ACMAT VLRA 4.20 SM

I was very fortunate to be the 1st person to show an Acmat in the U.k.

These vehicles are a French update of a WW11 Dodge.

Rough features;

4.20 Tonne

Perkins Diesal 6 cyl

35 miles to the gallon

Range on tanks, 1000 miles.

1st built 1960's

Still in production

Used by several Armies and a current BA vehicle.

Many, many versions........

I have owned 9, all ex Irish Defence Forces.

I currently own 3.

Cost from factory at this time £ 120,000

These are, still, hand built, hence the high cost.

You own 3 (!!!!), you have some deeeeeep pockets! :lol:

very empty pockets :wink:

Lol yeah, indeed!

This is the version we are going to build this time.

This picture was taken during our visit to the factory.

Chassis up assembley, look no power tools!

This is the donor car. As you can see bought as scrap as were all my Acmats .

Bare in mind they saw a very hard service life, over their 20+ years. In fact this one served in Somalia as a Gun Bus.

They were armed with a .5 and up to 3 GPMGS, While protecting Food convoys. Remember Blackhawk Down, same time same place.

look's good, best of luck an be shure to keep us posted.

I'm going to create this version using the origanal troop carrier rear body, shortened, and a modified 2nd cab.

Now this has never been done before so don't try this at home.

The rear body during dismemberment.

The unmodified 2nd cab.

Of course I will lose the fuel tanks. But I have a cunning Plan.

If you look at this picture you can see a filler cap over the wheel arch. This is for the 200 litre fresh water tank that is a feature of every truck. It is shaped over the rear diff and between the chassis rails.

I'm going to convert this into the Fuel tank. It has been shortened by 2 feet to allow for the cab to sit over it. Manufactured from stainless steel it should do the job well.

By the way there is an Acmat on Milweb.

Christmas is a time, to spend on your hobby.................

Starting to cut the Tub.

Then we moved to the shed to work on the main job, rebuilding the rolling chassis, Engine and gearbox.

All parts basically sound and together but well worn.

So to the Engine

We put the stripped down heart of the beast in place prior to moving the chassis into the work shop.

Fitting the starting motor. We decided to spin the Engine with no injectors to clear the bores of any F.O. or water that may have gathered. I had a real fear of Hydrostatic lock. I had stored the Engine in the open and the intake covering was breached.

David and myself wondering where all the bits go.

All the cans of bits have to go somewhere.

We installed the rad and extras

the compressor and starter are very close

Take a look at the hours on this unit,1994, after 23 years service. I am told that this is one year of normal life

We then fitted our gearbox

Hi, looking at the pic of the dash they obviously liked there placks.

Tyler.

Yes,signs for everything. I'll put up a complete picture when its finished.

I'm having trouble with the drive shaft coupling . I had a special made and have brought it back three times now. It appears to be to tight on the splines after the welding process. I put it on as far as possible with a mallet but had to hammer it off. I'm worried about damage to the gearbox. :cry:

Ok fixed the drive shaft coupling, lots of filing.

Been working on the rear cab section.

Also K. bought us a new welder so I have been renewing old skills.

Here are some pictures of the work on the second cab.

We had to remove the Dash

Cut the body to straighten the passenger side wall, keeping the front to rear lines correct.

And build a new floor and fire wall

We then test fitted the Cab, lots of grunting.

and sat in it for the very first time.

Sand blasting in Ireland.............

So i phoned one guy in Dublin (35 miles away) and one in Portloise (25).

The Dublin man said he could do the job right away, price being nearly the same so he won. Loaded the gear in my twin wheel trailer and drove up to Dublin (In Ireland it's always up to Dublin).

What a Bad person. He greets me with the phrase "thats a very expensive trailer" and "It's a very expensive hobby doing up old cars".

Wouldn't confirm his price until we unloaded the bits ie wings tub and bonnet.

£400 he requested and possibly more by the time he finished.

I reloaded the bits in the Trailer while he went for a walk around his yard.

We drove to Portloaise, the nice man there said he'll have them ready by tuesday for the agreed price of £125.

The lesson I took from this

My gut said P/loaise from the start

If you feel like your being ripped off you probably are

and as I used to say in the Army " I don't mind them riding me ,I just wish they would kiss me first".

The best kind of sandblasters are the people who are into restoring old stuff themselves. We uses a farmer who has some old trucks etc. If anyone in the East Midlands needs stuff doing I recommend these guys:

http://bosworthbros.co.uk/blastcleaning.htm

Chris

I had a few bad experiences with sand blasting quotes in the end i brought my own unit and do all my own stuff ,so if anyone in the north wales area needs anything doing give us a shout

interesting points.

What are the costing for buying/using sandblasting equipment?

I got a phone call today , parts done, ready to be collected.

Excellent job.

Thank you "M+M sandblasting Portloaise".

Already back in the Shed.

Converting the drivers door

On the normal roadstar Cab the spare Wheel is mounted on the Door. Why? Bullet protection and to give you somewhere to rest your elbow.

So to make this version I have to balance the twin Cabs, in other words build out the front cab the same as the passenger side. This is a big job, for me anyway.

This is the door after cutting with a 6" grinder, see how thin it is?

I welded in a vertical post to make both doors the same width.

I welded on a rear plate to match the section of the rear Cab and bars to define the new shape.

I then started to cover the shape with a light skin

DON'T LOOK AT THE FLASH!

The fuel tank conversion

This is the water Tank that I am converting to become my new fuel tank

I used a hole cutter to open two places for the fuel lines and gauge.

We then mounted the Tank.

So with the Tank ready I can now mount the rear body behind the second cab.

We decided to use a forklift to place the section onto chassis

This is Mick starting the lift.

The under side of the body, where the tank is mounted.

the tank in position,did we really go under that body?

No................. that would be crazy.

Lifting in the section.

Placing it on.

So far this is looking good!

very professional.

An excellent bluff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carefully lowering the final inches (or Centimeters)

final positioning to ensure the tank will not be rubbing anywhere.

The Highly professional bluffers!!!!!!!!!!

now for pictures of the buck in place

I have manufactured complete seats for both sides using origanal parts

The fuel tank