Tripping The Light Fantastic....

Wow - has it really been over a year since I last blogged on here? I think it has so high time to update progress so far....

In essence, not a lot has happened really...... 519 still lives undercover in a nice warm barn in Suffolk, with the odd job being done here and there, but of course protected from the elements. The carburettor was rebuilt by the carburetter exchange in Bedfordshire earlier in the year, so it stands a much better chance of running properly now! A temporary fuel line has been fitted and the remainder cleaned, and it currently runs from a can, meaning that the next job will be to clean the tank out ready to re-fit.

One bit of progress I am really pleased with is the fact that I have found a replacement cab light. A question posed in a group on Facebook resulted in a very helpful Q4 owner in Glasgow messaging to say he had one. Once a busy patch at work had passed, a box duly arrived in the post - containing a whole new light. It sounds minor but it's one of those little things that makes it look so much difference.

As it is now:

The new arrival, ready to fit!

We Can Rebuild #2...

Well, the last two days have been busy in terms of getting the old Commer back on the road!

Getting the brakes back together has been the main priority and this process continued apace yesterday. Getting the shoes back on and seated correctly against the springs was fun, unlike the brakes on a Bedford which have one cylinder, all the wheels on the Commer have two wheel cylinders making them slightly more fiddly. With the rear shoes refurbished with new friction material owing to the oil / grease leaks from the failed seals and the fronts cleaned up, the hubs were eventually bolted back on and painted to keep the rust at bay.

In between times, I found time to replace the old wing mirrors - the long arms (because of the narrow cab) were rusted solid so took some time to tease apart. Once done, the new Spafax mirrors were fitted - modern, yes, but still 'in-keeping' and much better for modern traffic conditions!

With the brakes back together, time to bleed them. Thanks to Tony's pressure bleeding system, this is quite a quick and easy process. With the cab and system fitted to the master cylinder reservoir, it was pressurised. Master cylinder - done, rear nearside - fine, but then - fluid leaking from under eh cab? Yup, a fine pin hole in the original but 'refurbished' reservoir had shown itself under pressure and was firing brake fluid all over the cab! Once the flow had been stemmed, the offending reservoir was removed and after a short but testy call to Past Parts, Tony flew home to solder the hole. While he was away, I drained the coolant and flushed out the radiator - many buckets of brown, rusty water ensued, helped by blasting water through it. The system was then refilled with anti-freeze and fresh water:

I also unloaded the car and managed to pop the three collecting heads back in the locker which was designed to hold them with specially shaped batons to hold them in place - a simple but pleasurable task!

With the newly-repaired reservoir back in place, the bleeding continued but as the brake pedal was pumped - disaster... A split brake pipe! So, a quick trip across Suffolk to see Howard and an hour and half later, some new pipes were fitted:

Brakes bled, the brakes were tested - yup, working! Then the wheels were replaced and the axle stands removed leaving 519 back on its own wheels once again:

A little 'fettling' was done but it will need some more work as it doesn't want to run smoothly! It might be the carb, so certainly refurbishment of that will be required and perhaps electronic ignition too!
The last job before finish was to drop the three lengths on 6 inch hose back onto the back - at last, a hose layer with hose!

We Can Rebuild #1...

Well, the rebuild has begun after several weeks and months of 519 being sat in its shed on axle stands!

In the interim, Tony had prepared - cleaned and painted - the backing plates on each wheel, ready for the bits to be added. Whilst he applied the final coats, the mucky job of degreasing the hubs was left to me but with the aid of some decent degreaser and a pressure washer, they were soon clean.

Whilst they were drying, I took the opportunity to degrease the insides of the wheels - the rear ones were filthy as the oil and grease from inside the hub and axle had seeped out as the seals had failed.

Before the hubs could be reassembled, the bearings were also cleaned in diesel before being refitting and I took the opportunity to apply some grease to all the grease nipples on the springs - much easier with the wheels off...

So then it was time to reassemble the first hub which, with the aid of the workshop manual went back together with relative ease although getting the shoes located against the tension of the springs proved to be fun!

Once done, it was time for hub to go back on - one wheel complete!

Hopefully, more progress tomorrow - it should be back on its wheels by the end of the day!

Dreams of Victory...

Well, good news! After the MVT dealt very quickly with the inspection of 519, the DVLA also did their bit very efficiently! Within 3 days of me sending the info off - the old V5, MVT dating certificate and a cover letter - they called to run me through what they were going to out in the notes section on the front to see if I was happy. Unfortunately, the first V5 sent had 'Manufactured unknown' on the front but a quick phone call to DVLA generated another which accurately places the manufacture date as 1955, making it eligible for Historic taxation and now properly MOT-free without the need for a plating and testing exemption.

Also, Tony has now had the last part of the braking system back from Past Parts - the master cylinder - which has been re-lined in stainless steel and painted, and which is ready to go back on next week:

On Further Inspection...

Exciting times. The MVT (Military Vehicles Trust) has moved very quickly in arranging their inspection visit. Just one week from posting off the letter, photos and supporting information I received a call from their Suffolk area verifying inspector. No problems, "..can I visit tomorrow?". So, a phone call made and yes, he can! The up-shot is he visited today, seemed happy and is content to confirm that 519 was manufactured in 1954/55. So his report now returns to the MVT verification people and I await the next chapter, where presumably I get a letter to send to the DVLA accompanied by the V5.

On the brakes front, the rear brake wheel cylinders are done! It has taken a while since not only have the cylinders been relined in stainless steel, but they had to re-manufacture the pistons in stainless steel too as the previous aluminium ones had corroded beyond recognition. Expensive but hopefully a once only job. Just the master cylinder to do now - I could probably get away with it but if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. I guess, too, I'll have to get used to paying more to get parts made - unlike Bedford RLs, parts for Q4s seem to be thin on the ground!

Hose It Down...

A productive day today as I went up to Cheshire to pick up some more bits for the Commer. This time, rather than mechanical bits, these are parts which it would have carried when in service as a hose layer with the AFS in the 1960s. However, as it was only registered in 1964 and the AFS disbanded in 1968, whether it actually ever fulfilled this purpose for real is debatable!

Anyway, I picked up three lengths of canvas 6" hose that a fellow goddess owner had stored. This 6" hose was used when goddesses were relay pumping from pump to pump over long distances. I'm not sure how long this was used for as even the 1963 training video I have seen shows them using plastic hose rather than canvas, hence why I have the distinct feeling that whilst they kept some and regularly inspected it, it was never really used (imagine drying 2-3 miles of canvas hose?!).

The hoses are held together with these neat and presumably original straps:

Evidence that it was regularly tested, here the tag dates from December 1991:

I also managed to pick up a few more toggles / couplings from the same chap - these were used to couple the 6" hose together and the Commer would / should have carried 12 when in service, so together with those I picked up from Vass last year, that's not far off 12:

Then it was on to another part of Cheshire to pick up two collecting heads. These were used to convert anything from one to six normal hose deliveries to one 6" hose and the Commer would have carried three when in service; luckily I already had one from a few years ago which I bought on spec and currently keep stored in my goddess. Ugly but at the same time, a work of early 1950s utilitarian beauty!!

The Magic Numbers...

Well, more progress and a step back or two...

The hubs are now back with Tony having been primed by Howard after blasting, they have now had a black top coat of some marine-type super rust-proof black paint to keep the rust at bay for a few more years. Smart they look too, ready for refitting!

Part of the Military Vehicles Trust process for dating the vehicle for the DVLA involves ascertaining the chassis number. It's on a plate under the bonnet, which is present and clear, and matches the V5. However, there should be another on the chassis somewhere. But where? On a Bedford RL, it's on a plate on the offside, just behind the cab - easy. On the Commer? Hmmm. I looked at the military parts list and it says that it's on a plate on the near side near to the spare wheel carrier, which the Civil Defence version doesn't have. So, a quick flick through the Civil Defence parts list leads to the following:

"It is also stamped on the top flange of the N.S. (L.H.) chassis sidemember at the rear spring front bracket location."

OK - but is that not where the body sits? Er, yes, as this photo shows....

Anyway, another AFS Q4 has appeared on eBay and the owners said that the chassis number matched and was visible etc. I cheekily emailed him to ask where he found the number on his and he had the following advice:

"Near-side chassis rail just above some rivets, about 12'' behind the rear wall of the cab."

Great, that's where the military parts list says it should be and nowhere near the CD location! But - on the AFS Q4, is there not a locker in the way, as the photo shows? Hopefully it will be visible.

 
However, some good news! Whilst wandering the web and the DVLA list of vehicle clubs earlier, I came across the Rootes Archive Centre Trust. Despite it saying that their records for military and commercial vehicles were not as complete as the cars, I emailed to ask whether some Commer information might be available. The response was "What's the chassis number and registration mark? We may have some information" So, fingers crossed.

To be continued....