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Civilian Mk1 Militant


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It has only taken me 4 years to notice this forum, despite spending hours trawling through the internet looking for information, photos etc for Mk1 Militants. So now I am here I thought it would be a good idea to share my restoration with you guys. Having said that though, now I have seen the standard set by Simon Daymond on his motor, I know I still have a lot of work to do.

 

Firstly, history. Why have a Militant anyway? Well, back in 2006 the wife suggested that I needed a hobby of some kind, as I was cluttering the house up at weekends and getting in the way. I've done some restoration work on cars before, I used to have a thing about the big sixties Fords Zephyr, Zodiac etc, but I fancied something different, not necessarily military, but bigger than normal.

 

Looking around the net I stumbled accross the Milweb site and amonst all the other stuff a Mk1 Militant. Listed as "good runner in need of restoration". When I was a kid I always fancied a Matador, but I had driven Militants in the Army, passed my heavy goods licence in one many years ago. and well, there's just something about them...........

 

The Militant in question was located in Norfolk, not too far away from Kent, so one sunday afternoon we went for a look. As you all know you cant just look, there was a test drive, lots of chatter and "when I" etc. The good lady said she liked the noise it made, something to do with the exhaust being held on with jubilee clips and blowing well, I think. Anyway there was haggling over the asking price, a brief handshake, coin of the realm changed hands and I became the proud owner of a big green pile of mainly rust, but a lot of potential.

 

Knowing what I know now, the vendor did tell me some awful "porkies" about it. How it had been in the reserve and never been used, it had been parked up for years etc. Some confusion over its registration number and so on. I am not disappointed with it, nor do I wish to "Flame" the Geezer by suggesting that he ripped me off, I think he just didn't know, and made it up as he went along.

 

Anyway, a fortnight later, I borrowed the wrecker from work and collected it. As we were loading, the seller expressed surprise that I wasn't going to drive it back to Kent, he would have travelled anywhere in it!! But, from my point of view, as most of the visible things such as lights etc didn't work, I didn't have much confidence in the rest like the brakes and the M25 and Dartford Tunnel seemed a bit much.

 

 

4 Loading  Nov 2006.jpg

 

Do excuse the view of my backside, sometimes you have to get down on your knees and pray for these things.

 

The oil bath air cleaners complete with mounting brackets dropped off the back of the cab on the way home! Damn nearly s**t myself when it went, thought the whole thing had come adrift of the wrecker. Arrived at its new home without too much grief, and she settled in just down the road at my Uncles farm surrounded by several hundred best porkers in the sty next door. nice location but gets a bit ripe when the sun is on it.

 

So What have I bought? Well, for those of you who like the detail here's as much as I have been able to find out;

 

She is an early 6 x 6 gun tractor FV 11002 Chassis Number 0860 0211 from contract DO/6/VEH/15762/CB27A

 

ACV Sales Sheet Page 1.jpg

 

 

This is page one of the original sales order from ACV Ltd, further pages detail things like the type and serial number of the fuel pump etc

 

Military registration number 01BP60. She served with the Royal Artillery and spent some of her time at Napier Barracks, Dortmund before joining the TAVR at Edinburgh on 2 June 1970. I found a copy of the movement order/Route card for the journey stuffed in the bottom of the passengers door pocket, along with an empty packet of Woodbines.

 

73 Route Card.jpg

 

 

This is page 1 of 4 showing details of the route, timings, fuel stops, ferries, all under the command of a Major NM Sharp RA. Sadly the gentleman concerned is now deceased.

 

Demobbed in 1977 she passed to Angus County Council in Scotland. Registered as PSR 293R, she was painted yellow and converted into a snowplough. Sometime in the early eighties she came south to Twyford Logistics of Blackheath, London. who used her as a recovery vehicle and for winching duties on Dartford Marshes.

 

1 Twyford Militant.jpg

 

 

 

According to the MD of Twyfords (Mr Twyford, himself) they passed it to David Crouch in 2000. David thought he remembered it when I spoke to him, but he could not be sure as he had seen so many over the years.

 

After this it becomes a bit vague. At some point the rear wheel arches and the tipper style body were removed, and replaced with this nasty ballast type box made of plywood and old floor boards. The nice maroon paint was covered over in green using a big brush and no finesse.

 

 

The guy I bought it from was a bit reluctant to reveal where he got it from, or how long he had owned it for. Somehow he had got a new "first use" registration number of 375 UXK and a new logbook on 15 April 2005. This has left me with a blank. DVLA wont give me any detail on PSR 293R because I do not own it. 375 UXK has no history because it was only registered in 2005!! Anybody able to help with this?

 

 

I am quite confident they are one and the same vehicle. Under the green paint there is maroon, and under that patches of bright "snowplough" yellow. There was even the remains of the Twyford name in the roof.

 

My intention is to restore it to good useable condition, but in civilian colours rather than to military spec, so perhaps in some respects I am on the wrong website?

 

22 Bed Removal  Jan 2007.jpg

 

 

Right, first job, get rid of that awful floor board bed

34 Bed Removal Heavy Lift.jpg

 

 

Easy when you can "Borrow" the right gear :D

 

 

44 O-S 3 Oct 07.jpg

 

Doesn't look too bad underneath. The dismounted Aircleaners are on the floor behind the front wheel.

 

 

 

 

46 Under Dash Apr 07.jpg

 

 

 

52 Behind Drivers Seat Apr 07.jpg

 

At times like this you wonder where to start, or indeed if you should have bothered in the first place.

 

 

 

62 N-S Cab Feb 08.jpg

 

The theory is; keep scraping the rusty bits off, and eventually you will come to good metal! So long as you keep all the bits in a big box in the shed, you should be OK

 

I hope this has wetted your appetites, I will post more next time it is raining too much to be playing out

Edited by Zero-Five-Two
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Glad to see another Mk1 Militant is good hands. Really look forward to seeing it on the road again. Good luck with the restoration, hopefully it's only the cosmetic bits which require attention as with mine, which on the whole has been very reliable over the last 20 years, allowing for the fact that she sits around so much.

 

Jules

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Hi there! Firstly they say the camera never lies, my militant looks ok in a photo, but in the flesh, well :) Your cab looks in very good nick, particularly at the front by the windscreen, mines all parting company.

You could still run her without a back body, which wouldn't look too bad, the back on mine is rotten, and I had considered removing it, running without and doing the body up indoors.

I know what you mean by a civvy paint job, given that your body is missing, but come on now, you can't beat green :)

 

Let me know what you're short of, I might have or know the bits you need. BTW you'll find most peope on here obliging, so just ask :)

 

Just looking at your pics, I think I have some brackets so you can put your headlights in the right place, all that wiring on the floor looks familiar, mine was all pulled out when I got it, every wire yellow, and most with no markings legible! Do you have your clocks and start panel? I have a spare of both if you're interested, also the frame that they sit in which bolts to the front of the cab. Do you have the bonnet side and bonnet top?

 

If you can, get it on the road, do a few shows, then, in my experience, people will come forward with the stuff you need if they see the wagon in the flesh, much better than trying to reach people with your pleas with the wagon tucked away in a barn somewhere.

 

Do you have a manual for it, I can copy you a few pages if you let me know what you need.

 

BTW, I still have the wooden former in the garage that I made for the lower corner panels, your O/S front look a bit thin, is it? Let me know if you want a panel making.

Edited by Simon Daymond
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Hi there! Firstly they say the camera never lies, my militant looks ok in a photo, but in the flesh, well :) Your cab looks in very good nick.................

 

 

Hi Simon,

 

Thanks for the write up, especially the bit about the headlamps being in the wrong place. I've just had a quick look round a few other pics in the forum, and they do sit back a bit from the bumper. I'd never noticed before! learn something new everyday.

 

I'm up your way for a wedding early next month, might have to squeeze in a quick visit to Leeds, get a close look at yours if I may?

 

Just putting together the next lot of photos and blog etc to catch up on the last 4 years worth, so you'll see how far I've got.

 

Rob

Zero-Five-Two

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Part 2

Where do you start? Or rather where did we start? The basic decision was cab first, then mechanical stuff to get it running, and finally to do something for the back. Still haven’t decided what I want to do with the back. I think that will depend on what is available, and how much the wife will let me spend at the time. Wont be ‘til next year, at least.

 

The plan of action for the cab restoration, was to take it apart piece by piece, each bit would be photographed and tagged, then taken home to be stripped of the green gunge, repaired if necessary then repainted in primer or Hammerite, and finally stored ready for refitting when the time came. Good theory, but now I am putting it back together there are still questions like “Where does this bit go?” as I sit there staring at a photograph without a clue.

 

First thing out was the drivers seat. A non original item, looked more like it was out of a Transit, and mounted on a dodgy angle iron frame. Next the engine cover and its side panels. These became the guinea pigs for repair techniques and the test bed for the final colour. In the main it was a case of strip off the old paint, bit of touching up here and there and then on with the new.

 

Thick layer of zinc oxide to help keep the tin worm at bay, filler primer to flatten out any last faults, and lastly 2 pack top coat in Red Wine to finish. Deep Bronze is OK, but we, (the Militant and Myself) are civilians now. We don’t do green anymore!!

 

One thing I did notice fairly quickly, underneath years of paint and dirt there was an awful lot of brass. Window frames, side vents, electrical connectors etc. I’d seen a militant on the AEC website looking very shiny with its brass window frames, and decided this was the way to go. Polish everything!!

 

Not a good idea, talk about making a rod for your own back!! I spent many hours during the winter 07/08 just polishing bits of brass. Luckily I have a polishing wheel fixed to the bench grinder which helped.

 

Work on the rest of the cab started on the passengers side. Decided to start here after my son put his boot through the floor while taking the seat out. Removal of the floor and wheel arch section allowed the rear of the cab to droop alarmingly downwards, turns out only the floor had been holding it together. Some hasty supporting and levelling had to be done to prevent a total collapse

 

100 N-S Cab Floor.jpg

 

Near side floor with boot damage at rear

 

61 N-S Cab Rear.jpg

 

Not a lot holding this corner up!

 

89 Stu on engine cover.jpg

 

Son Stuart attacking rear of engine cover

 

101 Engine cover jigsaw.jpg

 

Engine cover jigsaw

 

Many of the interior side panels were deemed to be beyond worth saving, except as a pattern for a new piece. A lot of it is just flat sheet cut to shape. Fortunately my work at the time gave me access to off cuts of what is known in the coach industry as stretch panels. These are the long side panels that run the length of a coach. Just over a metre wide and made of good quality galvanised steel, ideal for that door skin or panel.

 

Door Repairs

 

72 O-S Door1.jpg

 

Take one knackered door

 

 

74 Door2.jpg

 

Rip off all the scabby bits

 

 

75 O-S Door 3.jpg

 

Fit new skins

 

 

 

79 Door 4.jpg

 

Bit of filler and repaint. Easy!

 

Did you know Morris Minor window winders are the same as Militant ones?

 

It very quickly became apparent that there was a lot of parts that were beyond repair or were missing altogether, and the shopping list for replacements was getting longer and longer. Prayers were answered and a saviour arrived in the shape of a geezer called Nathan who was advertising a Mk1 as breaking for spares, most parts available.

 

Early one Sunday morning myself and my 2 boys tooled up and headed for Nathans place near Tidworth, Hampshire. It took us about 3 hours work to strip as much as we could load into the wifes Audi estate. Seats, dashboard electrics, bits of plate, brackets, radiator cowl, aluminium floor panel, and anything else that looked like it might be useful. Good days shopping. Thanks Nathan if you are reading this.

 

112D 900 JHN (4).jpg

 

Sons Stuart and Philip Salvaging useful parts

 

149 O-S New Floor (2).jpg

 

Nice new floor courtesy Nathan:thanx:

 

Got a bit too busy at work last year, so not a lot got done. It seemed that whenever I did get a bit of spare time the weather was naff. A change of job at the back end of the year has given me a load more free time and I have been cracking on with things. Most of the interior structure is done now, repaired, refitted and painted in top coat. Feels like I am making progress, at last. I can actually see the results of all that hard work.

 

156 Screenwash Carrier.jpg

 

Primer first

153 Behind Drivers Seat Jun 2010.jpg

 

Top coat second

164 Image008.jpg

 

Eggshell on ceiling, Red Wine on sides. Very shiny

Edited by Zero-Five-Two
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Holy cow, you'll need sunglasses to sit inside the cab! looks like you've got it well in hand, I got the air valve of the same militant you stripped, courtesy of Nathan.

( still think it should be green ) :)

 

Do your doors fit properly? mine don't sit snug, but bow out slightly at the bottom, need a couple of flat blokes to stand on each end to bend them back into shape..

 

BTW, do you have the old floor left? the part under the driver's seat, mine has a corner knocked off. The driver's seat base in your picture is correct, I have a seat frame somewhere, but I suppose you got one from the scrap militant?

Edited by Simon Daymond
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Great to see such progress mate ! That colour scheme seems to say , possibly a bus company recovery vehicle with crane and crew accomodation as the project for the back end ! It'l be great to see out and about whatever you decide , as without you she'd still be deteriorating ! Well done mate ! Andy :D

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BTW, do you have the old floor left? the part under the driver's seat, mine has a corner knocked off. The driver's seat base in your picture is correct, I have a seat frame somewhere, but I suppose you got one from the scrap militant?

 

I'd best have another look at the seat base, I thought it was just a bit of angle iron done for the transit seat. It is certainly different from the one I got from Nathan.

 

As for the floor plate, I made a note not to throw anything away until the project was finished, just in case I needed something. It sounds much the same as yours with a broken corner and a fair amount or corrosion. I did investigate getting it repaired by a local welding company. They reckoned they could build up the corners with weld then grind it back to shape, but having got a good one from Nathan I didn't go any further with it.

 

Floor Plate.jpg

 

Free to good home if you want it

Edited by Zero-Five-Two
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Hi there! Firstly they say the camera never lies, my militant looks ok in a photo, but in the flesh, well :) Your cab looks in very good nick, particularly at the front by the windscreen, mines all parting company.

You could still run her without a back body, which wouldn't look too bad, the back on mine is rotten, and I had considered removing it, running without and doing the body up indoors.

I know what you mean by a civvy paint job, given that your body is missing, but come on now, you can't beat green :)

 

Let me know what you're short of, I might have or know the bits you need. BTW you'll find most peope on here obliging, so just ask :)

 

Just looking at your pics, I think I have some brackets so you can put your headlights in the right place, all that wiring on the floor looks familiar, mine was all pulled out when I got it, every wire yellow, and most with no markings legible! Do you have your clocks and start panel? I have a spare of both if you're interested, also the frame that they sit in which bolts to the front of the cab. Do you have the bonnet side and bonnet top?

 

If you can, get it on the road, do a few shows, then, in my experience, people will come forward with the stuff you need if they see the wagon in the flesh, much better than trying to reach people with your pleas with the wagon tucked away in a barn somewhere.

 

Do you have a manual for it, I can copy you a few pages if you let me know what you need.

 

BTW, I still have the wooden former in the garage that I made for the lower corner panels, your O/S front look a bit thin, is it? Let me know if you want a panel making.

As Gordon Gekko said, Green is good... Or was it Greed????

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  • 2 weeks later...

Part 3

 

Just for a change it is raining, again. Another weekend of limited truck work due to the inclement conditions, so might as well sit at the computer and finish off the history, and bring you all up to date with the restoration so far.

Although much of the work has been on the inside of the cab, the outside has had its share of the effort as well. This seems to have survived better than the interior, mostly. The odd crinkly edge around the seams and joints but nothing too serious. Except that is for the roof!

 

117 Hole in Roof Taped.jpg

 

 

The suspicious looking silver tape had to be hiding something. Got to say it was good tape and a hideous job to get off. It was a sort of tar based stuff. It wouldn’t peel off, a scraper only got stuck to it. The final solution was a grinder mounted wire brush, which flicked the sticky muck everywhere, but it did get rid of it, and then the remainder soaked in thinners until it became soft enough to wipe off.

Underneath it, the remains of the roof section and a lot of soggy cornflakes of rust, slowly eating their way into the inner panel. I was in 2 minds as to whether to remove the cupola as well, as it is to be a civilian vehicle and just have a straight flat roof, but once the rest of the roof panels were removed I realised that the cupola frame made up the greater part of the strength of the top of the cab, and decided it was best left alone.

 

 

121 Hole in roof 2.jpg

 

 

 

The front bumper should have been an easy part to do. Big heavy lump would just want de-rusting and painting, I thought. Not so easy! Having removed the mounting bolts and lifting eyes, the thing still did not wish to leave the vehicle. A further inspection revealed the lower edges to be welded to the chassis rails. Unable to gain access with even the smallest grinder, I resorted to an air chisel. Several hand numbing hours later, and now, completely deaf, it finally came off. Carried on with the deafness, needle gunning the crap off. Free off the seized winch rollers, repaint, and refit with fresh bolts.

 

127 Rad Painting.jpg

 

With the bumper out of the way, next up the radiator. This was fairly easy, the cores look pretty sound, they aren’t leaking and apart from a few spiders in residence were OK. A gentle rinse through with a pressure washer to get rid of 50 years of road dirt, and the spiders! Nitromors on the outside took care of the green/purple/yellow/green paint, then sanding off and fresh Hammerite all over. Refit front grill with its shiny badges, very sexy.

 

131 practice run.jpg

 

102 Wheel arches 1.jpg

 

 

Both front wheel arches needed a bit of work, the tin worm had left some quite big holes on the inside. The near side arch has had a fairly hefty whack at some point, which had been roughly knocked out and then covered with a half inch thick layer of filler. It looks much better now, with just a little bit of pug on it.

The radiator cowling, door hinge protectors, mirror brackets all came courtesy Nathan. I should have picked up a couple of the grab handles as well, as I now find I am 3 missing, but that’s not a problem as new ones are still readily available.

 

137 Bumper refit.jpg

 

Yes, that is a vice on the right hand end :D

 

The whole lot is now covered in zinc oxide ready for finishing and top coating, but I want to get it inside for that, which means getting the engine running again. Last time she ran was Feb 07, but I’m confident she will fire up ok. Just got the small matter of electrics to sort out first. Fortunately I was listening the day we did electrics at college, and I do own a soldering iron, so we're OK.

 

I did try tracing wires and working it out as I was taking it apart, but I couldn’t find the diagnostic socket for plugging in the laptop!:D and anyway you have seen the before pictures, it all became a bit pointless. Removal was then dead easy. No finesse, just a big pair of wire cutters, scoop the whole lot up and launch in the direction of the dustbin! I did keep all the little brass ferules from the remains of the armoured conduit and all the yellow tags!

 

 

One thing I did notice. No fuses or any form of circuit breakers! Was this normal for the early Militants? I would have thought there should be some form of system protection, can anybody shed any light on this?

 

 

Went on holiday to the Yorkshire Dales back in ’08, visit the in laws and so on like you do, but it chucked it down all week, couldn’t do anything. Only one answer, adjourn to the pub! Managed to acquire some paper, and spent a reasonable 5 days under the influence of the local brew, and designing a new electrical system. All I’ve got to do now is make it fit, given a bit of peace and some sun shine. I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

Rob

 

Zero-Five-Two

112 N-S Cab Sep 08.jpg

119 Hole in roof.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

Next Installment.

 

Finally, after what seems to have been an eternity of weekends spent working for a living, working for the Wife, stalled by bad weather or generally doing other stuff. I have actually managed a decent few hours working on the Militant. Hasn't all been

bad though, did manage a couple of days in Yorkshire, met Simon Daymond

and had a nose round his Militant, did try driving it but I only made bad noises with his gearbox (Sorry Simon).

 

Been doing odds and bits over the last few weeks, mainly in the garage at home, but yesterday was the big push to bring it all together.

 

The fuel filter housing and fuel lines are now reconnected, and I have actually got a filter in it this time. When I first took the filter apart there was only the remains of a small sandwich filter floating about inside not filtering anything.

 

As the original filter would have been one of those pretty useless cloth and string ones, I decided to replace it with a more modern easily available one. Took a bit of finding in various makers catalogues and websites, but eventually found a Coopers item (G1306) that fits quite nicely with a spring and base plate taken from a Leyland bus filter housing.

 

182 Fuel Filter.jpg

 

 

Had to strip the lift pump and free off the non return valve before it would pump any diesel up, but once that was done, I could button up that side of the engine ready to go.

Main job at the moment has been the rebuild of the electrical system, battery leads, slave socket and regulator unit slotted back in behind the drivers seat. New conduit and fittings have made a vast improvement on the previous.

 

162 Behind drivers seat Aug 2010.jpg

 

 

162A Slave and Regulator Dec 2010.jpg

 

 

As each item is connected up, it has been tried and tested, this has thrown up several bits that aren’t quite on the ball. My biggest issue is the Engine Oil Pressure sender unit. It was one of the bits that weren’t working when I bought the truck, and I had hoped it was just the bad wiring causing the fault, but no, need new sender unit.

 

Stuck a wanted post on the forum in case anyone has one lying around, cash waiting as they say, but, once the shops open on Monday I’ll be phoning round all the usual suspects. It is a fairly standard item, so if I cant get an original I should be able to find a modern one to do the job.

 

Funnily enough one thing that does work, and rather well, is the cab heater! Not that it will ever be needed, sitting that close to a red hot engine is usually warm enough to need a window open even in winter!:D

 

Biggest question was how to test the starter motor, easiest way, see if it starts the engine! Now bearing in mind it’s been stood out in the wind and rain for 4 years this might have been a tall order. Well, maybe for some of your namby pamby Cummins or Gardiner lumps, but not a decent AEC.

 

Did turn over a couple times before she fired, which was probably down to a bit of air left in the fuel system. But she quickly settled down to a very sweet tickover. I have to admit that the smoke cloud that accompanied this momentous occasion was a bit excessive. I think half of north Kent disappeared into the fog for a while.:D

 

Couldn’t have it running for long, especially with no idea about oil pressure, but at least I know it still goes. I haven’t done anything to the engine yet, working on the theory that it was running OK before, so don’t fix what ain’t broke. Did find out that the battery charge light stays on, but whether this means the dynamo isn’t playing the game, or I haven’t got it wired up right I have yet to find out.

 

If everything goes to plan, next weekend will see the seats going back in, and the last few bits inside the cab. Got to fit the footbrake valve first, but after that I might even be able to have a drive round the yard. I think that will deserve a video on utube

 

Edited by Zero-Five-Two
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Hi Simon,

 

The large 20mm conduit came from www.cablecraft.co.uk Part number for it is GS20 for a 10 metre roll, £20.70 + VAT. 10m is "just" enough to do the big cables, if you measure it carefully. It works out quite well using the original imperial size 3/4" brass ferules from your existing conduit, just cut them off leaving the old bit inside. the new stuff being metric size can be screwed straight in. If you need new ferules they are available from a company down this way called Tones Ties of Bearsted. They do have a website but I cannot remember the address.

 

Smaller sizes of conduit for lights etc can be got from www.vintagecarparts.co.uk Sold by the metre and a bit pricey too, but it is the genuine stuff.

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