1959 Commer Superpoise MkIV Tipper

Last night it happened...on Valentines Day too of all days, my wife obviously really loves me!

The cab is complete!

The step and wing went on and that marked the end of things in my book. The owner is coming to have a look over at it sunday, then as Ive said, I can get it shipped back and finally start coming up with a bit of a scheme for my motors.




It does limit garage room a tad...

As a result of this all happening it will probably go quiet from me for a month or two while I catch up on a few indoor jobs to maintain the equilibrium in the household, but I will update any developments and collections along the way

Yesterday was D-Day

...

Delivery Day to be precise, and a little less dramatic.

After nearly a year in the garage it was quite a strange feeling to finally be saying goodbye to the truck. With a final few checks run over the fastening of the cab to the trolley, I assured Dad it would be fine, then we began winching it up onto the lorry.



The trolley has been a god send for mobility around the garage, but for transport on the back of a lorry, not so good. Armed with various timbers, we chocked it up off the ground, strapped it up and set off along the A2 battling the cursed traffic caused by the continual shutting of the A249 Stockbury junction.

It had been requested that we lifted the cab back onto the also recently repaired chassis when we dropped it off. So I had to give this a fair bit of thought. Obviously the last thing I wanted to do now was damage all the hard work. I fabricated some lifting brackets to go up the inside of the rear cab chassis at work friday in expectancy. Essentially they were pieces of 25x25 solid box, with a smaller 20x20 hollow box tacked a 1/3 of the way along as an extra brace, with a lifting lug welded on the same end. I then drilled and tapped some m12 holes along the length so I could put a bolt in it at an available point, to prevent them slipping out the chassis "worst case scenario". We then used a spreader bar which allowed me to connect to the back, whilst using a bit of channel and a pull lift on the front once the bonnet was removed. The pull lift allowed me to control the level of the lift. Thankfully the planning put into the lift paid dividends as it went without problem. Sorry for that long winded description, heres a picture basically illustrating that!




The cab sat perfectly back onto its brackets, and looks an absolute picture sat on there. I'm really chuffed with it. And to see it back where it belongs was really satisfying.



It also means I can now draw a line under this project, and finally begin turning my attention to my own ideas. As Ive got a fair few vehicles and plan to be pottering around at various opportunities with most of them, I feel it makes more sense for me to keep them all in this same thread? Any thoughts and response on that would be appreciated. Thanks all!

One thread is good, saves us all having to bookmark new ones. Also keeps threads from dissappearing into the abyss.

The weekend just gone see me collect the final two cars from the cab deal. I havent done any work on anything since the cab went back. Ive been having a bit of a break from it.

The first one was a mk8 Hillman Minx. Its quite a scruffy looking thing, but other than a bit of work on the panels it isnt in bad shape at all. Its probably the best preserved car I have had from this collection, with the interior practically untouched. Ive been told its a "de-luxe" but I havent looked into that too much yet either. This is one of my favourites though, despite it being a fairly un-desirable car. I was told however that the engine may be damaged, maybe even completely ruined, as in its previous ownership it was parked/stored down in Rochester by the esplanade, and suffered at the hands of some flooding! So that will need investigation.







The final vehicle is the other Mk1 Commer Cob. This one is in better condition than the first one I showed photos of the other month, but still a mammoth task all the same. I don't think its one I want to tackle if I'm honest. But ill see what happens. I don't have a V5 for eother Cob, so a degree of investigation needs to go into that before I do anything. Heres a few photos of it;

You may have seen this, apparently restored about 20 years ago but now looking a bit down on it's luck, needs saving before it is lost for ever.

www.carandclassic.com/car/C1531751

I had seen that yes, it looks like a lovely little vehicle, I do really have a soft spot for these mk8 minx's, I find them a really appealing little vehicle. With a slighty more modern engine I think you could have a lot of fun in one. Thats the plan anyway!

Afternoon all! As promised things have indeed gone quiet for the last couple of months. After finishing the Superpoise cab, I took stock of what I had, and decided to let a couple of them go, namely the two mark one Cobs, and the Rapier. This was due to a couple of reasons really, the Cobs were far too much work for me too consider, and given the other cars I have, the Rapier didnt really "fit in". Its not really my type of car, the 50's stuff appeals to me more, so they all went off to better homes. The Rapier already seeing a fair amount of work put in by the new owner.

I have however popped down to the tipper. I got some thick tarps from work, which I have incorporated into the shed to allow me a sliding curtain to access the truck easier and also better protect it from the elements. I also gave it a bit of a wash off, as it still had the dust its accumulated in its prior habitat!





Its no show winner but a good wash never hurt anybody! All the unboltablescaround the engine and front end were all doused with liberal amounts of wd40 in expectancy of a battle at some point!




It was nice to reaquaint myself with the interior of the cab too, I find it a great place to be! The hope now is try and have it running within the next month or so, then hopefully try the clutch out, and then hydraulics! So fingers crossed for that. Ill be able to sit in it and hear truck noises, rather than make them 😅

Good afternoon all, its been a while...

Unfortunately, Ive been very quiet for the last few months, due to a few factors, but felt I should explain myself...

Juggling a young, busy family of 3, working at least 50 hours a week, and having so many projects on the go was beginning to take its toll on me, through frustration regarding the lack of time I could have to myself to put into the projects, and just a general battle trying to balance everything else. Reading Glen's thread on the VAK played a part in this too as I found myself reading his thread and finding it very relateable.

So I had to make a decision really, and that wasnt easy, but weighing up out of what I had, what would give me the most satisfaction seeing completed. The Lorry won that hands down, so I began facing the reality of letting the others go. It hasnt been easy, as I genuinely had high hopes of seeing my series of Rootes cars all sat there ready for use. But its just not to be. So the Hawk, the Super Snipe, and the Californian, have all been re-homed. Just the Minx MkVIII remains, but I'm trying to re home that too.

By doing this and clearing the spares I have accrued, it also allows me too clear my mind from the distractions many projects cause, and just get all my focus into the Tipper this year.

So heres hoping!

You did some nice work on that cab buddy, would like to have seen how you fabbed that step with all the

curves and the 'tread' bit to consider. Look forward to further installments, family an funds permitting,