A was for Austin, but now B is for Bedford

SA six day lockdown - at last I can get stuck into the truck again. Today saw the rebuilt front wheel cylinders transferred from the M type chassis to B for's. Other than not having a cover over them (?) they appear to be the same as the ones that should have been there!? :ohmy:

Over the next few days the M type tailshaft will donate its new centre bearing and universals. The chassis is slowly approaching completion, I need to fit some brake tubing clips and dig through the debris to locate the handbrake cable - don't remember there being one when I dismantled things so might have to find one elsewhere???

Good Luck PDU, stock up on toilet paper and meat as soon as the shops open or you will miss out. They were was the first items to disappear from the shelves when Victoria became Sicktoria.

I wonder what we should call South Aus. now?
Sick South?
South Sickstralia?

Should Adelaide be City of Sick Churches?:evil:

Ah, the pleasure of living in a smaller town Morris, less crazies buying the toilet paper :dry: it's the out-of-towners that are the problem where that is concerned, and they are locked down too, wherever they might be!

We're still the Sunny South, and like Western Australia, just try the weather out before passing it to you Mexicans. :lol:

Today - tailshaft time . . .

Locked down one minute - not locked down the next!? How's a bloke meant to get any work done if I end up back at the Men's Shed, the Heritage Centre, or wherever else I might be needed?

The Bedford tailshaft turned into an extravaganza - dismantling the M type unit to extract the centre bearing and universals, (at least I had the inch and a sixteenth AF ring spanner that was needed to get to the centre bearing which was bloody tight!) and then repeating the process to put them into the O type tailshaft. It was a job I hadn't been looking forward to as the O type unit was covered in caked on mud, grease and rust, but ended the day with it ready for paint tomorrow.



In the evening I was not interested in television so tackled the plastic version of B for. This was the second night's foray into building a plastic model after about forty plus years. :dry: The first night I had spent an hour or so assembling the engine - can you imagine working with tweezers to attach the fuel pump and coil? Tonight's was about an hour and a half, and even more trying. Apart from assembling the chassis it also included what I had been doing during the day, but so much more fiddly as each universal had to be glued onto the shafts! The model is reasonably accurate (even though it is a British body, not Australian) and will serve as a mock up for what I want to do to the rear of mine . . . not a tray top or drop-side. :huh:

PDU You are certainly a man of many talents.
The plastic Bedford looks good. The rear body style certainly is very English. I think it is a copy of the style of railway wagons used there.

Keep it up whether you are in lockdown or not!

Will the model be made with or without the rust?


:whistle:

What rust!? :blink:

Todays tip for Bedford restorers: Make sure the side step brackets are in place BEFORE fitting the brake master cylinder. Painfully difficult doing afterwards, with virtually no room to access the inside of the chassis rails. It can be done, but would have been easier beforehand!! :oops:

And I always hear about Japanese cars and they were built with people that are double jointed with children's hands, I'm guessing Bedford helped design those cars lol

Story of many a home mechanics life right there


Paul

The first car that I struck with ridiculous working space was not Japanese but an example of British engineering, the Morris Minor. Co-incidentally the brake master cylinder again, it had two mounting bolts that were (almost) impossible to remove because of the close proximity of the suspension torsion bar alongside it. It was a job that I took on to help out an older lady when I was about 16 or 17; and was sufficiently frustrating to make me avoid brake jobs on Morris' from that point on.

Obviously learning from that they then managed to make things even harder when the engineers/designers combined to squeeze the engine and gearbox into the Mini; only to be outdone when you have to do just about any job on a Jaguar V12! :pinch:

I'm sure we all have struck these wonders of automotive insanity as we meander through life and I then wander back out into the garage and look at the Triumph Herald, a mechanics delight.

Tidied garage, which is a regular thing to round up all sorts of bits and pieces left from various jobs, and included shifting some large and cumbersome furniture that is being stored for other people; it has been a thorn in my side for several months now as I try to work around it (virtually one car space taken up). Other than leaving everything where it should be and sweeping the garage out, I found a Humber tailshaft that I had forgotten about; lucky for new owner who is supposed to be coming for the engine and other bits later today.

ALSO, more importantly, went searching through the shed where I originally dismantled the O Type and found the handbrake cable. Now, loosely fitted on B for, and looking fine. Plus I made up some temporary side steps so I don't have to go mountaineering just to get into the cab. Sunday, day of rest???