Any before and after photos of your Atkinson restorations and how you went about the job, I have trawled the internet for stuff relating to this but not a great deal about, I am considering doing a borderer restoration but the wood cab frame is a worry if you can show how you aproached it this would help me.
I did read in one of the classic mags that ■■■■ Robinson of Sutterton bought the wood frame from CASSAC (ATKI CLUB) but was unhappy about the fine tolarances that had to be adjusted I was thinking if you need to adjust them you might as well make the whole peice is this the case?, also if the cab is so poor when you start how do you set it up in some sort of home made jig to get every thing lined up and true.
woodstock:
Any before and after photos of your Atkinson restorations and how you went about the job, I have trawled the internet for stuff relating to this but not a great deal about, I am considering doing a borderer restoration but the wood cab frame is a worry if you can show how you aproached it this would help me.
I did read in one of the classic mags that ■■■■ Robinson of Sutterton bought the wood frame from CASSAC (ATKI CLUB) but was unhappy about the fine tolarances that had to be adjusted I was thinking if you need to adjust them you might as well make the whole peice is this the case?, also if the cab is so poor when you start how do you set it up in some sort of home made jig to get every thing lined up and true.
I would like to reply to the comments made concerning the Atkinson timber which I supply for restorations. I used to run the Classic Atkinson Club, but the timber and spares and timbers were purchased by my late husband Ken. We have probably supplied Atkinson timbers to over 100 vehicles, only one customer has ever complained, but even he later placed a further substantial order.
My timbers are made by a professional joiner using original Atkinson timbers as patterns, in ash, as used by Atkinson. The vast majority of joints are cut, however some are not. The reason for this is simple. Some people are doing complete restorations, some people are doing repairs, putting new to old. Under these circumstances, the joints can be adjusted to suit the needs of the particular vehicle. One of Atkinson Vehicles selling points was that the timber cab frame could be repaired locally by a joiner, in cases of minor damage. In some cases, a 60 year old cab may have had a number of minor accidents, and been repaired a number of times. Inevitably, putting new to old can cause a few minor problems - something entirely beyond my control.
A number of customers ordering timbers have sheepishly told me that they have tried to cut their own corner posts to save cost, but failed miserably. One chap tried repeatedly for two years, it nearly ended in divorce. Two weeks after I’d sent him a set of my corner posts, the wife rang up to thank me. The posts were in fitted perfectly, and her husband was back to being the man she married!
Atkinson panels were produced over size, then during production they were cut down to suit each individual vehicle immediately prior to windscreen installation, which strongly suggests that the finished cabs varied in size, even when new.
My timbers are competitively priced - less than half the price that Atkinson Vehicles were selling them for 25 years ago, and usually available off the shelf, spares available mail order, apart from a few very delicate items. My 5 tons of stock includes weatherstrip, window channel, door handles, brake drums, radiator surrounds etc. etc. I print workshop manuals to suit the spec. of an individual vehicle, and have lots of additional information. Although I no longer run the Classic Atkinson Club, I still do my very best to help anyone with an Atkinson. Jill Honeybun.
Atkinson panels were produced over size, then during production they were cut down to suit each individual vehicle immediately prior to windscreen installation, which strongly suggests that the finished cabs varied in size, even when new.
The name for this process is ‘flogging off’ - which caused considerable consternation to one restorer unfamiliar with it. He had visions of the part-built vehicle being sold because the chaps discussing it (& using this term) were having a particularly difficult time with part of the restoration.
It’s probably worth noting that there have been many restorations (including those pictured above) which have been done on very small budgets, using timbers which were scratch-made from selected Ash by skilled coachbuilders. Restorers who are lucky enough to have access to these skills are in the fortunate position of saving a lot of money on components and labour. Generally speaking, if the people who possess the skills are willing as well as gifted, they just can’t leave the job alone. There just seems to be something addictive about getting these old rascals back to their former glory - which might explain why there’s so many of them about…
The results speak for themselves in the pictures of the finished vehicles and regardless of where the bits came from, they’re a credit to the people who worked on them.
Now understand about the cab timbers thanks for explaining, maybe it was the wrong way it was put across in the December issue of Heritage commercial
hope I haven’t opened a hornets nest…
