Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Neither the USPS box, nor the Toledo Steel box that contains the kit, had been damaged in any way. I am therefore suspecting the damage didn't occur in transit.

I disagree Tony. The outer box is fine but the inner box containing the bushes has clearly been damaged by shifting contents, some of which have lodged inside a bushing, and the heavy king pin has jarred into the side of another bushing, causing it to shatter. If the kit was transported upright with the bushes on the bottom, this would occur at the very first bump in the road! To my mind the seller is responsible due to incorrect packaging. I'm pretty sure Mr. Toledo designed the SQUARE inner box to fit SQUARELY inside the SQUARE SECTION outer box, so the bushings would be END ON to the heavy king pins. Plus of course he probably used a heavy cardboard divider as well. You may want to suggest this to seller.

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[Mike K]

The king pin bushes . I've seen some that are steel backed with a thin bronze lining rather than all bronze. I had some new king pin bushes made for my Dodge ute and the guy used brass which was too soft for the application . Some of these machinist guys are hopeless .


When I had 1/2 ton Dodges I went to a machining business and got some of the spring shackles bushed as they were terribly worn to a oval shape. They managed to stuff up the job and the bushes they fitted were out of alignment and it cost a small fortune at the time . That's why these days I do these repairs myself, buy a lathe ... its cheaper in the long run Mike

[Private_collector]

Tony,

I put the lock washers and nuts into the smaller box, and some of the damage to smaller box would be my fault. I accidentally tore away a portion trying to get better access, to take photos. In taking a closer look at the packing of contents within the original packaging, looks like you are probably spot on about the king pins jarring on the bushings. Don't imagine Toledo Steel ever meant their goods to be thrown around in the manner of modern global shipping.

Seller said everything was OK when he posted it, and he does present as trustworthy. Bearing in mind what you have pointed out, sounds like just pure bad luck.

Mike,

You reminded me I need to buy another flathead oil pump idler gear (think that's what it's called) for same reason. Reaming of the new bushing was bollocks up to point that the gear wobbles slightly on it's shaft. Second Time lucky, perhaps?

[Private_collector]

I have had the MOST BIZARRE day, today.

For what feels like forever, I have been working towards getting my spare set of 16" wheels ready to take a set of NDB tyres I was provided with at time of purchasing my grey CMP. For 9 months those tyres have been in my way, and served as a constant reminder that I have a job which should have already been done. I have kicked them, temporarily stored stuff on them, squeezed past them, and chased vermin from around them more than once!

Today, I had everything ready to finally complete the job, in preparation to then take the freshly assembled sets into town for balancing.

..........but the tyres don't @#&|$ing well fit. What the sodding hell is going on. I probably used more of my long dormant vocabulary today than I have ever done. I'm grateful wheels and tyres don't have feelings......(or lawyers!). Rotten mongrel B so and so's.

In desperation, I first slapped grease onto the mating surfaces, then removed all that goop in preference for a mixture of very soapy water. Nope, wasn't having any of it. The bead of the tyres were just a few millimetres too snug for the wheels. Never had this problem on my 20" wheels/tyres! Tried a little gentle 'persuasion' with a block of wood & hammer. Not a sausage. Ok, getting desperate now.......and very, VERY, annoyed. Rang a fellow who has put these on many CMP rims. He has had no problem with them. Oh thank you universe, another special treat just for me. I unloaded another wheel from it's slumber in my trailer, and another tyre from the stack in my shed. Ground hog day. Perfect copy of what I have just failed at. Could have been mistaken for Basil Fawlty in one of his less restrained moments, but I wasn't quite that composed, nor as slim. If muttering curses under ones breath ever becomes an Olympic sport, I'm ready to take gold for Australia. Lord knows I've had practice today.

Tomorrow I take the #*(@/, €¥~%ing, rotten @+\£§ swine, #+*ed things to a truck tyre place. They can share in the fun too. Probably only takes a tap when they give it a try. If not, I'm out of ideas........and swear words. Even the local motorcycle gang members blushed with embarrassment today.

The only positive out of todays train wreck, is simply that the tyres and wheels are now loaded into the back of my truck, and it will be another opportunity to drive it, which I really enjoy. That said, in context of luck today, I fully expect the truck will catch fire on the trip into town, then that fire catching an orphanage alight, followed by the smoke blinding a passing ambulance carrying a pregnant woman who has just been savagely mauled by a vicious dog, all topped off with seven kittens fleeing from under my vehicle....directly into the path of the fire engine! Still, it'll get rid of those damned tyres and wheels, I guess. Not my problem then!

[Wayne Henderson]

Hi Tony,
Welcome to the wonderful world of Blitz Rims. I've had Bridgestones fit on like a glove and no luck what so ever with MRF's. Bought some US tyres that were guaranteed to fit... didn't.

Don't take them to a tyre shop, you"ll just waste yours and their time, been there done that and no one is happy.
Find someone with a large lathe and take 2 ml off the rims. This cleans all the rust pits out and makes the tyres fit. Take care with the edge where the bead fits.
Also hammer wood in behind the rim when in the lathe to stop the ringing or wear 3 pairs of ear plugs

Yes it makes the rims thinner so don't carry 12 tons in the back or jump buses in it.
Some people claim a tapered or flat bead edge makes a difference but that made no difference in my case. Good luck.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Tony,

Sorry to hear about your aggravation....

Read 9.00 X 16 U.S. versus British wheels and new 9.00-16 tyres for WD split rim wheels: conclusion is that US size tyres are too small for British 16" 15-cwt rims.
You basically have two options:

• turn down the diameter of the rims on a lathe (like Wayne said)
• or increase the diameter of the tyre by shaving the tyre bead.

Because of production differences, of course some of us will find some tyres with just a little larger diameter bead, that can be fitted with plenty of soap and force.

20" British rims do not have this diameter difference, so US sized tyres fit without a problem.

Hope this helps!

[Private_collector]

Thankyou Hanno, that gives me some idea what is going on.

Wayne, your info both comforts and depresses me.

With the info you guys have given in mind, I expect the tyre shop won't want to have anything to do with my tyres, potentially on 'safety' grounds. Very nervous, some folk! Probably also quite wise.

I see my options as:

1/ Persist with trying to fit these tyres, via tyre shop in town.
2/ Return the tyres, and buy something new. ?starting same issue.
3/ Whittle down perfectly intact tyres, on the off chance I dont bollocks the job.
4/ Forget the whole waste of time, and cut my losses as such.

Now, I'm not a quitter, as my local tobacco shop will testify. These tyres and wheels only become mine once the set currently on the vehicle are returned, so I am loathe to butcher them. I will follow through with the run to tyre fitting place/s, just to say I have exhausted that avenue. I'll take advice from folks tomorrow, then contact the 'owner' of these tyres, for direction. I judge from my discussion with him today, that this problem has not arisen with him in the past. That is despite mating the tyres to other CMP wheels. I wonder if there were some of both types of tyres in his supply. Now THAT would be interesting.

I really, really, don't want to start lathing metal off my rims. Not because I fear weakness, but because I fear a total stuff-up from whoever gets the job. I know it sounds paranoid, but I have had horrendous work done by those who would have us believe they are 'professionals'......wink, wink. Had an engineering shop mill some metal from a block of aluminium once, and the finished product that was proudly returned, it looked like as I that big guy with the metal teeth from the 007 movies had gnawed at it.

Bet I dream about @#(ing tyres tonight!

[Private_collector]

Right, well, have taken two different sets of wheels & tyres to two seperate tyre shops. Same result. They cannot join them. Naturally, they did not recommend any modification to either tyres or wheels. One place spent a full half hour trying their equipment to press the tyre into place, but ultimately failed. Didn't even get close. Other shop wasn't quite so committed, and came to same conclusion, with less effort by the sounds of it.

Neither the tyres or wheels are mine until I swap for ones on the truck, so I won't be modifying either items. I will return them as soon as possible. I'm a bit pissed off at spending so much time on a project that has come to naught. More the anticipation of the finished product, than time spent.

Guess my truck keeps the non military looking tyres and black wheels!

Moving on. I got the new pinch rollers for my sign cutter today. Now verified that it is working as should be. The 'trial' version of the cutting sorfware I have, is not practical for actual use. When I try to print any design I make, it only allows me to cut a test print of the softwares choice, and not my job. Grrrrrr. That's no more than I figured, and I will be buying a full version anyway. Cutter runs goooooood though! Nice sharp corners, straight lines, and fairly speedy. I'm studying the user manual tonight. First productive thing will be to test that trial piece of stencil material, remember?