datadawg

If anyone has made money with their MV, please post your experience. I once rented my 5 ton (M923a2) to a guy that runs a Halloween hay ride (it might be a USA thing). Last year he decided to add "zombie hunting" and made a "military" staging area where the truck was the main visual. It was stationary for 6 weeks, he paid me $2,500. I thought I was making out like a bandit, until I visited the place during a main weekend and he had a line of 2,500 people, each paying $30 to go on hayride and shoot zombies with paint balls! So I am going to put the truck and soon to arrive British armor (Fox and Saracen) into "business use" and offer them up for rent for marketing events. Anyone that has done similar (or different) money making activities, please post your story!

Oooh, ooh, I know. These are all German propaganda photos. The Third Reich installed software into one of the Enigma machines and had these photoshopped to confuse the enemy.:nut:

BAIV in Netherlands do a lot of work on Halftracks. They might be interested in a scout car original armor part. Ivo is the guy you want to talk to there. If you look them up, you can get his email. It's just a hunch, not a definite referral. Good luck.

Great idea! Is this the thread you were talking about? In any case, keep the photos coming, I just bought a Fox and want to see what else is out there! http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?15456-Fox-CVR(W)-Gallery

Dobro Pozhalovat', welcome aboard! That is very nice work, is that what you do as a hobby or as profession? I have never seen that much detail in my life, are these all hand made?

Good points!

For some dogs, the temptation to lift a leg will be too much;). They probably don't want anything to do with cleanup.

30 kph? Isn't the Saracen supposed to go around 70 kph (45 mph)??

Terry, I read this thread with great interest, since I just bought a Saracen and was trying to figure out the radio situation. I have to admit, I didn't really follow all the nuances but I can see this is not as simple as bolting something down and plugging it in. How did your radio install turn out? Does it all work? What would you do differently? For someone that is considering a radio install, what is the best (cheapest, most reliable) option? Thank you!

Matt, you don't think that could be risky? I think lying to customs can be a huge problem if they catch you. Who knows, they might decide to make an example out of you and bring some kind of charges. I've encountered a customs search while coming home once from vacation and was stuck in their line, so started texting my wife. The customs agent started yelling at me and I didn't like it, so I challenged him. He went ballistic, said he was going to seize my phone, etc. I had absolutely nothing to hide, so told him I'm exercising my constitutional right to free speech by texting my wife. Long story short, after an hour of having my luggage autopsied, they told me if they wanted to deal with the paperwork they can do a body cavity search. I kid you not. I got home, wrote my congressman, and basically learned they have unlimited power to screw with your life. Ever since, if I am even bringing an orange on the plane back to US (which is illegal actually), I declare it, so they know I'm not hiding it and throw it out in front of them. At least in USA, it seems like you have to prove now you are innocent and importing anything related to armor is bound to make them suspect you are some anarchist, terrorist, or just someone worth investigating.

You can try Steel Soldiers. It's an American-based forum and these are as plentiful on it as fleas on a dog's butt. I have to warn you that the forum members are snarly bunch and when you ask questions, you frequently get a reply to "read the TM" -- which frustrated the heck out of me... But still there are so many on that forum, you are bound to get help. There are tons of vendors in US that supply parts as well.

So a little update on my Saracen quest... After I lost out on buying the Saracen in Telford, I found a Fox FV721 that piqued my interest. I had Bob Grundy go check it out and decided to buy it. Turns out Bob also had a Saracen he wanted to sell, so I am getting it. They are heading to Baz at Trackfix to get overhauled, before shipping to USA. I go through periods of excitement and panic, as I realize that I'm completely clueless on what to do if/when they break down after I get them here. Plus, Mrs. Datadawg isn't exactly a fan of "green monsters". If this gets me kicked to the curb, I take some solace that I will be able to live in the back of the Saracen!:nut:

Jack, I don't know if this is feasible, but in USA, we have regulations for non profits and once an enterprise obtains the nonprofit designation, it can solicit donations that are tax deductible for the donor. It makes a huge difference in the ability to draw in funds, because people look at it as a charitable donation that they write off vs. a payment for a hobby. I had this discussion with an outfit that saves dogs, and the lady running the place was always desperate to raise money for vet bills, but could not get enough funding. She would beg and plead for $20 donations. Another place that had nonprofit designation (called 501 c3 in US, after the chapter in the Tax Code) told me they would do two or three fundraisers a year and people would donate $50 to $200. Something to think about...

What is a Kremlin kit?? I would have guessed a chilled cupholder for vodka, but I know this can't be right!

Well, I wired the payment in the last 24 hours, so this is sobering info. I was under the misguided impression that an overhaul could be done in 150 man hours, which would have kept the budget in the rational realm. And dare I say, I did not lay eyes on this puppy? Yup, I bought it based on a dozen pictures. Some day, I will be telling my grandkids stories and hopefully they won't start with "many years ago, your grandpa learned he was an idiot". Let me ask this: assuming my situation (no time, desire or skill to do mechanical work myself) and the fact that I am paying someone hourly, what would you guys have me do on the Saracen? I planned to have the shop remove turret, engine/gearbox combo, strip the paint to bare metal and repaint exterior/interior; service all fluids, brakes, tuneup.... But I really want to make sure this thing doesn't break down when I get it here and runs and drives whenever I want to take the kids for a ride. Or am I being completely delusional??

Human nature being what it is, most people don't want to pay for services that are screen based. It would be far more productive for the mods (vs. engaging in small amount periodic billing) to source a few dozen advertisers that are topic specific. For instance, all the MV insurers would advertise on a MV site, since their ad cost is targeted at the source. It's just a question to give them data on # of users, visits per month, duration of visit, etc., so they see there is 10,000 page views per day (for example), and they can then derive projected revenue from advertising to this population base. Since it's 99% of the people that use their product, the forum would get a great rate (usually ad rates are based on $/1,000 eyeballs at target). That would be my strategy if I ran the forum...

I am not too bothered by ads per se, but the much more nefarious issue is the nature of the purveyor that sends the ads. If the ads are sourced through a firm that pushes adware, they place all sorts of malicious code and tracking devices on members' computers. This code is then tracking other online activity, parsing out your conduct, demographics, socioeconomic profile, etc. You essentially become "the product" that is then marketed to advertisers, who pay the adware vendor to find them people that fit a certain profile for targeted ads. I'm not a computer expert, but from talking to friends that understand this stuff, it's pretty invasive. That's why if you do a google search on exterior paint, you are automatically flagged as a homeowner who wants to remodel and with a few dozen other searches, they can peg your education, income, car owned, marital status, etc. I'm not sure if the moderators are aware of this.

Welcome! I recently joined this site as well and it's amazing how much knowledge and expertise is on this site. Everyone is very helpful with advice, which is refreshing. There is another, US based, MV site (steel soldiers) and a lot of the advice to newbies is basically, "read the TM". This site has some US members, but lots of folks from all over the world make the knowledge base incredibly diverse. If you own any MV, you might want to add that to your signature line.

Thank you Terry, PM sent.

I take it there is no PSI gauge to warn of pressure loss? So how does one check them and top up the contents (nitrogen??).

I am not surprised, the original post was around 9 years ago!

Sponsors!! Wow, that is the mark of a true master. I am impressed:-)

To jump on this thread and hopefully I'm not hijacking it b/c of its age, but I am buying a Saracen in UK and having it overhauled by Baz from Trackfix. Are the accumulators something that should be serviced? I am an absolute virgin with Saracen and don't want to get it to US to find problems. On the other hand, I'm paying per hour, so don't want to do unnecessary work. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I am amazed you got an SF97 title. AFAIK, every state accepts SF97 as a legitimate title, so you can now get a regular title from Nevada and with some creative form filling, get this registered... perhaps as a farm implement(?) If I were you, I would do that and contact the casinos on the strip. I am sure they would pay dearly to use this to transport some nutty VIP. The limos and such are all stale, but arriving in a tank... now that is only for those who rule the world. Might have to buy a lot of donuts for local LEO though, but imagine the PR this would have...

Out of curiosity, what does a restored Polsten cost? Are they mostly available in Europe or US?