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datadawg

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Everything posted by datadawg

  1. That is very funny. In the words of a wise man, "If you buy a Saracen and your wife doesn't divorce you, you found true love." I took the plunge, bought one from Bob Grundy, had it overhauled by Baz in Retford and it's now here in USA (I'm testing out the wife theory). I have very little time and even less mechanical skill, so I'm petrified that it will break down if I take it out. On the other hand, driving it is great fun and people wave at you nonstop. Cars routinely pull over and start to take pictures. I drove it in the July 4th local parade recently and it was awesome. Here's a link, it makes its appearance at 6:05 mark and my 5 ton truck follows behind.
  2. Obitwo, I have the same issue -- I'm a new Fox owner and after getting mine shipped to US from UK, have not been able to start it. In UK, it went through a full overhaul (engine out, etc.), so I am hoping my problem is simple. Can you put up a photo of where you banged on the carb? I really want to get mine started, but unfortunately, besides my 14 year old (who honestly prefers staring at his phone than helping dad), I have no assistance... My other quandary is the fuel tap on my vehicle is a two sided handle, one that is shorter and one that's longer (with a hole). The quandary is that I have no idea which side is the operative one. When a particular side points to main or reserve, I'm not sure if I actually selected the tank in question or if it is on the opposite side of the handle. The manual doesn't show the handle, so I've been trying different positions, and just running down the batteries. My fuel pump does tick quickly and then slows, so I don't think it's the culprit.
  3. I think a HEMTT would be really nice for pulling tanks. They can be bought for around $14K US, many are in post overhaul condition, courtesy of Uncle Sam. I think they have a winch as well. They can probably pull whatever you throw at them. Articulated steering between the 2 sections makes for nice turns. Here is a link to a recent sale: http://www.govplanet.com/for-sale/Trucks-HEMTT-Oshkosh-MK48-HEMTT-8x8-Tractor-Truck-Maryland/640957?h=5000%2Csm%7C1%2Ck%7Coshkosh%2Cpstart%7C60%2Cmf%7C1&rr=0.0137&hitprm=&pnLink=yes
  4. That is pretty cool, I had no idea US tanks were inside Jordan on training exercises.
  5. Dan, not sure if you have resolved your problem, but if not, try posting on steel soldiers forum. It's the US equivalent of this site, and there are a lot of HUMVEES in circulation here now, so I'd expect a lot more people are familiar with them on that site.
  6. Does this museum have a Saurer 4K on display? What is the best day to visit or are there not too many tourists so it won't matter?
  7. Not surprised you got no responses, as MV owners mostly are frugal bunch and, given many vehicles' large size and weight, storage at market rates would be too costly, relative to the underlying asset value. One of our companies owns a storage facility in Northeast USA and though we do not do vehicles, I can tell you storage is a difficult business. High turnover in tenants and abandonment of storage units a few months into the contract are common problems. Depending on laws in place in your jurisdiction, the property owner can't just toss contents, but must notify tenant and then engage in burdensome process to take possession of their storage space and auction or dispose of contents. Probably a different story with vehicles, but if you run this as a business enterprise, you need a lot of insurance. A fire in one vehicle is likely to destroy every vehicle and by the time you add up the costs and overhead, not sure this makes sense. A typical car needs 250 SF of storage, ignoring lanes of travel, and the economics of rent/SF don't really pay out. In USA, you might get $100/mo for storing a car in a city like Philadelphia. This will yield $1,200/year, or less than $5 PSF for the 250 SF the car takes up. Given that travel lanes don't generate revenue, your net yield PSF will be even less. Most people with warehouse space rent out the WH to a tenant and are just collecting rent. If you rent that WH to classic car or MV owners, you are now running a business of chasing 50 different tenants for rent each month, coordinating complaints, dealing with oil leaks cleanup, etc. The juice is not worth the squeeze, IMHO. Obviously, it's a different story with classic car collections of highline vehicles. Someone like Jerry Seinfield or Jay Leno with 30+ cars each costing $100K++, does need a dedicated, climate controlled facility with all the backup services. I reckon it'll be tough to find many car moguls in Scotland. Not trying to rain on your parade and this is just my personal opinion, but you asked and I'm sharing.
  8. Maybe I dreamed this up, but I thought hardened stuff was only on B81 and regular engines (B80 and B60) lacked this. I have been reading up on the unleaded conundrum and decided not to use lead additives, adopting the logic that I won't drive the Saracen enough to make a difference. However, I am conflicted what fuel to put in (regular or premium, which in USA is 87 to 93 octane respectively). I decided to use premium, not sure if this is good, but my logic was that more expensive gas (petrol) should be better. The other issue is that here, almost all fuel contains 10% ethanol, and who knows what this adds to the equation. I have read on the landscapers' forums that all their small equipment (trimmers, lawnmowers, etc) has fuel problems due to ethanol additive and I'm wondering whether military engines might suffer as well. Not sure if you Brits have same ethanol additive as we do...
  9. Watched the video, absolutely astounded at the engineering elegance. Wow! I have an m923a2 (US made 5 ton cargo truck, Gulf War vintage) with a spare tire behind the cab, but I would probably prefer sitting in a dentist chair for an hour rather than attempt to hoist that thing down. British ingenuity, for sure.
  10. I am also looking for a GPMG for my Saracen and Crossfire seems to be the preferred choice. But, I'm wondering what you guys think about an M240b airsoft. As Teletech points out, M240 is based on GPMG, so I think they are compatible with mounts. The model I saw here in USA is: http://www.evike.com/products/50809/ The upside is that it shoot airsoft pellets and looks a lot more realistic. Downside is that it has a butt stock, not the sustained fire version that would be suitable for vehicle.
  11. Any ideas how much restoration would cost in terms of man hours and parts? I assume someone would need a restoration budget the size of a small army, and wondering how much the finished/restored version is fetching? Seems like a great project, hopefully it will not go to a scrapper.
  12. I think it was called an army maintenance depot, with mechanics and grunts by the dozen, all available at no charge to fix whatever calamity arose. No charge that is, except the truck full of cash expended by the treasury and borne by the common man. In private ownership, alas, this arrangement doesn't work!
  13. Was this engineered to fail in order to protect other internals in the driveline or wheel hub, which presumably are more expensive and difficult to make?
  14. Thanks for the tip. I did find a tiny stone, about 1/2 the size of a cherry pit, inside the tire. The reason I had a flat was the tube had split or rotted right near the rim. I replaced the inner tube with a brand new 11.00 20 inner tube, but I have a couple questions to the experts: 1. The Fox wheel lacked an inner tube flap, it only had an inner tube and a piece of hardened foam that fit over the valve stem to block out road debris from getting into the tire through the hole in the rim around the valve stem. Do I need an inner tube flap? Here is a youtube video of showing the flap being inserted, it clearly is designed to protect the inner tube. Given that Fox has a hole in its rim around the valve stem, I'm wondering whether road debris will be kept out with just the hardened foam piece fitted. The foam piece was a square roughly 4 inches per side. 2. I did not inflate the inner tube slightly before fitting the rims. Watching the video above, I see they put some air in before fitting the rim, and I'm wondering if my failure to do this is problem -- will the tube get pinched or will this somehow restrict full inflation? I tried to be careful and not pinch the inner tube when inserting the rim sections into the tire, but I can't say I'd bet my life on it. I've assembled the wheel by now, so should I break down everything and redo it? 3. What is the correct PSI? The tire says 100 PSI, but I recall seeing a lower tire pressure in one of the manuals -- I just can't find now where I saw the info. 4. The nuts securing the rim together had a lot of crud on the threads and were very difficult to turn. I cleaned them a little bit, but decided to put a few drops of oil on the threads to make it easier to turn. Now, I'm concerned I was an idiot -- if the oil will make it easier for the nuts to get loose. I torqued them to at least 150 ft lbs (the limit of what my torque wrench shows), but is putting oil on wheel nuts a mistake?
  15. Pavl, why not just rent a trailer, I am reasonably sure you can rent a 10,000 lbs trailer for around $80 a day, and this trailer can be pulled by a full size pickup truck. I can't imagine an aluminum hull sans turret weighs more than 5 tons, and if you have to move the turret too, just make another trip! You have the trailer for the day :-)
  16. Terry, that is really weird. My key is way bigger than a 1/2" extension, as can be seen in photo below (1/2" extension is on the left, Saracen key is on the right). When I measure inside key, it's about 5/8" (second photo). Sort of proves the point, that many of the parts might be different even across the same vehicle type!!
  17. I know this is an ancient thread, but key issue is whether Saracen turret had a GPMG mount or a Browning mount. The triple door turrets were earlier versions and probably had Brownings. My Saracen is an MK6 model, with a double door turret, and it has a GPMG mount. I am pretty sure Ferrets had Brownings, though I could be wrong.
  18. It might be easier for people to answer this question if you provide additional detail on what you're after or particular area of interest. The only way to really know is sit side by side with parts books... I was looking at the Saracen parts book and was amazed how different things are depending on MK in question. I'm not even sure if parts are truly interchangeable from one Saracen to the next, especially considering a lot of modifications were made across the decades. Simple example, my Saracen didn't have a door key, I finally got one from England, and to my infinite consternation the key wouldn't work. The key -- essentially a square tube attached to a handle -- was made for a regular Saracen. Mine is uparmored, so the well into which the key must fit is much deeper, since the armor plate adds thickness to the door. Alas, the key I got wasn't reaching the square peg inside the well, and without reaching the peg, you can't turn the mechanism. Bottom line, even if the turret, say, from a Ferret is supposed to be the same as the turret from a Saracen, I would not bet my life that a particular turret will interchange with every model.
  19. Robin, thanks for the heads up. I would love to go to Aquino, but not sure if I can make it given work and family obligations. Will investigate further. My one big concern is, if I go there, I might buy another vehicle:nut:. Your idea of posting on parts counters is interesting, haven't thought of that, but it's a brilliant plan!
  20. Chris, Thanks for the advice. I had managed to remove the wheel a week ago, though I was hampered by several problems: (a) wife factor, as in "WTF are you going to work on that damn thing, when you haven't fixed the bathroom mirror in a year??" (b) it was parked on grass and I only have a 3 ton floor jack and two 3 ton jack stands and © I was mighty scared to do something stupid due to inexperience, like have Fox collapse on my foot. The 3 ton jack barely did the job, though I need to amass some lumber to make the job easier next time. My wife is traveling on business all week, so yesterday, I felt emboldened to take the next step and break down the tire. It's much easier to do the job when I'm not competing with her honey-do list, lol. I don't have a lot of tools, but surprisingly, the red lug nuts came apart even with my electric (cheapo) impact gun and the rim came out with minimal persuasion. To my relief, the culprit was the inner tube, so I am going to buy a replacement. To your point, I feel very emboldened and a little proud of myself I managed to get this resolved -- at least I see the light at the end of the tunnel. On the starting issue, I do hear rapid clicking of the fuel pump, but the engine never catches. I had tried choke before, but I was terrified of fouling the plugs and only tried it in 1st position. Which position should I try it in, if the temperature outside is, say 15 Celsius? I called the guy who overhauled it in UK and he was trying to give me instructions, but it's hard to hold the phone and listed while trying to start the Fox, and I managed to run down the batteries in any event. He also was telling me to pump the gas pedal, but I think the book had said not to do that, so I was very conflicted of whether to follow his starting instructions. By the time I charged my low batteries, I discovered the flat tire issue, so starting it seemed moot. Maybe it's something silly like no fuel... he told me he had the fuel selector on Reserve, because fuel was low, but when I look at the fuel selector, I can't tell which side is pointing to reserve and which is pointing to main -- the selector has a longer side with a hole in it and the other side is shorter. However, I don't know which of them is the operative pointer and which is the grip for your fingers to move the selector. The book has no pictures... Once I get the tire fixed, I will try to start it again.
  21. Robin, you are right, trans Atlantic armor movement is not for the faint hearted! I know you have your own Fox albatross sitting in a container, waiting for its mechanical issues to be sorted, but unfortunately, there are too few Fox owners on this side of the pond. There are probably less than 10 Foxes in North America, that's a thin herd. It's not like I can spring for steak and burgers and have 3 Fox owners drop in on Saturday to work on our machines. So the knowledge base is hard to access. I did buy the parts manual, user handbook, servicing schedule and 3 books on repairs, but even dealing with a flat tire has been a challenge, since I'm mechanically inexperienced. I couldn't even get an estimate from a body shop for fixing the fenders, they couldn't even price it, never seen a Fox, much less worked on one!!
  22. My Fox finally arrived a couple weeks ago after a complete overhaul in UK. The experience of getting extracted from the container was more painful than a root canal. They only used 2 straps to secure it, and it shifted during transit, with the left side pressed solid into the container. It was impossible to winch out straight without damaging the side, but we managed to coax it out after an hour of grunt work. Even worse, I had been told that after the container got loaded in England and the truck (lorry) left, one of the straps snapped. The driver came back and the strap was replaced, but when the Fox emerged from the container on this side of the Atlantic, the damage was evident -- both fenders were smashed in. But my bad luck doesn't end here. A few days after delivery, I finally got the courage to try to start it (I needed the time to familiarize myself with the manuals). It cranked and cranked and never even coughed to life. So I now have to figure out why it's comatose. The final nail in my coffin? After a week of sitting, there was a loud pppffff noise, and when I ran out, I saw the rear tire was completely flat. Tried to pump it up, but air is escaping around the valve stem, from somewhere inside the rim. This hobby is supposed to be fun, but I feel like I just got my nuts stuck in a meat grinder.
  23. I'm trying to find equivalence to OM13, but this link appears dead.
  24. I was told OM13 is equivalent to ISO 15, so seeing ISO 10 in this post is troublesome, because both sources for the information know what they are talking about. I need to get hydraulic fluid and now don't know which spec to order. :cry:
  25. This may be a stupid question, but how would I tell if my Fox J60 has Lumenition system? Is this system the same functionality as electronic ignition?
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