Fugly

Yes I agree !! Its definately got a presence ........ My son told me last night that he saw me sat on the engine decks as he walked past one night a few weeks ago . The Saladin was undercover but the shed lights were on. He said Hi Dad to me and came in to the house . The scary part is that I was over the road at the time visiting my parents !

Hello Tim Yes , would be great to meet up , and share some experience ( and a few parts ??) will pm you . Jim

Spent a great day yesterday with an ex British Army soldier (Graham) who was in Oman in 1974/75 , and took part in the Dhofar war whilst commanding a Saladin. He came with his son Chris to take a look at the Ex Oman Saladin that I am restoring ( slowly... restoring !!) This was one of an estimated 34 vehicles that form the Sultans armoured car squadron. Graham is a font of knowledge about this period and first hand accounts of the operations he took part in. He won the Sultans DSM for assisting wounded SAS men back from a contact on the rear decks of his Saladin, after at least one of them was seriously injured and during the process the vehicle came under enemy fire , receiving hits including shattering the commanders episcope. Small bits of metal from rounds that shattered around the turret were removed from Grahams head 20 years later ! I was shown some great photographs of a Saladins in Oman , showing day to day activities , and some of the damage they received. As soon as i receiv copies I will be able to post some of them. Graham was a gunnery specialist and described some of the finer point on how to hit a moving target at 500M ! He had a look at the damage on the turret on our vehicle and reckoned it was likely caused by molten metal from RPG round that had detonated against equipment slung on the turret side. The photos he had showed bags and equipment slung all around the turret sides, so it looks like this may have been a life saver. From Grahams explanation an RPG penetration into a lightly armoured vehicle like the Saladin would not have been pretty. Some of the other marks on the turret may have been 12.7 mm (Sphagin??) His photo showing damage to his scopes showed that the AK47 rounds barely left a mark on the turret side, so the marks on our turret was somthing meatier! I asked him about the arabic writing , and the arabic name written on the inside of the hull beside the drivers position. I had always doubted that a disciplined soldier would write his name on a vehicle like this , however Graham said that a lot of the Omani crewmen were unable to read and write, and after being taught how to write by the army , would gleefully put their name on anything that did not move !! He described how the headlamp glass on the vehicles would be coated in grease and smothered with sand to stop the enemy seeing the glint from the headlamp glass , and the time that they had to take to top off the gearbox to try and select 1st gear after the vehicle failed to climb a sand dune - and the time a captured AK47 was shot out of the hands of a colleague. All good stuff and very interesting. I find it hard to link the dusty , camoflaged vehicles shown in 40 year old photos with the lump of metal sat on my yard, but last night when he had gone home , as I shut the door on the shed I'm sure I heard the faint sound of gunfire

Hello All Hope your enjoying the cold, out there in the sheds..... A man can lose his bearings in this weather ...... Can someone advise what vehicles used this sight.? Its marked FV455481 CLINOMETER SIGHT AFV No 11 MK 1. Its in mils and metres. has light , but spirit level missing ? What does the bracket fit ? Thanks

I did this with a ferret , and it works well but you only need a very low air pressure so that you don't do any damage.

And now it has some paint on it to keep it in good condition - this is deep bronze gree (matted down a bit) - eventually going to repaint the whole lot , but this will do for now.

After waiting for weeks for the rain to stop, at last the shotblasting has been done so I can proceed a bit further . The shot blasting was done by Martin Summers from Uttoxeter ( Highly recommended). The wheelstations are all beiong replaced so it was not worth blasting them . During blasting I found a 1968 date on one of the hull plates, adding more evidence to a late 1960's build date.

Hi PM Sent . I have some Saracen spares , including some steering spares - If you can email me the part number that you require and I will try to help. Regards

Hi. For the general information of the forum, the export of most military items is controlled and is potentially a minefield , even older vehicle parts are controlled. Most UK dealers are well aware of this and will not export unless they ( and the end user) can meet all the regulations. In many cases its not financially viable for the dealer to go to all the trouble of dealing with the paperwork and the potential risks involved may make it unattractive to supply single low value items. Anyone who reads the news recently about the retired UK businessman now facing charges in the US will be aware of the potential risks if it all goes wrong. It's worth going to the trouble to do it properly because you can take the opprotunity to include a few other spares in the shipment and make all the trouble worth it. You ought to enquire with your own customs and import depts to see what paperwork they will require from you ( and whether they will allow it in the first place). Its not worth taking a risk and asking a UK supplier to send it over outside of the regulations because both parties can end up in hot water. In reality , I am sure that many enthusiasts have sent items to friends abroad quite innocently and no harm has been done , but this recent case may bring it all under the spotlight. Good luck with your quest for the gearbox cover - If you require any further information please feel free to PM me.

Contact Mike Shackleton or John Simpson at the Tilly register http://www.tillyregister.com They have the contact details for many owners . Sure that someone would be able to take part ?

Thanks for your help Clive - it narrows things down slightly ! Cheers

I have found a part number stamped on one edge: 82850T Can anyone assist me further armed with this number please?

I won some of the Alvis spares - I think it mainly bits and peices submitted by a dealer who was having a clearout - there were some little morsels in there , the rest I will offer out via ebay. I may group certain parts together and sell as a small lot ( selling individually would be a long job). I think there are a few abbots parts in there , plus plenty of scrap.

I looked all over it for a part number - cannot see one. I certainly think its off a tracked vehicle. I think Robin's on the right "Track" :red: pardon the pun, but would like to be certain.

:-D Hello All - can someone tell me which vehicle this panel would fit. Very grateful for the assistance !

I would like to speak to your friend if possible , this Saladin was number 81 and it appeared in Oman in the early 70's but seems to have been with the ADDF before that. Ask him if he has read " The tinned equivalent" an account of the armoured car squadron during the dhofar conflict? Send me a PM if he is interested in having a chat. Yes I have a blade sight, needs blasting and fitting. Have been battling with the suspension today.

To be honest , the hull should move forward in nice chunks so watch this space !!

Here is the turret - ( I did that first , and have completed the bowl since then , and its all together now) The main gun is live ( on a FAC) and breech is almost complete. I did the turret first to give me the incentive to finish the hull quickly !) > Its going to have NOS wheelstations, vevel boxes and a MOD recon engine.

The turret is mostly done, just need to track down a few bits for that , and have started work on the hull. The engine is already out so started stripping the hull down - I have been told time and time again that the hydraulic pipes cannot be trusted when they get old - so they are all coming out.As is the gearbox, and 99% of the internals.

I think earthing is a good idea , the military manuals recommend leaning a metal jack handle or similar against the metal part of the vehicle and the ground.

I think a picture like in the lounge would tip my wife over the edge of patience..... I have already taken over all the sheds, garage , the neighbours garage and everywhere else....... I dare not bring the hobby too far into the house... Doesn't mean I cannot have it up in the workshop !

Only this one , found a live ons but passed it to a .22 FAC holder. Another interesting development - I was looking round the Saladin yesterday and whilst chatting with someone, my eyes fell upon an object I had not noticed before. Hammered into the slot by the top of the front right shock absorbers, was what i first though was a washer.It turned out to be a coin. I gave it a light blasting and its an Omani coin. This is another pointer to the vehicles identity. After blasting it I worked out the date at the bottom to be 1390. This did not make sense until I googled islamic date and it works out that they use a calender that uses a different lunar cycle time , and their calander starts in the year 622. I am not making this up :-X So you take the date on the coin, times it by 0.97 and add 622 years . If you do the sum for yourselves it comes out at 1970. Here are some pics - after removing the coin I decided it needs to stay with the vehicle as some sort of good luck charm ! I know builders used to put a coin on the lintle, maybe this is the same theory? !!!

Thanks chaps for the info. Yes the tilly ( or whats left of it) is on the register. Will keep an eye out for a floor !!

Hi I have a wreck of an Austin Tilly , and am hoping to one day restore it . Would an Austin 10 saloon from the same period provide suitable donor parts such as chassis/ bulkhead etc? Just wondered if you may know? Thanaks

Sound advice ! Thanks :shocked: