Small Bedford truck restoration - 15cwt MWD/OY hybrid

Small Bedford truck restoration - 15cwt MWD/OY hybrid

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Discussion

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2023
quotequote all
Morning , yes it as if the thicker metal gets a layer of surface rust then protects it’s self.
The worst places for rot are where the footwells met the rubber front mudguards , water traps I guess.

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2023
quotequote all
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 ? )

Lester H

2,766 posts

106 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2023
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Geoff391 said:
Morning , yes it as if the thicker metal gets a layer of surface rust then protects it’s self.
The worst places for rot are where the footwells met the rubber front mudguards , water traps I guess.
Morris Minor GPO vans had rubber mudguards, too

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2023
quotequote all

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Thursday 4th May 2023
quotequote all
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 ....

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Thursday 4th May 2023
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This is the shape We would like to replicate ,

Rather than this more curvy shape ,

jet_noise

5,664 posts

183 months

Saturday 6th May 2023
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Geoff391 said:
I had a Mk1 Transit with rubber rear wheel arches. It would just go through some of London's width restrictors.
Which was nice.

/asyouwere

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Saturday 6th May 2023
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A bit more work today , firstly removing the worn out wiring loom from the engine bay and dash area.

And more mocking up of the front mudguards.


texaxile

3,301 posts

151 months

Saturday 6th May 2023
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Loving this topic, thanks for the update and looking forward to the next ones!

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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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

and31

3,095 posts

128 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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I think those front wings look pretty good

hidetheelephants

24,685 posts

194 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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It would no doubt be a fair amount of work making a mould but recreating the rubber ones in polyurethane would be pretty cool.

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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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.......

LordFlathead

9,642 posts

259 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
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Geoff - great project!

Rather than sand blast, I recommend soda blasting as it is not a destructive process. It will remove rust and clean the metal underneath but it will not damage the surface structure. I use it to restore Japanese aluminium engine cases or strip paint from frames.

hidetheelephants

24,685 posts

194 months

Wednesday 10th May 2023
quotequote all
Geoff391 said:
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.......
Surprised there aren't any period pics, but the lack of surviving rubber wings is no surprise as they rot unless stored in quite specific conditions.

andburg

7,331 posts

170 months

Thursday 11th May 2023
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as you're not going for an as-new resto I'd stick with them, they just look right. Perfectly smooth brand new arches will probably be jarring with the used existing body

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Tuesday 6th June 2023
quotequote all
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.

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Friday 9th June 2023
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New braided wires delivered so can start on the new loom this weekend :-)

and31

3,095 posts

128 months

Friday 9th June 2023
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Geoff391 said:

New braided wires delivered so can start on the new loom this weekend :-)
They look great

Geoff391

Original Poster:

114 posts

59 months

Saturday 10th June 2023
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New loom coming along nicely , new fuse box and original voltage regulator box cleaned up quite well :-)