Dodge D15T

[john1950]

That would be the theory. I just used try to stop the mess. Some times engine oil leaks can be caused by restricted crank case breathers. Jaguar XK engines in particular they also smoke sometimes caused by a blocked gauze in the front of the head. These old engines were not designed to last this long. They just become incontinent with age. Keeping them going is an art, also a labour of love carried out by you restorers. I am just looking over the fence trying not to become a resident critic. 

[Pete Ashby]

Next step is to assemble the pistons to the rods.  

The pistons have been washed in gun cleaner and the ring grooves cleaned with a narrow strip of lint free rag then inspected for damage and all found to be good to go. The rod piston pin, (little end or gudgeon pin) all different names for same thing have previously been measured and inspected and found to be good to go again. If not new bushes would be required and these would have to be reamed to match the pins a job best given to your machine shop as clearances need to be very precise.

A quick rub over with Auto Solve metal polish to remove the oil tarnish and a polish up with the lint free rag .  The point about using lint free rags is this,  bits fluff or threads shed during any stage of the engine build may ball up blocking  the finer oil ways,  some people use blue workshop paper towel this comes in a big role,   I'm just too tight to buy it.

The method for fitting the piston to the connecting rod will vary depending on the design, materiel and make of the piston,  variations on a theme here.  Some include heating the piston in boiling water or hot oil and /or freezing the piston pin.   Not required here the pins are fully floating and a push fit at room temperature. (  unlike a jeep pin for example that is clamped on to the piston with a lock bolt). 

People have contacted me and said they like seeing the tools used for various jobs so tools for this job, are shown below.   On these pistons the pin is held in place by circlips (spring clips C clips) Below are two types of pliers for removing/replacing clips,  on the left the traditional type working like conventional pliers.  On the right  a screw thread version with various jaw fittings for internal and external clips, it saves having to hang onto the thing all the time both have strengths and weakness,  I find the the screw thread ones much better for bigger clips on bearing housings for example.

 

Photo below shows the parts for cylinder No2 , note the front of the engine is marked on the piston crown with an arrow ( during disassembly) and the pin is coming out of a numbered bag to ensure it goes back into the matching rod numbered for the bore ( stamp mark 2 on the bearing housing shoulder ).  The rod cap bolt threads are protected with a couple of short lengths of polythene pipe pushed onto them.

It is vital that the correct rod and piston  goes into the correct bore and that the rod is assembled to the piston the correct way round.  This is why on disassembly you must know which direction the front of the engine is relative to the piston crown likewise which orientation the rod is relative to the piston.

Get this wrong and a whole bag full of woes will follow in very short order leading to total engine failure, assuming you can even get the thing assembled in the first place Observation and the technical manual for the engine being worked on are critical here.  You really can't guess, having said that jeeps owners will be aware that the war time TM manuals had a misprint with regard to rod/piston orientation that was not corrected for some considerable time. 

 On this particular engine type with the piston orientation facing forward in the block the stamped rod number and oil squirt hole face the camshaft side.  To make sure I don't get confused I have replicated the front of the piston mark( photo below) with a sharpie pen on the piston wall so I can see it with the piston upside down. 

First I use a small amount of  the engine build lube (mentioned in a previous post) on the surfaces.  The pin is started into the piston just enough so that the rod can be fed on.  Supporting the rod the pin is pushed carefully all the way through to the other side, check everything is free to move without binding and fit the clips ensuring that they are correctly seated in the locating grooves. 

And if it all goes well it ends up looking like this.

Pete

 

 

 

 

.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

Piston rings come in nearly as many different shapes and combinations and materials as there are stars in the sky. 

So you must know what type you are working with because it makes a difference to the clearance tolerance  and how they are fitted to the piston,   get a good book or go on the web and check your type specific manual.

The rings I'm working with are very basic square shoulder iron 1st and 2nd compression rings with a compounded oil scraper pack made up of a top and bottom rail with intermediate support spacer spring .

The photo below shows the full set for one 3 ring piston, the number sequence 1 to 7 are in the order that the rings are fitted to the piston starting at the lowest ring groove and working upwards to the crown.

They are as follows:

1 backing spring for oil scraper pack

2 bottom oil scraper rail

3 spacer support spring

4 top oil scraper rail

5 backing spring for 2nd compression ring

6 2nd compression ring

7 1st (top) compression ring

I'll mention the tool in the photo in the next post,  for now this is all about preparing the rings 

Tools for the job, self explanatory apart from the black strip this is 600 wet and dry paper and maybe the little gizmo on the extreme right this is a rotary ring file,

Here's a closer view of it below it's a hand powered grinding wheel more about this in a minute.

For the traditionalists out there this is the bit of kit that the rotary file replaced

All the above kit is for setting the appropriate end gap on a piston ring. In the first photo in the thread you can see the rings all have large gaps but when inserted in the bore the gap will close up to the point where the ends could butt up tight and jam the ring (and therefore the piston) in the bore all sorts of bad karma follows this event.

All this means the ring has to have a specific gap when fitted into the bore.  The size of the gap is a collective function of bore diameter, piston material and construction and the material and type of ring used.

There are rule of thumb measurements like the set in tables below from my 1938 copy of Practical Automobile Engineering, but the spec for the particular engine being worked on should be checked and also any information that comes from the manufactures of the rings. 

And just because it make me smile here's the inside cover photo from the same book....Hmm  I could just see myself in that beret and a set of brown overalls.

 

Where was I ? ring gaps OK here we go then

On a rebuilt engine each set of rings will be gaped and fitted to a unique bore this is because there will be minor deviations in bore measurements between the various cylinders.

First put a small fine smear of assembly lube around the bore. Take a compression ring and seat it into the top of the bore as per photo below.

Place the open ends of the ring in first,  hold it in place and feed the back in with your thumbs it a bit of an acquired skill.. Rings are brittle and easily broken if handled incorrectly so practice on one of the old rings you took off at disassembly.  

See how the gap has closed up red arrow the blue arrow show a reference mark I have put on the ring with the sharpie pen more about that in a minute.

If the ends butt up at this stage don't keep pushing the ring into the bore you'll have to file some off I'll cover that in a minute, but we'll assume here there is still a gap

Take a piston and rod without rings fitted and gently push the ring down the bore about 1 inch that's what's happening here this action squares the ring in the bore,  remove the piston and rod.

 

  Now measure the gap using a set of feeler gauges see photo below and compare with the spec. I'm measuring both at near TDC and BDC ring positions on this engine as it has not been re-bored.  I know there is some very slight taper and ovality in the bores so the ring gap could be good towards the top of the bore but butt lower down,  on a re-bored engine this second measurement would not be required.

 

 Using the ring file, a spot of oil on the wheel shaft and screw it firmly to the bench or lump of wood so that the handle can turn freely. 

mark one edge of the upper face of the ring with a dot using the sharpie pen (the blue arrow from the fitting the ring to the bore photo above ) this will now act as your reference mark.

I was taught to only file one end of the ring so the datum mark should always face up and be the edge to file against.

Place the ring on the file bed and butt the ring against the pegs to keep the end of the ring square to the grinding wheel.

The grinding wheel must only cut in a downward motion otherwise the ring will jump up and flutter and /or chip at the edge. Only very light pressure is required to hold the ring against the wheel,  place your fingers on the ring as shown below.

Give the handle four or five turns then take the ring off the file bed,  use the 600 wet and dry to very lightly take off any burs formed on the end of the ring do not round off any of the edges of the ring 

Repeat the process of fitting the ring into the bore centering and taking the gap measurement you will need to repeat this operation a number of times to get the required result.

The file removes a lot of material very quickly so patience is the key,  you can always take some more off but you can't put it back on if you overshoot and too bigger gap is as bad a too little  

On a two compression ring six cylinder engine this operation may well take 2 or 3 hours to do the six cylinders. The good news is that oil rings rarely need gaping but each rail and spring support should be placed in the bore and the gap measured just to be sure.

Pete 

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

The logical close to this section on pistons is a word on fitting the gaped rings to the pistons.

On a three ring square edge set up like the one here it's not difficult however some pistons may have more compression rings each may have a different profile and width and there may be an additional scarper ring system on the skirt of the piston as well.

In short you need to set out the rings prior to fitting in the correct order, if you do get it wrong and it's easy to do on some set ups then it really spoils the day to break a new ring after all the effort put in so far while trying to take it off.

A photo that I forgot to post in the thread about measuring rings is this one below here I'm measuring the side clearance between the ring and the groove using the feeler gauges (red arrow). 

This is another key measurement the ring has to be able to move in the groove however,  too loose and you run the risk of breaking a ring or even a piston belt,  too tight and the ring will size up when the piston heats up and cause excessive bore ware and/ or size the piston in the bore..... more tears before bed time.

Once again there is no size fits all,  you need to know what the specs are for the various ring/piston combinations you are working with. Here top and second compression ring is 0.002" to 0.004" and the oil scraper pack is 0.001 to 0.003"

So to recap, the photo I posted previously showing the order for fitting these particular rings.  I do this every time I have to ring a piston.   I'm not doing it every day and it easy to forget/get confused even though on this set up it's pretty straightforward.

A word about the ring pliers on the right of the photo, these hold the two ends of the ring and by gently squeezing the grips you can open the ring up just enough to feed it over the crown of the piston and down to the relevant groove.  I've had these years and they are a very cheap pair but I'm used to them, there are much better ones available now that better support the ring.

 

This is how they work you mustn't open the ring up any more than is absolutely necessary to move it down over the crown, note with this type of ring pliers the flat side of the jaws faces up towards you when in use. 

Some people apply assembly lube onto the rings and grooves at this point then fit the rings.   I prefer not to I find it's hard enough without having the things slipping and sliding all over the place.......perhaps I should unchain my wallet and buy a better set of ring pliers.....another reason for not oiling them is that I do not intend to fit the assemblies immediately so the oil may attract unwanted dust and grit  even though they are stored away in a closed container out of harms way until  called to duty.

So the finished job looks like this below, a whole truck load of words to get here I'm afraid,  but there really are some key points and issues to be aware off.

This blog is by no means meant to be definitive,  go read a book,...... several books, .... look at a few U tube vids,  read your manual then have a go,  there is nothing here that can't be done in an ordinary domestic garage with a bench.

 

I'll say something about arranging ring gaps on the piston prior to fitting when I actually fit them to the bores in a later post.

So until my main bearings and rod bearings arrive from the US that's it for now.

Pete

 

 

Edited July 11, 2022 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

Fitting the completed piston and rod assemblies into the block:

Tools for the job,

the black collar is an expandable  piston ring compressor (this is the traditional style click ratchet type), the socket ratchet drive with 1/4"  attached  is used to adjust the collar more about this in a minute. 

 

 

First off the rings need to be arranged around the piston so that ring gaps do not all fall in the same plain see photo below.  Like this there is a direct compression leak path out of the cylinder and into the sump...... not good news.

Rings will move around the piston groove during operation,  they are not spinning like tops but forces involved during piston travel will induce a degree of movement so the idea is to try and limit the point at which everything lines up.

There are whole engineering papers written on how to set rings on a piston, suffice to say try to set the gaps as far apart from each other as possible it's good practice to try not to have a gap over a piston pin, piston side wall, relief split in the skit (if present) or on the thrust side of the skirt easy to say not always easy to do particularity on small diameter pistons so do the best you can is the word here I think.

this is how I have arranged my gaps  see photo below,  a degree of compromise from the ideal here due to the construction of the piston. 

Purple = top and second compression rings,  Green = oil scraper top and bottom rail, Yellow = oil scraper support spring

Once the rings are spaced  around the piston apply a little assembly lube to the rings, the ring belts and piston skirt.

Apply assembly lube to the inside of the ring compressor place it over the piston crown carefully so as not to shift the rings around and tighten the clamp up tight this now acts like the wall of the cylinder closing the gaps on the rings flush with the piston wall, 

The bore in the block must be thoroughly cleaned now before inserting the piston and rod assembly,  I use a lint free rag and gun cleaner for this then a wipe of assembly lube around the entire bore depth. 

Check the piston is facing the correct way forward and the correct piston is going into the correct bore

Carefully slide the assembly into the bore  making sure the rod and (cap bolts if fitted) doesn't score the bore wall on the way down. 

Seat the compressor collar just into the top of the bore,  most blocks will have a degree of relief tapper right at the top to facilitate this, It is vital that the compressor bottom lip just fits into the top of the bore and stays there.  Check that it is and check again.  There must be no gap anywhere around the circumference.  If there is it will get very expensive very quickly a broken ring or rings at best or at worst a ruined piston and broken rings will result.

That all sounds a bit dramatic but this next operation is  key to proper assembly, everything that has gone before regarding pistons and rings could be wasted if this goes wrong

Take a heavy weight ball pein hammer and using the handle push down hard on the crown of the piston while holding the collar firmly in the top of the bore it needs to go all the way down out of the collar and into the bore in one go you can't fanny about at this stage, if you can get a second pair of hands to hold the collar in place so much the better. 

If there is sudden resistance stop pushing a ring has most likely jammed going into the top of the bore.  You have a chance to save the day by removing the collar checking there is no damage or reason for the jam re lube everything and try again. 

Some people give the crown one sharp tap with the handle and in it shoots..... well most of the time........ I've done it that way too but I prefer the pushing method.   I think you stand a chance of feeling if a ring is going to catch and there is a chance to rectify the situation before it all goes to rats.

And if all goes well it's time for tea and biscuits or perhaps a cheeky beer or maybe two before 6pm  and stand back and admire the job

Pete

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Pete Ashby
added a bit about jammed rings

[Pete Ashby]

Last week those nice chaps from UPS delivered a small brown package from Vintage Power Wagons in the US along with a large import tax invoice.   After I'd recovered my composure and applied a fire extinguisher to my wallet I opened the box to find the engine bearings and manifold stud and nut set and various other small bits and pieces to finish the engine rebuild. If you have not dealt with VPW for Dodge related parts I can recommend them, it's just a pity they are on the wrong side of the pond.

Anyway to the task in hand, this piece is about fitting the crank, the photo below shows the crank journals when removed from the engine during strip down.  This photo makes them actually look worse than they were the marking is staining from standing unused in dirty oil.

Below are the same journals after I've cleaned them up.  You will see all sorts of miracle methods for doing this, frankly if there is any physical damage to the surface there is only one option, it's off to the machine shop to get the journals ground and then fitted with new oversize bearings to match.

Here the journals were in good condition so I used a 6"long by 1/2" wide strip of medium grade Scotch Brite   wrapped around once and pulled backwards and forwards across the width of the journal a few times. Then a thin film of Auto solve is applied sparingly (try to keep it away from the oil ports) then polished with a similar sized lint free rag, denim is very good for this I find . 

Auto solve is very mildly abrasive so after doing the whole crank everything is sprayed down with gun cleaner including  the oil ways then a smear of assembly lube added to each journal to keep flash oxidation at bay then re-wrapped with clean rag..

More to follow

Pete

[Pete Ashby]

Fitting the block crank journal main shell bearing half's is all about paying attention to the correct positioning.  The new ones  must go back into the block exactly where the old ones came out, they are not a universal fit, this is where your notes and photos made during strip down come into play also read the specific manual for the engine...... never assume.......... it will be costly.  

OK with the main bearing shell half's in the block everything is ready to lower the crank into place the tools that I use for this job are shown below.  All self explanatory apart from perhaps the little red tube with a blue cap (top right) this is non hardening thread lock more about that later.

The crank is a heavy piece of kit on a six cylinder engine so at the very least it requires two reasonably useful people to lower it carefully into position it must go in square and level to prevent damaging the shells.

I work alone so I use this attachment to the crane, it's an adjustable leveling bar.  This piece of kit isn't  a huge sum of money and has a million and one uses in the workshop for lifting and slinging saving hours  of messing around adjusting strops and chains to get a level lift.  Just turn the handle and move the center of gravity one way or the other until the load sits square or any angle that you require for that matter particularly useful for gearbox and engine installations.

I've already got the pistons and rods in the block (covered in the previous posts) and they are all set at TDC out of the way, some people prefer to fit the crank first and then fit pistons and rods it depends on the engine design.

I prefer this way as there is no risk of the rod or cap bolts damaging the crank during fitting to the cylinder.  I have fitted the new big end shell half's into the rods at this stage. 

All bearings and bearing surfaces get a good application of assembly lube and the crank is lowered into position,  the main bearing caps are fitted paying attention to the correct positioning and location I covered that in depth during the blog entry on strip down so now is the time when that previous effort pays off.

The caps are just nipped up by hand at this stage and the crank checked to see if everything moves without binding (that's what the big 3/4" drive socket and bar are for on the hand crank dog) do not try a full revolution at this stage as the the bearings may shift in the caps as they are not locked down.

Now start to pull up the main caps starting with the middle  a little at a time testing to make sure everything is free at each stage I tend to go up to final torque in about four equal stages across the whole length of the crank. If it binds at any point stop and find out why,  it will not get better by just carrying on.

Now I fit the the big end caps and bearing shells but only just finger tight at this stage  and if everything has gone to plan it looks like this.

More to follow

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2022 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

Because I haven't had the crank ground I wanted to check the bearing clearance on each main bearing in turn for my own peace of mind so I did this using the Plastigauge in the manner I detailed during strip down the result was very encouraging coming out bang in the middle of the as built clearance specs for this engine @ 0.002". With a reground crank it would probably suffice to check just one main bearing.

Before the big end caps on the con rods are torqued up the end float (end thrust) on the crankshaft needs to be checked just as with the  cam shaft (previous posts) the forces produced during operation will try to move the crankshaft backwards and forwards in the block too much is a real problem and too little will lead to seizure so it has to be with specified limits for the design of the engine. The backwards/forwards thrust is taken up on this particular engine by pads on the rear main cap only, other designs may have pads on the center bearing and or front cap for example all are variations of doing the same job. 

To measure the end thrust the tools I used are below, dial gauge with magnetic base and a small pry bar you could use feeler gauges for this but on this engine there's not much room to get them where they need to be.

 

The photo below is taken at the rear of the block.  Using the pry bar on the balance weight move the crankshaft forward until it stops (direction of red arrow)....... be very careful doing this you don't want to damage either the block or the crank if there is resistance STOP and find out why,  you really don't want to crack the block casting or a lesser of evils damage a bearing.  Set up the dial gauge at a convenient location lock it in place and zero the dial, here I'm using the flywheel flange as my datum point.

 

This photo is now at the front of the block. in the same manner and exercising the same caution as before move the crankshaft back as far as it will go (direction of green arrow)

 

This photo shows the results @ 0.005",  I repeated it three time and got the same answer each time so well pleased with this as factory spec is 0.003" to 0.008"

Now it was a case of checking each big end bearing clearance with the Plastigauge then plenty of assembly lube on the shell and journal before replacing the cap. The result for all big ends was a very reassuring 0.0015" the factory spec is 0.001" to 0.003" so bang in the middle.

This is where the tube of thread lock now appears, Dodge use a early form of self locking nut on the cap bolts other manufactures use split pins, self locking washers or just plain spring washers. 

The point is after time and taking the nuts on and off a few times the the self locking isn't perhaps as full proof as they could be so as a belt a braces I add a dab of non hardening thread lock to the rod bolts just to help things along a bit.

So that about wraps it up for this engine,  everything else is just bolting on all the 'hanging on' bits and getting ready to lift it into the frame with the gearbox.

  Everything that I've covered here regarding the engine and the gearbox(in an earlier thread) strip down and rebuild can be done in an ordinary home workshop with a bench and a vice.   There are certain bits of kit that are essential like a hoist for example for moving the lumps around and a type specific manual and factory specs but everything else should really form part of a basic tool kit for owning a 80 year old vehicle and what you don't have can be hired from the tool hire if you don't want to have it sitting on the shelf. 

Pete

Edited August 1, 2022 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

A few photos to finish of this phase of the restoration as I noted in the previous update it was a case of collecting from the store all the various previously cleaned and painted sub assemblies a number of which have been covered in previous updates.

Addition of the sump, bell housing, crank pulley and head completed the work prior to lifting.  I fitted a Speedi sleeve (google them)  to the bottom crank pulley,  I do this as a matter of course now for all oil lip seal surfaces on engines, gearbox out put and axle input flanges.  It saves the angst of completing a job putting the oil in running and seeing all the nice clean paint covered in oil in a week or so.

Photos below of the major sub assemblies :

 

 

 

 

I chose to lift the engine and gearbox into the frame on the hottest day that has ever been recorded here in the Wild West it was balmy 39'c in the yard and a pleasing 42'c in the workshop more like North Africa 1943 than west wales.

First off I lifted the rad and frame out of the way in case it got damaged while installing the engine.   I fitted the block first then brought the gearbox up and bolted that on having previously lined up the clutch plate, I haven't covered lining up the clutch as it's not very photogenic,  read your manual or look it up on the web I would suggest. 

I used my lifting frame soft strops and leveling bar for both the block and gearbox installation so not too much of struggle.  Note the red rags in the plug holes (you could just put the spark plugs in if you had them I have new ones on order and they hadn't arrived when I did this)  in the head to prevent "stuff" falling into the cylinders, you may think "it'll be alright" I can tell you it will happen and it's a mighty pain when it does to say the least.

In the photos below  the new manifold studs from VPW in the US  are fitted into the block after lifting to avoid the risk of bending them with the strops during the lift.

Note that on this design of engine the studs are live (go into) the water jacket so they must have some form of thread sealer applied before fitting.  There are a number of different ones on the market that do a similar job (same goes for the head studs and bolts) or they will leak coolant up the threads.......  a real bummer to see this at first start up.

 

 

Next was the NoS inlet and exhaust manifold.

An incredible piece of luck to find this in Italy of all places.  The original one that the engine came with was badly damaged and unusable  due to having been fitted at some stage with the incorrect bolts and studs. 

Canadian long block engines for right hand drive trucks have a very different manifold set up compared to the Left hand drive version which is unique to D15 and D60 range of military trucks .  It was pure luck that this one turned up or the project would have stalled badly.

When fitting exhaust and inlet manifolds it's good practice to leave the four bolts holding the inlet to the exhaust together finger tight. Tighten the manifolds down onto the block gasket with the block studs and  nuts starting from the middle and working outwards in about four or five iterations until the correct torque is achieved.    Now tighten the four bolts holding the two manifolds together this way the block to manifold faces should be flush and contact the gasket/gaskets along the entire length of the block

 

   From this

 

To this with a few more bits out of store and it now looks like this

 

Pete

 

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by Pete Ashby
added a photo

[67burwood]

Great bit of work Pete, well detailed 👍👍

[Rootes75]

It looks great and very thorough.

[Pete Ashby]

Well it's been a while, so what's occurring?? . 

Progress on this project has slowed a little, the arrival of a 1932 Plymouth Coupe  in the autumn was an interesting diversion, followed by a bitterly cold run up to Christmas -10c for 5 days consecutive days then not above freezing for fortnight.  A huge dose of man flu over the New Year didn't help, but things are back on track now with the D15 project. 

The original intention was to media blast everything as sub-assemblies, however  the young chap who did my mobile blasting and was very good at what he did ceased trading after lockdown.   Consequently, I had to find another blast firm and transport the various sub-assemblies to them, not a problem, but an added complication and cost. Also they would be an unknown quantity with regard to competence and care, blasting a container skip or a stone house is one thing media blasting a 80 year old pressed steel cab is something different. 

Long story short I bit the bullet and decided to do the job myself by using traditional methods of paint removal.  After previous work ( see blog posts on the cab restoration) there was virtually no corrosion left it was really only surface preparation that was required. It does take considerably longer,  is messy and dusty and involves you in putting in the effort but you are in control of the job and it is a bit easier on the wallet.

  As in previous blog posts I'll show the tools and equipment with a brief description.  I received a number of positive comments from people when I used this approach for the engine build,  so for those who have not tackled this sort of thing before but may be contemplating having a go I’ll continue the same theme, it's not definitive but a system developed over many years and works for me .

 If your an old hand skip this post and have a look at the photos in the follow on post to this one as this is all a bit wordy.

Tools I use to remove paint: 

Various rotary wire brushes for drill and angle grinder,  various flap discs and bristle brushes (more about them below) and rotary scouring pads look on google and read the specs regarding grades and what they are meant for.

 Various hand scrapers some homemade ground up from old kitchen knives and screwdrivers for getting into tight corners.

Heat gun, use this with discretion on large flat panels due to a risk of distortion. 

Small air powered die grinder ideal for tight corners and mouldings.   I run this with a 100 litre 14cfm compressor,  it's just man enough but a bigger volume compressor would be optimal and give more duty time.

Angle grinder you need to keep a tight grip on this beast and be aware at all time of the lead.  There is considerable kick back and bounce when using the larger wire wheels, I haven't shown it in the photo but use the side handle in fitted and never lean over the work piece or tool.

Two speed reversible drill. You get increased cutting life out of rotary wire brushes if you use them after a period of work  in reverse.  The wire bends against the direction of rotation, so the scouring action will become impaired.  Reversing rotation gives a new cutting angle, not possible of course with an angle grinder but turning the whole tool sideways can help.

Chemical paint stripper, in days of yore Nitromors was the go to standard.  It did just what it said on the can. In our brave new world it was considered too dangerous so a whole new generation of Gloops purporting to be paint strippers appeared  none of which do anything at all to old paint except empty your wallet. The one I'm showing here is the one I now use,  it comes from Frost Autos here in the UK marketed as Frost Gel Strip C227........ it is not cheap.........  Is it as good as the old Nitromors? Nearly but not quite,  but it's better than anything else I've seen and used in recent years.  Used in combination with a cling film covering to prevent evaporation it will do most of the job but you'll still have to use an array of the other tooling above.

Correct PPE:   Face mask ( anything over 30 years old and it's lead paint you are turning into fine dust),  goggles or face shield these items are a must. 

Tight fitting overalls with the cuffs done up you don't want to be getting up close and personal to a wire brush at 20,000rpm it’s not something you need.  

 I don't use gloves with rotary power tools,  I knew a bloke who had a finger yanked off when his glove got wound into the brush, ........ your call ........but I don't fancy it, I grow more skin regularly but haven't yet mastered the art of re-growing missing digits and appendages .  

A word on the new to me at least, wonder tool for removing paint,  the rotary bristle brush made by 3M for either air tool or angle grinder.  I was sceptical to say the least, nylon bristles impregnated with abrasive powder. 

 Game changing for removing paint lasting many times longer than the wire version requiring far less work pressure  so less heat build-up.    They don't throw off wire shards either so you won't end up looking like Sonic the Hedgehog after a session. Google them, they are not cheap by any standard and be aware,  you will destroy them instantly if you hit a sharp projection or sharp edge,  but excellent for flat panel work. 

Right next post is back to the job in hand with less blather.

Pete

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

I started off with the front scuttle those of you who have followed this blog will remember it needed a fair amount of work replacing the vent section, areas around the inner windscreen moulding and a section on the right hand side

So a quick recap this is how it ended up after all the chopping, welding and grinding

 

 

And after a fair few hours of paint stripping now looks like this finished in etch primer

 

Pete

 

 

[67burwood]

That’s looking good 👍 

 

Have you tried these pads on the angle grinder?  Strips paint and surface rust without damaging the metal, I rate them very highly. 
 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/non-woven-preparation-wheel-115mm/606jj

[Pete Ashby]

3 hours ago, 67burwood said:

Have you tried these pads on the angle grinder?  Strips paint and surface rust without damaging the metal, I rate them very highly. 
 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/non-woven-preparation-wheel-115mm/606jj

Yes I have a few in stock, they work very well and your right about not attacking the base metal.

I found that they would ware down fairly quickly if used on heavily pitted surfaces but are excellent and very fast for paint removal on large flat surfaces leaving an excellent keyed surface for paint adhesion if used in conjunction with a etch primer they produce a very good base for top coating.

Pete.

[Pete Ashby]

The last couple of days have been ideal for spraying so I managed to get the the scuttle into black base coat. A few photos of progress.

It's now that all the hours spent welding, grinding, paint stripping and rubbing down start to pay dividends.

 

 

 

 

 

Pete.

[Pete Ashby]

 

With the continuing warm weather and relatively low humidity, I’ve managed to get two top coats of OD on the scuttle.

It had 24 hrs in the dark inside the workshop for the solvent to properly flash off then today it's outside in the sun to start the curing process.  This process is time dependent on the type of paint used, how much thinner was used during application, the type of solvent used and the average ambient temperature during the process. It can take up to 2 to 3 weeks before the paint is fully cured however, modern 2 pack systems are much faster but more tricky to handle during application.  So this is what it looks like now, this is job and knock for this part of the cab but it still needs fitting out and mounting on the truck frame.

It's been a bit of a journey to get here, most of the work is covered in page 6 of this blog and as always with this sort of job it involved more cutting and welding than first envisaged but I'm pleased with the result.

Next up will be the rear of the cab floor back and seat frame but that's for another instalment.

From this :

To this:

 

 

Pete

 

 

Edited May 20, 2023 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

Time for a quick update on progress on this project. 

Once the paint had cured for a couple of weeks it was time to lift the scuttle and dash into position on the frame.  As discussed during the strip down process on page 2 of this blog with Dodge Chrysler Canada the front, rear and cab roof are separate units so this makes working and handling them a whole lot easier than the US produced version which is constructed as one complete unit including the roof.

A couple of photos below of the scuttle being lifted into position.  New wooden mounting blocks were made using the remains of the originals as patterns and the original tarred canvas spacer shims that sit between the scuttle and the wooden mounting blocks have been replaced using squares of Balata belt.

So here it is being craned into position using the load leveler mentioned previously during the engine installation. 

 

 

And here is the scuttle reunited with the frame once again, I've temporarily dropped the steering column and removed the top of the gearbox complete with gear stick to make the lifting process easier.

 

From this

 

 

To this 

I'm fitting out the dash and scuttle at this stage because of the unrestricted access so I'll cover this in another post soon.

Pete

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

Time for another update on this project. 

 With the scuttle installed on the frame the fitting out of controls is  ongoing but the major focus has been the removal of old layers of paint back to bare steel from the rear of the cab using the method and tools explained for the scuttle, the  welding and repairs for the sheet metal have been covered towards the bottom of page 6 of this blog.

so quick recap, from this:

 

 

Then as if by magic to this, 

I have purposefully  left the welds slightly high on the inside of the repaire section on the top edge of the cab to maintain strength as this was a full width section butt welded on (see page 6 for this work) although not pretty on the inside it will be fully covered by the seat back when it's installed. The new replacement cab roof jointing flange can been seen above the repair section running along the top edge of the cab back (page 6).

 

And then to this:

And finally to this:

 

The left or right tank change over tap access hole should be located at the front edge in the middle of the floor, just in front of the seat base. However at some point someone had cut a much bigger square hole with the delicate precision use of a cold chisel presumable to do something with the tap or connections so the resulting mess was tidied up and a new piece of steel welded in (page 6)   I'll re drill the access hole for the tap  once the cab is mounted on the frame to ensure it's correct location.  

 

All that remains to do now is clean up the seat base and re-attach it to the floor, a point to note with this is that the  Dodge Chrysler Canadian split cab seat base is bolted to the floor as a separate part ( the mounting holes show up clearly in the etch primer photo above) whereas the US and pre 1943 Canadian cabs ( one piece welded construction) have the frame spot welded to floor.  A small detail but  interesting none the less as I can't immediately see the advantage although there must have been one as it would require more jig tooling to drill the mounting holes.

The rear of the cab is now put to one side in the workshop out of harms way for a couple of weeks while the paint cures fully before lifting it into place on the frame.

Next work will continue on fitting out the dash with the main effort directed to finishing a few small details on the cab roof and then paint removal and painting.

Pete

 

[Pete Ashby]

Here's the seat base I mentioned in the previous post all finished now ready to be reattached to the rear floor. 

If anyone has any suggestions as to why the US and early Canadian seat base  that was spot welded to the floor was changed to 17  1/4" UNC machine screws, spring washers and nuts  I'd like to hear it seems an odd design modification to me. 

 One suggestion was that if the truck was being shipped as a semi knock down crated load  the removal of the seat base would permit wheels to be stacked inside the cab on the flat floor, sounds plausible  but I'm not sure there would be enough room ?? . 

 

Pete

Edited August 26, 2023 by Pete Ashby

[Pete Ashby]

So to finish off this phase of the work here's a few photos of the cab rear section reunited with the scuttle on the frame:

Quick recap this was the starting point 

 

And this is the state of play currently after a bit of bish bosh, a few meters of Mig wire, a fair few grinding and slitting disks, a tea spoon of epoxy filler, a dollop of paint stripper and probably 400 hours of input to get the cab to this point.

 

 

Next up the roof if ever it stops raining here in the Wild West I just might get it sprayed and fitted before winter sets in.

Pete

 

    

Edited August 28, 2023 by Pete Ashby

[john1950]

Coming along really well, don't forget the brews.

[Pete Ashby]

3 minutes ago, john1950 said:

Coming along really well, don't forget the brews.

Thank you,

indeed you are absolutely right there's been a few of those to add onto the program timing.

Pete

[67burwood]

Looking good Pete, keep up the good work 👍👍

Seamus 

[10FM68]

Have you decided yet what markings it will have when it's finished?  Which leads me to the question, 'what colour were Canadian-built vehicles in WWII painted?'  Were they US Olive Drab, British SCC15 or one of its predecessors or did the Canadians use a colour of their own?  I'm thinking about vehicles they supplied to the British and to their divisions, originally in UK, then fighting at Dieppe, in Italy and in NWE.