datadawg

Just read this entire thread. Impressive work and commitment. Hope to see final product tearing up the fields!

Bump... Anyone???

I thought I read all the posts on Fox's but just discovered this one! I am going to drive mine very carefully, pretending it's a cement truck and my beloved dog is jogging behind, tied to the bumper.

I know of one that was for sale in Florida, USA about 3 months ago. I can put you in touch with them. I think it was cheap, probably under 5 thousand USD.

Is it installed in a turret? And does it fit the GPMG mount?

I finally got a photo of the fuel tap. Can anyone can tell me which position is main and reserve? "Off" is embossed on the floor panel on left side of the screen, but I do not know which side of the pointer is the operative one; the long side (pointing toward top of the screen) has a hole in it, the shorter side does not.

Unfortunately, few military themed museums can survive these days... several are closing or already have closed in USA.

Mark, Impressive collection! Is the Russian armor (BRDM and BTR) operational? How difficult was it to import it?

Terry, I presume what's sold in UK is actually US based product. There are a couple vendors: A&K Matrix M240B: $499 on sale at http://www.evike.com/products/50809/ This seems to have a 25% coupon code during cyber week, but I have not tried to see if it works. Golden Eagle M240B: $530 on sale at http://www.airsoftmegastore.com/11157-golden-eagle-m240-airsoft-aeg-support-medium-machine-lmg-gun-g3-6668.aspx (this also has 25% off, coupon code is "25santa" and it works) Lancer Tactical M240B: $520 at http://www.airsoftgi.com/product_info.php?products_id=20616; their 25% black friday coupon does NOT work for this. I am thinking about buying one of these, my one big question is whether they fit into the GPMG mount. I am also not sure which model is best and most faithful reproduction, but the 25% coupons are very tempting and apparently expire soon. I'm sort of talking myself into pulling the trigger. Would be interested in people's opinion on any of them (sorry if I'm slightly detouring your inquiry).

Neil, I agree with your conceptual analysis, however the big difference is the risk/probability of needing coverage. On a regular vehicle, you drive 12,000 miles a year (for sake of example) and the insurance company knows that, on average, you will have an accident once per (pick a number) 120,000 miles. Bottom line, the risk of triggering an insured claim -- an accident -- is very low. Our vehicles, however, break down A LOT! Someone once quipped that the average drive between breakdowns on a Saracen is 20 miles (I might concur). So the chance of breaking down is vastly greater in a 30-60 year old military vehicle than the chance of having an accident in your daily driver. I just don't see how you can stay in business covering recovery for military vehicles, unless you charge an astronomical yearly rate. That's my 2 cents.

Why would the Kigas system cause connecting rods to damage the block? I thought Kigas system was used to help start the engine when it is cold.

Very cool armada, James. Did ATF make you cut up the breech and barrel to import them? As far as the nitrogen charging system, are you selling the whole kit made up or just certain components? How expensive is the entire setup?

Sounds like it's entirely possible to have zero nitrogen in the accumulators after a year. What happens if you drive with no nitrogen -- is it bad for the vehicle? Is it unsafe? When I drove it last time, it did feel like the brakes were not effective, but it might be my imagination. I am slowly getting the bits for a nitrogen fill station. I purchased the zero loss chuck (below), which lets you thread it onto the schrader valve to avoid pressure loss. Once chuck is threaded onto accumulator, you turn the T-handle, which depresses the pin inside the schrader valve and lets you take a reading with a connected gauge. I am going to try to replicate the following setup:

I have experienced (or maybe imagined, hence the post) some brake problems on my Saracen, and I am looking for some advice. It feels like the brakes are not working well and when I press the pedal, the stopping power is not very effective. Other times, I think it's just my imagination. I surmise the problem may be due to my Nitrogen accumulators, but the vehicle was fully serviced a year ago by Baz Blacklock, when the nitrogen was checked/filled. However, when I drive, I hear clicking noises from the driveline, even when going straight; Baz tells me it's a sign that the accumulators are low. I finally put together a nitrogen test gauge using a zero loss chuck that threads onto the schrader valve, and to my great consternation, when I affixed the gauge to the accumulator, the gauge reading did not register anything. I did the same with another accumulator and got same results. I am perplexed. Here is the video of my feeble efforts. Questions: 1. How often do accumulators need to be recharged? I have the later piston version (not bag version) 2. Is clicking sound while driving a symptom of low nitrogen in accumulators? 3. Is it possible to have zero PSI in the accumulators? I did test my gauge on a car tire and it registered 50 PSI, so I think the gauge is fine. The only other 2 possibilities is (a) there is zero PSI in accumulators or (b) the pin on my no loss chuck was not reaching the schrader valve tip (see video) 4. If my 2 accumulators that I tested are indeed at 0 PSI, does this mean I have a leak or is it normal to lose all Nitrogen in a year's time?

I agree with Pavl 1000% -- if you break down, the recovery guys are sharks and they charge storage fees. If you have to hunt for cash and can't remove it immediately, you might never be able to catch the train. Best case, it will break down and will sit until you have the funds to fix it, worst case, you will forfeit it to storage/recovery fees. If you are still desperate to get something, look at various Withams auctions. I hate that company -- they are awful to deal with -- but they sometimes have beaters for sale and if you want a project, this may be a viable option.

I purchased their kit for my Saracen (B80 engine). You have to tell them whether it's positive or negative earth. Mine was 24V, negative earth. This is the email I got from Frank Jolley: "Hello. Thank you for your enquiry. Yes, the self-fit kit is in stock. The system is highly reliable, being magnetic rather than optical. You replace the points and condenser with our module, which is mounted on a plate. Our magnet sleeve fits over the points cam. You re-use the existing rotor and cap. Everything fits inside the distributor, so there are no unsightly boxes in the engine bay or wires across the bay. Everything is pre-set except the timing, which you set in the usual way, then forget it - never has to be done again. The existing points and condenser can be kept as a backup and re-fitted if required. We only use the highest-quality modules. The price is £205.00 plus vat. Carriage is £6.50 plus vat. Vat is 20 % on the total. Orders can be placed by email, phone (01886 880101) or post, and payment can be made by debit card, credit card or cheque in £sterling on a UK bank, or securely online by paypal (please go to www.paypal.co.uk or www.paypal.com) to my account name frank@classicheads.com . Please give a contact telephone number if paying by paypal. Thank you, and best regards, Frank Jolley." I think you can pay them via paypal and they will ship it to you. Ask them about the VAT waiver, since it's going to USA.

The Littlefield auction -- and I suspect all similar, media-hyped auctions -- had a lot of bidders who are well off, bored with normal toys (sports cars, boats, motorcycles), and are not the typical military vehicle collector aspiring to buy their next piece. These guys can buy another Ferrari, but why bother. For the man that has everything in life, a tank is the last frontier. World War II provenance and bragging rights just make the deal all the better. At the next party, the buyer will casually mention that they own a Sherman (or whatever) that liberated Paris. Who's to know better? One exception (sort of) to the above was Paul Allen's attempted purchase of Panzer IV at Littlefield auction. Allen is an armor collector, and he's a man that has everything (co-founded Microsoft). As many know, he bid $2.5MM, wired the money, but didn't get the tank. He wound up filing a lawsuit, in typical American fashion. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-paul-allen-panzer-20140912-story.html Bottom line, auction prices seem to eclipse rational boundaries.

If this is your listing, only the smock is there, helmet, mask and boots are absent.

Andrew, I'm curious what Withams is selling the J60's for. Are they auctioning them off or doing negotiated sales?

Here's a recovery video from UK, titled, "7 days, 50 men, 2 cranes, one army truck" to recover a lorry. I wonder if the insurance would have paid the bill:nut:

I know I am in USA and you guys are talking about UK based services, but the economics of "recovery" -- the dollars and cents -- are not going to be much different. I cannot imagine how anyone would ever offer "insurance" that actually would cover a tracked vehicle recovery at 100 GBP per year -- and stay in business. The cost of a recovery by a bona fide commercial outfit is surely $500++ in the best case scenario. By best case, I mean the vehicle runs and can be driven onto the trailer, it is not off road, there is good access, no need for traffic control cost from police units, etc. If the vehicle is disabled and cannot move -- you'll need to winch it onto a flat bed. If you are offroad, the rig won't be able to get in or might get stuck, and you might be too wide for the trailer... bottom line, there is a huge amount of complexity to deal with, and that means added costs. Most recovery trucks cost a hundred thousand dollars and possibly much more if they have specialized winches and booms. Sometimes, more than one truck is needed to actually do the job. The truck can do maybe 3 recoveries a day. The labor alone will run the truck owner who operates a recovery firm probably $300 a day, so by the time you factor in fully loaded costs (truck, fuel, insurance, overhead, labor, etc.), the owner has to get $400 for a simple tow just to break even. Couple this with the fact that the truck is probably idle most of the time and earns nothing, you can see why these outfits charge up to a thousand dollars to tow a large truck (and those have wheels!). I spent $700 a few months ago moving a Saracen - it was a 100 mile move, but it was a bargain, as most transport companies quoted $2,000. My point is that you best be absolutely sure you will have the coverage you think you are paying for. The insurance company has a contract with the tow service/recovery firm and they surely don't pay enough to cover tracked vehicle/armor. I suspect when you actually need the recovery, and the company shows up to do it, they will never provide the service. No insurance company collecting 100 GBP annual fee will be collecting enough to cover a bona fide recovery/towing bill.

There is another thread on this topic: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?54661-Hot-Rodded-Ferret!!&p=473986#post473986 It has the link to the original Ferret video and background build.

Even more interesting than the marketing video is their "behind the scenes" video: I think they retained the gearbox/transfer case and driveline. I wonder how they will fare with the new engine and how durable it will all be. I did not see which LS version engine they used, but even if they used the LSA engine that's in my Cadillac CTSV, it is a 556 HP, 6.2L supercharged monster. And they possibly could have used something more potent, with 600++ HP. Will the engine last? Will the driveline? Another interesting thing is that at roughly 2:33 into the video, it looks like their driver (professional offroad racer) is using the GCP as a clutch:nut:. I bet Toyo easily spent $150K on this video (design/build, video crew, flights, etc). I have not seen this ad in the USA, but their youtube post is less than a month old.

Try Bob Grundy, he found a coax mount for my Fox a few months ago. He is on this forum and is reasonable and honest.

Both these links look dead -- they actually go to some spam-looking website that creates other ad morphing pages...