My '44 Flying Control Dodge

[armyairforce]

May 5th - Observer's Seat Modification

Day three! It's been four years since I made the seat and my daughter has now outgrown the leg room originally provided. The first picture shows the original configuration, quite close to the driver's seat. Looking at the supports, it looked like I would be able to cut away the rear diagonal and reuse them added to the front of the supports. This would then provide support for the front of the seat and new material for the bolt hole that fastens the seat to the floor rails.



The second picture shows the cut from the rear and additions to the front. Cutting the rear away would also mean the seat wouldn't encroach too much into the cargo area, required for camping gear when we don't have the trailer ( currently fitted with 24 volt bulbs for one of the Jeeps ).

[armyairforce]

The right side leg would have to be a bit shorter in length due to the supports for when the seat is centrally mounted in the observers position. The left side could be a bit longer as there was nothing in the way of that rail. The welding work was completed by mid afternoon, 'though my small angle grinder died in the last moments of the project with a burned out motor. I had to finish off with my 2000 watt grinder, normally for 8 inch discs. It was test fitted, then removed again for painting. The parts were then left in front of a heater to bake the paint until 9pm when it was all fitted into the Dodge ready for its trip to Durham in the morning.

[armyairforce]

Durham 1940's Day - May 6th - Millennium Place & Market Place

It was a rather damp and chilly start to the day. So damp, that "Faith's" 6 volt electrics didn't want to wake the Dodge engine from its overnight slumber! With a bit of encouragement, I brought the engine to life and had an uneventful drive to Durham Millennium Place, next to the Gala theatre. The new brake system behaved itself and the engine pulled well in the first decent run out since Barnard Castle in June last year. All the other Dodge events last year were just a few miles from my door.

[armyairforce]

There were a good turnout of vehicles and in the market place, another Jeep, diorama, vintage bus and car. Both locations had music and dancing and despite the dull damp day, there were lots of people about, many of whom took interest in the displays, vehicles, uniforms and fashion from the 40's.

[armyairforce]

I went straight to the storage yard on the way home, put "Faith" to bed in the container and brought the normal car back home again. A 22 mile round trip.





Next weekend, I'm off to the Yorkshire Air Museum at the former RAF Elvington, for their RAF themed "Against the Odds" event. "Jessie" the "Follow Me" Jeep will be going to that one.

[armyairforce]

May 8th - C-2 Signal Lamp Overhaul

I've had this C-2 Signal Lamp since buying the Truck in August 2010. It has often been displayed along with the other accessories I have, but not until today did I have a look to see if I could get it working.



In the seventy odd years since it was made, it has been battered about and has suffered from aging in a number of ways. Here's the original data plate but I can't see a date of manufacture anywhere.

[armyairforce]

The rubber coated power cable was severely perished, the main tube had a large dent and the glass front was loose, along with its felt seal. The lamp is held together by numerous tiny screws, but came apart fairly easily. The rear handle needed to be removed in order to fit a new cable. I didn't have any rubberised wire, but did have a nice length of two core flex from my angle grinder that died while working on the observers seat.



The lamp terminals were screws to clamp the wire, while on of the switch terminals had a spade for the wire to be soldered to. The trigger simply presses a brass lever onto the top of the screw terminal, completing the circuit. Here's the battered case, though from this side, it doesn't look to bad.

[armyairforce]

Inside the lamp housing, the bayonet bulb filament looked intact. It was removed to test. While the data panel on the lamp said 24 volts, I couldn't be sure the bulb was 24 volts, as there were no markings on it. I tested it on a 6 volt rechargeable battery pack and it illuminated with enough brightness to display, but not overly bright. Next I tried on a transformer and increased the voltage up to 12 volts. This was quite bright and I decided I didn't want to push the bulb beyond 12 volts. For final use in the Dodge, I'll probably run it off the 12 volt radio/amplifier battery, but try and drop the voltage to around 9 volts for the lamp to prolong bulb life.



Also visible once the case was removed, were two trigger operated levers. The two triggers are mounted on the front handle. One operates a blanking plate, shielding the mirror from the bulb. The other has a blue/green filter to give a green light when required. The front glass and reflecting surface were in good condition and just needed a light clean.

[armyairforce]

The new wiring can be seen here, exiting the top of the handle, just after the switch. They run briefly over the top of the frame before ducking under the filters to the bulb terminals below.



Both filters rest on a small vibration absorbing pad to prevent damage as they drop back onto the frame when the triggers are released. The glue had long since gone brittle and the pad dropped out once the lamp was opened. It was reattached with a small amount of clear silicone.

[armyairforce]

The next picture shows the two filter triggers. The longer trigger is the blanking disc, blocking the bulb from the mirror. The shorter trigger is the green filter.



This shows the sizable dent in the tube. Due to its position not being opposite to the opening in the bottom of the tube, it was difficult to knock back into shape. I couldn't get much of a swing with my little pin hammer. Instead I resorted to a heavy round metal bar, held inside the lamp tube, which was then knocked on the carpeted floor of my workshop. The heavy round bar slowly knocked the tube back into shape while the carpet protected the tube's external face.

[armyairforce]

Once the lamp was reassembled, it was time for a test. The following two images are from the main viewing end, showing the white light and green filtered light running on 6 volts. The inset images also show the other view along the lamp. They show the small feedback prism, reflecting light from the tube, back towards the operator so he knows what colour he is sending.

[armyairforce]

The rubber plug cover wasn't in great condition, but it was useable. The new flex was a bit thinner than the old rubber one, so I used the rubber strain relief from my broken angle grinder to take up the space between the cable and cover. The final job was to make a socket to go with the plug. Brass sheet was folded into a terminal for each pin and embedded into a wooden disc. Another cable was soldered to these brass sockets which would in turn be connected to a power supply in the Dodge. A larger ply disc was glued to the back of the socket which would be the flange used to attach the socket in the Dodge.



The next time the Dodge is home, I'll try and get it fitted.

[dashtp40]

Steve,
I always enjoy looking at your posts. The signal light sure is a nice piece of equipment for your Dodge.
Steve

[armyairforce]

Blyth Battery Goes to War - May 18/19th

Like last year, I decided to take a Jeep for the first day and the Dodge for day two. New to see this year at the Battery are the two replica naval guns, installed in the gun emplacements in the Spring. The first picture shows the Battery as seen from the beach, with the various buildings marked.



The drive up on Saturday was shrouded in light mist and as I drove onwards, it gave the impression of heavy rain on the screen while the hood and fenders remained bone dry. It dried up briefly upon arrival and I started to look around when the rain started. I quickly retired back to the Jeep and waited for it to pass.

The Jeep from day one.


The Dodge on day two.


It dried up late morning and was brighter by the time of the beach battle at noon. The Germans did the attacking on day one while the British made the assault on day two. It was during this that the commentator announced that the German attack on Norway, was the only attack they made during the war that involved a beach assault.

[armyairforce]

There were only five Jeeps there including mine on day one, but several other interesting vehicles were on display. One of the more unusual ones was this "Bedouin" car, originating with a Citroen 2CV. A Harley, some Austin Champs and Land Rovers and the German truck were also on display.