mick garner

I see what you're saying there Richard, however it's evident that the 'new' track has better bushings than previously, I only say 'flat' as I suspect in a rush to put them on we may have got the pin one flat out in the hex, causing a 'bump' if that makes sense. I think our next course of action will be to measure lengths of ten links and try to swap them around to get exactly the same length either side. Bearing in mind it ran fine with the old track that was truly knackered I find it very strange that suddenly we should have problems now.

Hello all, Thought I'd put a few questions to the collective knowledge of HMVF as we've been having some problems with our Spartan since replacing the tracks. The tracks we put on were not new but had far less wear than the ones taken off. With the old tracks the vehicle drove fine, no horrible knocks or bangs etc. Since having the 'new' track on the vehicle makes horrible bangs and jolts that physically shake the vehicle, particularly when taken over 30mph. The transmission feels as if it is under stress, and generally the vehicle doesn't feel safe to be driving along the road in! So far I have checked the usual, I have laid the track out on the ground and any suspect links that weren't sitting 'flat' were replaced. It has 83 track links per side, the idler arms etc. aren't bent, the idler hub bearings are okay, the alignment of all roadwheels/idlers/sprockets is fine, so surely all should be well? Regards, Mick

i intend to sell my spartan shortly and collection of spares. i have a good take out gearbox to sell regards mick

there are enthusiasts and dealers here in the uk who can sell you the parts you require. most parts are available if you know who to ask. good luck with the project mick

we had same problem, caused by the little hole in the bottom of the master cylinder blocked with rust and debris. suck out most of the brake fluid to reveal the hole and clean it out. it then allows the fluid to return. an idea to tell you if the system is remaining pressurized and subsequently the brake lights are on is to open a bleed screw and release pressure and lights may go off. as you've identified the swith is pressure operated regards mick

the range is the best place for the samaritans and any sultans they may have. the ugliest and most unloved of the cvrt range!!!!

keep us up to speed with your progress mike, we are running the armstrongs and discounted the idea of changing to messiers because i thought it would be too complex. vehicles with the messiers certainly have far superior off road capabilities and better road manners and with the greater availabilty make it an ideal conversion regards mick

we had the same problem with our ferret when we bought it, the engine oil in the gearbox looked like salad cream, where moisture emulsifies with the oil and the EP90 in the final drive was a rusty foamy liquid. we changed both and 3 years later both still look clean. I know the ferret had spent many years idle. It pays to check everything on a newpurchase regards mick

i did mine with terry brooks, he is indeed near manston airfield near ramsgate. the course you follow at terry's is forgiving because only a third of it is proper highway, a third is old runway and the last third is quiet factory estate. dont worry yourself about the test, you just have to show you can drive a tracked vehicle with awareness. just swot up on the new highway code and current legislation and ask members on here what questions you may expect to be asked. as for maintenance on cvrt or 432, there is a wealth of material in the hobby

try one of the specialist landy insurance firms via the off road magazines or NFU, to be fair, my mv insurance hasnt really rose much in ten years but my car and commercial insurance has gone up many fold regards mick

get a cvrt, we seem to be having a flood of spares at the moment, im sure we will be saying the same thing however in ten years time regards mick

this is my problem now- the transport thing, we had a local guy who had made a fortune but just liked to get out of the house and would transport our spartan for pocket money. sadly he has lost his hgv licience because of deteriating health so were stuffed to get to any shows that bit further away. I cap myself at shows maximum 40 mile round trip, to run a CVRT on the road probably costs all in £4 per road mile in fuel, tracks. oils, maintanence etc. wish i could find an enthusiast in the bedfordshire area who could help out on the transport side

hi jack, we're up in mid beds, right on the A1, if you wanted to come over, I would be delighted to go over our spartan with you and give you a drive on the farmland near our unit. best regard mick

we couldnt work out why our sprocket was chewing one side until we put a flat bar across our new style 2 piece idler and realised it was 30mm out indicating a severely bent idler crank. They do indeed take a lot of stress. We replaced the entire assembly with a good take off, everything now runs in line and perceptibly quieter regards mick

we will be there with our sand and green ferret if the weather looks reasonable. we got soaked last year on the return journey, what an abysmal experience. Im never going to take the rise out of my mate simon with his girly ferret windscreen again

meet is on sunday3rd april, outside the white hart pub, high street in baldock. no need to book in, just turn up for around 9.30. a road run is going to kick off at 11.00. the organiser is mr G S Baker- 07963 609143 if the weather is perfect were taking the sparten and our mate is taking his 1/2 ferret best regards mick

I thought the definitive answer that you dont need an h-licience to drive a half track simply because the the steering is actuated by a steering wheel in most cases and full track is to actuate steering with levers. I thought an older style driving licience that also allows you to drive vehicles upto 7.5 tons was appropriate? Also, picking up a previous point, I would agree that observation in our sparten is possibly better than a transit but a big problem for me is exiting tight junctions where lateral vision is obscured by buildings or trees, in a car you would nose out carefully to improve vision, in the sparten, you've got 5 foot of metal in front of the driving position. left turns out of this sort of junction are bit dodgy too, if you address the junction at an angle like you would in a car, the view is obscured even more. However this problem may be worse for a shorty like myself. big sweeping junctions- no problem regards to all- mick

we keep our spartan on a farm so i had the opportunity to familiarise my self with the controls and vehicle on the tracks around the site. I then booked a day with terry brooks down in kent to do a bit of training in his scorpion then the DSA examiner came from the local office and tested me in the afternoon. Terry's place is ideal for the test because it is done on a short length of road on a quiet factory estate, a short length of highway and a piece of old runway. I was observed going clockwise around the circuit the anticlockwise, whilst exhibiting full control over the vehicle, proper obs and placement etc. Get yourself a new copy of the highway code and study it hard, you will be asked 5 or 6 questions on roadsigns and roadcraft- some of which will be about tracked vehicles in particular. My personal view regarding the test is- if you intend to drive your tank on the road, you should train on that type of vehicle and do your test in the same. I dont think passing on a mini digger or similar resembles your intended use. I wanted to exhibit that i was safe and competent of driving my spartan on the road and when you think i carry my kids in it to shows etc, playing safe was my main aim. Its a massive kick taking tracked military on the road, the reaction of other roadusers and pedestrians is fantastic. I believe I'm right in saying that you can put L-plates on a road legal tracked vehicle and drive on the road because your car licience acts a provisional for other classes. Incidently its only £90 to insure my spartan fully comp and qualifies for free road tax. Big downside however- 3MPG Try terry brooks, he is a top guy. Also the guys from DSA were dedicated to getting me and the other trainee through the test, they loved getting out of the office and watching the tank go round regards mick

if you get stuck for future projects, our family sells bonded nylon in metric 20 30 40 on kingspools. the heavier 20 being used for canvas work, bouncy castles etc regards mick

the big attraction of the Mk1 is that gorgeous straight-eight rumble. the multifuel engine just sounds like a 60 a day smoker screaming at you. Ex service personnel tell me the petrol version is a better drive too regards mick

surely british defence engineering has led the world during the post war period? My personal nomination would be the scorpion tank, being an enormous leap forward in materials and design during the early seventies?

Chris is right, I should've added depending on who you know too!

hi rick, if you get desperate, I'd drive it back for you, you will of course need to insure it for yourself and named driver and put £50 of petrol in. We're in Sandy in Beds and would happily share our experiences of ferret ownership with you best regards mick and Lewis

you are correct about the cvrt tracks, the rubber blocks are moulded in and if they are indeed worn right down, the entire track will need replacing for road use. Note the pads have a tapered profile to them, thats to say the leading edge is flatter than the trailing edge. If you can find replacement track, expect to pay £1500 to £4000 depending on how worn regards mick

Hi Janusz, its nice to know vehicles are being preserved in your beautifull country, we visited Krackow last year and fell in love with your country and lovely smiley people. Are spares readily available for your vehicles? best regards mick