1936 Jowett Pre War Lorry - The Retirement Project!

With the chassis now off for repair and coating thought I'd have a gander in the pile of rusty bits at what is left of the bulkhead...

This is it!

I'm actually looking forward to this bit, I had ago a small bits of fabrication before but nothing as baron as this! My welding skills are non existent every time I fire up my little mig 180 thing, I hear a cooing in the background! I may just stick to the folding bits for now. Though I've had my eye on a bead roller for a while for another job I'd like to have stab at so this may just tip the balance toward getting a budget one to have play with.

The retirement project has crept forward!  After popping the chassis over to the local fabricators back in February with instructions of "I'm in no hurry"  I finally got a call asking me to pop in and visit to inspect their handy work.   They've un picked the repair on the front end, cut out the wonky bits,  remade a a bit and riveted back together.   Now just short of removing a few brackets it will be in the shot blasting booth ready for a good going over with the powder coater!   

So a small step forward! Back from the powdercoaters ready for assembling! Now to sort out a pair of axles! Pictures to follow! For some reason my phone won't upload!

A couple photos of progress.  

After rolling out a mostly shaped wing,  lots of patches,  just to get the general gist of how the shape will go.  You've got to start somewhere!



The chassis has been moved into a spot so I can begin playing with making up panels for it.   First job is to see what I have left,  and have a go a remaking those bits to give me a start of the puzzle which is missing a fair few bits.   

Hopefully filling in he gaps as I go.  I started with the bulkhead, making up a bit which was mostly complete,  which had shape and join lines.   From then on I've been making other bits to grow from there really.  

Fitting the radiator to the chassis to get of a starting point.  However not as simple as it appears.  It seems its a replacement radiator,  with different mountings sitting it further back that it should.  Luckily in the pile of bits were two unknown brackets,  which were labelled O/S, N/S  but of no other indication.  Which i then later discover were the original radiator mounts... which moved the radiator forward about 1.5 inches, to allow the bonnet side to fit, in the nice snug gap between the radiator and my newly made up bulkhead side and A panel.  

My biggest challenge so far is figuring out how the bulkhead should be,  I know there is a battery box,  but there is also some strength shaped beading in the flat panel that holds all the tooling.  So while I'm pondering that I'm looking at other things to do.  





Its becoming quite a fun exercise really,  taking a flat sheet of metal and trying to see how your going to get from A to B.   So far the bead roller,  foreign (English) wheel and a scaffold pole with a block of wood have all come in handy for shaping forming things into a near shape.  Once I'm happy with the panels I can start getting them tidied up finalised their shape.   Then once I'm happy with rad, bonnet and bulkhead this should give me the shape I need to refine my wing with so it follows the same shape as the bonnet.  

Hopefully more progress soon.  

A few photos of progress.   

Over the festive period I've been trying to trace a van version of this to see details of the bulkhead.   Going through various club members and dealers.  I finally found a photo of how it should go,  just awaiting a few more measurements so I get cracking on the vital bulkhead panel.   Work hasn't stopped though.   While I've been fiddling about in the evenings mainly with the bonnet and wing into a near settlement. 


I've also started to dig out some of the bed wood work. 

 

A few more photos of progress, making up the bulkhead cross panel. Bead rolling the strengthening shape in the panel. A club member sent me down a rubbing of the pattern on his bulkhead on his lorry which he rebuilding, though his is a later model, they seemed to share similar styling. From his I was able to mark out the panel and roll it out. My next head scratcher is figuring out where the bulkhead meets the scuttle. Somewhere I think I've got a measurement wrong. But something to ponder! While Ive been struggling with that, I've been making progress with the other front wing.

Alan - Pretty excellent progress - now given you are in your early years and that you've nicknamed it the retirement project I'll take it that you are planning for retirement at 40 - Keep making this type of progress and you'll be on track - well for getting the lorry finished by then at least