Lawrie's Reaching New Heights in this Vintage John Allen Grove Crane! LMM Drives Episode 11.

Hello everyone,
We went to my friends to shoot a totally unrelated video, but then I saw this, and got overly excited and a little carried away.
A video featuring:
Lawrie - Presenter. Self confessed crane enthusiast
Geffers - Cameraman & semi professional Lawrie wrangler
Get in contact!
Email me on [e-mail]
I've got an Instagram! Keep track of what I'm up to with Lawries_Mechanical_Marvels

[@handyhippie6548]

30 years ago, a neighbor bought an old insley dragline crane to dig a pond, and i got to help him. it was more fun than anyone should be allowed to have. when we were done, he sold it to someone else to do the same thing. i hope it's still digging ponds for people.

[@lmm]

That's awesome. I would have done the same. Just not sold it. 😂

[@The_New_IKB]

Finally something that he can pick up his locomotive with!!!

[@lmm]

Well, when the jib all works again yes 😂

[@adamcrane3571]

Hello @@lmm

[@robinforrest7680]

Before watching this video. Please do NOT buy a rusty aircraft and then attempt to fly it 😆

[@lmm]

Damn there's one Lawrie special that now won't happen!

[@robinforrest7680]

@@lmm I hesitated before publishing that comment. But then on reflection I figured you get enough bad ideas on your own without need for outside inspiration 😆😆 I was most releived it turned out to be a crane. When do we get a Ruston update ?

[@lmm]

They'll be an update on that for next weeks what's broken now.

[@lmm]

And how big is it 😂

[@copperhead577]

@kueb 1982 What a shame

[@commodoresixfour7478]

Your like a 5 year-old with his toys, only you have the real stuff. I'm jealous.

[@lmm]

That's a pretty apt description to be honest 😂 I can't wait to see what it'll do!

[@Titan604]

Bit late commenting, but I noticed at the end of the vid the rear tyres seem to be of different sizes. If this is the case it was probably why there was a bang and you lost drive to an axle, and if you don't change the tyres it might go bang again after you fix it!

[@cobragaming7068]

A rare old beast indeed and cannot wait to see it restored and working again please keep us updated with the restoration if possible. I remember in the early eighties and nineteen nineties a scrap yard and car breakers yard here in South East London that used to run two 1965 Coles Cyclops yard cranes and they used to stack the cars the old school way and if you wanted a part that was not taken off already and on the shelf you climbed up and got it yourself . the breakers yard Thurston Breakers Jerrard Street carried on until 2003 when it closed down due to health and safety new regulations where you were not allowed to stack the cars the way they were doing so and contaminated land basically grease and old oil and old fuel everywhere and the fact there was a railway line in use right next to it so a dispute between Network Rail and the breakers yard owners , now there is stupid modern wooden crud flats where the breakers yard was and where the gypsy site was is now DLR Docklands Light Railway. Used to be four vehicle breakers yards in Lewisham and Deptford South East London, another I remember was one in Deptford South East London by a canal off the thames where you would see big massive tug boats in the quaggy looking down from the what was a commercial breakers yard used to be old Ambulances and Fire Engines and all manor of rare commercial trucks and vans in that yard stacked higgledy piggledy on top of each other my dad wanted a part for a J type Bedford and in the yard was a now very rare ex London Ambulance J type Bedford on top of a now rare Ford Transit mk1 truck. Fond memories of growing up thank you for bringing those memories back to me

[@lmm]

It's important to see things like this saved - it's an amazing piece of kit, and things like this often don't get saved sadly. Oh that sounds amazing! Glad to bring back some memories!

[@SD1fruitbat]

I suspect that most plant equipment gets worn-out or smashed to bits long before anyone gets nostalgic. This is an exception which, presumably, landed a second owner where it didn't see much use, or have to travel far. Then to find a third owner, who needed a crane, and didn't need to bother with the LOLER regs, that's really lucky.

[@lmm]

Yeah, it's a lucky survivor, it's rare to see things like this survive

[@nicolajaynehodson9223]

i think the 680 in the Leyland engine name is the capacity in cubic inches 680 cubic inches = 11. 1 litres

[@lmm]

Oh that would make sense

[@deepestdub]

Look forward to that road test. Awesome bit of kit

[@lmm]

So do I! Going to cause such chaos!

[@Mrflash222006]

well I knew you want to take the cab off the dodge - but this is a bit much, the steering and clocks remind me of a 60-70 bus

[@lmm]

You know, that's a great idea!

[@SteamboatWilley]

It may not need an MOT to take it out on the road, but the crane part will need to be examined/tested before you can lift anything with it.

[@lmm]

Lift anything commercially yes, lift stuff for fun, no 😂

[@SteamboatWilley]

I think you need to work on your "graceful" dismount. :D

[@lmm]

Nailed the landing.

[@matthewmason2357]

680 cubic inches is 11.15 litres. could that be where the engine name comes from?

[@lmm]

I believe so yes

[@JamesSchem]

Dashboard seems to be off a standard Leyland ergomatic cab lorry of the time. Same with the steering wheel I think. Weren't Coles the first to produce the first telescopic cranes? They later became part of Grove I believe.

[@lmm]

I honestly have no idea. It makes sense to have stolen bits from other vehicles though, rather than developing their own

[@JamesSchem]

@@lmm great channel by the way :) Ive subscribed. We had these cranes here in Malta.

[@allanblackesq]

I have seen them in Australia in the 1980s, they were good but a lot of people were glad when the design was improved on.

[@lmm]

Oh from just climbing over it there are loads of bits that could be improved!

[@stephenbrown571]

The same in the USA.

[@excossack]

Excellent! Is there a follow up video?

[@lmm]

Not yet - when they've made sufficient progress there will be!

[@JimmyD832]

Nice crane, would be awesome to have a play in it, very big compared to modern 25 roughies

[@lmm]

It'll be amazing when it is all working again!

[@BurpleRX7]

That’s a beauty! Cranes are brilliant, endless fun, you should buy one!

[@BurpleRX7]

I wish I lived close to you and your friends! I would be there all the time volunteering, that isn’t even work for me that’s fun

[@lmm]

I must admit, if the opportunity came up I wouldn't say no! Where in the world are you?

[@BurpleRX7]

Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels Redditch just down the road from S E Davis’s which you may know, I know I have mentioned them to you before, And yes further to your Instagram comment, the video did not disappoint

[@lmm]

Ah super - ah yes I remember now. You'll have to come down for a visit sometime!

[@BurpleRX7]

Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels I will do that! Probably when my Rx7 is completed and I’m doing some run in mileage, I will also give you a heads up next time Davis’s have a auction, you missed out on some special machinery last year www.sedavis.co.uk/galleries/s-e-davis-auction/

[@ben718]

There is another like this at rush green moters beautiful things

[@lmm]

There's alot of good stuff there

[@keithwarkentin]

Hello from 🇨🇦 my name is Keith and I love your enthusiasm for cranes 🏗 and as a matter of fact I have the kid brother to the crane you have it’s a 1975 TMS 180 Grove! The TMS stands for Truck Mount Superstructure and the 180 stands for 18 ton until my health deteriorated a few years ago I used it to make my living and I probably love mine just as much as you love yours! I really encourage you to to restore it and enjoy it and stay safe! God bless you and your family and may he supply your every need for you Grove crane restoration!😀🏗🪝🇨🇦👍👎👆👇👉👈🤌👌🏗🪝🇨🇦😀

[@darren-thecottageatelier8962]

wow a wiper on the roof, HubNut will love that one.....

[@lmm]

It makes sense really doesn't it?

[@RustNRestoration]

I remember that crane and I’m sure A R Adams were steel erectors from Newport, I worked for a firm called Celtic Cranes back in ‘87 in Taffs Well nr Cardiff we had Grove TMS 180 which were 18t capacity 6x4’s, many moons ago and I’ve been on the railway for 25 years, keep up the great videos guys👍

[@louisesargeant1517]

I have a crane hire company, established in 1972. I have a Grove Allen H1864 in my workshop that needs restoring. I've had it three years and not started restoring it yet

[@jonesjames89]

It’s a 10 wheel . 2 sets of dually rears = 8 wheels/tires and the 2 in the front. Totaling 10 wheels

[@leverettrailfan5414]

About a half-hour's drive from where I live, there's a beautiful old Bucyrus-Erie power shovel just hanging out, rusting away on some old farmyard, near the road. It's fairly small for a power shovel, but it stands much too tall for storage in a location such as your shed. I always admire it, and dream of how wonderful it would be to own and restore it. Of course, I've never learned how to fix a car, let alone a complicated digging machine that has been sitting out in the elements for goodness knows how long. I think that the length of the chassis and cab is likely somewhere between 10 and 18 feet long, I've never been brave enough to walk onto the property and give it a full investigation.

[@lmm]

Lots of this heavy old plant is rather simple. Big heavy engineering. We knew nothing before we just got stuck in and started to try and fix things. It is a shame to see something cool like that rotting away, but storage is the key. Without The Shed, LMM wouldn't exist.

[@louisesargeant1517]

I have a 1974 H1864 that needs restoring

[@thespeedracer2341]

You should make a video about cleaning the thing

[@lmm]

We will do something like that in the future!

[@gutsngorrrr]

Wow, what a lovely big toy... My other half is so glad we don't have lots of land, because it would be full of this sort of lovely stuff.

[@lmm]

The crane is a massive toy. I'm really excited for when it's done and I can take it for a real spin!

[@RuthNewstead]

Had a 1564 in a boatyard loved it ❤🤠🔧⚓ JB

[@scammell23]

My Leyland Atlantean bus has a 0.680 engine. All it means is 680 cubic inch (11.1 litre).

[@lmm]

Oh thanks for letting me know! How long have you had the bus?

[@scammell23]

Hi, we got it November 2018. The reg is GBB 516K.

[@lmm]

Oh that's a lovely thing! Let us know if you ever fancy it appearing on the channel!

[@timderks5960]

I love this old stuff. It would be awesome if you could somehow track the progress on this restauration.

[@lmm]

There is a part two!

[@allengroveh1564]

Im restoring a 1564.

[@RuthNewstead]

You r one was in John brooms yard

[@Colin_Wait]

Paint it red and get one that fits your shed. Save our historic plant!

[@lmm]

I don't think it'd fit though the door! Jupiter is quite tight. Besides, it's being looked after with my friends. I'll come borrow it when it's on the road!

[@Colin_Wait]

Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels, something smaller perhaps. How about one of the old Iron Fairies? Haven’t seen one for years and if memory serves, didn’t they steer on the rear axle rather than the front but could do all wheel steer on site?

[@lmm]

If I found one, I certainly wouldn't say no!

[@tallersimon]

My mate Tommy had one. Warwickshire crane hire.

[@lmm]

Oh really? Great bit of kit!

[@13garage._]

dood you are very funny

[@Sohave]

I love when people restore those machines that others don't care about. This mobile-crane is a true marvel! I hope you do another video with it when they have gotten it fully functional.

[@lmm]

We'll revisit it when it is working!

[@davekauffman8727]

Lawrie, the next time you visit the USA, I recommend the city of Scranton in the State of Pennsylvania. It's on the East Coast, so it won't be too expensive to reach, and it will be worth it to visit Steam Town. Bing along an extra pair of underwear though, the size of American steam locomotives might cause need for them, especially my favorite loco the Big Boy; 4-88-4 wheel arrangement, and well over 150 feet in length. The drive wheels are 6 feet tall.

[@lmm]

Oh yes I must do! I saw the big boy in Denver many moons ago, it really is a sight to behold. I am desperate to get back and see 4014 in action too!

[@Hewitt_himself]

Of course it will have a slow first gear, makes it easy to get into the exact point its needed to lift something... and for crawling round sites with speed limits ,oh wait its from the 70's, it was common sense not a 5mph speed limit and a escort van on a site. you seem to have as issue with trucks with logically slow crawl gears, you complained about jupiter's low gear in the past, thats so it can haul itself with a full tank up a hill (and do hill starts).

[@lmm]

Oh yeah, it's a crawler gear, also so it can get itself out of trouble on bad ground...potentially anyway. It's just very slow. Same for Jupiter really, so I know why it's there, she's just rarely fully loaded enough to warrant the thing these days. That and it is very slow 😂

[@gosportjamie]

Is it my imagination or did you just manage to break a 1970 crane?... I suspect the bang when it was being loaded on the low loader was the through drive in the front drive axle breaking. I understand that was a fairly common occurrence on trucks from this period that had double drive, and it's generally pretty easy to fix. Once you've got the front drive axle out... It's nice to see one of these in preservation. One of our local boat yards had one very similar, though it disappeared when the yard was taken over and refurbished, replaced by a much more modern unit. Hopefully it went on to further life somewhere, but I strongly suspect it probably got scrapped, sadly...

[@lmm]

I didn't break it! It was just needing to find the 'knack' of it. Yes, that's what they suspect has happened. I'm sure they'll get onto it - the clutch was a huge great thing to get out and repair! Yes, this only survived as someone wanted to build thier own house!

[@gosportjamie]

@@lmm I wasn't actually thinking about the gearbox, I meant the shutting the crane cab door and the front panel dropping off. The gear linkage on that must be truly horrible to go from the cab perched right out on the right side of the chassis back to the gearbox in the centre so it's probably no surprise that the gear change is a little "challenging" at the moment. If every bush and joint in the system has a little slack or wear in it that's going to add up to a whole lot of lost movement over the whole system, and I don't think those gearboxes were ever renowned for being the easiest even when new. If my memory serves me correctly it's very similar to the unit used in the Leyland Martian tank transporters, incredibly tough but complete and utter b***ards to use. I can't imagine that any mechanical component on that is going to be small or light, even compared to a highway truck so they're certainly going to get one hell of a work out sorting that one out...

[@lmm]

Ah yes. That and the windscreen started to fall out quite a lot more. Challenging is indeed the correct word! It will need alot of adjustment, but I imagine you're quite correct with that description!

[@gosportjamie]

@@lmm I imagine that adjusting that gear linkage is going to require the patience of a saint. Actually, the patience of ALL the saints. Still, considering that most of the electrics are probably Lucas (The Prince of Darkness) they do seem to be in remarkably good fettle...

[@lmm]

How did you guess that the electrics where lucas?

[@scazzaozm8168]

Lol hook is 2 tonne more like 50kg

[@lmm]

It's rather heavy

[@digbymodelrailway2929]

That little yelp had me, just ahhuhhh lol priceless by

[@lmm]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@digbymodelrailway2929]

@@lmm cheers mate, happy new year

[@andrieslingenfelder293]

Keep us updated on resto

[@lmm]

Will do, I will revisit it when it's on the road for sure

[@alfiewhittaker3763]

you need a ruston bucyrus rb22

[@lmm]

I saw one abandoned somewhere I used to work, but owner wanted too much for it.

[@alfiewhittaker3763]

@@lmm theres two on Ebay

[@alfiewhittaker3763]

@@lmm how about a routemaster bus

[@glennfryer1539]

Brilliant little cranes I used to own one, the 680 power plus is 200 hp ... the last of the big blocks before they started turbo charging.. gearbox’s are nice too ... they are very good lifters ... worth restoring and maybe getting a test on it ... ... love it

[@glennfryer1539]

Don’t drive it on the road,,, you have odd tyres on the axles ... they must be the same diameter, or your blow the diffs up especially on the diff lock ..

[@lmm]

That's what happened to it I think - I'll let the owner know! Its got the potential to be a really nice and unusual vehicle.

[@mjotrainbrain]

That one cleaned wheel looks fantastic, I can't imagine how nice the whole thing will look when all the rust is repaired and it's got nice paint!

[@lmm]

It's going to be an amazing bit of kit when it's done!

[@colinbourne8345]

680 power plus was 150bhp wasn't it?

[@lmm]

Was it? I'll take your word for it!

[@jimdieseldawg3435]

@@lmm Up to 200bhp in Power-Plus form, but variously de-rated for different applications. The silencer won't do much - not the most refined of soundtracks, pleasingly growly! I think the dash is a straight lift from an Ergomatic. Looking forward to the next instalment.

[@lmm]

Oh yes that sounds right! Once there is some suitable progress with it, we'll revisit it!

[@colinbourne8345]

Its basically a leyland bison running gear by the look of it

[@twonkfieldrailways4110]

I was expecting the camra to be crushed in the last shot.

[@lmm]

I've had one camera run over, I don't want to loose a second!

[@jonesjames89]

It’s 10 wheels not 6!! It has 6 axles but not wheels

[@lmm]

It's got three axles...

[@furious1533]

You need to crane take the roof off to get the thing in

[@lmm]

That I do

[@furious1533]

But then you need to get money in your bank account which seems to disappear

[@lmm]

Never stays there long 😂

[@furious1533]

Yep plus broke the fire pump dam

[@lmm]

What you did?

[@private2102]

My God what next a big old mine dump truck

[@lmm]

If I had the land, I'd have one!

[@jerrybarbender9987]

680 = 680 cubic inches (11.1 litres)

[@lmm]

That's massive!

[@simonsupersi2225]

You seen the dodge fire engine on ebay its in good nick needs work but dont look as much as yours

[@lmm]

It does look alot better than mine - especially in its current condition! I wonder what it'll go for...

[@simonsupersi2225]

@@lmm yeah

[@NonciclopediaForEver]

Hey lawrie, I love your content, but for the love of god, give us full color thumbnails. Your thumbnails just sink into the background, in my feed.

[@lmm]

Thanks for the feedback, we've been discussing making some changes to them, so stand by!

[@acchaladka]

Lawrie's Mechanical Marvels I had thought you were (still) posting old / already uploaded videos actually, because of the monochrome.

[@lmm]

@@acchaladka The LMM design team is hard at work putting together a new thumbnail design which may appear at some-point in the future!

[@acchaladka]

@@lmm Ya no worries, it's my additional feedback was all. Just piling on here remorselessly because you're being so nice, worry not, pip pip, heave me ho, etc !

[@lmm]

We really do appreciate the feedback! So thank you, hope you continue to enjoy the content, and new thumbnails should appear in the next few weeks!

[@Kwtaxe]

Big as a us bigrig the rig part

[@lmm]

I really want to drive a big rig!

[@wdschadwalker6853]

Do you know own this crane

[@lmm]

Yes, I said its at my friend's place in the video 😂

[@patfilice]

I thank you addicted to rust 😂

[@lmm]

This one isn't mine, but yeah, I have a habit of acquiring rust.

[@patfilice]

Same here, I have a habit of collecting rusty two stroke Saab’s

[@lmm]

Now they're cool!

[@MrKeyboardCommando]

Apparently, Clovis, the only thing bigger than Jupiter is Uranus, and Uranus is never slow to make "air". At least that's what Cletus told me‼️

[@lmm]

Full of lies and slander that boy!

[@MrKeyboardCommando]

@@lmm He's also full of bullshit and braggadocio, and a few other things I'm too polite to mention.😇😇😇

[@lmm]

No comment at this time your honor!

[@MrKeyboardCommando]

@@lmmI understand. Cletus is a litigious bastard and no mistake. He'll also break you legs‼️😫😫😫

[@lmm]

He's gotta catch me first!

[@jonesjames89]

Thing does not look awesome!! It looks like shit! Like it should be scrapped for money!!

[@lmm]

Not one for preservation I see.

[@heartland96a]

smart to remove the windscreen before it fell out and broke . Will look forward to the future installment of its restoration even if only mechanically , Good you have that pressure washer to get rid of all the green and dirt .

[@lmm]

I'm just excited to take it out for a run!

[@MrCarrera28]

Living the dream, your own train and now your own crane!!

[@lmm]

I wish it was mine! Just borrowed it for a bit from some of my good friends. I am loving the loco though!