Small Bedford truck restoration - 15cwt MWD/OY hybrid
Discussion
Was the Bedford a runner when you bought it ? If not have you actually had it running at all?
Those straight six Bedford engines always sound very smooth to me.I’d love to have a MW,it would fit on my drive no problem-mrs And31 says no f
king way !!
A Bedford TM tractor unit would also fit and that’s a no aswell
Those straight six Bedford engines always sound very smooth to me.I’d love to have a MW,it would fit on my drive no problem-mrs And31 says no f
king way !!A Bedford TM tractor unit would also fit and that’s a no aswell
Edited by and31 on Saturday 10th June 17:25
Geoff391 said:
Link to video
https://fb.watch/l4nSTKMze4/
Love it-I look forward to a video of it being finished!!https://fb.watch/l4nSTKMze4/
Hello again , here is today’s progress .
Having laid out all the lovely colourful cables We have now wrapped them all up in plain black cloth tape........
The loops of unwrapped cables are for the dash instruments and switches which will be connected to the gauges in cab area and then pushed back into place.
Then in preparation to installing said loom We gave the bulkhead area where it mainly sits a quick wire brushing and a coat of rust killer solution.
Then as that was drying We managed to get all the dash switches and gauges out without breaking any of them. Most of the switches are either not required ( added to bypass the original main switch which has burnt out wiring ) or rotten beyond repair.
We will try and reuse the original main switch as it looks ok inside.
Whilst doing all this We discussed the front mudguards as My brother had been to see the hot rod builders to see what it would cost for them to make Us a pair from scratch. The cost is in the ball park that We expected so We may go with them.
Next step is to terminate all the wires ( ring terminals etc ) and install the loom onto the bulkhead and see if We need to trim any excess off at each location.
Cheers for now
Geoff.
Having laid out all the lovely colourful cables We have now wrapped them all up in plain black cloth tape........
The loops of unwrapped cables are for the dash instruments and switches which will be connected to the gauges in cab area and then pushed back into place.
Then in preparation to installing said loom We gave the bulkhead area where it mainly sits a quick wire brushing and a coat of rust killer solution.
Then as that was drying We managed to get all the dash switches and gauges out without breaking any of them. Most of the switches are either not required ( added to bypass the original main switch which has burnt out wiring ) or rotten beyond repair.
We will try and reuse the original main switch as it looks ok inside.
Whilst doing all this We discussed the front mudguards as My brother had been to see the hot rod builders to see what it would cost for them to make Us a pair from scratch. The cost is in the ball park that We expected so We may go with them.
Next step is to terminate all the wires ( ring terminals etc ) and install the loom onto the bulkhead and see if We need to trim any excess off at each location.
Cheers for now
Geoff.
Hi All,
Sorry that there have not been more updates but been busy , so anyway.......
We have been carrying on with the loom and it is now fitted into position in the bulkhead area and the fuse box and voltage regulator are completed.
Now We have continue terminating the wires at each location for the front and rear lights etc.
At the same time the spare tyre has been removed from the split rim ( much effort by local agricultural engineer , including the use of a telehandler hydraulic stabiliser !!!!) We had managed to undo the rim bolts with heat and a long breaker bar and have brought a tap and die to clean up the threads as pretty grotty.
We started cleaning up the rim but soon got fed up and found a local blasting company to do it for us , He wanted to do all the wheels in one go rather than one at a time so next job was to remove the four wheels on the truck ( to be blasted with tyres on )
Sorry that there have not been more updates but been busy , so anyway.......
We have been carrying on with the loom and it is now fitted into position in the bulkhead area and the fuse box and voltage regulator are completed.
Now We have continue terminating the wires at each location for the front and rear lights etc.
At the same time the spare tyre has been removed from the split rim ( much effort by local agricultural engineer , including the use of a telehandler hydraulic stabiliser !!!!) We had managed to undo the rim bolts with heat and a long breaker bar and have brought a tap and die to clean up the threads as pretty grotty.
We started cleaning up the rim but soon got fed up and found a local blasting company to do it for us , He wanted to do all the wheels in one go rather than one at a time so next job was to remove the four wheels on the truck ( to be blasted with tyres on )
Update continued.....
So today the wheels came off , thankfully three wheels have been off in the past and the nuts had been greased on refitting. The forth wheel was a bit more reluctant as the threads were a little rusty and looked like they been on a long time. The tyre on this wheel is very old too (pics below )
Three tyres are Continentals and the old one is Dunlop with some interesting markings on it. We plan to replace two tyres with new “Camac” brand tyres which have an almost identical tread pattern to the conti’s. The old Dunlop will be replaced at this stage.
Last job today was to load up the wheels and take them over to the blaster who is only a few miles away.
On Saturday We will be looking at what is involved in removing the brake drums .......
Cheers till next week :-)
So today the wheels came off , thankfully three wheels have been off in the past and the nuts had been greased on refitting. The forth wheel was a bit more reluctant as the threads were a little rusty and looked like they been on a long time. The tyre on this wheel is very old too (pics below )
Three tyres are Continentals and the old one is Dunlop with some interesting markings on it. We plan to replace two tyres with new “Camac” brand tyres which have an almost identical tread pattern to the conti’s. The old Dunlop will be replaced at this stage.
Last job today was to load up the wheels and take them over to the blaster who is only a few miles away.
On Saturday We will be looking at what is involved in removing the brake drums .......
Cheers till next week :-)
Morning,
yesterday was “investigate the drum brakes day”.
Fronts.....
Unfortunately this was as far as We got , as couldn’t find a spanner/socket the right size to get the centre caps off :-(
Correct size socket ordered.
Rears.....
More success here , luckily even thou the stud threads were rusty , 9 out of the 10 studs came out of the hub and the last nut undid ok. This allowed Us to pull out the axle shaft , showing that the grease inside was horrible.
Next We pulled off the drum/hub assembly and checked the taper roller bearings ( seem ok ) and drum surfaces also look good with just a little surface rust.
The brake mechanisms are remarkably clean and do not look like they need any work doing to them , the manual shoe adjusters both move freely !
The handbrake mech is seized up so disassembly required but again not having many old English size spanners stopped play.
That was it for now , the drums will be taken to the blasters to have the outer surfaces cleaned off when We have the front ones off.
Cheers
Geoff.
yesterday was “investigate the drum brakes day”.
Fronts.....
Unfortunately this was as far as We got , as couldn’t find a spanner/socket the right size to get the centre caps off :-(
Correct size socket ordered.
Rears.....
More success here , luckily even thou the stud threads were rusty , 9 out of the 10 studs came out of the hub and the last nut undid ok. This allowed Us to pull out the axle shaft , showing that the grease inside was horrible.
Next We pulled off the drum/hub assembly and checked the taper roller bearings ( seem ok ) and drum surfaces also look good with just a little surface rust.
The brake mechanisms are remarkably clean and do not look like they need any work doing to them , the manual shoe adjusters both move freely !
The handbrake mech is seized up so disassembly required but again not having many old English size spanners stopped play.
That was it for now , the drums will be taken to the blasters to have the outer surfaces cleaned off when We have the front ones off.
Cheers
Geoff.
Morning,
Wheels collected from shotblasters yesterday and looking good in red oxide primer.
We have decided to paint them the same colour as the highlight strip on the doors which We think is how they were back in the day. ( beige )
Now just waiting on delivery of socket to remove the front hub/drums to check the front brake mechs.
Whilst this has been happening Phil has been making a pair of brackets to mount the replacement headlights. The truck came with non original ones that made it look like bulging eyeballs , so we decided to go more original looking with tractor style pods mounted behind the front grill.
Original on another truck....
As truck came....
New brackets....
New lights fitted.....
Next update on Sunday
Wheels collected from shotblasters yesterday and looking good in red oxide primer.
We have decided to paint them the same colour as the highlight strip on the doors which We think is how they were back in the day. ( beige )
Now just waiting on delivery of socket to remove the front hub/drums to check the front brake mechs.
Whilst this has been happening Phil has been making a pair of brackets to mount the replacement headlights. The truck came with non original ones that made it look like bulging eyeballs , so we decided to go more original looking with tractor style pods mounted behind the front grill.
Original on another truck....
As truck came....
New brackets....
New lights fitted.....
Next update on Sunday
Morning,
another good day at the barn yesterday which started off with a bit of a brain teaser. “Why won’t this new socket fit on the front hub bearing cover ?”
Clue.......socket=6 sides.........hub cover=8 sides Doh!!
Not to be beaten by this , We improvised with heat , a club hammer and a bench vice ( not mounted on the bench ) to remove both hub covers. The hubs/drums then came off and all appears to be in good working order as per the rear brakes.
A bit dusty but plenty of life in the shoes
The four drums can now go to the blasters along with a collection of other bits. Will need to protect the brake surfaces and bearings to keep the blasting grit out.
Next onto the rear hand brake mech that is seized , this time the specially purchased spanner did fit and it came to pieces in no time. We found that it was just one joint that was rusted up and stopping the rest from working. Once apart We could see that the bottom pivot was badly worn , this will need to be repaired by adding weld and reshaping the hole in mounting bracket and shaft. The shaft is not meant to rotate in the hole but due to the seizure it had been.
All the small parts are now in a pot of vinegar to de-rust.
Next We turned attention to the brake master cylinder as it looks like this has been the point at which the brake fluid has leaked out causing no brake pressure when pedal operated.
No servo assist on this truck so just had to undo the two pipe connections to front and rear ( again heat helped here ) and remove pedal operating shaft. Then 3 bolts and it was out.
New seal kits are available so ordered them for master and all wheel cylinders.
That’s it for this session ,
Cheers
Geoff and Phil.
another good day at the barn yesterday which started off with a bit of a brain teaser. “Why won’t this new socket fit on the front hub bearing cover ?”
Clue.......socket=6 sides.........hub cover=8 sides Doh!!
Not to be beaten by this , We improvised with heat , a club hammer and a bench vice ( not mounted on the bench ) to remove both hub covers. The hubs/drums then came off and all appears to be in good working order as per the rear brakes.
A bit dusty but plenty of life in the shoes
The four drums can now go to the blasters along with a collection of other bits. Will need to protect the brake surfaces and bearings to keep the blasting grit out.
Next onto the rear hand brake mech that is seized , this time the specially purchased spanner did fit and it came to pieces in no time. We found that it was just one joint that was rusted up and stopping the rest from working. Once apart We could see that the bottom pivot was badly worn , this will need to be repaired by adding weld and reshaping the hole in mounting bracket and shaft. The shaft is not meant to rotate in the hole but due to the seizure it had been.
All the small parts are now in a pot of vinegar to de-rust.
Next We turned attention to the brake master cylinder as it looks like this has been the point at which the brake fluid has leaked out causing no brake pressure when pedal operated.
No servo assist on this truck so just had to undo the two pipe connections to front and rear ( again heat helped here ) and remove pedal operating shaft. Then 3 bolts and it was out.
New seal kits are available so ordered them for master and all wheel cylinders.
That’s it for this session ,
Cheers
Geoff and Phil.
I came upon this by chance - great project! My late father learned to drive in one of these shortly after the war, and much later he was able to explain how to double declutch when I was learning to drive a bus. I also remember that the local council had one or two - one in particular was a water tanker in maroon which attracted my childhood attention because it was in fully lined out maroon and always amazingly clean and shiny.
You can improve the lighting and protect the main light switch by using relays for the power feed to the headlights. Many classics would burn the lighting switch out as the full current for the headlamps had to go through that circuit. By using the original lighting circuits to drive relays to switch power to headlamps the current through the old switch is minimal and as a bonus the headlamps are brighter.
Hi ,
Yes good point about using relay’s , the main switch has pretty chunky contacts in it but a lot of the old wiring did look burnt. We could look at adding relay’s in the future , not expecting to use the lights very much :-)
In other news , two new tyres arrived and all the brake seal kits , so plenty to get on with tomorrow.
Also had some small parts bathing in vinegar to remove rust.
Yes good point about using relay’s , the main switch has pretty chunky contacts in it but a lot of the old wiring did look burnt. We could look at adding relay’s in the future , not expecting to use the lights very much :-)
In other news , two new tyres arrived and all the brake seal kits , so plenty to get on with tomorrow.
Also had some small parts bathing in vinegar to remove rust.
Blimey ! Sorry for not updating this thread for so long , not sure where this year has gone......
We have not made much progress since last post as have been having a big tidy up of the barn that We rent for Our cars etc.
But We had a go yesterday and removed the “add on “ tow bar brackets and the bent rear chassis cross member which will either be straightened out or replaced with a new part.
Brackets weighing about 20Kgs
Bent cross member ( must have had a chain wrapped around it to pull something very heavy )
That’s it for this year , see You all on the other side in 2024
Cheers
We have not made much progress since last post as have been having a big tidy up of the barn that We rent for Our cars etc.
But We had a go yesterday and removed the “add on “ tow bar brackets and the bent rear chassis cross member which will either be straightened out or replaced with a new part.
Brackets weighing about 20Kgs
Bent cross member ( must have had a chain wrapped around it to pull something very heavy )
That’s it for this year , see You all on the other side in 2024
Cheers
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