berni Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 here goes on 'windys resurection He was bought last october 2005 from the grounds of a farm in Wiltshire where he had been sat for 10 long lonely years, forlorn & forgotten with a nylon blue sheet to protect him from the elements. He was discovered by 2 kindly GMC hunters who tracked him down & towed him to a barn in Gloucestershire. The covers came off & the investigating began. his bodywork was sound and apart from a bit of cosmetic make up was looking pretty good. the fuel pump was a bit jammed but after taking it off & giving it a good clean it freed up & went back on sweet which is more than i can say about the smell of 10 year old fuel. The windscreen was a bit of a challenge untill the GMC manual was consulted & then it slotted in real smooth the brake system needed some new parts and an overhaul, so a servo & mastercylinder were fitted & the brakes bled. a new piece of exhaust & canvas placed over hoops meant he was ready for some tlc. a rub down on some of the worst bits 10 am till 7pm good friday saw 'windy' being rubbed down, sanded, washed,dried & painted. The colour looked well wierd to start with and seemed to be a bright yellow/green. it still looks odd in certain light but has settled down loads. Easter saturday back at the barn & the stencilling was done.as the paint was touch dry but still fresh i used masking tape that i had stuck to my trousers & T shirt a few times to make it less tacky. The wiper motors & blades were fitted alomg with the windscreen rubber. The canvas was then tied down properly. all the parts were sourced & purchased before work started so once he was started it didn't take very long. his first trip out was to a friends 40th birthday party so with a bed & loo in the back we parked 'windy' up in the friends field had a great party & didn't have far to go for a bed for the night. so here is 'windy ' as he is today i'm sure i've forgotten something so i'll post it if i remember ta Berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 oh yes one thing i forgot to say was a huge big thank you to Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistlinwolf Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Looks sweet Berni, Belgium with him next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 I'll have a rain check on that one Tim. even though Russ has drove him I need to get a bit of practice as I will be the main driver so maybe once i get used to the gears etc i will have another think about it ta berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dotty Dodge Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Hi Berni You and russ done a great job it looks really nice! See you a Castle Combe Best Regards Rowan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Hey Berni! That is a fantastic sight 8) and another Jimmy that has been finished this week. Looks really wonderful, well done to all. Hope to get to see it soon Jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted April 19, 2006 Author Share Posted April 19, 2006 once i come back from holiday the bed inside & all the benches will be done & new mirrors put on . then a new clutch plate, the clutch has been adjusted as far as it can go so needs doing but is not desparate. I'm sure other little bits & pieces will pop up the more he is driven so i'll post as & when cheers guys Berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Amazing what you did with it, it looks brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karoshi Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Nice work Berni, very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Looks great!!! Yet another one on the "I want to see" list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest matt Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 Looks good Berni!! Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted April 20, 2006 Author Share Posted April 20, 2006 cheers guys, at least the Jimmy looks better than my hands & nails do at the moment berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 cheers guys,at least the Jimmy looks better than my hands & nails do at the moment berni yeah, know what you mean there berni :oops: :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted April 20, 2006 Share Posted April 20, 2006 cheers guys,at least the Jimmy looks better than my hands & nails do at the moment berni yeah, know what you mean there berni :oops: :shock: Not too sure I even want to think about the image that conjures up!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted May 12, 2006 Author Share Posted May 12, 2006 well, this weekend is our first show of the season at castle coombe monday = down the barn emptying bedford & sorting out kit tuesday = mvt meeting wednesday = rbl meeting & down the barn for oil change on the Jimmy. problems now begin. brake fluid all over the floor & down each wheel on the front. b*****r. a few frantic phone calls & 2 new sets of brakes on order from rex thursday = a friend from bristol whos a truck driver just happens to be going to reading so picks them up for us. I then do a mercy dash to fairford in rush hour traffic to pick then up. I met Russ at the barn where he was tearing his hair out ( big joke in there) cause he couldn't find the wheel nut brace. another couple of phone calls later & a borrowed one was on the way. by this time it was getting dark so jimmy is propped up on blocks minus the wheels & hub. friday = thunder storm & at this moment in time russ is down the barn waiting for me to join him to bleed the brakes. we should be finished the job by tomorrow so will arrive at our first show a tad late. on taking the old brakes off it is obvious they are all completely new & that it is just the seals that have perished over time. up date after the weekend ta Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 .....Keep the faith Berni, have a great show and let us see some pictures of Windy in 'public'! Take care jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted May 12, 2006 Author Share Posted May 12, 2006 just got home as we need 2 copper washers to finish the job properly & no where is open now so will have to wait till the morning, here are a couple of pictures another one this time with the hub off now then here is a bit of an accident russ had getting the spring back on he has just gone to have a shower so i expect it will be stinging a bit. these things happen though & he will be back working on 'windy' in the morning. ta berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joris Posted May 12, 2006 Share Posted May 12, 2006 Sexy leg! :lol: Too bad about the brakes though, hope you get it sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 well here is an update on whats happening, part way through the season last year the paint started flaking off in huge chunks. the original coat did react to start with & had to be cleaned off & rubbed down again so mayne this had something to do with it. well anyway we finished the year with it & bought some new paint at Malvern. Windy has soent the past month or so in pieces being rubbed down again,primered (like Jacks) & re sprayed. we have only got as far as the front end as far as the cab so still a fair bit of work to do. we are supposed to be at Castle coombe this weekend but won't be ready in time. The brakes also need sorting even though they haven't deteriorated form last year they are not as sharp as Russ would like. they need 3 pumps then are perfect. it is also looking doubtful if it'll be ready for the bank holiday weekend. oh well tea time & then back down the barn berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whistlinwolf Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Keep up the good works Bernie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abn deuce Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Hows "WINDY" doing now ? thought I d ask since I m a nosey person :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoranWC51 Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Hi Berni, "Windy" looks fantastic! I used to own a GMC CCKW 353 H1, i.e. the Tipper with open body and winch. It was ex Netherlands army. I called him "Brutus". I liked the shade of OD that you used on the first paintjob. What type was it? My present 1944 Dodge WC51 needs a new paintjob this winter in time for my Italian trip in April. Going to follow in the footstapes of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (1944-45) and join our Italian MV bretheren on April 25. As always, Goran Noren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted August 21, 2011 Author Share Posted August 21, 2011 a few years have past since the last post on my truck & loads has happened, i can't say it's all been good but it has been interesting. i have been the sole owner since 2007 so i'll start from there. the first show i drove myself to was a small railway event at Toddington in the october of 07. Even though it was dark at the time, the choice was either suck it up, grow a set, get in & drive or go home a chicken. needless to say i sucked it up & the rest as they say is history. 2008 saw a new 'mechanic' ( man friend) on the scene who had never heard of the hobby or even knew shows etc existed. he had a real big shock in store but kind of embraced it. i drove down to horndean for our first show of the season & all was going well untill we were 3 miles from home on the way back. cough, cough, splutter, bluuurrrrgghh. we slowed to a complete standstill on the ebly bypass between stroud & stonehouse. there was nothing we could do on the side of the road so had to get a tow back to the barn. after getting a work party together it turns out the manifold was blowing & also fuel starvation. it took almost 2 hours to get the downpipe off as one of the bolts had rusted on it was almost at the point where we got the grinder out to cut off. i think it started to panic at this point and on hearing the generator start up decided it was going to crack. so , manifold was sent to be skimmed & came back spanking. in the mean time the fuel filter was cleaned, the pipes blown out, the fuel tank taken off ( thats another whole lot of story), cleaned out & put back. put it all back together & voila, started first time & kept on running, she sounded fab. drove her to Beltring & she flew like the wind, well a small gust at least. so 2008 went without any more hitches. 2009 ---- ooh dear---- did a few local shows before the big one at Beltring. went up in convoy but the guys we went with decided to go early so we came back on our own. just got past clackett lane & she started kangaroo jumping, very odd experience in a GMC, coughing etc. i managed to get her off the motorway & thankfully there was a layby just off the slip road. a short while later it was pretty obvious the fuel pump was leaking real bad. unfortunately for them but thankfully for me some other friends with a reo & a 6 wheel dodge had broken down & had to replace some belt or other at clacket lane so they were actually behind us. a few phone calls later to Rex & we got straight barred by the Reo to reading. it was dark by the time we got there & fair play to everyone they put a new fuel pump on by torch light. we started on the way home again only to break down at the end of rex's lane. it was decided that we limp back to rex's & everyone else was going to drive home. it's a good job the people in this hobby are so like family as i don't know what we would've done with out so many people to help us out. as daylight came around we had a carb re build done as fuel still wasn't getting through properly. agaon we almost got as far as the end of the lane when she stopped again. turns out the small rubber fuel pipe had deteriorated & collapsed in on itself. i bought a metal one & had it fitted. woo hoo, she went like a dream & drove home like she'd never drove before. it felt fantastic. the rest of the season is history as they say & went without a hitch. 2010---for some reason she started over revving, horrifically, sometimes to the point where i couldn't get her in gear. it was a tad annoying but she was tuned down which helped loads. it just meant that as i came up to a junction or slowed to a stop i had to pull the choke on a bit to up the revs so the engine didn't cut out. i decided that it had also got to the point where the brakes needed doing. so all wheels came off & all seals re done. engine not running right again so took off carb & ran it up to rex to have a 2nd carb rebuild done, engine ran better but still not ideal. while a very nice chap came down & checked that i'd put the carb back on properly, he discovered a puncture on the drivers side, middle axle inside tyre. this was the night before driving to beltring so had to urgently find somewhere to get a new tube fitted. thankfully i managed to find a tyre place i could just drive in & they did it there & then, well eventually when they managed to split the rim they did it there & then. got to beltring ( yep, this show again) and had a few of the guys round to have a muck about to try & find out why the revs were going up so much & the engine was playing up.. a few pipes off here & a few little experiments there & turns out the hydro vac needs the seals & diaphram replacing as it's pulling in air. on the drive home she started kangarooing again so pulled off the motorway ( i'll soon be an expert on places to park off the m25). turns out she was 'hunting'. my chaperone for the journey, alex chubb, cupped his hands over the carb, i revved it a few times, he took his hands off. we did this a couple of times & hay presto back to normal. thankfully the rest of the journey was uneventful. now to this year, no 'mechanic' in tow so this is the first solo year. it was real daunting but exciting at the same time. i noticed i had a bit of leaking fluids on the middle axle drivers side ( same as the puncture) & also the front passenger side too. i presumed it was the brakes so i got the spare parts & e mailed the red ball chaps from the 514th to see if they could help me sort them out as part of the display at beltring ( there it is again) i took my truck round on wednesday morning for 9 am, that was a real killer after a good session the night before. a quick inspection & the front was fine, no leaky cylinders which was fab. the news wasn't so good for the back though. it turned out to be leaky hub seals. the guys were excellant & just rolled their sleeves up & took it all apart. a quick walk up to see rex & the new seals were purchased. in no time at all the whole thing was back together again. now then, the journey home. this was going great guns till we got to bracknell. it was getting a bit troubelsome to get into gear but thinking it was just because it was hot i didn't take much notice. carried on driving & still nothing else seemed to be untoward. untill coming down blunsdon hill on the A419 by swindon. the most horrific crashing, grinding & knocking noise burst through the eardrums, i managed to pull her into a small layby outside a cottages driveway. once i'd stopped i couldn't get it back into gear, as soon as i lifted my foot from the clutch the noise started again. i figured the best thing to do would be to turn it off. many phone calls later & an almost dead phone the decision was made to leave the GMC on the side of the road & sort it out on the monday. it's at times like this that you realise how friends can make such a difference. i managed to get permission to leave her on site at a steam show i'd be attending the following 2 weekends time. at least i knew there would be many people who could have a good look & let me know what was wrong. turns out it was the thrust bearing first & foremost. i did think it was the gear box as i couldn't get it in gear but after being leaft for a couple of weeks the gears worked fine. i was able to drive her home albeit in 4th gear, but she did get home under her own stream. i have lost 5th gear so have sourced a replacement gear box, found out about a thrust bearing & will have her back up & running in no time. even after all this i do love my truck, my truck is for life & not just for christmas. i am learning about it all the time & maybe by the time i'm 70 i'll be an expert, in the meantime though i'm thankfull that there are so many people who are only to willing to help. ok, so now you're all up to date i'll keep you posted on future events. cheers for listening Berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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