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Special Saracen?


judgedredd

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How cool is that!, what do you need to know, Mr Dredd? ...although, when you do get it running, -you'll need someone 'up top', with all that extra stuff on the front, visibility will be awful!,:sweat: ....give me a shout, if you like, -I've had mine on the road for a couple of years now.... whereabouts are you?

83 BA 78 in Arena Overlord 2009.jpg

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visibility is not that bad actually , im just trying to find someone that knows about saracens in general (it ticks over just wont fire )it used to run about 18 months ago now just wont start . im in watford hertfordshire i think it would be good to take to shows as it is a bit different and also trying to find out about its military history but with not much luck (im fairly new to allthis )but if you think you could help it would be much appreciated

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Have you personally had, or heard it running?

Do you mean it turns over?, as opposed to ticks over but won't fire.

 

Well the engine isn't really that much different to any other petrol engine, ie.

with fuel, and sparks at the right time, it should run ok.

 

Even my Saracen is sometimes a little reluctant to start, if it's not been run for a few weeks.

 

What seems to happen is the fuel drains back to the filter, as the fuel lines are rather large, as I'm sure you are aware, so the engine will tend to crank/turn over a fair bit before it will fire, and pick up. First of all, check the engine oil level! I'd check that the batteries are FULLY charged, as it's a big old lump to spin over.

Then disconnect a spark plug (not teaching one to suck eggs here!), get someone to hold plug lead against the cylinder head somewhere WITH INSULATED PLIERS PLEASE!!!!, and check for a spark, while you spin it over on the starter button, if you have no spark, it could be dirty points in the distributor,-a very fiddly job to open up and clean/reset the points,(tie your 5/16ths/11mm spanner to your wrist with wire or string, I guarantee you'll drop it!).

 

Once you've got a spark, check you are getting fuel up to the carb, to do this you'll need to undo the fuel banjo bolt, on the front edge of the carb body, I think an 18mm spanner fits, (again, tie the spanner to wrist), -loosen the bolt, and turn the engine on the starter afew turns, if all is well, you'll get a few squirts of fuel out of the banjo fitting, and on tightening it up, you should be in business.

 

If not, -all is not lost, this next procedure is a little awkward if you aren't built like an elf!

 

You need to open the small plate, in the bulkhead to the left of the throttle pedal, it is sort of triangular shaped, a large flat screwdriver should do it, once opened, you'll have access to the fuel pump, and it's priming lever, -a small flatt lever coming out the side of the fuel pump, which itself is a sort of squat, circular thing, about 3 1/2" across, and 2" deep, with 2 steel pipes leading in and out of it.

 

Operate this lever about 10 full strokes, until resistance is felt, which should indicate that the fuel has reached the carb float chamber.

Try starting the engine again, if no joy, try thumbing the starter again, -at the same time, operating the priming lever, yes it is difficult, but can be done,-I'm 6'1", and can just do it!

 

If you aren't getting any sign of fuel, best check the fuel filter bowl, situated under the batteries, you undo the little 't' shaped wing-nut,-don't loose the little washer! and lower the bowl, swill it out with fresh petrol, rinse the filter off, again with fresh petrol, pop the filter back in and fill the filter bowl up to about 1" from the top, replace the filter bowl, do the 't' shaped nut up tight, but not over tight, work the priming lever again, and try the starter again, by now you'll be ready for a cup or two of coffee!

 

This should get you started, if everything else in the engine is as it should be.

 

Once your engine has started, try starting it and running it for about 10-5mins every week, and you'll find it should start whenever you want it to, keep the fuel tank as full as possible to cut down on condensation forming, and the most you should need if you don't run it for a while is a few burst of easy-start sprayed into the air intake grills, at the top of the bulkhead, in the driving compartment, either side of the steering wheel.

There are loads of other extremely important fluid levels you'll need to check and top up, BEFORE you attempt to drive it anywhere, EVEN only a short, few yards or so,-if not done, very expensive and fiddly to repair damage is very likely to be done,- let me know if you need more info on these, please,

 

Good Luck,

 

Best regards

 

Matt

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  • 2 years later...

That is great! I am in the process of a complete upgrade of my Saracen to a diesel with an auto transmission. Bought a dumptruck and used the guts to upgrade my Saracen into something more reliable, with far more power.

 

I actually have a few pictures of the Judge Dredd Saracen (one of them) that was on display in the past. Love the front look of them.

 

Yours seems to be missing the front bumper though.

 

I had the same problem you are having with mine before I started the upgrade. Turned out to be a faulty condenser, which was a $2 part, but took 1k to diagnose (hence the upgrade).

 

I would love to have a few detailed pics of your front cowling and measurements so I could reproduce it. Is it hinged? removable? is the front vision block in place under the cowling, or was it removed?

 

Best of luck! thedials@gci.net

 

Rodney

 

 

IMG-20120127-00237.jpg

SaracenJudgeDredd02.jpg

SaracenJudgeDredd01.jpg

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Hi Alaskan, Any chance you coule spare me a copy of your photos of the Judge Dredd Saracen? I want to attempt a scratchbuild scale model. I've just bought a 1/76 scale tiny Airfix kit for reference. It's a great pity that judgedredd has been out of touch for so long, being a newbie to the forum I don't seem to be able to send him a pm.

 

Sincerely

 

Tom

 

Scotland UK

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being a newbie to the forum I don't seem to be able to send him a pm.

 

Sincerely

 

Tom

 

Scotland UK

You should be able to send him a PM & he will get it via email if his email address is still the same one he registered with, Being a new member does not restrict you from sending PM's

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  • 3 weeks later...

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