anyway, I pressed on, made a key and fitted to the crank. Another job ticked off! Steve😊 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asciidv Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 What a lot of good progress over the past week! A couple of questions though; 1. In the engine start videos I didn't see you 'blip the throttle'. Does it pick up OK when asked to speed up or is this still to be worked on? 2. The edge of the bonnet appears to be a raw metal edge resting nice new paint. Is there anything to stop the paint from getting chewed up? 3. Does you mill have a tilting head so that you could have used a conventional vice to drill the locking hole in the pulley? Barry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 On the subject of paint, would you forgive me if I exhibit anorak (rivet counting) symptoms for a moment? It is my understanding that in the initial months of WWI the vehicles were painted green and that it was a field mod to paint them khaki. Does this mean that I have to paint my ambulance (if it is ever completed!) green then over paint it in your khaki? Alastair F60S LAAT Ford Lynx I MkIII* currently building a 10 HP Renault ambulance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 11 hours ago, Asciidv said: What a lot of good progress over the past week! A couple of questions though; 1. In the engine start videos I didn't see you 'blip the throttle'. Does it pick up OK when asked to speed up or is this still to be worked on? 2. The edge of the bonnet appears to be a raw metal edge resting nice new paint. Is there anything to stop the paint from getting chewed up? 3. Does you mill have a tilting head so that you could have used a conventional vice to drill the locking hole in the pulley? Barry. Hi Barry. You are quite right, I forgot to try blipping the throttle. I was more concerned about it running away! Something for next time when we have the mag sorted. The bonnet does simply seem to be a raw edge on the chassis rail. The Sandstone example which is the most original around, shows this. Mind you. It could be that I have got the bonnet a bit long and it should just hang, held by the catches. Yes, my mill head does swivel but it is quite a performance to get it true again that the angle vice was a much easier solution for this job. Next job is the seat so we can take it out! Steve 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 1 hour ago, Alastair said: On the subject of paint, would you forgive me if I exhibit anorak (rivet counting) symptoms for a moment? It is my understanding that in the initial months of WWI the vehicles were painted green and that it was a field mod to paint them khaki. Does this mean that I have to paint my ambulance (if it is ever completed!) green then over paint it in your khaki? Alastair Hi Alastair. I think that vehicles were grey with black lettering up to 1915 when they went to a khaki brown, fresh cowpat colour known as 'service colour'. Poor old Tomo would have been the expert on that subject but Tim might have some views. Steve 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Bill Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 Sadly, it is back to reality tomorrow. We did do a bit today though. I fitted a running board that Dad has painted up. I couldn't do the other side as we realised that one of the brackets is bent so that will need a bit of attention from the press first. The next thing to mount on the running board is the toolbox. Amazingly, we spotted an original Peerless item at Beaulieu Autojumble some years ago and instantly recognised it. It wasn't even very expensive. It was, however, pretty mucky. Tim has spent a considerable amount of time cleaning it up and it has come out very well. It appears to be made of oak. Certainly, it is pretty hard. Of course, we need one for the other side as well so it is currently with Mark the Chippy to copy. I will then do the banding and the lid to match. It is Beaulieu again in a couple of weeks. I wonder what else we might find? Steve 🙂 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10FM68 Posted August 28 Share Posted August 28 A wonderful job you are doing - we're all watching this thread with great admiration and pleasure. Regarding the tool box: you mention that it is probably oak but very hard. I do know that the US Navy used a particularly hard wood for building warships - in the USA it is known as 'live oak', over here, 'evergreen' or 'holm' oak. It is possible that that is what you have there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IAN_B Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Great to see the engine run after all this time and work! I have wondered of the fate of the Thornycroft Tomo was working on. I had a bit of an investment in it. He was close to completing its engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minesweeper Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 (edited) 1 hour ago, IAN_B said: 1 hour ago, IAN_B said: I have wondered of the fate of the Thornycroft Tomo was working on. I had a bit of an investment in it. He was close to completing its engine. His brother is dealing with it and as far as we know, it is up for sale...... Edited August 30 by Minesweeper Amendment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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