Loyd carrier progress

[ajmac]

Well, I've done the deal and those two Loyd Carrier chassis with engine, gearbox, axles, floor pan and bits of bogies are coming to England I am collecting them in the middle of next month so I need to get to grips with the weights involved.

I presumed at 1.5 tonnes per chassis assembly:
Loyd Chassis
All Axles
Some bogies
Floor Plate
Engine
Gearbox

However the guy who I've brought them from said he reckons 3.5 tonnes for the lot with the one side worth of good track thrown in.

I've got to decide if I can take a 3.5 tonne (3 tonnes max payload) trailer with the Discovery or if I will need to rent a 7.5 tonne truck. The final option would be get a haulage company to pick them up.... but that could get very expensive, very quickly, at least it's a back stop.

[RichardT10829]

how is the vendor moving them ? container ? the shipping firm wont let anything onboard that is not lashed down to a base plinth so you need to check how its coming over buddy, also make sure you get a written manifest of what is included in the sale for which you can check off your lists when it comes home. also a written bill of sale with price etc for when it comes to registering it / them.

If i was you i would get your garage / workshop stripped out now, get the floor painted up and your toolage organised, and perhaps a pair of strong stands to put the chassis bed on so you can work at waist height...

welcome to the carrier family matey its a terminal disease ! (at least i know of a lloyd over here in the future should anyone wish to swap a universal hehehehe)

cheers

Richie

[ajmac]

We are going to fetch them ourselves, at least that is the plan at the moment, had the seller email over the bill sale this morning, so it is all in black and white and on my desk as I write.

I plan to build one Carrier and everything I get fabricated I'll have two sets done. That way there will be a kit of remanufactured parts to go with the second chassis weather I decide to build the second or pass it on as a project. At the end of the day....why would I want two! You never know there may not be enough left once the second vehicle has been christmas treed to held the first.

Rich... you will get a big thanks once they arrive on site in the UK, you can have first go in it once it's complete. You may have a few grey hairs by then though!

[RichardT10829]

no probs i know of some excelent condition UC tracks (full sets) for sale was going to get them myself but iam skint with engine rebuilds and bearings etc..... let me know if you are interested and i will put you on to the guy.


Richie

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Here´s some inspration in case you want to reconstruct them into something "a little different"

[ajmac]

Nice as it looks, I think I'll stick with a TPC and a TT, I've my fingers crossed that as a TPC without additional armour I will be able to tow it on a 3.5 tonne trailer I'll just have to wait until the end of the project and pop her on a weight bridge.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Alistair,

Take a look at the thread carrier, full-track, loyd for some detail pictures of a Loyd Carrier found in France some four years back. They may come in handy as reference for your project.

HTH,
Hanno

[ajmac]

Thanks Hanno, a good number of photos i've not seen before.
So you all know, this is what I'm dealing with......... Can anyone suggest what the extra brackets are for... a post war Dynamo? The engine has a rebuild data plate on the bell housing giving a rebuild date or 5/3/63, it says 'Arsernal ???', I presume the ??? used to say 'Refurbished'. I have been through both vehicles and I do have at least one of everything, however without some serious remanufacturing there will not be enough to rebuild two Loyds. Starting next week I will strip down the complete chassis of everything so that the bare chassis can go to the fab shop to have the main rails remanufactured. I'll need a flathead V8, but I don't want to spec it up until I have determined what Version of V8 and electrics it had.

[RichardT10829]

Alistair.....your lass must love you !!! hahahahahha alot of work there buddy but i am sure you will prevail.

Richie

[The Bedford Boys]

That bracket atop the engine looks interesting. What is it for exactly? Large generator? Perhaps this carrier was a TS&C?

[tankbarrell]

The TS&C used dedicated belt driven generators, one 12 volt and one 24 volt. It still used the standard engine mounted dynamo to charge its own battery.
I wonder if it was a Belgian conversion to a larger, possibly Autolite 12v dynamo.

[ajmac]

Work is progressing on one of the Loyds.
I've noticed that one vehicle has cast bogies and the other fabricated, the fabricated ones are in very poor condition, I doubt if any can be recovered. Martyn also pointed out that one of the fabricated bogies has a regular UC / Loyd road wheel and a Windsor one with the wide lip and no grooves to for the rubber to bond with! The track and sprockets are very worn, those Belgian army guys must have driven the last of there Loyds into the ground before they were sent to the firing range

[ajmac]

A spell of clear weather offered me the chance to further dismantle the front of the Loyd, you will see from the photos that there isn't much left at the farm now, at least from the front of the Carrier.
The torque tube and drive shaft within are in perfect condition, without any damage. Coupled to the back of the torque tube is a short propshaft which interfaces with the gearbox output shaft. This was in usable condition but the cover will need repair as it has three holes and the propshaft within has two impacts. These are part of it's history so they can stay without any issue with the shaft operation.

All of the nuts and bolts holding the rear of the torque tube coupling to the cross member were covered in grease so same off without any problem, most of the larger fastners holding on the front lower hull plate came undone surprisingly easly. It was the smaller ones that gave the most problems, so in the end they had to be cut with the little 4.5" angle grinder. While I was cutting I took off all the large bolts holding the rear chassis angle to the chassis, thus on the next visit we can lift out the engine & gearbox. That just leaves three axles to be removed and the chassis can to taken the two miles into Lincoln where it is to be repaired.

[RichardT10829]

keep up the good work buddy.... i hated the strip down phase of my carrier everything was seized solid ! but its done now so thats the main thing

[ajmac]

I found the chassis number just where Paul suggested.... well after some cleaning and sanding. From the number I presume that it was made by Ford or Wolsley as only these two manufactures made more than 3979 units. Of course that is if the chassis number started at 0 for a contact, and that is by no means sure. However I hope that I may be able to trace the number either in the disposal records (kew?) or the Belgian army records, we will have to see. Any opinions or clues welcome.

You will also see that due to range damage the left hand front chassis rail where the number is located was detached once the front axle had been removed.

[tankbarrell]

It was not at all uncommon for a manufacturer to start at a higher number than 0. The contract cards at Bovington may list chassis numbers though it's unlikely.

[paul visser]

my number is 1474 build by M.B. Wild. and the war dep.nr is T136474 the last 3 are the same as the chassis number. it might be of any help.

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by paul visser

my number is 1474 build by M.B. Wild. and the war dep.nr is T136474 the last 3 are the same as the chassis number. it might be of any help.

Part of contract T/M11245 with M B Wild.

156 TPC No1 Mk 2 T136016-T136171
814 TT No1 Mk2 T136172-T136985

I wonder if they started with chassis number 1016? Seems unlikely but presumably the contracts were issued with WD numbers on them so it's possible.

Maybe just a coincidence....

[Lynn Eades]

May be they started at 5000?....... How did you get 1016? ( May be I'm mathematically challenged?)

[paul visser]

Originally Posted by tankbarrell

Part of contract T/M11245 with M B Wild.

156 TPC No1 Mk 2 T136016-T136171
814 TT No1 Mk2 T136172-T136985

I wonder if they started with chassis number 1016? Seems unlikely but presumably the contracts were issued with WD numbers on them so it's possible.

Maybe just a coincidence....

That could be possible i dont know. But it looks like it.

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

May be they started at 5000?....... How did you get 1016? ( May be I'm mathematically challenged?)

Well perhaps but I meant 5016 as Pauls chassis number is 5000 behind the last four of the WD number and Wild started with (13)6016 that would equate to 5016 to maintain the tie up......It was early, my brain hadn't fully warmed up....
However, I suspect it is coincidence. You would need a sample over a range to know for sure.

[ajmac]

I haven't posted much concerning the Loyd restoration on MLU, so I though I would just do a short update as to where I am.

The two wrecks arrived on site in July 2010, one has slowly been stripped with all parts being recorded and examined to see if they will be usable in the future. One range target vehicle sat upright for many years and the other was upturned, thus together I am managing to restore one Loyd from both. The Loyd you see upside down and cut in half was recovered from the range with a 90 degree bend in the centre, thus it had to be cut to transport it. Luckly this vehicle sat upright and its cross tubes and bogie parts are in reasonable condition, with it's interior rotted to nothing. The second vehicle (which is the basis for the restoration) sat upside down and it's interior parts were in very good condition, but the running gear had been shot to pieces.

As of March 2011 the Loyd has been stripped of all parts except the rear axle which is proving very stuborn! All the steering leavers and small brackets have been acid cleaned and painted, a replacement drivers floor and front lower hull plate have been fabricated, a 24 stud USA manufactured Flathead has been sourced along with a wartime gearbox which is being re-assembled at the moment.

Some new exhaust stub pipes have been cast and I should have the full set back from the machine shop in 10 days or so. Yesterday I was given a couple of free road wheels by a local farmer but I am still looking out for the following:

• Bogies with springs and shafts (complete if possible)
• Road Wheels (UC, not Windsor)
• Track return rollers
• Tracks (UC, not Windsor)
• Rear towing spring and hook
• Fuel tank change valve
• Brake drums
• Brake back plates
• And almost anything Loyd related!

Paul V is giving me great assistance with the rebuild and as luck would have it there is a complete original Loyd TPC just 20 miles away in a private collection for measurements etc...

As far as I know this is the only Loyd project in the UK at the moment (eddy8men is parts collecting for a future project), but I'd love to hear from anyone in the UK who has a Loyd or is in the process of restoring one.


No2 Mk2 TT - 1944

Front Axle Removed

Diff removed, date 1943

Family helps out!

Drivers controls / hull support bracket

Drivers floor

Drivers floor removed - everything unbolted with ease!

Original Flathead V8 - Not in the best of health.

Original Gearbox (now scrapped) showing US origins.


front_lower_hull by ajmacv8, on Flickr
More images on flicker

[ajmac]

More photos...


Wartime Fordson 7V chassis on route to the workshop.

Flathead V8 (wartime water pumps to be fitted)

Half a Loyd

Inside the rear of the drivers floor, note steering levers.

Cleaned and primed for storage.

A bit of Olive Drab.

Exhaust stub pipes with new one yet to be machined.

New Drivers floor steering cable covers.

New Drivers Floor plate

New Front lower hull plate.

[Ryan]

Great work Alastair, watching this thread with joy. What a project. Good to see the family on board too. Best of luck.
ryan

[paul visser]

Look's good Alastair,

keep up the good job, i know how it feels.
you almost catch up on me

[paul visser]

good job Alastair, i got started once, and you will get to my point as well. Just keep up the good work and dont rush, You can drive mine at Beltring.

[eddy8men]

i can imagine the smile on alastairs face when he gets to drive a loyd

[ajmac]

Indeed looking forward to it, thanks Paul....I'm just hoping that my company doesn't send me to the middle of nowhere in July! Since the trouble in Libya has put that trip on hold I may be off to France or Belgium....should be nice.

[ajmac]

Does anyone have a drawing for or could anyone lend me the Flathead V8 valve guide drifting tool? Having spent decades of hard use then a good deal of time in the wet the guides are stuck in the block. The simple design requires you to pop the valve retaining cap, remove the spring, draw down the guide and slip out the retaining clip. The trouble is if the guide is stuck in place you can't remove the clip! A special drift was manufactured which has a kink to go under the head of the poppet valve and drift the guide down into the valley.

[ajmac]

I haven't updated MLU for a while but I do update HMVF perhaps far to oftern!

At the moment the chassis is complete, the drivers floor is installed with torque tube and I am working on the rear axle, which involves stripping the axle of hubs, drums, stub axles etc...with all the impact damage this takes a huge amount of time! I only spend early Sunday afternoons and the odd hour on a Saturday so it doesn't seem to get on very quickly.

Once the rear axle is attached, the track adjuster arms can be repaired and installed, then the front and rear X-tubes both of which require substantial work to repair before they can be fitted....after that it's the shot blasting and OD.