Grasshopper

Nice collection!

And what vehicle did he do a 131 day round-the-world trip in? An Isuzu Trooper (smug Trooper owner :-D)

Given how built up Dorking is nowadays, it's difficult to imagine it as a live-fire area. When I was a lad(!) I remember doing a hike around there and coming across a firing range - is there still one in the area?

Pictures showing engine oil leak, and "precision seal removal" in process! The rear seal cover had obviously had a lot of silicon sealant (ineffectively) applied at some point; this was not done by any previous owner, as I helped install this transmission at W&P one year. It was bought as NOS overhauled and apart from the leaks, drives very nicely so I will presume its either an army or dealer bodge. I had the good fortune to have use of a hydraulic press available in the workshop space I had been allowed to use, so the new seals were for the most part pressed out and installed in a nice, controlled manner (which makes a change for me!).

Well done, looks good

Lifted this from Wikipedia regarding the Liverpool & Manchester Railway,on which George and Robert Stephenson were employed as Engineers: "the famous 4.75 miles (7.6 km) crossing of Chat Moss. It was found impossible to drain the bog at Chat Moss, and one of the men on the site, Robert Stannard suggested timber in a herring bone layout.[15] Stephenson began constructing a large number of wooden and heather hurdles, which were sunk into the bog using stones and earth until they could provide a solid foundation—it was reported that at one point tipping went on solidly for weeks until such a foundation had been created. To this day the track across Chat Moss floats on the hurdles that Stephenson's men laid and if one stands near the lineside one can feel the ground move as a train passes. It is worthy of note that the line now supports locomotives 25 times the weight of the Rocket, which hauled the first experimental train over the Moss in January 1830."

I was given the EMER which gives the precise measurement of radial arm droop as measured from the bottom of the Sponson. Very useful if you have cause to believe that torsion bars have become weak (as some of ours have).

If I recall, that trailer was complete at one time but was stripped for scrap value, which I thought was a very short sighted decision.

I sued to do a lot of shifting my dead Matadors around with Land Rovers. In retrospect I wish I'd have sold the Land Rovers and kept the Matadors!

I've carried out this task on our hull, the stuff that comes out is most unpleasant!

I was at Detling and did spot the Militant, but I didn't manage to get a good luck due to driving a vintage bus at the time. Nice to see it in the flesh though!

I guess as you build the vehicle up, it will sit down on its springs a bit more as weight is added.

If stored outside or in cold conditions, they will attract condensation and mildew on most of the interior surfaces if not aired regularly. If left uncovered, you will find water in the bottom of the hull. Some owners drill drain holes in the bottom of the hull to drain any accumulated water, as on occasions this casnnot be prevented (ie driving in the rain). Vince

You'd be hard pressed to find a Leyland 680 nowadays, or even parts for one.

Left one is an M151 or A1 and right one is an A2 (by the side lights).

They were MUTTs I was watching it while having tea (wife was out!). Possibly M151 A1s.

Thicker oil is less likely to leak out, and may be better for hot climates. Perhaps the gearbox had the wrong grade of oil?

Mike, worth looking on Youtube at some sheet metal fabricating videos. Father has acquired some kit that could be useful for this, as I know he had to do some odd shapes for a recent restoration. Could probably borrow it if required. However, if Sharky can do 2, even easier!

Correct.

Phil, The picture of the Scorpion on the truck is actually the truck a couple of us owned and converted for carrying our CVRT. It's a small world... Vince

Eurotunnel is built to a different space envelope than the national network. The tanks would have to be transported by road down to the train in Kent. I believe that the UK rail gauge (space envelope, not track gauge) was one of the limiting factors in WW2 British tank development, due to it limiting the size of the turret bearing. The lines of the former South Eastern section (Hastings line and thereabouts) required special narrow bodied stock to fit through the tunnels. They had been built very cheaply, with not enough layers of bricks. When they began to fail, additional layers of bricks were used to line the tunnels which made them narrower. Some tunnels had to be single lined in place of the original double track.

I spotted a scene running through Westminster underground station...

On a Bedford 28HP we had (back in my vintage bus days), the engine consistently leaked from the rear labyrinth seal. Not a proper engineering fix I know, but i put a ring of some proper gasket paper around the journal which cured it, enough to satisfy MOT testers anyway! The paper was the stuff that swells slightly when impregnated with oil. I think I had to drop the gearbox and flywheel off to do it though. Budgetary constraints and vehicle use precluded a more permanent solution. We had tried fitting a NOS oil scroll, but it leaked just as badly so we suspected ovality somewhere.

I still have nightmares about changing the fuel tank on that vehicle! Laying on a pallet to keep me above the water line of the muddy puddle that had formed under it, subsequent to removing the old one... Interestingly the fault with the old one was it would run out of fuel going up hills, with 1/2 a tank of petrol. We found the issue to be a hole in the tank pick up pipe, which we only uncovered after cutting open the old tank. Some prior, poorly implemented repair would seem to be the cause of the hole. We ran it off a jerry can for a while, and it got me all the way from Mikes to the middle of a large, muddy puddle at Beltring before running out...showed my MPG calculation for that trip was spot on!