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My Flying Control Jeep - The Ongoing Story


Jessie The Jeep

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The vehicles were parked up mostly on the side towards the castle, due to a number of picnic benches on the opposite side of the green. The large and heavy vehicles like the halftracks and Corbitt wrecker were parked up on the road around the Green. Having the Castle on a mound next to the Green, gave a good vantage point to photograph the whole group.

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Including motorcycles and a para bike, there were sixty vehicles in attendance. That was a good number, but not the record, which stands at eighty five in 2015.

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The Crank Up is the Yorkshire Area's first official vehicle event of the year, 'though many members get their vehicles out all year around. What is great about the meet was the variety of vehicles in attendance and that it's free for members of the public to see them all at this location.

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While the majority of vehicles were Jeeps, there's a good mix of all sorts, both WW2 and Post War. Most people stay until about mid afternoon, before people start to drift away.

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Posted (edited)

I think I left somewhere around 15:00 hours, since I had another two hour trip ahead of me. Closer to home, one of the fields that usually has a small lake, had a huge lake, due to the amount of rain we've had since the turn of the year. Since January, if it hasn't been blowing a storm force gale, it's been chucking the Atlantic Ocean on us!

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I stopped briefly on the way home on the Darlington ring road. Along side the road, there's a brick sculpture of a Gresley A4 Pacific locomotive. February 2024 marked the 85th anniversary of the A4 "Mallard", setting the world speed record for a steam locomotive at 126mph.

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I got back home at 17:14 hours, rather tired, but having had a grand day out.

Further pictures can be found here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2024/crankup.htm

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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  • 3 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Ongoing Work - April 27th and May 3rd

On April the 27th I fixed an oil leak on the oil filter. I noticed oil spread around the engine bay after the York trip, but the oil level hadn't dropped noticeably. It was just weeping slowly from the union on the bottom of the oil filter. The brass fitting was slightly loose in the bottom of the can. I needed to remove the filter to tighten the fitting, as the drain plug was in the way while the bottom hose was connected.

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On May the 3rd, it was time to replace the generator. Again, during the York trip, I noticed the Jeep voltage was only 25 volts and slowly falling during the trip. Testing a few days later showed that I wasn't getting any power from the generator.

Rather than trying to fault find on the generator, I opted for a replacement 24 volt alternator. This would solve another problem with the voltage regulator. For several years, I've had problems with the regulator, getting it to give a consistent voltage. The output would change with temperature and drive duration and on occasions went up to 34 volts. Here's the engine bay before work started.

2024_alternator01.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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Since the Jeep is a former French Army radio Jeep, the generator is huge. I couldn't see any of the attachment fittings on the original generator and had to disconnect everything via feel. I almost ruptured something trying to lift it out of the engine bay. The large mounting bracket is still attached to the engine block in the first picture.

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The rear end of this bracket also supported the back of the starter motor and also had a clamp holding the fuel pipe. The second picture show the generator and mounting brackets removed.

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Fitting the new alternator was fairly straight forwards. Its new support bracket was a direct fit to the engine block mounting holes. However, I knew something wouldn't work out.

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There wasn't anything to support the starter motor and fuel pipe. The pipe would be free to vibrate against the new mounting bracket if it wasn't supported. I had a piece of suitable steel and made a new bracket for the starter. After bending, the pre-existing holes lined up where I needed them and only needed drilling to a larger diameter.

2024_alternator05.jpg

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Ongoing maintenance to keep aged vehicles on the road comes with ownership. When you post items like this it gives other people an idea of just what is involved. No moths in your wallet.

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With all the mechanical side of things complete, I connected up the wiring. The warning light and cables weren't mounted until I'd tested the system. When the ignition was turned on, the warning light illuminated and when the engine started, the light went out. All good.

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With the engine a little above idle, the digital voltmeter ( fitted under the dummy radio in the back ), was showing 28.6 volts.

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With everything working and now no need for the original voltage regulator, that was also removed. It was another weighty item that was no longer needed.

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I then used one of the regulator mounting holes to fit the alternator warning light. This is under the instrument panel, out of general view, down by the passengers feet.

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With the tools packed away, I went for a short drive around the village to check the output at different speeds. The maximum voltage was 29.2, but generally around 28.8 volts. Turning the lights on gave a brief 0.2 volt drop before it returned to normal.

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It took most of the day, but I'm happy it's all up and running again. I'll keep the old parts to be sold with the Jeep in years to come, so who ever buys it has the option of repairing the generator and returning it back to standard.

2024_alternator11.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

"We'll Meet Again", Yorkshire Air Museum - May 10~12th

I'm getting a bit behind with my updates, being short on time to process the photos before I'm out the door again. As I write this, the Elvington show was a little over a week ago and I just got back from Blyth Battery last night, with a load more photos and video to process. No time to rest, as on Friday, I'll be off again to the Tanfield Railway 1940s show and not long after that, a D-Day Beacon lighting event in our village, where we'll be taking a Jeep and the Dodge!

So! back to Elvington.....

I trailered the Jeep down to Elvington, as was easier, cheaper and quicker than driving. I took Jessie again this year, but in the RAF Ordnance Depot markings. I didn't have any display, other than a few crates on show. Last year, my photographic display was quite tying, having to be packed away, every time I went for a wander around, as there was nobody else to watch over it. I was camping in my usual spot, opposite the control tower.

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Somewhere I hadn't found in previous visits was the memorial garden.

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Also in the chapel, I found a wartime map of the airfield, something else I've not seen before.

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It was a rather hot weekend and I ended up hiding from the sun either in the buildings or in the shade of my tent. After around four months of cold, windy and wet weather this year, the sudden heat was too much and made the weekend very tiring.

As usual, more photos can be found on my Jeep and Dodge website - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2024/elv.htm

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