corporalholmes Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Howdy Folks, I'm looking to buy a Spartan, would anyone know of any available, I got a quote from L jackson for theirs (they have 6, or they did when I spoke to them) and they quoted me GBP$25000 (I don't know how to make the pound sign) which I thought was well out of my budget, Khaki imports also have a couple and they quoted USD$50,000 which also is way out of my budget. I'm in Australia so would anyone also have any information about shipping armoured tracked vehicles into Australia, I've spoken to Customs and they said that as its not armed just treat it like a used car, I've rung department of transport about registering it and they said as long as it has sequential brakes it should be fine. Other than that I'm kind of flying blind Cheers for any help Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 There's a guy on the Alvis Fighting Vehicle Society forum who imported a Striker to Australia, so might be worth asking him. As for finding one, try milweb .. There's even one on eBay at the moment, but I'll sell you mine for $50000! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 I've signed up to the afv society forums just waiting for my approval and I'll ask around there, the Spartan on EBay says it won't ship and $50,000 as I said is a fair ways out of my price range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 For shipping you need to talk to Bob Grundy, who is on this forum. He ships a lot of CVRTs around the world. If you were to buy the Spartan on ebay he could collect it, do the paperwork and send it out in a container. http://www.milweb.net/dealers/trader/british_military_vehicles/ Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markheliops Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I would suggest £12 - £15,000 for an average Spartan CVRT with a petrol engine. I wouldn't pay more than £18,000 for a decent one. I'm not sure about the diesel models as they are a different beast. £25,000 seems a bit steep unless it's ex-reserve fitted with a diesel lump and immaculate. Anyone else have thoughts on the price? As for exporting one - you will need to have a standard export licence as the vehicle was designed for military purposes (unless the law has changed again) or the seller will need to get one. If you try to export one without the correct paperwork, the seller risks serious prosecution and loss of the item he was trying to export. It's not a hard thing to do as I had to get one when I sold the FV432 to a chap in New Zealand. If the seller wants to sell the vehicle enough - he will obtain the correct paperwork for you. Markheliops Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I only know of one genuine diesel converted Spartan in private hands, and it's not the one that was for sale recently. The number of diesel vehicles in private hands is probably less than 10, so not really worth worrying about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 The £25000 that Jacksons quoted me was for the petrol version, but apparently dry stored and 12000kms on the clock, I am also aware of a Diesel spartan in private hands that the owner assures me is an original conversion but it also it a bit out of my budget. I agree that the price point for petrol Spartans are around £12000-14000, but some of the ones on Milweb have already sold, as I'm been in touch with the sellers of the two that are on there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I like keeping money within a circle of friends as it were, that is a basic practice. I have never met Bob Grundy but he has dealt with two exports that I have been in various ways connected with. I would use him as your go to guy, I concur with Chris. The Jackson Spartans are Belgian ones so they differ slightly, we have one out here. 25,000 pounds for one is over the odds, I would take the Sabre advertised on this forum at that price. I'm interested that you choose a Spartan and not a Sabre, that is my choice as well, much prefer them. Feel free to email me if you like, there is a lot more on this subject we dont need to bore others with. Regards Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wales Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 (edited) Not a tracked vehicle but I imported a Ferret into Queensland. I can reccomend Bob Grundy as I purchased Ferret from him and all went smoothly from his end. I employed an agent in Brisbane which cost but worth while.I needed to get approval from Queensland police re any arnaments, no problem with them. Then approval from Customs Canberra who got excited re grenade launchers and insisted they were cut and welded. Once here I had a LO2 inspection and a roadworthy no problem. Registering inQueensland was a problem as they did not want to register it-but after argument they eventually agreed. Very important to have very clean vehicle as Quarantine can be an issue. Please ring me if you want to discuss. Mod Edit: Telephone number removed, Scammers trawl forums for contact details. PM Ken for contact details. Edited August 8, 2012 by Marmite!! Telephone number removed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 A friend of mine imported a 1977 Citroen from the UK a few years ago using Fremantle Customs brokers so I've sent them an email asking for a quote. Just out of curiosity what size shipping container does a Spartan fit into, I saw an ebay ad for a dude selling a Spartan in New Zealand a few years ago and he said in the ad that it would fit into a 20' sea container, but when I was speaking to Jacksons they said I'd need a 40' high cube as the height would be an issue and it wouldn't fit into a normal sea container. This maybe an really silly question but when I spoke to the Department of Licensing over here they mentioned that getting it licensed shouldn't be a problem as long as it has sequential brakes, what exactly are sequential brakes and does a Spartan have them, I have driven civilian tracked vehicles before, namely dozers and excavators and (Caterpillar D10 Dozer and Hitachi EX3600 excavator if any one in interested in that sort of thing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robin craig Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Th big thing that a lot of people miss during the purchase of armour to export abroad is the whole spares side of ownership. I cant tell you how expensive it is to support a piece of armour away from the UK where everything or nearly everything is available next day by courier from a dealer. When you buy your vehicle, buy as much in the way of power train and engine and running gear spares to cover the next 10 years usage. The cost of that sea container is so cheap compared to having a spare alternator or spare engine sent out to you later on. Don't consider an A vehicle without getting the track tools, attempting to split track for whatever reason without track clamps and track pin tools is not worth the risk to yourself. You have to develop a real "what if" mentality and support yourself. Also, when you do get the vehicle home, operate it in a sane manner and don't thrash it and you will have a grand investment and many years of enjoyment. Thrash it and you better be able to recover and repair it yourself or be prepared to pony up the cash to have it done for you. All your new found friends will melt away as soon as it comes to pulling engine decks and splitting track and skinning knuckles. That is my humble advice. R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 I've had plenty of experience of putting back on thrown tracks or where track pins have walked out, but usually on a far larger scale (the EX3600 mentioned in the previous post weighs 360 ton), just out of curiosity when doing track work on cvrt's do they require a hydraulic track press to push the pins in or is it done using hand tools, getting the track together is the easy part, we use comealongs (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-come-along.htm) to pull the tracks together. In regards to the spares side of things, I don't mind buy a Spartan and paying alittle less for it if it means I have to do give it a bit of TLC but it means I can afford some spares, then to spend all my money on a Spartan in pristine condition only to find something gives out and I've just relied on it being in good condition and haven't bought any spares. I plan on driving it like I own it not like I stole it, I'm in the army reserves over here and it wouldn't look good for me or my regiment if I thrash the hell out of it and tear around the bush in it I work on a minesite with a team of heavy duty diesel fitters who have worked on petrol car and truck engines so with the help of a carton (Beer seems to be such a universal currency, or is that just an Australian thing?) I get a few people to help me with engine repairs and what not, and if I suck up really really hard to my superintendant I could probably use the mine workshop with overhead cranes and a fully stocked toolstore to do repairs on my days off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodgit0_0 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some very goodpoints from other members especially about the spare parts, buy what you canafford when you can afford it. Start to make a stock pile if you intend keepingit long term. As for the track bashing its all about the right angle to just tap the pin in! You will find it easier with a track clamp during track bashing but it’s notunknown to just use 2 ratchet straps to pull it together to allow a join. With regards to the price of these vehicles I’m a bit shocked how much theyare, I'm lucky enough to be still playing with them for work and as alreadymentioned they suffer from 'drive it like you stole it' or as my lot refer toany that comes in for repairs, 'Hire car syndrome'. Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 I'd like to find out what parts people think I'd need to stockpile, and in what quantities, I plan on having it for a while, and I'm hearing you about the hire car syndrome, we have v8 turbo diesel landcruiser utes for work, almost all of them are new, and you would think that people would take care of them, hardly, they thrash the living F#$k out of them, bit sad really, luckily I have an Izuzu boilermakers truck that no one seems to touch which is just the way I like it. Are they still in service, if so when do they look like retiring them over there, or is the MoD upgrading them like our DoD is upgrading our M113's, if the MoD where going to start retiring them I would hope the influx of vehicles would drive the price down alittle bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Th big thing that a lot of people miss during the purchase of armour to export abroad is the whole spares side of ownership. I cant tell you how expensive it is to support a piece of armour away from the UK where everything or nearly everything is available next day by courier from a dealer. When you buy your vehicle, buy as much in the way of power train and engine and running gear spares to cover the next 10 years usage. The cost of that sea container is so cheap compared to having a spare alternator or spare engine sent out to you later on. Don't consider an A vehicle without getting the track tools, attempting to split track for whatever reason without track clamps and track pin tools is not worth the risk to yourself. You have to develop a real "what if" mentality and support yourself. Also, when you do get the vehicle home, operate it in a sane manner and don't thrash it and you will have a grand investment and many years of enjoyment. Thrash it and you better be able to recover and repair it yourself or be prepared to pony up the cash to have it done for you. All your new found friends will melt away as soon as it comes to pulling engine decks and splitting track and skinning knuckles. That is my humble advice. R Robin You would be pig sick if you could see the amount of CVRT spares floating around over here at the moment....and they just keep coming.! Cheers Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I do not know when the MoD is planning on retiring the rest of the fleet, but around 10 years ago they did a life extension program where around 1000 of them were fitted with diesel engines. Sabres were not converted and so were disposed of in 2004, along with a few hundred Spartans, Sultans etc which were not converted. The majority of these went for scrap as the market for these vehicles is limited and the MoD wanted the money. The same happened to the Strikers, where other than the handful of petrol vehicles which trickled out over the years, the entire diesel fleet was scrapped or used for hard targets. Just recently they have scrapped a load more, deciding it was easier to just have the money there and then than have the hassle of selling them complete. I was told that any future vehicles which might go for diposal will be bought back by BAE Systems so no idea if any will come onto the market in future. As for spares, you'll need the obvious, belts, filters, pads, wheels, sprockets, track, engines (at least a couple), gearbox or 2. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Some very goodpoints from other members especially about the spare parts, buy what you canafford when you can afford it. Start to make a stock pile if you intend keepingit long term. As for the track bashing its all about the right angle to just tap the pin in! You will find it easier with a track clamp during track bashing but it’s notunknown to just use 2 ratchet straps to pull it together to allow a join. With regards to the price of these vehicles I’m a bit shocked how much theyare, I'm lucky enough to be still playing with them for work and as alreadymentioned they suffer from 'drive it like you stole it' or as my lot refer toany that comes in for repairs, 'Hire car syndrome'. Lee Prices quoted by MarkH seem about right to me.. If Jacksons are asking £25k that is probably why they've had them for 6 years.. Remember also these prices are for PETROL variants, diesel CVRT's are still very rare in private hands (notwithsatnding the large numbers of Stormers coming out now)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 To re ask a question, what size sea container will a Spartan fit in, as I'm wondering how many spares I can pack into it, also being a personnel carrier, I can pack that with spares too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Innes Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 To re ask a question, what size sea container will a Spartan fit in, as I'm wondering how many spares I can pack into it, also being a personnel carrier, I can pack that with spares too Before packing the Spartan full of spares it would be wise to check the regulations on that to your destination. I am currently assisting a museum in Ireland with the shipping of 2 "New Look" GM busses & 3 more in pieces for spares. One problem that arose was the shipper demanding that there be nothing in the vehicles that did not come from the factory. I assume it is too easy to smuggle illicit material in a vehicle full of parts. This is involving vehicles going from Canada to the UK, it may be different for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 (edited) That's a fair point, something I'll look into, another question that I'm not has been covered in other posts, what's meant by J60 A2 spec, what's change from the stock J60 Edited August 8, 2012 by sirhc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 It means it's been cleaned, tested and repainted if required, in other words not reconditioned but refurbished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corporalholmes Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 Makes me laugh, we do the same thing with our haultrucks, its called a Dulux rebuild, we send it away, it comes back looking like a brand new truck but on closer inspection its still the same crappy truck but with a nice new coat of paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Innes Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 That's a fair point, something I'll look into, another question that I'm not has been covered in other posts, what's meant by J60 A2 spec, what's change from the stock J60 The earlier J60 engines had cylinder liners that sometimes came loose & caused terrible problems. The later ones have no liners as well as many modifications to increase strength & durability. This was discussed a while back & is worth revisiting. http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?29218-J60-Jaguar-4-2l-engine-variations&highlight=jaguar+J60+engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Having purchased a reasonable number of these a2 engines recently I just think you have to be aware of the implications. I have fitted one and sold a few of which 2 have now been fitted. On one of these the carbs diaphragms had perished and the coil was also u/s, possibly due to the engines having sat around for 7 or 8 years since being tested. Having said that the one I fitted worked straight away and now runs good as gold, as does the third one. So you pays your money and takes your pick as they say. All of the ones i have purchased have test certificates and some have concessions for not being at their full power output - a number of them have test sheets showing 170-180bhp. So they are a better bet than pure take-outs but not as good as fully remanufactured recons... Simple really.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bodgit0_0 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 With reference to retiring the current CVR(T) fleet I think it will be some time away. My current fleet known as CVR(T) 2 has been upgraded a fair bit to make them more useable in theatre, it includes engine, gearbox, seats and a few more items. And I know of another 2 modifications on the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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