ww2dodge.com Forum

Hi Steve,

Years ago I saw the famous William Larkin photos of Airplanes at Kingman. I used to travel Interstate 40 quite a lot and would stop-in at the restaurant at the airport, next to the original Control Tower. They had lots of his original photos on the walls. The management of the restaurant changed hands and when I went back the photos were gone...stolen by the previous management. I don't think they ever got them back.

Well worth a visit, just not in summer.

I did actually go to Kingman on my honeymoon in July 2000. It was warm!

Well, first I suggest you get an A-2 and you already have one!Now a trip to Kingman and you've already been! I better just shut-up!!!

I think the photos disappeared just prior to 2000 or right around there.

OK, now tell me I'm a multi-millionaire

Hi Steve,

excellent details

Greetings
Sylvia

Thanks. I've just made a deal on another BC-348 receiver, so the back of the truck is going to fill out nicely. I've got another local event with the truck a week on Sunday, but hope to get the panel installed the day before. I also need to get some cotton insulated wire to hook up the panel lights etc, and get the 12 volt battery fitted under the floor.

Dodging in and out between showers ( Very heavy rain! ), I got the instrument panel fitted today. The panel was positioned after dropping the weather vane drive rod down through the ceiling and into the panel. The bottom of this rod rests on a brass plate to act as a bearing surface. This can be seen below.



The panel itself is screwed down to the table with three screws and nylon kitchen cupboard corner blocks, which can also be seen in the previous picture. The weather vane mast was then fitted to the roof and the vane aligned with the gauge before gluing the drive gear to the shaft. The front of the panel was then screwed in place.



The only gauge which isn't connected now is the anemometer, which is waiting for me to make the anemometer head which catches the wind.

The picture below shows the meteorological station as it will be viewed by the public. As it is mounted fairly low, all the instruments can be clearly seen when standing outside the truck. From the radio operators seat, between the radios and meteorological station, he is looking square on to the instruments.



Not yet connected is this panel light, which came from a Lancaster ( so I've been told ). I've just ordered some cotton insulated wire, to wire up various pieces of equipment where the cable will be seen, as modern plastic coated wire wouldn't look right. While there is a small switch on the light itself, I'll fit a master switch on the panel.

While I was working on fitting the instrument panel, the rain was running into the weather vane mount in the roof of the truck, and dripping onto the panel. Even when the weather vane mast is fitted, rain water was likely to run down the tube. To stop this, I turned a resin cone on my lathe which fits over the bottom of the weather vane mast and is glued in place.

This cone sits just abover the metal mount in the roof of the truck, with the gap taken up by a large leather washer. This washer should seal the joint fairly well. All that remains to be done is to mix a little grease and oil to pour into the mounting socket in the roof. This should form a last water seal on top of the bearing in the bottom of the vane mast socket.



I've got another event tomorrow, so I'll try and get some overall views of the weather vane and instruments etc. Fingers crossed the rain stops long enough!

Hi Steve.

This a problem that happens when ducting goes up through a roof. The easy way around it, honestly' is a cone just as you have made hollow on the inside. Like a tundish inverted. On the roof is a top hat piece or in your case a flanged bearing with the flange on the roof and the bearing sticking up inside the hollow cone. It is impossible for the rain to get up inside the cone and run down the shaft. Of course if that's how you have done it and I'm being thick not understanding your description then I'll shut up!
Now there's a first.

Phil

ps It's fantastic conversion you've done and by the look of the pics beautifully made. Now I'll shut up.

Not quite how I've done it. This is the mount for the mast....



The cone sits on top of this, with the leather washer making a seal against the flat steel plate. The cone itself is glued to the mast preventing water seeping down between the mast and the cone. The thickness of the metal plate raises the surface 1/4 inch, minimising the build up of water sitting on the plate.

The windsock works and the gauge also works well. Trouble was today, is that it told me the wind was from the North all day, and it was FREEEEEZING, despite the sun!!

SMART work Steve....looking really really good mate.

Regards

LLoyd

Just think, if I hadn't come down to Rougham in August, and discussed the sale with everyone, I probably wouldn't have bought it. It was on the way home that the wheels started turning and I started making phone calls to set things in motion.

See..thats what happens when you come down south to sunny Suffolk Steve....stuff happens..

Great work so far mate

Lloyd