Stefano

Thanks for that, there are some flat twin harleys at 4:19

Forget the jeep at £145 - what about a Morris CDSW Bofors tractor at £90 and the Humber PU at £70!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just thought to confirm that nothing that I can see in the photo comes from a CS8 engine

Wow.....

The car is a Packard Clipper

If an Amal has a habit of spitting back as it comes off the pilot jet try fitting a throttle valve with a lower cutaway, that way you get a richer mixture where you need it, but it does also mean that you will probably have to juggle with needle positions afterwards. A quicker dodge is to screw the pilot needle in further than the optimum setting and raise the idle to suit, but the downside to this is a greater tendency to soot up the plug if you let the bike idle for too long..

I think that the bedford that you're referring to on milweb is a QLD - the QLB was quite a different animal. Regards, Stefano

A CMP would seem more appropriate to tow a British or Canadian Bofors than a GMC. If the vehicle on Milweb has been restored properly and if the inside of the body is still complete it seems a fair price for what is a after all quite a rare lorry. Of course you could always look for a Bedford QLB - if you can find one, or a Morris CD/SW, which is in the unobtanium category

Oh, the injustice of it all.............

Oh dear, I can see a Quad......... I'll just go and lie down for a bit now.

Because a British deac isn't acceptable in Italy, I've always looked upon the rows of guns at war & peace with a sort of detached awe - anyone remember stens at £70 a pop and boxed Brens at £125 complete with magazines? - it wasn't that long ago. Whilst it's true that alot of things have ballooned in price over the last few years, quite a bit of it has to do with one (or two) constants: 1) Rarity / desirability (whether real or perceived) 2) Overseas interest ramping up the values This is why so much British postwar stuff (both military and civilian) is worth very little - nobody outside of the UK wants a Wolseley 6/90 (for example), so notwithstanding the fact that they're probably rarer than a Ferrari 250 swb they are worth next to nothing. So getting back to my premise. 1)There were a hell of alot of Brens at w&p, tons of the things in actual fact, so no one out there is going to convince me that they are rare. 2) No one outside of the uk can actually buy the things. I may be mistaken, but for the three days I was at the show (mostly spent in the trade stands) I didn't see anybody dragging about a freshly bought BMG which means that the stuff was probably all carted back home at the end of the show which is an indication that it was probably (and I'm being kind), vastly overpriced. I can understand things being expensive when they are really rare (how many PIAT's did you see at w&p? yes, me neither), but this is not the case with alot of deacs. Markets tend to self regulate themselves and values usually settle when they become unsustainable (remember the prices of Jag Mk 2's back in the eighties? Factor in inflation and they are now probably worth about 30% of what they were back then - V12 E types are another one that springs to mind ). Personally, I only buy things that I really like and will gladly pay what I consider to be slightly over the odds for them without regrets. However, when I think that I'm having the mickey taken out of me I walk away, similarily with no regrets.

As a rule I'd say white (albeit a very grainy eggshell off white). although I have seen some silver paint on the backs of the support panels of a dismantled interior that I worked on for a (frustrating) period of time - could it possibly be the same vehicle that you're looking to buy? In any case, the person you really want to be talking to is Bruce Parker on the MLU forum - what he doesn't know about Foxes probably isn't worth knowing.

Never had any experience of the GUY/Karrier/Humber, but quite a bit of the Fox so here are some thoughts. GM parts vs. Roots -I would imagine that spares are easier to generally come by for the Fox - although I believe the transfer case is unique to the model so could be tricky. The GMC engine is bullet proof as everyone knows. Cool factor - A 37mm wins every time Driving factor - Never driven a Humber so I couldn't say, but the fox has a wonderful engine (surprise surprise), quite a nice gearbox - albeit rather uncomfortable to operate, decent brakes, and the most vicious steering return I have ever encountered - easily enough to break an arm if things get tangled up. It is also a complete pig to get into and out of, although comfortable enough once ensconced, and take care of the regulator, because with the battery right next to you it's no joke if it explodes (it happened to someone I know and he was beyond lucky to get out of that one intact) Rarity factor - A no brainer as only 200 foxes were built, although I have my doubts that this is reflected in values. Cost or value factor? Very relative as always. A Humber gives you more scope as regards camouflage and markings, whereas the Fox should either be two tone brown mickey mouse (Canadian or Polish in Italy) or Green (provost in Holland). Try driving one of each if possible, but if I had a choice I'd go for the Humber. Just one of those things. Actually no I wouldn't, if I had the choice I'd have a Daimler

Having no experience of K5 engines these are general considerations only. I don't really know to why a switch from a non detergent to a detergent oil would have created such great problems, as long as the vital statistics of the oil stayed the same. After all, here we are talking about what were basically brand new vehicles with minimal mileage on them, therefore sludge build up shouldn't have been an issue. If there was any debris floating around a K5 engine in 1944 the chances are that it was left there by Austins. By the same token, I can't see what influence an oil scraper ring would make. If the pistons didn't have them I would have thought that adequate crankcase breathing would have been built in to the design and the risk of oil contamination from exhaust gas blow-by would remain the same whatever oil was specified, although admittedly in this case a detergent oil would tend to create more wear in the long run due to it's propensity to carry crud around with it unless adequately filtered. And here is the crux. On my old bikes I prefer to run "straight" oil because filtration is usually a joke and because ball and roller bearings live far happier lives without any rubbish floating around. On the other hand, I always fit full flow filters to Norton Commandos and run them on multigrade with absolutely no ill effects whatsoever. A bypass type oil filtration system will always tend to leave some unfiltered oil around, which may be the reason your Harley grenaded itself, although from (probably bad) memory a Sportster should run Straight 50, whereas GTX is 15/40, and this takes us back to oil grades which is where I came in....

........and of course the gentle art of saying no...... It was great to see you

Jack, I hear you and I know what you mean, but seeing as in the past two weeks I've seen two of my friends finish up in intensive care due to cars pulling out in front of them and one in the morgue from bring T-boned, please allow me a little slack here. We've all heard that speed kills, and every time that there is a hideous accident someone always rolls out the usual platitudes that ever lower speed limits are a good thing and that we need to roll ourselves up in hi-viz tape and flashing lights until we squeak when we breath and electrocute ourselves when it rains, but I would rather sit pillion with Valentino Rossi for a dash across europe than go to the shops with any number of blue rinse oap's who might as well be on Mars for all the awareness they have of their surroundings. Somewhere along the line somebody forgot to mention that a driving licence is not a God given right, but something that you have to deserve. When I took my HGV it was a long drawn out and nerve racking experience - but as cheap as chips to take. When I got my C+E a couple of years ago it was a walk in the park - and cost a fortune. Draw your own conclusions there. The roads are an increasingly dangerous place to be, this is true, and the fault lies in bad driving (not fast driving mind you - bad driving - two very different things indeed). Stopping distances, awareness and vehicle control are alien concepts to vast numbers of people that simply need their licences ripped to pieces before their eyes... Sorry for the outburst, but like I said, it hasn't been a great few days

Looks like a Scott Gun carrier, and judging from the uniform possibly one of the 100 or so supplied to the Russians. (A water cooled two stroke for the Russian front - what were they thinking of?)

You've probably got a postwar oil filter on there. Instead of the feed pipe slipping over the filter exit (as on Ron's bike) the postwar bikes had a filter that ended in a threaded union (BSP) with a nut and spigot on the pipe - it made it easier to clean the filter. On the return line however all should be exactly the same as pictured

Thanks for bringing back the memories -that really was a great (albeit chaotic) day. Let's hope that next year will see a proper Commonwealth presence at Bayeux and not the ridiculous affair of four years ago....

Thanks to the fact that the WD type gearlevers were used by Triumphs up until early 1948 they are now being reproduced, try Ace Classics (you'll have to get it dechromed but such is life)

Ron, I always thought that the 3HW decals were white, not gold. I used a decal set for the 3T when I did mine (mileage between oil changes is different though)

I've seen something similar on an early 25 pdr (perhaps recaptured from the Italians?)

Ron, The bike looks magnificent - and you've done it at a pace that I can only dream about. Well done!! Stef

Jack, Do it all the time......