The restoration of the Dozy Cow

The restoration of the Dozy Cow A page to follow the progress of the slow restoration of a WW2 Clark CA-1 Airborne Bulldozer.

Half hour in the barn tonight to make some seals for the hydraulic rams. I got some 1/8" Hard compound Nitrile Rubber fr...
02/02/2026

Half hour in the barn tonight to make some seals for the hydraulic rams.

I got some 1/8" Hard compound Nitrile Rubber from Stoneleigh to make the seals.

I turned a cutter on the lathe and set it up in the hydraulic press.

10 minutes on the lathe had the UNC Heavy nut completed. General McAuliffe would be proud!
26/01/2026

10 minutes on the lathe had the UNC Heavy nut completed.

General McAuliffe would be proud!

I had a quick session on the lathe this morning. As UNC Heavy nuts and bolts are extremely rare in the UK (we struggle t...
25/01/2026

I had a quick session on the lathe this morning.

As UNC Heavy nuts and bolts are extremely rare in the UK (we struggle to find normal UNF and UNC in stock never mind Heavy's!) I decided to make some as I'm only short of one.

I had some 3/4 Hex bar in stock from a special bolt I made on the engine.

Info in the picture captions!

So, some up to date photos of the Dozy Cow.She's got an engine, hydraulic oil pump, headlight, grill, seat, fuel tank, h...
19/01/2026

So, some up to date photos of the Dozy Cow.

She's got an engine, hydraulic oil pump, headlight, grill, seat, fuel tank, hydraulic rams, binnacle and tracks.

Still to do are;

• The winch
• Hydraulic hoses
• Plough
• Fuel fittings
• Mud scrapers for rear sprocket

Spring covers! Time and corrosion hadnt been good to the thin tin work after the Dozy Cow had been parked in a field for...
19/01/2026

Spring covers!

Time and corrosion hadnt been good to the thin tin work after the Dozy Cow had been parked in a field for so many years!!

So, using our old 1970's Morgan Rushworth Box & Pan folder we set about recreating them.

A socket matching the radius of the cut outs was used in place of a compass.

We added some new hinges (new hinges are often the same size as old imperial hinges).

A coat of red oxide paint and then a few coats of OD Green and they were ready to be bolted up!

Seat Repair! As we had an original seat but it was (concerningly for the operator) crushed flat. The back and side panel...
19/01/2026

Seat Repair!

As we had an original seat but it was (concerningly for the operator) crushed flat.

The back and side panels were remanufactured as the originals had been repaired and patched so many times it made them unusable.

Recreating the correct bends in the frame was a challenge and resulted in the seat being sent to the naughty corner a number of times!

But perseverance (blood, sweat and tears) paid off and the seat was ready for chief painter (Julie McGreevy) to give it a coat of Red Oxide and then OD Green.

The cushion was made with some Duck Canvas bought in Qatar a few years ago.

The back and side cushions will be made when the new needles arrive for the sewing machine!!

Lifting hook. We were lucky enough to get an original lifting hook from Netherlands but we had to make another. We start...
19/01/2026

Lifting hook. We were lucky enough to get an original lifting hook from Netherlands but we had to make another.

We started off by rounding the edges of some bar stock. Then using our lathe I recreated the flat areas for the bolts.

Then heating up the 3/4" round bar I bent it along an old socket to copy the bend.

Then I welded it onto the bar stock and dressed the weld with a die grinder to make it look like cast steel.

Then I used a Needle gun to hammer the surface to try and copy the rough texture of the cast hook.

Et voila, we now have 2 hooks!

Cutting out all of the rot from the ballast bins. Then adding the metal back in. I used original steel as it's easier to...
29/05/2025

Cutting out all of the rot from the ballast bins. Then adding the metal back in. I used original steel as it's easier to weld when both pieces are the same quality. Cheap modern steel doesn't weld nicely to good old quality steel!

Hoping to get the stencils made up soon by Noosta Stencils and get some OD on once the wind and rain stops.

I made a lever too for the governor as both examples I had were broken. Luckily, they were both broken at opposite ends ...
29/05/2025

I made a lever too for the governor as both examples I had were broken. Luckily, they were both broken at opposite ends so I had a pattern of each end!

Making a custom bolt that holds the water elbow in place. Before and after!
29/05/2025

Making a custom bolt that holds the water elbow in place.

Before and after!

29/05/2025

Been quite a while since any update so standby for some spam.

After god knows how long, then engine ran on starting fluid. The carb isn't set up yet as I'm missing a little bracket. But, I've borrowed a pattern off a friend so I'll copy that soon!

There's no silencer on these little machines so it's pretty loud, adding the straight pipe won't do much to attenuate it!

Unbelievable progress today. Got the final drive mounted onto the tracks, gearbox mounted and Fwd/Rev box mounted. Start...
15/12/2024

Unbelievable progress today. Got the final drive mounted onto the tracks, gearbox mounted and Fwd/Rev box mounted.

Starting to look more like a Bulldozer now!!

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