Small Bedford truck restoration - 15cwt MWD/OY hybrid
Discussion
Hi All,
My Brother and I have recently brought this project to have some fun with.....
It began life in 1941 as a military MWD version and was sold into civilian life in 1948 with the OY style cab fitted. Started as a builders truck and later turned into the tow/recovery truck for “ Crossleys” garage in Elland near Leeds.
When the garage closed down it was brought as a resto project but then sat in a dry barn for somewhere between 15-30 years ( We have spoken to this owner ) .
He then decided it was never going to get done so sold it to another chap who had it for two years before selling it a commercial truck dealer , who buys and sells military vehicles.
That’s where We saw it on eBay and thought , Why not ? :-)
Our restoration begins.......
Cheers
Geoff and Phil.
My Brother and I have recently brought this project to have some fun with.....
It began life in 1941 as a military MWD version and was sold into civilian life in 1948 with the OY style cab fitted. Started as a builders truck and later turned into the tow/recovery truck for “ Crossleys” garage in Elland near Leeds.
When the garage closed down it was brought as a resto project but then sat in a dry barn for somewhere between 15-30 years ( We have spoken to this owner ) .
He then decided it was never going to get done so sold it to another chap who had it for two years before selling it a commercial truck dealer , who buys and sells military vehicles.
That’s where We saw it on eBay and thought , Why not ? :-)
Our restoration begins.......
Cheers
Geoff and Phil.
Yes front end is standard for the OY style cab of that age , post war they had a rounder front.
Many ex military trucks were rebuilt from several survivors and the more comfortable cabs were fitted , originally the MWD style had open cabs with little weather protection.
There is a video online that shows a catalogue of these types for sale ( I’ll try and post a link later )
Many ex military trucks were rebuilt from several survivors and the more comfortable cabs were fitted , originally the MWD style had open cabs with little weather protection.
There is a video online that shows a catalogue of these types for sale ( I’ll try and post a link later )
Yes the cab is very spartan
the first thing we did when it was unloaded was to remove the rubber front mudguards as they were torn to bits and looked awful. We have not found any pictures of similar trucks with them fitted but I did find an ebay sale of a dunlop brochure for them.....
We have now removed the rear bed ( it was only held on by a couple of bolts having been off before ) to see what the chassis and running gear looks like ,
I will upload some pics later
The wiring is completely shot and has been bodged about to add extra light switches on the dash but it is very simple and wiring diagrams are easily found.
In fact copies of a lot of the original Bedford manuals have been obtained from a chap in Holland.
the first thing we did when it was unloaded was to remove the rubber front mudguards as they were torn to bits and looked awful. We have not found any pictures of similar trucks with them fitted but I did find an ebay sale of a dunlop brochure for them.....
We have now removed the rear bed ( it was only held on by a couple of bolts having been off before ) to see what the chassis and running gear looks like ,
I will upload some pics later
The wiring is completely shot and has been bodged about to add extra light switches on the dash but it is very simple and wiring diagrams are easily found.
In fact copies of a lot of the original Bedford manuals have been obtained from a chap in Holland.
Here is link to the video about how the ex military trucks were sold off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v5xOFh64TI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v5xOFh64TI
More disassembly today , the cab to chassis mount brackets have corroded ( aluminium ) and need replacing so have removed most of the cab floor panels to gain access.
Moved truck out into the sunshine to shuffle other stuff about and sweep the floor as there always seems to be rust flakes and dirt under the truck when we touch it.
Moved truck out into the sunshine to shuffle other stuff about and sweep the floor as there always seems to be rust flakes and dirt under the truck when we touch it.
It has helped that it has been dry stored for a long time , there was a lot of mud/dirt caught in all the nooks and crannys of the chassis which We have hoovered out. And the greasy muck at the engine end has helped preserve too.
The cab mounts all need replacing so the cab will come off and We are thinking of getting the chassis and running gear sand blasted abd then painted in satin black. Wheels will be blasted and painted to match the colour band on the doors ( beige ? )
The cab mounts all need replacing so the cab will come off and We are thinking of getting the chassis and running gear sand blasted abd then painted in satin black. Wheels will be blasted and painted to match the colour band on the doors ( beige ? )
We are not having much luck in finding metal front mudguards to replace the damaged rubber ones , two quite rotten ones were supplied with the truck. We have managed to purchase one pretty good one and another that could be repaired with a lot of patching.
So We have decided to see if a new pair can be manufactured by a local hot rod custom builder . They seem happy to have a look at making them.
So to try and progress this We are making a buck to give the approximate shape to build to.
First , refit front bumper and radiator panel.....
Second , make some blades for cross section shape......
Third , make board to hold blades over the tyre , which can be reversed to give buck for other side too ....
So We have decided to see if a new pair can be manufactured by a local hot rod custom builder . They seem happy to have a look at making them.
So to try and progress this We are making a buck to give the approximate shape to build to.
First , refit front bumper and radiator panel.....
Second , make some blades for cross section shape......
Third , make board to hold blades over the tyre , which can be reversed to give buck for other side too ....
Hi again,
Today We thought We should at least try to see what the front mudguards that We have look like on the truck. This meant removing the brackets that are on the chassis rails, surprisingly they came off quite easily ( only had to grind off one nut )
This allowed the guards to be slotted into position
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/33m4sMfQ[/url]
They don’t look bad from a distance and could be repaired if the cost of having new ones made is too much.
This will be last update for a couple of weeks as I am off on hols next week .
Cheers
Today We thought We should at least try to see what the front mudguards that We have look like on the truck. This meant removing the brackets that are on the chassis rails, surprisingly they came off quite easily ( only had to grind off one nut )
This allowed the guards to be slotted into position
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/33m4sMfQ[/url]They don’t look bad from a distance and could be repaired if the cost of having new ones made is too much.
This will be last update for a couple of weeks as I am off on hols next week .
Cheers
They look ok in the pictures but the passenger side one is pretty poor with lots of pin holes and generally very thin overall.
Taking moulds would be possible but We would use fibreglass rather than poly. The rubber ones were 1/2 inch thick and super heavy , the fact that We can not find any images of another truck with them fitted anywhere shows how popular they were.......
Taking moulds would be possible but We would use fibreglass rather than poly. The rubber ones were 1/2 inch thick and super heavy , the fact that We can not find any images of another truck with them fitted anywhere shows how popular they were.......
Hi All,
Not much to update on , We have been mostly concentrating on the wiring loom to decide what extra wires need to be added to give Us indicators and anything else missing.
Old wires are very crusty and the insulation cracks as so as You bend them.
We laid out the old loom on a board to measure the runs between each point so new braided effect wires can be ordered.
A new loom is available for the Bedford MWD model at circa £375 but We’ll have a go at doing it ourselves first.
Since last update We have been to a truck show at Newark to look at nice shiny examples and on bank holiday Monday had a taxi ride in a Lancaster bomber at East Kirby ( which was great ) where there were military vehicle versions to look at and ask loads of questions about how they had been restored.
Not much to update on , We have been mostly concentrating on the wiring loom to decide what extra wires need to be added to give Us indicators and anything else missing.
Old wires are very crusty and the insulation cracks as so as You bend them.
We laid out the old loom on a board to measure the runs between each point so new braided effect wires can be ordered.
A new loom is available for the Bedford MWD model at circa £375 but We’ll have a go at doing it ourselves first.
Since last update We have been to a truck show at Newark to look at nice shiny examples and on bank holiday Monday had a taxi ride in a Lancaster bomber at East Kirby ( which was great ) where there were military vehicle versions to look at and ask loads of questions about how they had been restored.
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