WW1 Thornycroft restoration

[Great War truck]

I have been intending to post these pictures up for a while, but have just never got around to it. Basically, it is Steve's "entry level" restoration project. After finishing University (which i think was in about 1988) he wanted to restore an old vehicle. Veteran cars were out of reach of his modest pocket so he started looking for a commercial vehicle. After a few false starts he found this WW1 Thornycroft J Type.



The story behind it was that it had been recovered by our friend "Jones the scrap" off of a Welsh mountain. It had been driven into a shed to run a water pump. The back of the truck did not fit in the shed so had been cut off and scrapped. The engine had expired to be replaced by a Studebaker (i think - steve will correct me).



The chassis had at some time been broken and repaired (however, as the back of the chassis was missing altogether this did not present too much of a concern).







The gearbox was a bit poorly too and the top of it had been smashed:







It did however have good front wheels and a canvas (although we think the canvas had come off a small trap).



Other plus points were that the gear change mechanism was there and so was the fuel tank (although this had a 3 foot hole in the bottom).

A price was agreed upon and the whole lot was taken to Devon. My Grandmother (rest her soul) saw it all just afer its arrival and utterred the imoral words "what a load of old rubbish". Not always inclined to agree with her views, i must admit that on this occasion i had trouble to disagree.

Twenty years down the line, where are we? Well, one thing is for sure Steves optimism has taken a little dent. "If i knew then what i know now I would never have bought it" and "buying them is always the easiest part" are two phrases that crop up in conversation when he talks about the Thornycroft. After doing some work to it the restoration was of course interrupted by the arrival of a more viable Autocar retoration, which was in turn followed by a procession of Peerless trucks, an FWD, another Autocar and the Dennis. Now however as the Dennis restoration approaches its completion (well maybe just another year or so to go) we ask ourselves which project next - Peerless or Thornycroft.

[Great War truck]

In case you are uncertain as to what "J Type" should look like, this is how they appeared as they left the factory.

[Richard Farrant]

Now however as the Dennis restoration approaches its completion (well maybe just another year or so to go) we ask ourselves which project next - Peerless or Thornycroft.

Tim,

In the last 20 years, has Steve managed to find any more parts for the lorry, in order to make another start on it?

[Great War truck]

Oh yes, please bear with me. I have to scan some photos of some remarkable finds so you can see how things have progressed.

Tim (too)

[79x100]

Now however as the Dennis restoration approaches its completion (well maybe just another year or so to go) we ask ourselves which project next - Peerless or Thornycroft.

The Thornycroft is a great looking lorry and you're on something of a roll with quality south of England machines at the moment.

Are there any other survivors ?

[Great War truck]

From my quick caluculation i think there are 10 survivors in the UK and some more in Australia and new Zealand.

Of the UK ones three are in a military configuration, probably the best known being the Duxford AA gun:



There is a fabulous one at the Milestones museum:



This one at the East Anglia transport museum is another ex military J with the original body etc, but in a civilian livery:



There is another one, albeit postwar which was restored as military for film use. From the photos I have seen it now seems to be reverting back to a civilian livery.

Tim (too)

[Rlangham]

Tim, isn't there a Thornycroft J type at milestones but civilianised?

[Old Bill]

In this country, I believe the survivors to be:

IWM Gun Lorry
WD GS Wagon at Milestones
1919 pantechnicon at Milestones
WD GS Wagon in red for Lowestoft Corporation at Carlton Colville Museum
WD wagon rebuilt with low-level radiator and now being civilianised. Originally from Warrington.
1919 Wethereds dray. Engine recently wrecked and the owner plans to install a Perkins diesel......
Flat bed wagon in civilian livery. Signwritten 'Pettifer' and last seen in Shaftesbury.
Portsmouth Corporation bus at Milestones.
Charabanc at Museum of Country Life at Sandy Bay
Kit of parts. Gosling collection, Axminster.
Kit of parts near Nottingham
Complete lorry in scrapyard in Taunton.

These are the ones we know of in the UK. I have been fortunate to see them all and have driven the Milestones GS wagon. It's quite an animal and I am looking forward to getting stuck into ours!

Steve

[Runflat]

Steve, I think I'm right in saying that the Country Life chara' was acquired in very original form complete with a tipper body, which was then removed so that the chara replica body could be added. Do you know what happened to the tipper body? It'll be shame if it's going to waste. WD Roads anyone?

[Old Bill]

The original tipper lorry came from a scrapmans private collection in Taunton and was sold along with a number of other vehicles and steam rollers in the early 1990s. Also in the sale was a spare engine for which we were outbid by Hampshire County Museums Service. The tipper was professionally stripped and rebuilt as a charabanc at Midhurst in Sussex and the cab was passed on the The HCMS. They already had a chassis with differential which had come from under a house and they wished to build it into a full lorry. Using this chassis, the engine from Taunton and the cab, they built up their Southern Counties Agricultural Trading Society pantechnicon. (It is known as the SCATS lorry and I think that is what it stands for!). I believe their gearbox was a spare left over from the IWM gun lorry restoration. Back to the original question, I am not sure what became of the tipper body. HCMS may have the mechanism tucked away but the body was rotten.

Incidentally, Mr Tucker, the scrapman, had two J-Types and the second is still in his yard.

These stories get more convoluted by the minute!

Steve