Bedford TK

[mylesdw]

I think the colour chart was OK in the end. It was just the difference between a small sample on a white background and what it looks like in real life. Either way, I am happy with the remixed colour and I have the recipe so that I can order more.

 

[mylesdw]

I bought a clutch servo on eBay






Brand new and only paid five quid so a bit of a bargain. The truck has power steering and air assisted brakes so it is quite light to drive except for the clutch which is very heavy. I am not sure why but I think that when the truck was converted to diesel the linkage was changed in some way. There should be (I think) a clutch relay linkage that gives some extra leverage to the pedal but that has been bypassed completely on my truck. An air clutch definitely makes a truck nicer to drive so I will have a go at fitting it once the cab is off.

 

[the snooper]

I bought a clutch servo on eBay






Brand new and only paid five quid so a bit of a bargain. The truck has power steering and air assisted brakes so it is quite light to drive except for the clutch which is very heavy. I am not sure why but I think that when the truck was converted to diesel the linkage was changed in some way. There should be (I think) a clutch relay linkage that gives some extra leverage to the pedal but that has been bypassed completely on my truck. An air clutch definitely makes a truck nicer to drive so I will have a go at fitting it once the cab is off.

total bargain at a fiver

 

[defender]

what a cracking thread i really like the TK,i think its a cracker my dad had a few while working for BT,all his were new or not very old he really liked them as a truck

 

[mylesdw]

It may not seem like much but I actually bolted something back together for the first time this project. The brace bar that runs across behind the front panel. It's not nearly strong enough to help in a crash so I guess it is just a stiffener.




There should be another upright but somehow that didn't get sprayed! I'll have to do it next time.

 

[mylesdw]

Not much so say here. Some pics of the painting progress.

 

[Mikey D]

Really interesting thread , well done on your choice of oil too , the factory is half a mile from my house

 

[devlin maguire]

Really interesting project, asa BT mechanic these were well liked in the workshop as far as working on them, stub axle pins could be a nightmare but the easiest was was take the front axle off and lay it between two big blacksmiths anvils,BFH and a decent drift and a mate with nerves of steel to hold it, fond memories best of luck
Dev

 

[mylesdw]

well done on your choice of oil too , the factory is half a mile from my house

It's great stuff, universal, the same oil goes in engine, gearbox, axles and hydraulics!

 

[mylesdw]

I have been discovering all about over-spray! I had not really appreciated that if you are painting something in sections the over-spray from one session spoils the previous one and so on... Time to start planning better and masking as needed.

I was not too happy with the results anyway so I asked my brother who has done quite a bit of spraying (boats rather can cars). His advice as to spray on one quick coat, not worrying too much about the look and the coverage, then wait until the coat was just dry enough to touch and then put on a second coat much thicker.

This I tried around the sides of the roof and got a much better result. Not professional quality by any stretch of the imagination but if you look hard enough you can see the workshop lights reflected in the shiny paint!

 

[zzr1200]

If I remember right Ford beat them to the tilt cab by a long way therefore picking up all the new customers, the D series was nicer to drive too.
The TL came later but if you ever drive a TL the steering lock was poor

The advantage with the D Series tilting cab was you could have one of the 6 cylinder engines out of the chassis and on the floor in less than an hour (the record in our workshop was 25 minutes admittedly for the smaller 4 cylinder engine).

Which reduced servicing/repair costs considerably compared with the TK's fixed cab

 

[mylesdw]

Painted the inside cab rear. There are bits around the rear window that still show when all the trim is on.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

The advantage with the D Series tilting cab was you could have one of the 6 cylinder engines out of the chassis and on the floor in less than an hour (the record in our workshop was 25 minutes admittedly for the smaller 4 cylinder engine).

Which reduced servicing/repair costs considerably compared with the TK's fixed cab

I have a Ford D series 16 tonner alloy bodied tipper sat in the yard that's very slowly being restored. LWB with full air brakes and the Ford 6 cylinder turbo engine.
It's 1972 so tax exempt and it has the 5 speed box with hi/lo rear diff.
Tracking down spares for the braking system is the hardest part.
It had a Custom Cab originally but that had rusted out, I replaced it with a late model cab with the square headlights but I have kept all the decent Custom Cab panels and fittings to transfer across and put the round headlights back in.
It was used as a grain tipper from new on a local farm. Driving it across the field they managed to select 5th gear instead of 3rd and it jammed in gear and stalled. It sat in the middle of the field for about 5 years till I rescued it about 10 years ago for £250.
The jammed gearbox was just slack in the remote change so after repairing that and fitting a new pair of batteries it started and I drove it the 3 miles home with air leaking out of every orifice and the compressor just about staying in the green!
I'll post some pics if anyone's interested.

 

[mylesdw]

Post away! It's always good to see other's projects.

 

[mylesdw]

This weekend I painted the last of the interior: the dashboard and a few other spots that needed some colour.






There was some paint left in the gun so I did the door inners and the inside of the outer mudguards too.





The next task is to mask off the whole interior and spray the outside and the doors all in one go. My spraying is average at best so I will get my brother to come over and do these bits that really show.

 

[Ash]

Hey ur doing a great job. My TK is at the stage of fitting out the rubber seals on the cab. I have made a lot of enquires in Australia for quarter vent window rubbers. They no longer exist over here apparently. Have you had an luck over there. I included a couple of pics. Regards Ash

 

[mylesdw]

Great photos Ash, paintwork looks excellent. I don't think you can get the rubbers you're after; I've never seen any for sale and the chap I deal with in the UK who has loads of spares reckons he may get some made one day if there was enough interest. I haven't really looked closely at mine yet to decide what needs doing.

You can get original windscreen rubbers and the side and rear windows can use a profile 'off the roll'. I would like to get new door rubbers but no luck there either. I may investigate making some.

The trouble is rubber does not age well so any new old stock will be pretty rotten by now and the windscreen rubbers are the only bit regularly replaced.

 

[brewdexta]

Really interesting project, asa BT mechanic these were well liked in the workshop as far as working on them, stub axle pins could be a nightmare but the easiest was was take the front axle off and lay it between two big blacksmiths anvils,BFH and a decent drift and a mate with nerves of steel to hold it, fond memories best of luck
Dev

I was a BT TOIT (Technical Officer In Training) back in 1978 and spent about 18 months on various outside gangs, many who used Bedford TK such as the pole erection team, cable duct breakdown team, underground cable installation team. overhead cable gang etc. It was my job to keep the lorry tidy which usually involved wiping the dash over with an oily rag and filing the drivers porn mag collection

 

[mylesdw]

My spraying is passable but not great so for the outside of the cab I called in my brother, Hugh, who has done quite a bit of spraying: boats rather than cars.

The scheme is to -

1. Mask up all the openings so that the overspray does not spoil the previous work
2. Wet the floor with water to keep the dust down.
3. Wipe the whole thing down with wax and grease remover
4. Wipe the whole thing over with a tack rag to remove dust
5. One light coat that just covers everything
6. Wait for the coat to be just dry enough to touch without it coming off on your finger
7. One heavy coat and wait for it to be just dry again
8. Thin the paint and one final coat
9. Walk away and leave it alone for 24 hours

Spraying the first coat video




The man at work

And the finished article -

 

[KimB]

That's look great!.