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New project - Mk 1 Knocker 6x6


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Having lost the OT the rest of the family decided it might be a good idea - both for my sanity and their life expectancies - to put me on a new project... So after some thought revolving around the fact I like PW vehicles, the need for something that can be driven without recourse to transport bills with 3 zeros after the first figure and that I will comfortably fit the cab of I went to look at a Mk 1 Militant GS today - the knocker alternatively loved and cursed by my era.

 

The one I looked at was a 1957 6x6 GS model - non winch - and was fairly well known on the scene up until 3 or 4 years ago. Indeed I remember talking with the owner at W&P back in 2007 -ish Sadly due to circumstances beyond control she has not been used for the last few yaers and the owner, very reluctantly, is selling to make sure she survives. An added plus is a comms body lashed in the back rigged for living in so no need to pack tentage for shows attended.

 

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An album of photos can be found here: http://s34.photobucket.com/user/ArtistsRifles/library/AEC%20Militant%20Mk%201/Project%20Vehicle

 

Mechanically sound - starts, stops and drives well although 2 new batteries are needed - anyone know the type number of the 12v that fits in lieu of the twin 6v??

 

Bodily - looks worse than in it s as the paint is peeling off all over, However there are areas that need attention:

 

Drivers side front drop gate

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Tailgate sections

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Cab areas

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Unusual roof - no weapons mount and taping??

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Cab Interior

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Terminal silencer

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Lastly a little bit of video:

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Welcome to the Knocker owners splinter group!

 

Can I sell you a pair of ear defenders, or are you deaf already? I'll have to pop up and have a look at it once you get her home as I am only the other end of the tunnel (Dartford)

 

Deaf already Rob :-) A mix of knockers followed by SLR's without ear plugs in the Seventies :-)

 

Should be getting her picked up in about 3 weeks as I say - storage is up near Sible Hedingham, I'll PM you the details when she is there. Jim, the current owner says mechanically she will make the trip under her own steam and I believe him - but I have a great belief in the immutable laws of Sod in that what can go wrong will go wrong when you least want it to.

And diving about 70 miles or more in a new and - to me unproven - vehicle is pushing the potential for that law to kick in beyond acceptable limits. So - a low loader back and then the work can start repairing the ravages of the tin worm. Followed by a coat of paint. I am undecided whether to go for DBG or the Green/Black disruptive. Either would be appropriate. She has all new timber in the load bed so that's one issue fixed already :-) Going to need a 14.00x20 bar grip in the not too distant future I think as one has cracking in the side-walls.

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What an excellent vehicle & project - good to hear the owners done the right thing if they cannot keep her any longer. Very similar condition to how mine was purchased. After a quick spin round the block I decided to drive mine home 160 miles, good job I took my ear defenders :D

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What an excellent vehicle & project - good to hear the owners done the right thing if they cannot keep her any longer. Very similar condition to how mine was purchased. After a quick spin round the block I decided to drive mine home 160 miles, good job I took my ear defenders :D

 

Got to admit - I was tempted to! But for once (a rare occurrence) common sense prevailed. She's sat for 3+ years with the occasional start up and rumble around a field so in theory should be OK. But as I say - knowing my luck I'd get halfway and something would happen - probably mid-way through the Dartford Tunnel :).

 

First I need to sort out breakdown/recovery cover. I assume AutoHome still offer this service?

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Autohome £109 a year for a Militant

 

Well I never Autohome......£109 a year for GMC

 

We are not with them now, only because they wont cover mulitple vehicles, BUT with the few dealings we did have they were very helpful and seemed to understand the vehicles we spoke to them about.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Latest update is the proceeds from the sale of the OT have finally arrived (not helped by the bank deactivating the savings account it was supposed to be electronically transferred into!!). So, allowing time for the cheque they sent me from head office to clear into another account and then arrange to draw the funds out, collection is nominally scheduled for the 30th April. Just waiting to hear from Andy the transport guy if he is free that day to collect the old girl.

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Pretty much - yeah :):):)

 

First job at the storage location will be a thorough clean down to lose the algae growths and 8 legged denizens. As soon as I hear from Andy the transport guy that we are definitely go for the 30th I can go get a pair of type 663 batteries from my local battery specialist. Then we can drive her onto the low loader and off the other end. :)

 

Once all the crap is off and I can see how bad the tin worm is I can make the decision whether it is something that can be done on-site or whether I need to go for a rumble in her the 4 or 5 miles down to Great Yeldham and see the guys from MVC Engineering. They are bus and commercial repairers/restorers - did some work on my OT for me when it lived there - and have all the tools etc to form the required sections of metalwork. I know parts of the tailgate and one drop-sides box section are pretty terminal as regards the tin worm. Once that is sorted the protracted task of painting can begin! Then its the decision - DBG as it would have been in the fifties and sixties. Or IRR green with black overlay of the Eighties and nineties.

 

Might need 1 tyre as a rear has some cracks in the sidewall the rest are good though.

 

In between times the interior can be finished fitting out - the comms box in the load bed is rigged for living and that need a coat of paint on the inner roof, the gas fridge and oven (both in a cabinet) need fitting back in and the shower needs installing plus some bed/seat frames made (but I can use camp beds until these are done so low priority).

 

What are the thoughts on the fitting of some form of flashing beacon to the rear in view of the 30 mph top speed??

 

I was thinking perhaps a board made up to clip on the tail gate with "SLOW VEHICLE in large reflective lettering with maybe a bracket on the bottom of it to hold a 24v twirly beacon that could be plugged into the trailer electrics so that as soon as the side lights come on its working.

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Strictly speaking Neil illegal of course but I would err towards safety. I used a magnetic beacon on the GMC wired into the tail light circuit and never had a problem with the police. Another way of doing it would be to fit smalL LED units, they are programmable for flashing pattern and quite low cost. We use them on large tipping and plant trailers and also on JCB's.

Edited by Degsy
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Deaf already Rob :-) A mix of knockers followed by SLR's without ear plugs in the Seventies :-)

 

I fired a lot of rifles, but the SLR certainly left a distinctive ring in the ear. CRACK....... Numbing deafness.......... Crack......... Numbing deafness...................Crack..... Crack..... Crack...... Crack....... Pinging noise....... (load, action, enemy front, rapid fire {platoon opens up on fig 11 targets}) Crack crack crack crack crack crack crack. Mates rolls over, big grin on face and says blah blah blah blah laugh blah, Corporal kicks you in the leg and says 6 inches from your ear, unload you idiot!

 

Sound familiar!

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I fired a lot of rifles, but the SLR certainly left a distinctive ring in the ear. CRACK....... Numbing deafness.......... Crack......... Numbing deafness...................Crack..... Crack..... Crack...... Crack....... Pinging noise....... (load, action, enemy front, rapid fire {platoon opens up on fig 11 targets}) Crack crack crack crack crack crack crack. Mates rolls over, big grin on face and says blah blah blah blah laugh blah, Corporal kicks you in the leg and says 6 inches from your ear, unload you idiot!

 

Sound familiar!

 

Pretty much Wore earplugs on the ranges and in competitions but on ex - never. The DS always said to us the book says for the SLR you should wear the ear plugs - but then you can't hear the bad guy creeping up behind you - so we never used them and, as you say - crack, ringing noise, crack, ringing noise until after a while you have to be thumped on the shoulder to get attention. Noise and deafness passed after a very short while but our armourer always maintained that the ultrasonic noise of the breech mechanism that caused the ringing would be bad in later life. And he was right. Tinnitus is a given these days :-) :-)

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Pretty much Wore earplugs on the ranges and in competitions but on ex - never. The DS always said to us the book says for the SLR you should wear the ear plugs - but then you can't hear the bad guy creeping up behind you - so we never used them and, as you say - crack, ringing noise, crack, ringing noise until after a while you have to be thumped on the shoulder to get attention. Noise and deafness passed after a very short while but our armourer always maintained that the ultrasonic noise of the breech mechanism that caused the ringing would be bad in later life. And he was right. Tinnitus is a given these days :-) :-)

 

Neil, "Tinnitus" is caused by many many things...not always by external noises in the past......sometimes it develops in older age and sometimes your just unlucky if you get it when your younger.

Edited by gas 44
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Then its the decision - DBG as it would have been in the fifties and sixties. Or IRR green with black overlay of the Eighties and nineties

 

 

How about painting in gloss DBG as it would have left the factory and after a few months if you want to, cover it in Matt IRR green and black. The gloss paint will give the metal better protection as the Matt would be porous and you'll get rust coming through soon enough. Unless you regularly wipe it down with Duck oil, it is good with old Matt paint and Carc.:undecided:

Keep the pics coming when you get it !!

 

cheers

Iain

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Then its the decision - DBG as it would have been in the fifties and sixties. Or IRR green with black overlay of the Eighties and nineties

 

 

How about painting in gloss DBG as it would have left the factory and after a few months if you want to, cover it in Matt IRR green and black. The gloss paint will give the metal better protection as the Matt would be porous and you'll get rust coming through soon enough. Unless you regularly wipe it down with Duck oil, it is good with old Matt paint and Carc.:undecided:

Keep the pics coming when you get it !!

 

cheers

Iain

 

 

Good thoughts Iain. What I am considering is, if I I go the DBG route, visiting the local sign making firm to see if they could knock up the Arm of Service and Divisional signs for the RCT in London Division. IIRC the blue and Yellow diagonal with a white bar across the top for the RCT and the Tower on a black background for London Div - again IIRC these were 9" squares.

I guess the final decision will follow on from how well the cab repairs turn out :) DBG is very unforgiving of surface imperfections as I recall.

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I use a magnetic beacon on the back of mine, plugged into the tail light connection of the trailer socket. Easy to remove once at the show, but it definitely helps to keep the blind motorists off the back.

 

Yes - my thought precisely. We have a power supply to the rear for lighting so make use of it rather than feeding an completely new cabling system down. Might have to that some time in the future though as I am thinking, at some point, of fitting a rear view camera to make running solo a bit easier.

 

For now a plywood board with metal hooks over the tail gate and straps down to the lower edge to retain it is more useful- I can mount a bracket on the base so that the beacon is only visible from the rear and run the cable to the trailer light connector, Across the board in large reflective lettering "SLOW VEHICLE" so there is no excuse for ploughing into the back of it. :)

 

Good news today is the haulage firm confirmed that they can move it on the 30th so now I have a definite date for the fun - and the hard work - to begin :)

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