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Mystery Object No.75


fv1609

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Well, not much response so far, Clive. I will start it off with a wild guess, is it a generator trailer, without the generator. It looks something like some that panniers eith side for the fuel tanks. :|Richard

 

Nope but they are fuel tanks.

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OK, they are fuel tanks and it is Land Rover based............................I think that Shorlands had there fuel tanks at the rear, as I seem to recollect filler caps in that area, could be wrong though :| So, I am guessing it to be a Shorland cut down to a open back truck, as it seems to have a rather crude or basic tailgate.

 

Richard

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OK, they are fuel tanks and it is Land Rover based............................I think that Shorlands had there fuel tanks at the rear, as I seem to recollect filler caps in that area, could be wrong though :| So, I am guessing it to be a Shorland cut down to a open back truck, as it seems to have a rather crude or basic tailgate. Richard

 

 

Yes well deduced Richard :yay: :yay:

 

width=640 height=472http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/fv1620/Shorlac02.jpg[/img]

 

width=640 height=411http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/fv1620/Shorlac01.jpg[/img]

 

 

This is a very strange & probably unique vehicle for which I have never been able to get an explanation. On the lower photo you can just see that the sides are marked SHORLAC, which is assumed to be Shorts Light Aircraft Company. The side of my SB301 prototype had same large blue letters saying SHORTS. In fact the style of the cab is very close to this prototype. This had a double role, first as a demonstrator prototype & then modified for use as a factory runabout.

 

width=640 height=448http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/fv1620/HOItop.jpg[/img]

 

So I don't know whether this SHORLAC was originally an armoured truck like that or whether it was a Shorland cut down at the end of its life. I don't know whether it was intended for airfield security or the airfield role merely was as an end of life runabout.

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Thanks Clive :tup:

 

Where was the photo taken? Richard

 

The third one was in my garden. But the SHORLAC is somewhere in N.Ireland. Note that it is just the armoured body, the chassis is long gone. The pictures were given to me by Billy Irons (from NI), maybe 10 years ago. It is not his but the body was awaiting a chassis to be fitted to but whether that ever happened I don't know.

 

It may have gone the way of the first Shorland prototype 4471 AZ, although it was just a body, that was at RUC HQ Lislea Drive for many years then a new broom took charge & it was scrapped.

 

What ever happened to the chassis 4471 AZ? Well look in The British Army in Ulster Volume 1, page 1. There is a march being stopped by the RUC, there is a LWB Police Land Rover there bearing the same registration. The photo would be 1968/9. The prototype Shorland would have been in development about 5 years earlier, so I suppose waste not, want not.

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It would be nice to know what happened to to body,..............certainly make for an unusual show vehicle............... ;-).

 

Well yes & no. It would be nice to see it restored for its own sake, but it might not go down too well at a MV show.

 

With some regrets I sold the prototype at the beginning of the year having done a major rebuild over a 12 year period. The problems at MV shows are that:

 

1. It is not green

2. It looks homemade & is not worth reading the information board to find out.

3. It is not a military vehicle. Well it never served with the British Army, but is was the first prototype for a Land Rover based APC. Although Janes say the first prototype was built in 1972 this was built in 1968. It was the mother of all those Land Rover APCs we have seen so much in the news in various trouble spots around the world for the last 35 years.

 

The realisation that I bought a 'non-acceptable' vehicle was after the first restoration. You know how chuffed you feel when you have restored something & drive it to its first show? Well we came to the judging I hung around the vehicle as the judge went by. He stopped at each vehicle reading the information board, eyeing the vehicles up & down & speaking to the owner. My turn came, my vehicle & I were passed by, as if it was something he had just trodden in.

 

I thought judging at horse shows was bad enough, but if he had just asked what was the story behind my vehicle, then he could put me at the bottom of the list. Sorry to go on but it still annoys me to this day >:(

 

I have had slight mumblings that my prototype pig, which is restored in its RUC role, as it is not a proper 'military vehicle'. In fact one magazine made that comment, if it is such a traversty why print a picture of it? When it was grey to represent the 1962-3 period when they were painted grey, it was a very obviously out of place at a MV show. I caved into prejudice & painted it to the type of green it was in 1969. OK so its still not a MV? Well it had two carears in the British Army with the RUC using it in between. When the Army took it over again in 1970 it would have looked much as I have represented it. Although the photos in storage show that most had smashed glass, covered in paint, bashed in sides & petrol bomb scars. I am not going to deface it bring it up (down?) to that standard.

 

So sadly I don't think the SHORLAC would be made very welcome at our sort of shows :cry:

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You have a perfect right to be mad about being treated so badly , If you have done your homework in restoring a vehicle and have the evidence and documents to back it up then One must make a fuss if you are getting passed by in a judging event . Obviously the "Judges " in such a case aren't doing the right thing .....if they still say otherwise then let the other fellow "Pound Sand" as We say here !

Sorry you passed it on , I do hope the new owner will perserve it and not try and convert it ......but whats done is done .

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Well yes & no. It would be nice to see it restored for its own sake, but it might not go down too well at a MV show.

 

With some regrets I sold the prototype at the beginning of the year having done a major rebuild over a 12 year period. The problems at MV shows are that:

 

1. It is not green

2. It looks homemade & is not worth reading the information board to find out.

3. It is not a military vehicle. Well it never served with the British Army, but is was the first prototype for a Land Rover based APC. Although Janes say the first prototype was built in 1972 this was built in 1968. It was the mother of all those Land Rover APCs we have seen so much in the news in various trouble spots around the world for the last 35 years.

 

The realisation that I bought a 'non-acceptable' vehicle was after the first restoration. You know how chuffed you feel when you have restored something & drive it to its first show? Well we came to the judging I hung around the vehicle as the judge went by. He stopped at each vehicle reading the information board, eyeing the vehicles up & down & speaking to the owner. My turn came, my vehicle & I were passed by, as if it was something he had just trodden in.

 

I thought judging at horse shows was bad enough, but if he had just asked what was the story behind my vehicle, then he could put me at the bottom of the list. Sorry to go on but it still annoys me to this day >:(

 

I have had slight mumblings that my prototype pig, which is restored in its RUC role, as it is not a proper 'military vehicle'. In fact one magazine made that comment, if it is such a traversty why print a picture of it? When it was grey to represent the 1962-3 period when they were painted grey, it was a very obviously out of place at a MV show. I caved into prejudice & painted it to the type of green it was in 1969. OK so its still not a MV? Well it had two carears in the British Army with the RUC using it in between. When the Army took it over again in 1970 it would have looked much as I have represented it. Although the photos in storage show that most had smashed glass, covered in paint, bashed in sides & petrol bomb scars. I am not going to deface it bring it up (down?) to that standard.

 

So sadly I don't think the SHORLAC would be made very welcome at our sort of shows :cry:

 

 

 

 

Ah, well, Clive;..............I'd just be content to know I'd got something UNIQUE........... :-D and would reason that the lack of interest was down to IGNORANCE, ;-), unfortunatly, as you've already experienced, something that seems to prevail amoungst those who agree to judge such matters. (Not an easy task, I'll agree, BUT,.........I'm sure most owners would only be too happy to provide 'potted history, etc' cards to make their jobs easier. 8-))

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I thought judging at horse shows was bad enough, but if he had just asked what was the story behind my vehicle, then he could put me at the bottom of the list. Sorry to go on but it still annoys me to this day >:(

 

Now you know why I play with Mv's Mind you some females can be very persuasive when you are judging. :naughty:

 

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