Our LRDG Chev

[Peter Phillips]

I've been watching this build and am amazed at the level of detail, bravo! As for the gear oil issue, I went through an extensive search to find an oil for my 52 M38Cdn. Chevron makes a 90W or 140W GL-1 oil which is safe for yellow metals. Todays GL-4 or 5 will deteriorate yellow metal over time time due to the sulfur content. I paid approx $100 Cdn for a 5 Gallon pail. Keep up the good work

[Andrew H.]

Thanks Guys,
Some interesting responses there and also brilliant photos from Phil. I will discuss with my two partners whether we need to re-think what we are doing with the gearbox, before its final installation. It might be a few days before I can report back here. In the meantime, if anyone has a spare oil-slinger lying around in their shed it would be great to hear from them

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Andrew, I don't know what the inside of your g/box looks like.
It's just that the slinger is usually held with the bearing on the mainshaft, by a circlip. If you don't have a slinger in there, the shaft can then float back and forward. This affects other things, which is not good.
The slinger is usually to divert the oil from the seal, but it may also be there for a secondary purpose, to lube the selectors forks, selector shafts, interlock, detents etc. I am just having a guess and may well be wrong.

In saying that there must be someone around that has a donor Chev g/box, with a slinger in it.

Hello Andrew,

Following on from Lynn's email about the work of the "slinger". Have a look at this Chevrolet Instructional Video which shows what the work the slinger does in distributing the oil within the engine.

Accessed January 11 2016 from, Motor Oil: "Riding the Film" 1937 Chevrolet Engine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz2p1SvuYjY

Hopefully the sound works on your link. My computer is playing games at the moment

Kind Regards
Lionel

[David Dunlop]

Andrew, you truck is looking amazing! Are you dreaming of the sand in your face and grinning like a Cheshire Cat when you finally get her out for a run yet?

David

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Andrew, you truck is looking amazing! Are you dreaming of the sand in your face and grinning like a Cheshire Cat when you finally get her out for a run yet? David

Actually we joke among ourselves that by the time it is finished we will be either dead or too old to enjoy it! (we are getting on in years). But yes, we do dream of driving her through the Libyan desert behind enemy lines with the wind in our hair while squinting down the barrel of a Vickers 0.5. Unfortunately there are not many deserts here in NZ to try her out on.

[motto]

Your truck will be too good to take it off road but I had a '42 model Chev 3 ton 4x2 for many years and it is quite surprising where they will go. Many dismiss them as an old grocers truck but with their ground clearance and low first gear, four wheel drive doesn't give as much advantage over them as you may think.
I have very fond memories of my truck that is now in the UK, my wife and I having driven it there from Istanbul in 2009. I do miss it.

David

[Andrew H.]

A quick update: We decided (due to Richard Farrant's suggestion) that we should put an oil groove in the brass bush in the gearbox. Luckily, my neighbour is a precision engineer and he did it at no cost . He is a true craftsman and set the lathe up carefully, using a dial-guage to get the measurements exactly right. The only way he could do it in his lathe was to make several spiral grooves, rather than a single groove but we saw no problem with that. First he cut an annular groove from the oil hole around the full circumference inside the bush. Then he got the lathe to cut a spiral groove about 1mm deep and 1mm wide from the oil hole to the front at 6mm spacings. That gave three full spirals over the 23mm length of the bush. In one of the pics he is turning the lathe by hand to achieve more control, but mostly it was automated with both axis of the lathe working in unison. The blue tape is there to keep the brass filings out of the bearing. Another small step

[Andrew H.]

After a 6-week stint in hospital I am back on deck and looking forward to continuing our LRDG project. Nothing has been done to the Chev for the last 2 months but work will resume in April.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

After a 6-week stint in hospital I am back on deck and looking forward to continuing our LRDG project. Nothing has been done to the Chev for the last 2 months but work will resume in April.

Andrew,

Good to hear you are "back on deck"! Looking forward to see more on your project.

Hanno

[Kuno]

Andrew... Arpil has just started. When can we see some new photos :-)

[Andrew H.]

Hi Kuno,
Coming soon - watch this space!
Andrew

[Andrew H.]

Well, another ANZAC day has passed without our truck being finished, or at least being mobile. But I am happy to report that there was some real progress today, as the reconditioned motor has at last arrived from the engine reconditioning shop! Yay!!! We only had to wait 4 years! But to be fair, until now the lack of an engine has not been holding us up, as there were so many other things we could do on the truck. But now we are looking forward to installing the engine, getting everything aligned properly and sorting out the fuel pump, carburetor, distributor and starter-motor, which we expect to take a few weeks. Also pleased to report that, after a lot of rummaging we eventually found the original oil slinger and installed it in the reconditioned gearbox.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Well, another ANZAC day has passed without our truck being finished, or at least being mobile. But I am happy to report that there was some real progress today, as the reconditioned motor has at last arrived from the engine reconditioning shop! Yay!!! We only had to wait 4 years! But to be fair, until now the lack of an engine has not been holding us up, as there were so many other things we could do on the truck. But now we are looking forward to installing the engine, getting everything aligned properly and sorting out the fuel pump, carburetor, distributor and starter-motor, which we expect to take a few weeks. Also pleased to report that, after a lot of rummaging we eventually found the original oil slinger and installed it in the reconditioned gearbox.

I took my replica 1940 WB Chev to Paynesville and Bairnsdale Anzac day parades today and whilst it went well, I will have to replace the clutch throw-out bearing and recondition the gear box, a job I have been putting off for a couple of years now. Still it was well worth the exercise. Great day with large crowds.



'Lest We Forget'.


Regards Rick.

[Andrew H.]

Hi Rick,
Truck looks great! What size tyres have you got?
Andrew

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Hi Rick,
Truck looks great! What size tyres have you got?
Andrew

Hi Andrew, The tyres on my WB are a strange size. They are 9.50x16 sand pattern tyres which I found fully wrapped up and stored in a blokes shed a few years ago. I have never seen this size anywhere else but they fell onto the wheels like they were made for the rims.



This photo give a better view of the tread etc.

Regards Rick.

[Mike K]

I think I spotted that truck in Vic Phillips shed , Conargo NSW ? The headlights look like 39 model but its got the 1940 grill .

[lynx42]

You are right Mike K. It was Vic's and I inherited it after Vic's death. Seems I did him a favour in 1995 and as a result, he was able to take part in "Back to the Track" to Darwin to celebrate the end of WWII and he never forgot.

Regards Rick.

[motto]

Vic would be pleased to see how it looks now. Nicely done Rick.

Dave

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by lynx42

Hi Andrew, The tyres on my WB are a strange size. They are 9.50x16 sand pattern tyres which I found fully wrapped up and stored in a blokes shed a few years ago. I have never seen this size anywhere else but they fell onto the wheels like they were made for the rims.

I would give a greatly valued part of my anatomy for tyres like that. We are desperately looking for some 10.5 x 16 inch tyres with that sand pattern. We heard that they are used in Australia on agricultural implements?

[Bob Carriere]

Made by Good Year......but they are agri tires and not suited for high speed driving..... probably not DOT approved....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUB-LO-BOY-1...MAAOSwvFZW7uXU

***** also they are 16.1

Chines tire makers have numerous criss-cross threads but not sure how you would make out on the shipping charges and possible duty upon arrival.

Cheers

[Andrew H.]

Yesterday we removed the cab and rear tray (they were only temporarily attached) so we could more easily access the brakes and install the newly reconditioned motor. Today we installed the engine and gearbox in the chassis for the first time. After five years this is a great day for us!! We were hoping to fire it up too, but we ran out of time by late afternoon and called it a day. So the ceremonial start-up will have to wait a little while longer. We still have to attach the starter-motor, generator, carburetor and radiator before we can hear her run. The chassis is mounted temporarily on old narrow tyres until we can source the correct 10.5 x 16 LRDG tyres.

[Andrew H.]

Today was the BIG DAY when we kicked the motor into life. After attaching the carburetor, distributor, generator, coil, fan belt and starter motor we parked Eric's vintage tractor beside the truck to jump-start from its battery. We didn't connect the radiator. Then we rigged up a temporary gravity fuel tank (no fuel pump yet) and guess what! She actually started!! She ran beautifully for 15 seconds until we killed it and gave ourselves a big pat on the back! We may have an issue with the oil pump, as there was no oil spurting out of the holes in top of the valve rockers. We will have to keep an eye on that. Also we need to recondition the starter motor and fuel pump.

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Today was the BIG DAY when we kicked the motor into life. After attaching the carburetor, distributor, generator, coil, fan belt and starter motor we parked Eric's vintage tractor beside the truck to jump-start from its battery. We didn't connect the radiator. Then we rigged up a temporary gravity fuel tank (no fuel pump yet) and guess what! She actually started!! She ran beautifully for 15 seconds until we killed it and gave ourselves a big pat on the back! We may have an issue with the oil pump, as there was no oil spurting out of the holes in top of the valve rockers. We will have to keep an eye on that. Also we need to recondition the starter motor and fuel pump.

Well done Andrew and crew. Did you replace that tiny little feeder tube to the rocker gear down on the right side of the engine? It is a 'B' to do but it carries the oil to the top and being quite fine, it can gum up. 15 seconds might not be long enough to get the oil up that little pipe even if it is clear, so fingers crossed that it is ok.
Regards Rick.

[Mike K]

I agree with Rick. You need more than 15 seconds to get the oil up to the rockers . Before you give the engine another run, you could try priming the oil system with a external pump , doing this will circulate the oil around to all of the moving parts

[motto]

No need for an external pump, simply remove the distributor and with a blade type screwdriver bit in an electric drill spin the pump. You can run it as long as you like, it will do no harm. I always do this before starting an engine after rebuild. You can feel the difference in torque when the pump primes and oil pressure comes up. It's good to know you will have oil pressure immediately when you do start the engine.

David

[Bob Carriere]

With a good 3/8 drill you can get pressure up to 40 lbs on a 235 or 261....not sure what reading you can get with a 216.

Once you have suitable oil pressure with the drill you can also spin the engine with the starter.... removing the plugs will get you some decent rpm......... and loosen up everthing before the first firing....

Waiting for the video of your first run....

Cheers

[Andrew H.]

Hi everyone,
Thanks Rick, Yes we have checked that the small oil pipe is connected correctly and has no blockages. Thanks David, - yes we will try the electric drill idea before the next start.
Andrew

[Andrew H.]

A quick update:

(i) Yesterday we used the electric drill in the distributor hole as suggested and got the oil to come out of the rocker holes, but only just - it just seeped out of a few holes but didn't spurt out. Is that what should happen? We don't want to run the engine for more than a few seconds until we are sure about this.

(ii) Can anyone post a pic showing how the throttle linkages go together on our kind of RHD Chev? All the Google pics show only LHD linkages, which are completely different. One of the linkages crosses from the accelerator pedal behind the engine to link up with the carby, but we cannot see where it fits or what it should be attached to (maybe the firewall?) We didn't take enough photos and now cannot remember.

[Lynn Eades]

Andrew the oil supplied to the rocker gear is at reduced pressure, if I recall, regulated by a cut out or cut outs in a cam bearing surface. As long as you are getting some to each rocker it will be fine. It runs down the rockers and lubes the valve stems and the push rods and cam followers also.
When you have it running you can check it with the cover off.
It is probably a good idea to run along the rockers with the oil can before starting if they look a bit dry. some rockers will move sideways to get a bit of oil into the bearing surface (hopefully they were lubed on assembly)

[Andrew H.]

Thanks Lyn,
Thats reassuring to know. We don't know what psi we were getting up to with the drill, as the pressure guage is not working properly.