Well, some stuff has happened since the last post, five months ago.
To start with, I've taken my driver training and passed my LGV (Cat C1/C) test; I've also gotten my digital tachograph card sorted. Amusingly/irritatingly, the tachograph card was sorted in a matter of days, and while I don't have the physical card yet I have the number for it; however, my license itself hasn't yet been updated to take C1 and C out of the provisional category.
Moving at the speed of beaurocracy, etc.
The Truck
A few little bits of progress, here and there. Picking up a little now that it's daylight for longer.
Electrics & Fittings
Both sidelights work, now; so yay. I also have most of the wire I need for connecting up the rear lights, when I get those.
I've also gotten myself an air-horn for it; a quite large and impressive unit that will definitely get heard. It's quite a hefty two-tone unit that sounds like a train, though I'm not keen on the shoddy little control box that came with it (Electronically, it was incredibly simple and robust; but there was no potting on the board, and it had corroded quite heavily. It also just switched back and forth between the two tones for as long as you gave it power, which is not what I wanted.)
Contemplating whether I want to run both notes together, or as a manual two-tone. Might do both; horn button on the column runs both together, and have a two-way momentary switch that will let me sound each note as I want it.
Continuing onwards; the level sender is still playing silly sods, and the fuel pump is struggling to pull fuel out of the tank through the original pickup tube. Not sure whether the fuel delivery issue is just because I can't get the fuel hose to seal properly on the remains of the outlet on the top of the tank, or because it's managed to pick up one of the stray lumps of solder that was rattling around in there.
I should probably drop the tank and pull that sender out to do something about both those issues, but ...well, you know how that goes: When I have a sufficiently circular tuit.
Bodywork.
I pulled the driver's door handle off to see if I could figure the lock out. Barrel is a strange one, so I'm considering making an adapter to take a standard lucas ignition cylinder, as it's pretty much the same but with a different tail-piece for holding it into -- and actuating -- the door lock mechanism.
Not really what you'd consider a high-security door lock, really. Just there to provide a token amount of nuisance-resistance in that it stops nosey people having a poke around.
Anyway, door handle off; and that's been about it, honestly. Truck's been up on axle stands while I've been sorting the rear hubs and stripping the brakes; which leads me into...
Brakes!
Last time I posted anything on here about brakes, I was grumbling about having to take the hub off. Honestly, it's not so bad if the drum will come off like it's supposed to; which it did, on the nearside.
I managed to buy two NOS brake transverse cylinders, from Germany of all places, for the rear; and I've gotten one of the expanders torn down and cleaned up, the other expander is torn apart and just needs a thorough cleaning. Both of them need to be lubricated, bearing in mind the issues of the potential temperatures they might see in use, so I'm probably going to order some Moly paste for them. (Rocol has a dry moly paste that's specced as good for up to +450°C.)
Both hubs have had new axle seals -- modern lip seals -- put in, and are back on with the diff having had new oil. I'm fairly sure I can, now I have an idea of what I'm doing, refit the brake shoes without removing the hub again (Because that would probably let a lot of oil escape.)
Speaking of the shoes, I'll be taking them to a local company -- Castle Truck Supplies -- to see what they can make of them; they apparently do a lot of brake shoe relining, so it should be okay.
I've also dropped the brake servo off with them to see if they can find the parts for the missing valve. Once that's sorted, and I've slung some new seals in the rear brake cylinders, I'll start getting the rear brakes fitted and plumbed up.
I'm aiming to have at least the rear brakes working by the end of the year. We shall see.
(I have less than two years to at least have it mobile enough to shift when work has to leave the current site. Because that wonderful old-school workshop is getting bulldozed, along with the rest of them, to make way for yet more housing estate.
Horwich already feels like a gutted town, and there'll be pretty much nothing left but nail & beauty salons, takeaway places, and the usual array of estate agents. But I'm starting to rant, again...)
Registration
Once again, ¯_(ツ)_/¯