philb

Just got back from GDSF so quite MV'd out after ten days of it. Thanks to you all for making it a great weekend. Pete and Kim have put some videos on U-Tube, mostly taken from the passengers seat in the Matador (sorry about the monotonous drone of the engine) : http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF4896C1BA098FBA5. Phil

Much has been written about this (agricultural tractor etc.) by antarmike and others. I don't think it's a route worth pursuing. I think you'll have to register it for what it truly is and wait a couple of years to take it out on the road - if you can get it insured that soon. Sorry to be so negative but if you managed to cheat the system and then were involved in an incident (even if it wasn't your fault) you might end up learning more than you wanted to about our legal system! Look on the bright side, you've got plenty of time to get it in good shape - there aren't many Matadors around like Mike's old one with only 10k on the clock from new.

I fear that the only practical way to avoid such accidents is time travel. Or would that just give rise to the frustration that you knew exactly when you were going to be involved in an accident? More tea.... scratch that, more beer!

Well, "pimp my Dodge":-)

For what it's worth Richard, you're dead right. the feeds and returns all go to +24V, the chassis being the reference, -ve. The technical author must have been on something stronger than tea that afternoon. Don't try to work it out from the Matador, it has 12V lights (normally) whereas the Pioneer seems to have 24v lights and 12V for the wiper and horn only. I think the headlamp and panel lamp returns need to go to the lower bus-bar in the fusebox (chassis). How are you getting on with the bottom end? Phil

air compressor?

Nice work, Simon. Much appreciated.

... and about £30k every time you fill up!!

Mike, PM sent.

Hi Rob, Has he got a steering box and drop-arm? I'm keen to make my Matador a bit easier on my ageing arms and shoulders! Phil PS sorry I missed you at the AEC rally, I guess it was you asking Jim Read about me?

It's worse than that. BT, for one, "accidentally" throttle some of their links - saves them money. Only if you question the link speed will they open it up and say something along the lines of "oops, sorry, the automatic speed control software got in a muddle". I don't suppose they feel inclined to fix it any time soon.

Tools and equipment on minehunters - low magnetic signature.

Yep, I'm setting off in the Matador early tomorrow - don't know when I'll arrive!

Ed, if you've got the time and the inclination it might be interesting/useful to try the following: Once the engine has warmed up, unscrew and remove the control rack stop from the front of the pump (the multi-holed cylinder just behind the bleed screw). The end of the rack will be exposed and with the engine idling you can mark it with a felt-tip pen to know where it should settle. Then when it's been left to rest for long enough to give the trouble, get someone else to start it while you watch the rack movement. If when the accelerator is pressed the rack does not poke out much more than it did when hot and idling, something is stuck. If the rack has moved out and there's no air in the system it must (almost certainly) be fully fuelling. If it is fully fuelling and the fuel is not being burnt thoroughly enough to give you power it would almost certainly generate lots of acrid grey smoke (lots of vaporised but un-burnt fuel). Another thing to try is, when in its slow idle state, pulling the rack out by hand. The engine speed should rise readily and you will feel the governor fighting you. Starting the engine with the rack stop removed should give a few good puffs of dense black smoke because it will over-fuel until the governor takes over. It wont hurt anything just to try it a few times. Going back to Mike's comments about fuel consumption, I believe that the Gardners of that period only had a compression ratio of 13:1 compared with 16:1 for the AEC engines. so. it's even more interesting that the Gardners achieved better fuel efficiency. They did have quite different combustion chamber designs, perhaps that's the rather obvious clue? I imagine this topic has been done to death by mechanical engineering students in the last sixty years, does anyone know of any web-accessible documents describing it?

As you say Mike, a cold engine (and drive chain) will sap power until the oil warms up and cold combustion chambers will cause poor combustion reducing the power further. However, if everything is in good order (and it probably is if the engine starts so easily) it should still have plenty of power to run up to maximum governed speed off load. Generator and compressor engines, for example, of the age we are talking about would run straight up to working speed but the loads would (should) not be applied until they had warmed up. If Ed's engine doesn't have the power to spin up cold, I wouldn't have thought it would be happy idling either. Ed, does the engine smoke heavily when it's in this lazy state? Regarding fuel consumption, you may well be right Mike that the min/max governor behaviour doesn't help matters but the overall consumption, under equivalent conditions, is probably down to engine design. From my book "The Modern Diesel", by Donald H Smith, 13th edition of 1959, the specific fuel consumption of the AEC 7.7 DI and the 9.6 is about 0.38 lbs/bhp/hour, whereas the Gardners are under 0.35 lbs/bhp/hour. The later 6LX of 1958 gets that below 0.34. I don't think modern engines do much better than that. Maybe it's a combination of efficiency and the different torque/speed characteristics that give rise to a markedly different actual fuel consumption?

Ed, is that special spanner so you can get at the back of the bolts that hold the driving flange onto the hub, without taking the wheel off? I know Mike has done this job before so he might tell us but I thought you only needed to take the bollard off to draw the half shaft out?

There's a funny thing, mine sometimes does that. I doubt if it is the governor sticking because the rack is probably going up against the maximum fuel stop to get it started so easily - it won't be sticking in that position or the engine would go wild. So, I'll guess it is governing around the right idle speed once it's running. I think the problem with mine is that air is getting into the gallery somehow. Like yours it will start instantly (from the fuel left in the pump elements) but won't rev up and it makes a lot of grey smoke for a minute or so before it runs properly. It's not just because it is cold - usually however cold it will start easily and run up straight away. If/when you find out what's wrong, do let us know.

Why not set up a proper ignition circuit with a ~5mm spark gap ( 10-15kV breakdown, depending on electrode shape). That might stress them enough to prove them without risk of internal breakdown and tracking. Before long someone's going to suggest you try the coils on an engine but that's far too easy. Like you, I want to know what's going on.

How about rigging up an 'ignition-like' circuit, with a switch and an ignition capacitor but limiting the primary current to a small fraction of an amp (as opposed to the 2A or so it would get in service) so you don't end up with tens of kV on the secondary. If you have an oscilloscope you could look at the primary waveform directly and look at the secondary through a potential divider to keep the signal within the range of the 'scope/probe? Or, if you have a high frequency generator, a few kHz I guess would be suitable, excite the secondary and measure the primary.

Must pay attention in class, must pay attention in class,.... OK so your 109, that is a cause for celebration!

Well, we've only got your word for that Clive and there are more of us so I think that the majority decision should stand, that's what democracy is all about. So there you are. you're 99. Tony, did you try searching by description? perhaps: card, folded, stiff, white, pro-forma, greetings, HMVF birthday for the use of. I noticed in a dark corner of the clubhouse the other day a stack of: envelope, white, pre-gummed, just too small for 'card greeting' Mk1, gathering dust for the use of. Maybe the card Mk1 Mod2 would fit? Or is that double folded?

Clive, how about measuring the primary inductance and the turns ratio to work out the secondary inductance. Is there some reason that it won't work well for an ignition coil?

An apology! you were lucky. I once had a letter from the local DVLA office threatening all sorts of pain because I had not taxed a car I owned. When I replied to them explaining that the car had been scrapped and its guts had been used to build another car - all registered at and approved by that same office, all I got was another letter saying that "on this occasion we have decided not to prosecute you".

According the text with p012602.jpg, they are wire guided 60kg charges, I think for mine clearance.

Alright, I know, there isn't enough detail in the picture I posted and you wouldn't want to make wild guesses, would you? I don't think I can post the detailed images that I've found because of copyright but here is a link to the "Desert Rat sketch Book" that Saber wrote. Fascinating commentary and sketches. http://www.ourstory.info/library/4-ww2/Saber/desertTC.html#intro Illustration 103 on this page http://www.ourstory.info/library/4-ww2/Saber/desertpix.html shows the superb detail of the Lady of Garian map. Enjoy.