sirhc Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Having recently aquired an MW needing a body, I found this one for sale, with a body - kind of! The plan is to remove this body and restore it. The truck will also supply the back of the cab, which we are missing from the 'good' truck. This was going to be a restoration project, about 20 years ago, so there are various other bits from the truck scattered around the owners sheds. Obviously the body is only good for a pattern, but can anyone help with the following please! - Anyone know a good source of wood? What wood was the body originally made from? - What fasteners should we use, anyone know a source? - Does anyone have any photos of a good original or restored body, so we know what we are aiming for? - This is an MWR body, I wanted to make an MWD. What are the differences? Thanks! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Great work Chris and well done you - another piece of history saved. I can advise you with regards to where to get the wood work from and if it was British made then I would say that it would be softwood, may be any owner can help with that? Either way the timber is easy to get hold off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Signals Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I'll be most happy to stand being corrected on this but that does not look like the remains of an MWR body to me. The R (Radio) body is not of plank construction. It looks like a D body which has had an extra plank added to the height, held in place by the three extra strips of metalwork. Presumably for extra load carrying capacity. I do not know the original spec wood for the trucks, maybe Rippo might given his knowledge of the type. Possibly Richard might also, as I imagine all the vehicles in the series shared the same construction. I have replaced sections on mine with good quality softwood. I.e. from a proper woodmerchants not a DIY outlet. You may have a problem obtaining it in Imperial cut sections, depending upon your supplier. Given good preparation, correct priming coats etc you will get good service at an acceptable cost. An alternative might be to go to a timber reclaimer as you can get some top quality stuff from them- it wont be cheaper and it will have nail holes etc which need filling, but it beats hands down modern kiln dried stuff. I found that my rubbing strips were hardwood though and these I replaced with off cut sections got for free from my local double glazing manufacturer. As he said , 'we burn bigger pieces than them!' You might find a source of Imperial sized nuts and bolts from ringing around the the merchants or doing an internet search. Dont know if its true but I am told that Imperial sized coach bolts do not exist now, not for love nor for money. No doubt someone will come on and say they've got millions at 'xyz' I will e-mail you some pics of a couple of good examples I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 (edited) The truck was an MWR, it has the large regulator on the engine side of the bulkhead. You are right about the extra plank on either side, this is held on by the brackets which are fitted into the brackets for the hood sticks. I can get imperial nuts and bolts, but I was wondering about the heads on the coach bolts etc. Once I get this home and go over it I'll hopefully know more. Chris Edited November 10, 2008 by sirhc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Signals Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 The truck was an MWR, it has the large regulator on the engine side of the bulkhead. Chris True, you have got a big one. Looks like it could have been 'downgraded' sometime in its life to a D/GS body. Best of luck with the rebuild. Pics sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davie Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Looks like you've got your work cut out there! Whitworth bolts are available from this link. I've dealt with the guy several times and he gives very good service . http://stores.ebay.co.uk/GREAT-BRITISH-BOLTS Davie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 10, 2008 Author Share Posted November 10, 2008 Great link, thanks Davie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 True, you have got a big one. Looks like it could have been 'downgraded' sometime in its life to a D/GS body. Best of luck with the rebuild. Pics sent. I think as Chris says, the actual body on a MWR is the same as MWD, the extra plank is bracketed to the canopy frame. We had a MWR in the yard once and it had all the earth links between metal cab panels, etc, but body was exactly the same as a MWD that I was restoring. Good timber is worth going for, nothing worse than sap bubbling paint work, shrinking planks, etc. You might find Whitworth coach bolts are some old established body builder or try searching on web. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willyslancs Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 good pics, was it good money? i know where there is one with complete front but a jib on the back. maybe one day the guy will part with it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rippo Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 (edited) hello chris, Nice find, bit of work to do thoe!! Definatley the reamins of a MWR. The MWR body is a MWD body with a couple of extra fittings. The main difference with the MWR body is the spare wheel is mounted on the tail board rather than in the body, but looking at your pictures this isn't a problem!! There is also the extra electrical board in the back which the gs wouldn't have had, and as mention before an extra piece on the side. The MWR also had a hand throtle. Has it still got the power take off on the gearbox instead of the compressor? There's a good body in stoke you can have a look at!! I'll have the sheets off it this week so come over when ever you want. You have all the fittings there, and allot of the radio fittings to. Edited November 11, 2008 by rippo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Chris - I can sort the wood for you as and when you need it. All you need to do is go to your local sawmill and ask them to cut it to your specs. If you can't find one then I have one here that I use. I can always get it cut for you and bring it to a show for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david052 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Moving back in time from your usual interests?! Good luck - I'm sure it will be a fine looking vehicle when it is finished. What else does the former owner have - I noticed a 110 in the pics and the back of another vehicle? I think it is amazing that we are still finding these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooky Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Try this website. Mainly about Morris Commercials however some very good pages about 15cwt bodies http://www.geocities.com/vk3cz/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted November 11, 2008 Author Share Posted November 11, 2008 Jack - Thanks for the offer, I will work out how much I need and what sizes and give you a call. Luckily the truck the body is going on doesn't need much work, so the body is the big job. I basically bought the truck to use the body as a pattern, but a lot of the metal work should be useable. It too wasn't expensive, anything we can save from it is a bonus. The owner does have quite a collection, I don't think he wants to sell anything else at the moment. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Signals Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 I think as Chris says, the actual body on a MWR is the same as MWD, the extra plank is bracketed to the canopy frame. We had a MWR in the yard once and it had all the earth links between metal cab panels, etc, but body was exactly the same as a MWD that I was restoring. Ah, we live and learn! I always assumed there was just a framework under the panel work based on what I'd seen and read. Obviously read the wrong stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodger Baz Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 She's a honey mate, best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 I haven't updated this in a while, so I thought I'd put up some photos. The second MW was collected in November and I towed it off the transporter into Andys field. First of all we photographed everything, this truck went straight to the scrap yard from Ruddington, so everything was very original. We decided to replace all the wood, using what we could for patterns. We took it to bits over Christmas. The sides and front of the body were photographed before all the metal work was removed. We cut some batons out of wood and nailed it all together before doing this, so we knew what went where. All the metal work was then blasted and primed. Does anyone recognise the markings on the tailgate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) In the mean time we had measured Rippo's truck and got an idea of what wood we needed. Just before Christmas this was delivered, so we could get started over the holiday. The repro tray was removed from the 'good' truck and we began work constructing the hardwood framework. Once the metal work was blasted we used the old wooden planks as templates and drilled through all the holes. Yesterday afternoon we began reassembling the new sides. The edges were all primed beforehand to help protect the wood. We have also made new corner pieces, including the metal angle brackets. The wheel arches are also all cut and drilled, once we get some sheet steel these can be assmbled and added to the done pile. That's it so far! Chris Edited February 2, 2009 by sirhc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Great work Chris... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefano Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Does anyone recognise the markings on the tailgate? Looks like the 53rd (Welsh) Div. , although I thought the background would have been green, not white, so I may well be wrong (as usual). Stefano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Looks like the 53rd (Welsh) Div. , although I thought the background would have been green, not white, so I may well be wrong (as usual). Stefano Stefano, It's a red W on a light green and dark green background, so it sounds like you're right? Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 For a good readable account of the 53rd Welsh Division's campaign in N-west europe, 1944/45, Red Crown & Dragon by Patrick Delaforce, is worth looking for........... Great Work, by the way............looking good. All the best, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Time for an update. We've almost finished making all the parts for the rear body. We did a trial fit a few weeks ago, and luckily it all fitted fine. This weekend was spent building new wheel arches. The old ones were a mess, but there was enough of them left to work out how they were build. We have made exact copies of all the bits, today in the rain and the snow we assembled them. They look pretty good, hopefully in about 2 weeks time the body will be in one piece rather than 50! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willyslancs Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Looking good , brill pics mate ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormin Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Looking good Chris. It's a bit of a departure from your previous projects. Not much joinery involved in those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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