1940 Morris Gun Tractor

Rebuilding Our Quad

Our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor has been the focus of classic car technician John once again recently. Now that John has had this imposing vehicle

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Engine Rebuilt

The engine of our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor has been undergoing a complete rebuild. This has been making good progress and we are now expecting

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Saying Goodbye To Our Gun Tractor

The time has come to say goodbye to our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor. After being with us for quite a while, it has been an imposing presence in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.

Classic car technician Jon was happy with how the vehicle performed on his test drive but, as you can imagine, it is quite a challenging machine to drive and navigate the rural roads around Suffolk where we are based. With that in mind, it left us on a flatbed lorry and is now on its way back to its owner.

We really enjoy seeing interesting classic vehicles come into the workshop, and this was certainly a popular addition.

Now that we say goodbye, we hope its owner is happy to have their 1940 Morris Gun Tractor back and we’d love to see it again at one of our events.

Rebuilding Our Quad

Our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor has been the focus of classic car technician John once again recently.

Now that John has had this imposing vehicle running, he is happy to reassemble the front end and, as you can see from the images below, he has very nearly finished doing so.

John has run into an issue with the fuel delivery though. To try and resolve the issue, he removed the fuel canister to clean and check it. John found that this was full of dirt so he cleaned it out and rebuilt it ready to refit it later on.

Gun Tractor Comes Back To Life

Since the engine has gone back into our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor, classic car technician John has continued his work on our Quad in order to get it up and running for the first time in a while.

John rewired the solenoid and starter switch as there must have been a broken wire inside the loom. Once this was completed, the engine cranked and, after 5 minutes of cranking, the oil pressure had reached 20psi.

The sound of our Gun Tractor coming back to life is an exciting thing to hear and we are looking forward to this military vehicle continuing to make good progress.

Putting The Engine Back In A Gun Tractor

If you’ve ever wondered how you put an engine back into a gun tractor, you’re in luck as this is what classic car technician John has been doing recently. After calling in help from technician Tom and Director Gordon, the weather was suitable enough to get things moving.

With the assistance of a forklift (and a whole lot of effort), the rebuilt engine is now back in our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor. This is a big step in the restoration of our imposing military vehicle and we are very excited to get it started very soon.

Engine Rebuilt

The engine of our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor has been undergoing a complete rebuild. This has been making good progress and we are now expecting the newly rebuilt engine to be back with us in the next few weeks.

Once the engine is back at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, the restoration journey of this impressive classic vehicle can continue.

Seeing the engine go back into our Morris Gun Tractor and eventually started up and the vehicle being driven for the first time in a while will be a very exciting event. Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars is very much looking forward to seeing this project back up and running in the very near future.

In the meantime, as you can see from the pictures below, one of the previous issues of the damage caused to the spigot bush has now been resolved. The pictures also show that the engine is looking to be in great shape and good progress is being made on its rebuild.

Fabricating A New Cover

It’s fairly obvious that our 1940 Morris C8 Gun Tractor (Quad) is a very interesting vehicle. It is certainly very different to most of the other classic cars we have in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.

With that in mind, it makes sense that finding parts for it can be quite challenging.

The water jacket cover of this heavy-duty machine was recently found to be rotted through. As sourcing a new one wasn’t an option, a replacement was fabricated instead.

This type of classic vehicle presents interesting challenges to our team of classic car technicians. Luckily, they are highly skilled and experienced so finding a solution doesn’t usually take them too long!

A Special Project Is Firing Up Again

Our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor has been at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for a little while now. As this is such a special (and interesting) vehicle to work on, it’s always exciting to see progress being made on this historic machine.

The engine of this mammoth vehicle has begun the process of being stripped ready to be rebuilt.

During the stripping of the engine, heavy scoring was found on the pistons. This was due to the piston ring seizing in the bore.

As you can see from the photos below, the score marks are clearly visible on the piston as is some damage to the spigot bush. This type of issue can cause clutch misalignment as well as transmission damage if not rectified so it’s important that this is resolved.

2023 is fast approaching and we are very excited to see how our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor progresses through its restoration journey in the last few weeks of this year and into next.

At Ease – Engine Out of the 1940 Morris C8 Gun Tractor

The engine from the 1940 Morris C8 gun tractor has been removed by the Bridge Classic Cars team ahead of its rebuild.

The team carefully removed the engine, after disconnecting the transmission, and loaded it up onto a pallet to be completely inspected and rebuilt for the classic military vehicle. Our technician Jon inched the commercial engine out of the front of the gun tractor to make sure nothing was damaged or moved whilst it was being pulled.

Ready to Come Out – Preparing to Remove the Engine from the 1940 Morris C8 Gun Tractor

The Bridge Classic Cars team have begun to prepare the 1940 Morris C8 Gun Tractor to remove its engine ahead of its rebuild.

Jon, one of our technicians, has been working through the various systems inside the engine bay to get them removed and stored. The shrowds and covers have also been removed from the car to make extra room when it comes to pulling the engine.

Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates very soon on the 1940 Morris Gun Tractor.

The Suffolk Military Show

The Suffolk Military Show is set to become the best military event to visit within the East Anglian region. The family friendly 2 day extravaganza will showcase the very finest selection of static military vehicles, multi-period living history re-enactment, arena live stage entertainment, military and vintage traders market, and quality food stalls.

All the awesome stuff to make this a perfect day out. The County Show Ground known as Trinity Park has a ‘second to none’ road network for accessibility.

Whilst Suffolk remains a key area for international active military bases within the UK which boasts both a depth and wealth of military history. Purpose built for top quality events the show ground will provide a fantastic backdrop to the range of multi-period military exhibitors from all over the United Kingdom and Europe which will include British, German, Russian and American re-enactment groups.

The Show will be the newest and freshest in the Military Show Annual events calendar and contain everything from Heavy Military Vehicles, Spontaneous Re-enactment, Explosive Battles, period specific display and RAF flypast. Not to mention the stage performances and guest star appearances by Herr Flick and Helga from the iconic hit series ‘Allo, Allo’!

Displaying all eras from modern day warfare, to way back in history, the Suffolk Military Show will take you on a journey through military history. This Show will be the whole military package to experience.

In the traders market place, a large range of goodies and charity stands will provide an interesting variety of shopping.  The military merchandise on offer will provide you with great deals and information, whilst a comprehensive offering of local catering stands, fresh coffee, snacks, soft drinks, ice cream and a licensed bar will be easily to hand. Taking the hassle out of your day, the Suffolk Military Show also includes added extras to make your experience even more enjoyable; free on-site parking, lost children point, disabled access, informative show commentary, show programme and opportunities to meet the guest stars.

Offering fun for all the family, the Suffolk Military Show will take place at on Saturday 30th (09.00-17.00) and Sunday 31st July (10.00-16.00) 2022 at the Suffolk Show Ground, Trinity Park, Felixstowe Road Ipswich IP3 8UH. Tickets available to purchase now.

ALLO ALLO’S HERR FLICK & HELGA

Pay attention peasants! Herr Flick and Helga (the real ones!) are available for you to meet at The Suffolk Military Show 2022.

Kim Hartman and Richard Gibson are best known for playing Herr Flick and Helga in the wonderfully popular ‘Allo! ‘Allo! throughout the world, which, all though finished filming in 1992, is still highly regarded as one of the best British sitcoms ever!

For The Suffolk Military Show, Richard and Kim will be attending on both show days and will be showcasing on our main stage a 25-minute sketch, with laughter, music and magic, followed by question-and-answer sessions and anecdotes around the making of the series and the artists’ experiences in the entertainment world.

Kim and Richard will also make themselves available to be photographed in costume with members of the public.

Check Over – Coltec Inspecting the 1940 Morris Gun Tractor

Our friends at Coltec came over to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ to inspect and assess the engine for the 1940 Morris Gun Tractor.

The engine is reportedly running rough and has a few issues so we invited Coltec to come and cast their expert eyes and ears over the classic military transporter.

They will be coming back again soon to carry out a few more tests and try to get to the bottom of the issues which are affecting the classic Morris.

This Just In – 1940 Morris Gun Tractor

The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop has welcomed this rare and unique visitor to our Suffolk HQ today. This incredible 1940 Morris Gun Tractor.

This amazing piece of history has arrived at our workshops for the restoration teams to carry out a full inspection ahead of a requested engine rebuild on the classic military vehicle

We’re very excited to show you more about this project very soon here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.