Thornycroft ED-1617

[Tomo.T]

I have one for painting in the winter. Very effective, wouldn't be without it.

[ED-1617]

Wheel fitting time! Now that the rear wheels had finally been finished I was keen to get them fitted back on and have the Thornycroft sat back on all 4 wheels for the first time in what felt like too long!
 

Before I could do this I needed to finish the rear brakes, for which the shoes had been sent away and re-lined. One of the brake shoes had had a packer fitted over the heel, I assume to account for some previous wear in a past life. I removed the packer and started fresh. A trial fitting of the wheels with the re-lined shoes showed up that the new lining was perhaps ever so slightly too thick, perhaps a imperial/metric material error. As it was a minimal amount I was able to get away with simply shaving a fraction off of the face of the heel, just tickling off the high spots was enough to get the drum to slide happily over the shoes, I couldn’t be happier with the fit! Unfortunately I can’t find any pics from these stages, however I always seem to remember to take pics of the shiny bits going back on!

As mentioned previously I had found that the rear wheel bearings and bearing faces were all in impeccable condition, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had been renewed at some point in its life, and if not then they have been made of some bloody good stuff! Both bore clearances and end float were bob on, I wouldn’t have given them any less clearance if I were to make new ones so a good clean and some quality fresh grease will do here.

A nice finishing detail was to sort out the rear hubcaps. The drive shaft flange is sandwiched between the hubcap and the wheel and so these needed to go on for me to call the back axle complete. The brass hubcaps were in a bad way, the near side example has had a hard life with many bumps and grazes, which I personally like, they tell a story! However for some reason someone in the past had decided to go over the brass with an angle grinder and had therefore left very unattractive marks all over. I spent a good couple of evenings with a file sympathetically removing the grinder marks, whilst leaving the hard life dents in tact. A good polish up and then they were ready to re-fit.

Final assembly, with some quality (if expensive!) vintage bearing grease, and the re-lined brake gear all in place.

I had made some new felt seals prior to fitting, so it was a simple case of popping them into the recess before sliding the wheel gently on.

The wheel nuts were screwed on and the locking pegs fitted, in turn locked in with a split pin, as described in the Thornycroft Auriga book.

There’s nothing else to do here but give the wheels a go! A very satisfying spin.

The drive shafts were dragged off of the shelf and cleaned, as you can see these are still happily serviceable.

The hub caps and drive flanges fitted. Back on 4 wheels again!

 

 

 

[8_10 Brass Cleaner]

if your not happy with your hubcap, I believe I have a tidy one here. 

[ED-1617]

Another job that I had been meaning to do for a while was a quick strip of the steering box. I had been in the fortunate position of having the vehicle running a few times before it’s major strip down, fortunate for both the local pub, and for myself being able to identify what aspects were good about the vehicle, and what might need deeper investigation. I had identified on our couple of jaunts out that the steering on the Thornycroft was remarkably light and easy, at any speed over a crawl the use of one finger could be sufficient! This was a pleasant surprise to me, having owned a Matador in the past for which the same certainty couldn’t be said!

I therefore had it in the back of my mind that the steering box should hopefully be a reasonably straightforward task, with no real faults needing investigation. On a personal note however I do enjoy stripping assemblies down to give myself both a further understanding on their operation, but also a reassurance on their physical condition. The steering box had been removed from the vehicle ready for disassembly.

Nice to see the unit stuffed nicely with grease upon splitting the case.

The shaft and lever arm were removed from the casing and given a good clean and inspection, very little wear apparent in here, even in the white metalled nut.

With the nut showing minimal wear, the bearings in good nic and still tight on the shaft, It was just a simple case of reassembling and packing with fresh grease. The end float of the shaft can be adjusted on a nut against the thrust bearing, this was set back to the recommended adjustment before stripping the box back to metal.

And then a couple of coats of primer on all the bits before top coating in black. The unit will then be fitted back into the chassis and all the jiblets refitted.

Edited May 10, 2021 by ED-1617

[ED-1617]

Whilst the bigger bits of the rebuild go on in the shed, I always try to find little bits I can carry out at home (which pleases the mrs!). I have been on the lookout, since I purchased the lorry, for a correct style oil gauge; the one that was previously fitted being of 1930s vintage. Recently I have been lucky enough to obtain one, and so that led to a bit of dining table tinkering. The first step was to check the function of the gauge. Luckily I have a good friend who has a gauge tester. The device showed up that the gauge was fully functioning, and was only 1psi out over its full range when compared to the 50psi gauge on the tester, which is good enough for me!

As usual the gauge didn’t stay complete for long, I was curious to see how it worked one evening and so dismantled it very carefully. Whilst apart I was also keen to try and preserve the patina on the gauge face, and so very gently cleaned off any debris, before applying a matt finish varnish, the idea being to prevent any further decay to the face and also stop any more bits coming away. I was dead happy with the result, and so with a good clean and reassemble it’s back on the shelf ready to be fitted.

 

Some of you may also recall that I was unfortunate enough to lose a correct pattern Thomson-Bennet magneto switch in a house fire, along with a couple of other spares that I had collected. Well luckily since then I have been able to source two more! One I have kept for my Thornycroft rebuild, and the other has since been purchased by a friend who is rebuilding a 1919 Leyland RAF type. As with the gauge I was curious to inspect and learn the operation of the switch and so that was taken apart too, the simplicity of the design is very refreshing and will go again without repairs, I’m sure there will be a few on here interested to see the insides so I’ve chucked a couple of pictures of that up here too. Some more pieces of the Thornycroft puzzle ready to go!

[ED-1617]

It’s been a while since I last posted anything on ED the J type, and unfortunately its been just as long since I worked on it, I don’t know where this summer has gone! It has been somewhat filled up since moving house, and making that liveable, which already seems a never ending task! I have also been distracted with buying a vintage car, which was supposed to be a fun little toy for the summer, sold as running and ready to go… But I’m sure we all know what comes next, another vehicle all in bits! A few months tinkering with that got it eventually running how it should, before a big end failure. This is now stripped and the crankcase, crank and big ends with the white metal chap.

To add extra time delay the shed that I house the Thornycroft in is due for demolition soon to make way for houses, how inconsiderate! So before I can make much further progress I will be spending time searching for another shed to keep it in, and then the mammoth task of moving the chassis, and all the junk that we accumulate whilst working on these things!

Anyhow, there are a few tasks that I have yet to share that I completed before my summer break, the first of which being the scuttle. After much deliberation I came to the conclusion that the one fitted was uneconomical to repair and make right. It had been bodged and chopped so many times that it had lost most of its original charm, and if I were to make it right would end up being mostly new, so I decided to bite the bullet and make a full new one, which luckily on a J type isn’t of a too complicated construction. I was able to source the steel and have a local firm roll the top radius into it, so that all I needed to do was to cut the right shape out.

The rolling was a very neat job, a nice seamless blend into the flat, very happy.

After much carefull measuring and marking out, it was time to attack it with the grinder. The first mock up on the chassis was to prove my dimensions had come out correct! 

Next was more marking out! This time for all the scuttle furniture, and most importantly the mag switch, which now had a new home on a Thornycroft.

The scuttle furniture was stripped back to bare metal/timber and primed, ready for assembly.

Before a trial fitment of the fuel tank, again fingers crossed, making sure my measurements had come out correct! I took this opportunity to make the new timber packers for the fuel tank also.

With the lot finish assembled, it was just a case of lifting the item onto the chassis to enable me to get the measurements I’d need to make the new bonnet. Happy with the result.

 

[Chriscg]

Fabulous to see the restoration of the vehicle I last saw in the 1970s! I am the great-grandson of Joseph Brierley and the Yard was my second home as a child. Happy to help with the backstory if of interest? Chris

 

[Chriscg]

Just fabulous to see the restoration of the lorry I played in as a child in the 70s. I am the great grandson of Joseph Brierley...happy to help fill in details about the business if of interest. Would a visit be possible?

[Old Bill]

The rest of us would like to hear the story, Chris! Is this where you come up with an original picture of it in service?

I have seen some pictures of it out on the road and I must say that it looks super. I am certainly looking forward to seeing it at a show.

Nice job Toby!

Steve   🙂

[Chriscg]

The wider family are busy looking. The problem is cameras were not that common in the late 60s early 70s. We do have some old photos of the 'yard'. By the time I was playing on this lorry (1968 onwards) it looked like it had been out of service for a while. There were two parked up in a shed behind an old Michigan lorry crane. By then my Grandad was running the business -mostly metals and scrap - and both trucks were sold I think in the late 70s or early 80's.

Imagine as a child being allowed to 'play' in a scrap yard. Different times, but great great fun!

What is truly amazing is that both trucks have been so fabulously restored and both are roadworthy today. What are the chances of that? Well done Toby!

[ED-1617]

Chris, great to hear from you! I believe I have been in contact with your wife regarding a visit to see the lorry, and would of course be more than happy to have you all over for a trip out in it, I will be in touch!

For the benefit of everyone else reading this thread, I will post some pictures of my Thornycroft which is now nearing the end of its rebuild. I have been quiet on here for a while but I have still been busy working on the Thornycroft, perhaps I will post some further rebuild photos to fill in the gap at a later date.
 

As Steve has mentioned I have got to the point where the Thorny is running and I have since covered over 100 miles on the road in the 4 weeks I have had the old thing running again, with only very minor issues that were easily sorted at the road side. There are still a few finishing touches before I can call the J type finished, but I wanted to get it out and enjoy it at a few shows before the summer ended, whilst also giving me a chance to find any teething troubles that may have arisen before completing the finishing jobs through the winter. 

There was a steam show and photo charter being held at the Amberley Museum down here in Sussex and I had set myself the rough deadline of having the lorry there, however the sign-writing on the rear body had taken me a lot longer than first planned, leaving little time to complete the remaining mechanics to the engine. I was however able to get the engine running for the first time on the Thursday before the show, followed by a short trip round the yard on the Friday. The steam show was 40 miles away from my shed, and there’s nothing like a baptism of fire to show up any issues after a rebuild, so I decided to drive it there on the Saturday morning! Luckily the only issues I had were a dodgy set of new spark plugs, which I ended up replacing with the old ones I took out; a fuel blockage where a bit of solder had rattled loose from the new pipe work, and finally the retaining nut for the clutch spider falling off! Luckily I was stationary at the time and heard it rattle onto the floor, allowing me to simply retrieve it and screw it back on. It appears the locking clip had failed allowing the nut to loosen over the journey. Nonetheless the lorry made it, a proud achievement after hiding in a shed for 3 years!

I think it’s fair to say the Thornycroft has been declared a successful pub vehicle also!

 

And my most recent trip out was gate-crashing the Veteran Car Clubs summer car run.

Im hoping to drive the lorry home from its summer holiday in a week or two, whereafter I will be able to carry out the finishing jobs. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by ED-1617

[Scrunt & Farthing]

What a cracker, that paint work and the sign writing are mustard.  It has given me some inspiration to go out into the shed and give my old a scrap a coat of looing at.

[Citroman]

Nice job.