1964 Bedford J6

[marke95]

Apr 22, 2023 15:53:42 GMT gtviva said:

Looking in the parts book I think you need part no 6353604 for the small end and 6347511 for the big end, I might have the minor service kit in stock but pretty sure they don't come with bearings

Apr 22, 2023 16:32:18 GMT gtviva said:

May or may not help but the hangers are part number 6311568 & 6311569

Thank you! I've got Stan at Midland Automotive looking for the bearings for me at the moment, hopefully he can find me some. He's been looking for the spring hangers for months and we've come to the conclusion that these are now totally obsolete so the only options are to find a good second hand pair (very rare) or repair what I have.

[marke95]

Apr 22, 2023 19:50:11 GMT glenanderson said:

How come you’re having to look at the rear spring/tipper pivots? Had the originals failed and been replaced by something a bit Heath-Robinson?

I would give a kidney for a workshop I could put my lorry in.

I should have explained it better really! At some point the tipper pivots have been cut off the original spring hangers to make room for a different body. I'd like to return them to original if possible but I will have to wait and see what can be done with the parts I have.

It is lovely having a workshop, I try and make some progress every weekend but I wouldn't be half as far as I am if I had to brave the weather every time I wanted to do something.

[gtviva]

As I thought the minor repair kit only contains the gaskets, no bearings, as for the brackets I bet there is a ton of them floating around India/Africa!

[gtviva]

don't know how far you got with the rod bearings but this popped out of a box, the rods wrong but the bearings might be if you have any dimensions of your old bearings

[marke95]

Jul 3, 2023 13:58:31 GMT gtviva said:

don't know how far you got with the rod bearings but this popped out of a box, the rods wrong but the bearings might be if you have any dimensions of your old bearings

Sorry, I must have missed your reply! Midland Automotive managed to find me a complete repair kit with bearings, valves, gaskets etc from one of their suppliers in the end but thank you so much for your offer, it's very kind.

[marke95]

Seeing as my last post on this thread was at the end of April, it really is time to post another update!

First off, the cab is now at a body shop being repaired, I always knew that was going to be the most in-depth part of the project so it's nice that it's finally making progress.

I've had chance to make some real progress with the chassis, the rear spring hangers / tipper brackets are still being repaired but in the meantime I've removed several of the crossmembers to deal with loose rivets, cracks and various other faults / previous poor repairs. The front crossmember is now bolted back in, I'm just waiting for the others to be repaired before they can be re-fitted. The springs have been reconditioned and fitted back on along with new shackles, shackle pins and in the case of the rear springs, new front hangers as well as the originals were found to be worn once the pins had been removed.

The worn drag link and track rod ends have been replaced, along with the kingpins, which has really improved how the steering operates.

The leaky, damaged diesel tank was taken to Jason at Jaren Metalworks in Wisbech to be repaired, what an amazing job! The tank looks brand new, with a new outer skin and the end caps now only there for show (dummy ends are welded in just inside these to make up the tank and prevent leaks from porous end caps)

After finding a replacement set of big end bearings, the compressor could be rebuilt, painted and fitted back to the engine, which had been painted in the meantime. This meant that the timing cover could also be put back in place, followed by the new front crank pulley and balancer assembly which were also painted in gloss black to match the rest of the engine. The reconditioned injection pump was then fitted to the drive coupling on the rear of the compressor.

One more job I needed to get sorted before the chassis was painted was to re-drill the tipper ram brackets so they could be moved further back on the chassis, the original holes were welded up and new ones marked out and drilled, using original holes in the chassis rails to avoid weakening the chassis with any additonal holes.

As well as working on the chassis, I've been able to spend some time on the engine and gearbox, the engine has been treated to a full set of brass core plugs to compliment the new black paint and each of the accessories has been cleaned and inspected before painting, with a new thermostat and heater control tap being fitted to the thermostat housing as part of this process. The starter and dynamo were previously checked over by an automotive electrician friend and given a clean bill of health.

The gearbox and bell housing have also been painted ready for refitting. The two propshafts were taken to H.L. Smith in Albrighton to be refreshed with new joints and a replacement centre bearing followed by balancing.

A few other small items have been cleaned up and painted, such as the tipper control lever which I'm really pleased with.

I was hoping to have the chassis blasted and painted by now ready to start the rebuild part of the project over the winter but as I'm still waiting for a few parts, it might have to be in the new year now.

[generallee]

Fantastic progress. It will be amazing when it's done.

Actually, it was amazing before, it will be even better.

[glenanderson]

Brilliant progress. 👍👍

[marke95]

Yet again time seems to disappear and it has been far too long since I posted an update. Some incredible progress has been made since the end of last year, the cab has been sent away to be welded, the rear spring hangers have been repaired and re-fitted along with a host of other chassis repairs before it was blasted and painted. It's now back in the workshop slowly being put back together.

Rear spring hangers and rear crossmember finally being re-fitted

While the chassis was away being blasted and painted, I took the opportunity to spray some of the smaller, more delicate parts myself, as well as refurbishing the control valve for the two speed rear axle.

Finally the big day arrived and we went to collect the freshly painted chassis and all the other parts.

Once the chassis was safely back in the workshop, the parts started going back together rather quickly, the steering box, drag link and track rod finished off the steering mechanism, while the spare wheel carrier was re-fitted along with it's new stainless steel wire rope to raise and lower the spare wheel.

Then came the rear wheel cylinders and handbrake mechanism

Followed by the brake pipes, I had previously made new pipes but I wasn't 100% happy with all of them so some were re-made to a higher standard.

A quick visit to the bodyshop where the cab is being repaired showed some promising progress, this was always going to be a major job but it seems to be in safe hands.

I will try and make the updates a bit more frequent now that the chassis is progressing more quickly. Thank you again to those of you who have taken the time to reply and offer advice on this project, it really is an amazing community.

[jamesd1972]

Nice brake pipes !
Looking great.
James

[teaboy]

That’s looking great.

[glenanderson]

Fantastic. I am quite jealous of your progress. 👍👍👍