The hubs are re-fitted in time for a move to new premises

Restoration Part 18. Click here to return to the main Dodge lorry restoration page. Part of oldclassiccar.co.uk. Contact page.

June 2008.
Since the arrival of the new wood sections, and the work undertaken by HMG to establish the correct shade of green used on the Dodge, things quietened down for two or three months on the rebuild. Partly this was due to a re-organisation at VHC, and partly with me rebuilding my coffers a little (recent marriage, and new baby, also proving to be distractions from the project!!). During this time however, new bearings were fitted as required to both axles, and the hubs re-built in order that the vehicle could be dropped back on its wheels. This was becoming especially important as VHC decided to move to more suitable premises, re-locating from those that they'd recently been co-habiting with another company. The move ended up being a little more protracted than had been expected, but by the end of June, the Dodge and all the loose parts were at VHC's new workshop.


Front hubs seen here re-fitted to the lorry, all hubs having been sandblasted some time ago to remove decades of corrosion and flakey paint.

The rear hubs are even heavier than those at the front, seen here re-fitted to the lorry along with the driveshaft. New bearings, seals and gaskets again have been fitted as necessary.

This is VHC's former workshop, located on a Cheshire farm. They shared this building with a second company, who remain there still. Gaining suitable access to prepare the lorry and parts for the move took a little time, but this was finally resolved one Saturday in June, and I got the chance to re-fit the Dodge's wheels (with a great deal of assistance, as they are heavy things!) and between us we rolled it outside. A couple of friends and I undertook the not-inconsiderable task of loading up all the loose parts into trailers and a van, so that they could be removed on the same day - not something I wish to repeat in a hurry.

Fortunately the weather remained good, and by mid-afternoon all the loose parts were loaded up, and the Dodge parked outside for the first time in over a year, ready for transport to be arranged.

By a real stroke of luck I managed to arrange transportation that same day, the photo above shows the Scania lorry arriving at the farm. The plan was to re-locate the Dodge and all the parts back home in the first instance. This we did without a hitch, big thanks to Phil who dropped what he was doing and brought his transporter over to save the day.

Initially, I stored all the parts removed from the Dodge in my own garage, meaning I had to turf my A40 and A55 onto the drive for a few days. Most of the parts were simply bulky, with only a few (the winch, gearbox, and bellhousing) being extremely heavy and tricky to manouevre. I must now thank Ted and Andy for mucking in with the move, who, along with Phil, his driver and the Scania, made the recovery of the parts and vehicle in one day possible.

A few days later, the Dodge was on the move again (once more on the back of Phil's truck), to VHC's new premises, where work will re-commence shortly. Richard, Adrian and Neil from VHC collected all the loose bits from my garage on the following Saturday, and took them back to their new workshop to lay them out and organise them properly. The next stages in the rebuild will probably be the fitment of the new ash framing (cab and rear door post areas), and also the re-assembly of the engine once it comes back from the machine shop.
Return to the Dodge lorry restoration page for more info on this rebuild. Previous Page: Part 17 - Matching the original green paint. Next Page: Part 19 - Re-conditioning the bottom end of the engine.

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