A was for Austin, but now B is for Bedford

Week 4: Once home the size and weight of B for soon made moving it less than easy, so it stayed right where it was pushed by myself, a neighbour and the two guys who delivered it.
Keep this in mind Bedford wannabes; there is a very good reason why K type Bedfords are so popular . . . BUT perhaps I’m some sort of masochist or simply prefer the look of the short nose versions, and they only come as O types.
At the farm I had put a shopping bag on the seat before sitting in the truck for the first time, it was truly un-inviting,

and the passenger’s seat would not have inspired any hitch-hikers.

For head clearance, and so I could see out, it was necessary to rip down some of the headlining which was accompanied by clouds of dust! At least there was a full set of head bows in there.

Brake pedal - solid (seized as expected), clutch pedal - okay, and gear lever moving as it should, with a handful of nuts and threads instead of a shift knob.
As I said previously the fun was about to begin . . . you'll see tomorrow :dry:
Sidenote for asw120, Jarrod: Yes, but being a Pom Down Under more like before or B for Bedford

Cheers!

Maybe I'll keep "Beefa" for my W model

Jarrod.

Week 4 continues: Phew, lots of crap and dust, numerous rags, sacks, and a pair of trousers, sewed and stuffed into the seats to fill the holes. An assortment of scrap metal plus some tools under the seats along with the wheel brace and starting handle (and no the engine wouldn’t turn - it’s seized). Rust in the passengers footwell and driver’s door. Ignition key doesn’t turn and neither does the passengers’s side window mechanism.
The badly rotten tray would be next . . .

It may be deceptive but the planks on the tray look like they are as thick as palings. The rust doesn't look bad at all so a nice easy fix. Maybe it's time to start soaking the cylinders to see if they will free up. Many stationary engine guys use a 50/50 mixture of accetone and ATF.
Amazing what you find inside and under seats. I found part of a finger tip when stripping a car down for panel beating when I was an apprentice. Scared the poop out of me and I tossed it across the workshop floor when I realised what it was. Back then the boss said scoop it up and put it in the bin, whoever owned it wont miss it now.

And to round off Week 4: Planks were nailed to cross-beams and all nails extracted without the use of any tools, they were all loose and the movement from farm to home had left them sticking out and easy to then extract with fingers - 273 of them!
The majority of the planks disintegrated on removal but the cross-beams and outer metal frame put up a little more resistance. Subsequently a hammer, chisel, saw, and levers were called into action, before they also succumbed.
Not totally removed, but I have a reasonable amount of firewood now and that angle iron frame is like everything else on this truck b..... heavy!
I have mentioned the engine on another post, but it will come up later when I get to it in my time line. Basically it needs more than a soak with anything cobbadog :S :whistle:

I might add it takes almost as long cleaning up the debris as it does pulling it apart, and I still haven't really achieved anything yet . . . :huh:

Pretty neat to have spare tyre carrier and tail lamp still in place
under the tray after all these years PDU. Good work, Paul.

I've always been told to "extract the digit" and here you are doing the same but with nails.
Nice work in destroying what was left of the boards and rails. The lengths that sit on the chassis appear to be good, is that right?

Of the wooden tray crossmembers only one was remotely worth keeping cobbadog, and even that was beginning to split along the grain. It was only kept as a possible template for whatever MIGHT replace them and will ultimately end up in my fire with all the rest. :ohmy:
The planks were just plain rotten - when I first climbed up on the tray I almost went through them, after which I gingerly walked only where the lines of nails indicated the crossmembers were. :blush:
Also, I was pleased to find a few remaining original fittings PaulFH, which will be retained wherever possible, particularly the underslung step, which was probably from an earlier wagon/cart/dray?
Anyone seen one of these steps fitted to a Bedford before?
As you may notice I respond to comments; I believe that interaction is what makes a forum more interesting and keeps people like me going . . . :blink:

PDU wrote: Anyone seen one of these steps fitted to a Bedford before?

:

It's a Sulky Step, Mate..

As Seed says, a sulky step. I had to fit 2 of these under the tray on my Inter, as the Titanium knees made it too hard to climb up onto the tray. Worked a treat.