Page Updates - May 3rd Brake Hoses  -  May 4th Service  -  May 5th Observers Seat Mod  -  May 8th Signal Lamp Overhaul
 

For a while, the brake shoes have been dragging after pressing the pedal. I'd previously checked the springs, and the tension seemed good, so suspected the problem lay elsewhere. Another symptom was that for the first press of the brakes, the pedal almost went to the floor to get braking, but as I drove a while, the pedal free play reduced to almost nothing. Since buying the Dodge, I've replaced the master cylinder and all four wheel cylinders. I've also relined all eight brake shoes. The only part of the system not touched were the four flexi-hoses - one on the rear axle and three on the front axle. This is where I suspected the problem was.

After refitting the battery after the winter lay up, I brought the Dodge home and set to work. I began at the back, opening one of the bleed nipples and pumping out as much fluid as possible. Next I removed the old hose and fitted the first of the new hoses. This went fairly easily but I had a feeling that the front wouldn't go so well!
 

After a couple of minutes cooking, there was a large bang and the union/pipe fitting went one way while the hose shot off the other way! This seemed to confirm that at least one hose had collapsed internally and the pressure of the heated and expanding brake fluid finally blew the rubber pipe out of its fitting. Shortly after, a vice and a spanner finally freed the fitting from the union. The second steering knuckle hose was stuck fast the same way and that union had to be removed too. It was also heated on the stove and an identical bang separated the rubber from its fitting. Another collapsed and partially blocked hose! Like the first, the union was freed as a result of the heat treatment. Both of the new flexi-hoses were fitted without problems.
 

I got all the hoses fitted by about 1:30pm, then stopped for lunch. After lunch, I began to top up the extra brake fluid reservoir and started pumping fluid through the system. I went around the four corners three times as during the first attempt, fluid started pouring from the front right wheel. I realised the copper washer had dropped out from behind the brass union and once refitted, held firm. The brake pedal free play was set up next and there was just enough time for a quick test drive before the school run.

I didn't have much time, so the drive was short, but the brakes worked well, other than a slight pull to the right. The free play remained unchanged and the pedal was firm and consistent throughout. Tomorrow I'll adjust the shoes to try and balance the braking and there's the usual Springtime work, such as cleaning and gapping the plugs and points etc. The first trip out for the Dodge will probably be in a couple of weeks to Blyth Battery.
 

Day two was a general service and a few other odds and ends. All the usual stuff like cleaning and gapping the plugs and points, greasing, oils etc. When I collected the Dodge from the container, there was quite a bit of oil had dripped from the air filter onto the exhaust manifold. It was checked once home and wasn't over filled, so the leak must have been coming from elsewhere. I drained the oil, cleaned it up and had a closer look.

The oil hadn't been pouring out, but standing for a few months in the container, there must have been a steady seeping. I suspected the seam around the central tube and the turned over edge did look like it had lifted in places. It was cleaned up with a small rotary wire brush and soft soldered all around the seam. Time will tell if this has sorted the drip.

After the other servicing jobs, I jacked up the front wheels and gave the shoes a provisional clearance setting with the wheels spinning freely. After a short delay due to a rain shower, I took the Dodge out for a test drive. It was still pulling to the right a bit, so I stopped a couple of times to make further adjustments. I clocked up eleven miles during which the brakes behaved themselves, with the free play and pedal position remaining constant.

Tomorrow, I'll be looking at my daughter's child seat. Inconsiderately, since first making the seat, she's continued growing and now needs more legs room. I should be able to move the seat back and modify the existing supports. We'll see tomorrow!
  

Day three! It's been four years since I made the seat and my daughter has now outgrown the leg room originally provided. The first picture shows the original configuration, quite close to the driver's seat. Looking at the supports, it looked like I would be able to cut away the rear diagonal and reuse them added to the front of the supports. This would then provide support for the front of the seat and new material for the bolt hole that fastens the seat to the floor rails. The second picture shows the cut from the rear and additions to the front. Cutting the rear away would also mean the seat wouldn't encroach too much into the cargo area, required for camping gear when we don't have the trailer ( currently fitted with 24 volt bulbs for one of the Jeeps ).
  

 
The right side leg would have to be a bit shorter in length due to the supports for when the seat is centrally mounted in the observers position. The left side could be a bit longer as there was nothing in the way of that rail. The welding work was completed by mid afternoon, 'though my small angle grinder died in the last moments of the project with a burned out motor. I had to finish off with my 2000 watt grinder, normally for 8 inch discs. It was test fitted, then removed again for painting. The parts were then left in front of a heater to bake the paint until 9pm when it was all fitted into the Dodge ready for its trip to Durham in the morning.
 

I've had this C-2 Signal Lamp since buying the Truck in August 2010. It has often been displayed along with the other accessories I have, but not until today did I have a look to see if I could get it working. In the seventy odd years since it was made, it has been battered about and has suffered from aging.
  

 
The rubber coated power cable was severely perished, the main tube had a large dent and the glass front was loose, along with its felt seal. The lamp is held together by numerous tiny screws, but came apart fairly easily. The rear handle needed to be removed in order to fit a new cable. I didn't have any rubberised wire, but did have a nice length of two core flex from my angle grinder that died while working on the observers seat. The lamp terminals were screws to clamp the wire, while on of the switch terminals had a spade for the wire to be soldered to. The trigger simply presses a brass lever onto the top of the screw terminal, completing the circuit.
 

 
Inside the lamp housing, the bayonet bulb filament looked intact. It was removed to test. While the data panel on the lamp said 24 volts, I couldn't be sure the bulb was 24 volts, as there were no markings on it. I tested it on a 6 volt rechargeable battery pack and it illuminated with enough brightness to display, but not overly bright. Next I tried on a transformer and increased the voltage up to 12 volts. This was quite bright and I decided I didn't want to push the bulb beyond 12 volts. For final use in the Dodge, I'll probably run it off the 12 volt radio/amplifier battery, but try and drop the voltage to around 9 volts for the lamp to prolong bulb life.

Also visible once the case was removed, were two trigger operated levers. The two triggers are mounted on the front handle. One operates a blanking plate, shielding the mirror from the bulb. The other has a blue/green filter to give a green light when required. The front glass and reflecting surface were in good condition and just needed a light clean.
 

 
The new wiring can be seen here, exiting the top of the handle, just after the switch. They run briefly over the top of the frame before ducking under the filters to the bulb terminals below. Both filters rest on a small vibration absorbing pad to prevent damage as they drop back onto the frame when the triggers are released. The glue had long since gone brittle and the pad dropped out once the lamp was opened. It was reattached with a small amount of clear silicone.
 

 
The next picture shows the two filter triggers. The longer trigger is the blanking disc, blocking the bulb from the mirror. The shorter trigger is the green filter. The other picture shows the sizable dent in the tube. Due to its position not being opposite to the opening in the bottom of the tube, it was difficult to knock back into shape. I couldn't get much of a swing with my little pin hammer. Instead I resorted to a heavy round metal bar, held inside the lamp tube, which was then knocked on the carpeted floor of my workshop. The heavy round bar slowly knocked the tube back into shape while the carpet protected the tube's external face.
 

 
Once the lamp was reassembled, it was time for a test. The following two images are from the main viewing end, showing the white light and green filtered light running on 6 volts. The inset images also show the other view along the lamp. They show the small feedback prism, reflecting light from the tube, back towards the operator so he knows what colour he is sending.
 

 
The rubber plug cover wasn't in great condition, but it was useable. The new flex was a bit thinner than the old rubber one, so I used the rubber strain relief from my broken angle grinder to take up the space between the cable and cover. The final job was to make a socket to go with the plug. Brass sheet was folded into a terminal for each pin and embedded into a wooden disc. Another cable was soldered to these brass sockets which would in turn be connected to a power supply in the Dodge. A larger ply disc was glued to the back of the socket which would be the flange used to attach the socket in the Dodge. The next time the Dodge is home, I'll try and get it fitted.