Steve and I were here in the workshop this afternoon (Steve had been playing bowls in the morning) and we started what should have been a straightforward job.

Simply dismantling the spindle assemblies to fit new bushes and bearings on both sides. By the way, if you wonder why I refer to them aqs 'spindles' rather than the more commonly used label 'King pins' its because thats what the Ferguson parts manual calls them.

We’d started off with the whole front axle assembly supported on the engine hoist (still being off while the engine was being rebuilt after its complete overhaul). Lifted but touching the floor. Finding it swung about too much we detached the side axles from the main beam and started work one on each side.

Steve had the nearside one and I the offside. Steve undid the bolts on the arm of the spindle, loosened it by inserting a wedge into the split and the complete spindle assembly dropped out. In the meantime I was struggling. Mine did not want to allow the same wedge procedure to operate. I handed mine over to Steve to finish off while I returned a phone call about parts. There were a lot of banging noises but when I came back though Steve was getting a bit red in the face the arm was off. I assumed that Steve was cleverer or stronger than I was and waited for him to knock the spindle out as he’d done with his, but it didn’t move. The other one had come out with gleaming metal and grease but this one was different, it was dark and rusty and very stiff.

We put it into the big vice, tried again to shift it, failed, applied WD 40 copiously and tried to tap it out being very careful not to damage the thread.

It moved four inches then wouldn’t budge any further.

We tried gentle persuasion with a copper hammer, tried a bigger hammer which Steve broke after it had moved another few inches.

We tried tapping on top and hitting bottom part together. We put it in the bigger vice and I heated it with oxy/acetylene while Steve applied a hammer but unusually this made no difference at all. We were standing back from out labours briefly both with aching arms and re in the face from the heat and exertion when Gary appeared with his stepson Daniel. We explained that we thought the problem was not rust but that the spindle was actually bent and Gary with the vernier confirmed this so we stopped to review the situation. An alternative spindle assembly was the answer so we started to search. These assemblies are handed and of course the first three we found were either the wrong side or were beyond re-use but eventually we decided that Herbert’s side axle had to be used with a new spindle. I broke the news to Bob’s owner who thankfully understands vintage vehicles and was very understanding. I’d already had to phone three times to discuss the seriously worn axle bush and pin, the excessive play in the spindles and the leak in the recently re-cored radiator. Neither he nor us can understand why it has a leak and I examined the radiator very carefully to see if there was any way damage had been done to it. One can always see from the fins where a rad. has had a knock but this has no marks at all so it remains a mystery.

Gary and I were not surprised to find that the bracket the radiator sits on was visibly bent on one side because of the bent spindle- obviously Bob had had a serious knock with a previous owner.

Gary straightened the bent bracket with a lever and a lot of energy and now the radiator (temporarily lent to Bob by DeeJay) sits squarely.