Fugly

Please can someone tell me what this military combination is ? Huge chunky tyres, looks great ! For sale on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Military-Motorbike-Side-Car?item=220973732167&cmd=ViewItem&_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D6970714239722190888

Thanks for that - Robin is right it is a shame that it is so hidden away - when I cleaned the turret bowl I found two cartridge cases , a .22 and a .30. Perhaps I ought to put them back to keep the gods happy....:nut:

Have finished the turret bowl today and am in the process of putting it back under the turret. Am getting fed up with working on the turret - looking forward to the hull work - and have all summer to do it. The bowl is now 95% perfect and am glad to see the back of it ! :-D

The FMR would account for the .22 cartridges I found in the hull - Oddly enough a few days after finding these I was at a show and found a bag full of rubber tanks they used on the miniature range - thought it was an omen so bought them for 50p each:nut:

I will go over the writing a bit more carefully and try and highlight some more detail ( I did it in a hurry, in the darknes of the hull) - another person had a look at it and thought there were maybe some numbers. The Oman word is a great find though because it just confirms a lot of the other information. The account "THE TINNED EQUIVALENT" gives quite a few names and "NASIR" "ABDULLAH" are common names (perhaps like Smith etc ) . It all adds to the history of the vehicles. The "P" in the callsign may be a red herring - I see it in the photos but am not sue if they are linked or not. In the combat accounts in the above account , they refer to vehicles with T callsigns. The T is shown on a a contemporary photo

Thats really interesting, especially the "Oman" bit ! So we have a name ! - I will see if thereare any more dots ! Thank you very much for your help - will see if there are bits I missed out. Its hard to read and went over the writing quickly with a marker. Will get my torch out !!

Here is the writing inside the hull ( or part of it) - I went over it with marker pen as it was quite faint. (anyone read Arabic?)

Thanks for the information challenger ! - There are also some arabic writing in the hull, which I hope to get translated at some point . The number 8 in those pictures matches the 8 on my number plate. I dont know what the call sign for my vehicle was - there was nothing on the rear of the turret . Ther are some marks on the right side of the turret but that looks like someone has been using it for target practice ! None of the equipment on board appears to have been modified, or overhauled ( or at least its not marked as such.) i was reliably informed that by the time the vehicles were ready for swapping, the main guns were short of spares and the Omani's mounted a .50 INSIDE the main gun mount. It was also mentioned that the Saladins came back as part of a swap for CVRT. I have read a great account calle "The Tinned Equivalent" which is a account of the Sultan's armoured car squadron. Good reading.

If it can be done then I am a happy chappy - I can't see Alvis designing a totally different box for each corner? - Anyway I will await any advice others can give. Cheers

I cannot add much except that I read in an article by Clive Elliott that should you swapping plugs for replacements , avoid using early pattern RSN13P plugs . There have been some of these for sale recently . Apparantly they were known to have caused engine damage in the J60. Fine to use in the B60, but be wary in the J60. The early type plugs can be identified by " longitudinal serrations " on the top of the plug. The later (better?) plug has diamond knurling. Read this in an article in "Windscreen" magazine winter 2006 . Fantastic reading if you need advice on the ignition side of things . Just thought I would pass this on .

Just a simple question. On the saladin ( and I presume the Saracen) although the front and rear bevel boxes carry different numbers , and are marked as left and right , front and rear and so on, they are all basically the same , with the exception that the rear box has a plate , instead of the bracket bolted to the front one. We jacked up the wheels (prop splines disconnected) and noted the direction of rotation. The right hand shafts rotate in the opposite direction to the left hand. This would allow a R/H bevel box to be used on the left hand side. Upon studying the boxes on my saladin the fronts are both marked up as "Front Rights", so the front L/H has been replaced at some time with a right hand marked unit. The different units have different part numbers , but I reckon there is not much difference betwen the front and the rears. The casting is the same , and the tapped mounting holes in it allow it to be inverted. So are there any differences inside I should know about ? Please can someone share the knowledge as I plan to use four front rights on each corner of the Saladin.:undecided:

Keep up the good work with the hull number research - its amazing that Alvis records do not exist - may turn up one day ? Jim

Greetings from the UK ! -welcome aboard :-)

All I can say is that it more complete than it was - it needs a few more bits of the firing mechanism. It does fire blanks now , (small one test purposes only....) The kids like it ! I should really concentrate on the hull now - turret is about complete.

Thanks Bob It was just beginners luck..... I nowhave a small amount of fabrication skills !

Have continued work inside the turret and am refitting the commanders traverse mechanism. I am always surprised how ell these thing clean up - quality materials in the first place ! Please dont knock me on the plated bolts........I just want it in position !

Turret bowl repairs are finished now. Thrown some paint at it so should remain in good condition.

Thanks for all the advice - will have a crack at speeding my PC up. :-D

I don't know if its just my PC, but it seems that for the last few months the hMVF page is taking a long time to load up. I tried clearing down unwanted files etc , and other sites seem to load up quickly. It becoming quite annoying . Any ideas to speed this up?

So even a project is over £3k ? A few years ago you could buy fora lot less than that even at Withams - I tried searching on the internet for a ferret project and could not find one advertised in the UK. Maybe its a natural progression that prices will increase because a larger majority have been restored, and the ones that are for sale have had time and money put into them. I presume that supply and demand will put the prices of wrecks up? Ferrets are popular and hopefully will continue to be a good investment? If they are going up in a recession then what will they do in (hopefully) better times? Unless of course they are being purchased by survivalists , ready for the fall of civilisation.......Just hope they own a petrol station....

Stainless ( The right sort) would be ideal. Anyway will get back to you about the test drive on the exhausts!

will do !

If stainless was a superior material , I can only wonder why the MOD didn't use stainless? I agree with sirhc that it would be a better material to use but there must be some reason they didn't use it - doubt it would be cost as that doesnt appear to be the biggest priority for the MOD (ok , maybe nowadays it is ) . When you look at the overall cost of a vehicle I doubt a stainless exhaust would have added much cost These exhausts will be about £270 so they are not expensive on the grand scheme of things. Stainless would add quite a bit to that price.

Hello All A chap I know who is not on this forum is having some exhaust silencers made to the same design as the original , from the same materials etc , as close as possible. He is a ferret owner and has one on his own ferret , but does not do many miles. He is hoping to locate a ferret driver who does plenty of miles over the summer , who goes to plenty of shows etc to test drive the exhaust system and give a commentary on the fitting , and use. I have seen the finished article and the quality looks very good, but wants to get some miles on one. He is prepared to loan the silencer FOC over the summer , and at the end of the summer the ferret owner can either buy it at cost price (less a discount for the help given) or they can give it back to him and put their own box back on. Its a no lose situation for someone - also it may act as a driving advert as the person goes to various shows. It is planned to make some centre boxes up on the same basis - but as a new business venture wants to get some confidence in the products. Any takers !!! Only apply if you are a high mile ferret driver !