fv1609

A further thought & I don't wish this to sound callous but even with family members I think the above criteria should still be applied. Sadly from time to time we all face tragedies but I would not feel it appropriate that this MV forum is used as an outlet for such grief that is best shared within the family & close friends. Some of whom may well be MV enthusiasts, but this can be done by PM or phone calls. In recent years I have lost both parents & other family members plus a much loved dog & dare I say it a goat. But these are private matters that are outside the terms of reference to a MV forum. If these things have to be shared in public that it is more for the realm of what they call 'social media'.

This has just arrived in the post. The first book I am aware of that has covered the RUC Reserve Force in detail (but please it has nothing to do with the USC which was an entirely different organisation) Lots of photos of people & vehicles in some 386 pages that are well indexed. Many key facts have source citations. It is advertised on-line by a large web based distributor, but they don't actually hold it in stock & after waiting for more than a week with no notification for delivery, I cancelled the order & a friend in NI sent a copy over. If anyone wants to order it elsewhere the ISBN is 978-0-953867-4-1 The picture on the front cover is very familiar, as is the vehicle itself

Dave I really don't know. But I would be very wary of assuming an equivalence based just on name. For some years I was mystified why some vehicle alternators were sometimes painted the wrong colour blue on the inside. It was a rather bright blue not BSC Sky Blue that most of the alternator was painted then I looked at RAL Sky Blue & realised that someone probably had not read the spec properly & used the colour based on RAL rather than BSC381C. (In case anyone says the Sky Blue indicates it was reconditioned in the case of Generators No.10 when reconditioned they were to be painted black) Anyway that's another story :-D

Golden Yellow BSC381C 356

This article includes the BAC answer to Prodigal amongst other stuff. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2342818/Jumping-military-jeeps-leap-enemies-planes-vertically-previously-unseen-British-inventions-were.html

Yes I agree, it was also because of Bridge Load Classification (STANAG 2010 & 2021) Introduced 1960-68. The bridge load classification was said to originally have represented by the rounded up weight of the vehicle in tons. "The new system relates to the characteristics of the vehicle which includes overall weight, number of axles, distance between axles, axle load (unladen & laden), tyre size, ground clearance etc and bears no direct relationship to the former system." It must be remembered that is a STANAG, which is a NATO Standard applicable to many countries. The UK had already taken some account of factors other than weight - 1st September 1959 SDM(L) 219/1, Computation of Bridge, Raft, and Vehicle Classification. This went through a series of changes & reissued at intervals until SDM(L) 219/3 was cancelled & replaced by Defence Standard 23-2. What changed in the U.K. was that the mechanism for calculating a figure was now standardised with other NATO countries. The classification of bridges was also changed to take account of the effects that particular vehicles would have on the bridge. However the application of the system is the same as before, in that only a vehicle load class less or equal to the bridge load class number may cross the bridge. The load class number is based on vehicles travelling at normal convoy speeds at a spacing of 100 feet. The classification also relates to ferries, and takes into account an assessment of the state of the approaches to the crossing to produce an overall classification. There was no point in exclusively UK based vehicles having a Bridge Class displayed, as the Joint Service Road Transport Regulations JSP 341 states that: The UK will not prepare classification signs for civilian bridges and ferries in UK territory in peacetime.

Those were the days

My Wolf wiper motor now wants to work continuously. I have the tested voltages at the connector & the conclusion is that the 'parking' switch is defective. Unfortunately it is sealed up in the metal box that has a soldered on lid. Tapping it suggests that it is filled with epoxy resin or similar. Has anyone managed to effect a cure by dissecting the box? I assume it is the larger box? Very annoying that there is a failure of the switch in an otherwise working item. These motors are very rare & expensive I know of one for sale for £500 although it doesn't really look like mine. Then I had an idea :idea: I simply cut the green feed to pin 4. Now when I turn the wiper switch stalk to 'off' then it stops! I have to judge the switch off point just as the wipers are going down. But to save £500 I think I can put up with that. Only other draw back is that pressing the screen wash button turns on the wiper & won't stop until I switch the stalk to an 'on' position & then to 'off'. There seems more of a delay with this but I can learn. But has anyone successfully repaired the switch inside the sealed box though?

Wayne I think the value does depend on where you live. If you are fairly distant from most people it will obviously command less than being nearer a larger population. You just need someone not too far away who can easily view it & remove to fit in with their particular project they have in mind. I'm not sure how many on here could find a great use for it yet the two trailers in the background could easily find a use with most of us. I would have thought something in the region of £300-£500 would be realistic.

Rich good to see you back on here again.

Well if we have to have this, could it just be confined to people close to the MV hobby or who have made a contribution to the defence of this country? I could see it getting clogged up with, no doubt worthy people, but who are in the public eye that have no relevance to our hobby be they broadcasters, politicians, actors, sports 'personalities' & vague 'celebrities', they will receive enough coverage in the normal range of media.

That's a great shame. Presumably somebody at some time wanted to make it unidentifiable & they have succeeded. Worth just checking the contents of this tube. That should hold the engine history on a roll of paper. If the paper is still there it will have the engine number. A very long shot is to look down on the top of the chassis through the engine bay adjacent to the area where the plate should be on the side. Very occasionally you can just make out the chassis number that has been stamped on there. If that fails then it must have had an import license & the document would contain the registration or chassis number. Can you trace it back in all probability to a police department & see if they have a record of it. I believe you have something similar to a Freedom of Information Act & they would be legally bound to tell you. If you had a vague date of import & ideally the UK seller then that may show up on the records I have here.

I think I saw it in an excerpt. They mounted a hose pipe thing in the turret, which looked rather pathetic. They made a big fuss about accuracy of the shop fronts, hair styles & fashions of the time. Then they used a Saracen with a hose pipe! In the real footage it was a Foden water cannon, quite a different thing altogether. That's films for you. Sorry not your fault! Sorry to hear about the sparking plug problem that is a pain.

My experience was very much like Tim's. Just bought a handful of grommets. Grommets are common enough I know, but it is very difficult to find ones for going through thick material. The seller showed me they were "RAF ones". In fact they were a date code & the manufacturer's reference that bore no resemblance to a RAF Vocabulary Section, but there's no point in arguing when you are about to ask for a discount :-D With 2,000 stalls to do in 6 hours the secret is to know which stalls to walk past & which to focus on. The search is always for the unexpected. In previous years I have found RUC items, interesting WO & MoA publications, Lucas & similar technical folders, latches for an early Pig, IRR paint reflectance meter, various curious electrical items. The only near purchase was a high quality adapter kit to convert my set of Rivnut tools from metric to imperial sizes. But how often would I really use it? I approached several ignition specialists & inquired about the inductances of their ignition coils. I just got a blank stare, except one who told me the secondary was "7,000". I got an even blanker stare when I said that I suspected he was talking "ohms" & I was talking "henries". I liked the notice on the spark enhancer stall that read "If you have a diesel engine, go away & annoy somebody else"

I think you have just given me the Rolls Royce part number (RE) & the FVRDE (Fighting Vehicle Research & Development Establishment) FV number which is their design specification. I think you'll find you were looking in the green rectangle, what I need is in the red one where it says Engine No. Shame about the chassis plate.

and people complained when I was selling them for £25

Apart from this being a more flattering picture :-D It shows how the engine number is much easier to read once the engine side armour plate is removed.

I need the chassis number, which you can see is used to construct the registration mark. The plate layout may vary a little. The engine plate is here: As for all the stuff on the turret it is not original to the UK.

Oh I see what you mean. This is your colour. The colour I was referring to was this.

Alex I would just wait & see what others have to say before you rush out & get some mixed. I'm just concerned that you said "lighter brown".

Alex I think I have used "Service brown BSC381C 499" on ammo boxes. A close civilian match was "Conker" but can't remember the make.

I'm afraid I'm unable to read anything on those plates, but the chassis plate will give its serial number & military registration mark. The two numbers have a close numerical relationship to each other. The chassis plate is 3" x 6" mounted vertically on the chassis on the passenger side. You can see it looking through with the front wing on your left and the front tyre on your right. It has a number of non-original embellishments, such as the turret, spotlights, things on the front wings & things above the rear ATU mounts. You have may well have been told that this is a Mk 2, but that opinion would be based on the fact that it has a barricade ram. It is a Mk 1 & I used to have a Mk 1 with barricade ram. It has not been up-armoured in Operation Bracelet to bring it to so called Mk 2 status. (I say so called Mk 2 because the chassis plates of Mk 1s that have been stamped up will often say Mk 2. That is very confusing because the forerunner to this vehicle was the FV1609 was the real Mk 1 & the production Pig FV1611 & FV1612 were actually the Mk 2. But in the up-armouring process the Army forgot that & they should have really called the up-armoured Pig the Mk 3. If your chassis plate does not have the Mk recorded then ignore all this detail. I am just trying to explain the reason why you might see Mk 2 on the plate when I am saying in normal parlance this is a Mk 1 ie it has not been up-armoured) The barricade ram suggests a N.Ireland history as indeed the cut off side lockers although they can easily rust away! I imagine this is a FV1612 which was a Fitted For Wireless truck that has been upgraded to Fitted For Radio as it has the 4th antenna mount on the driver's side rear corner. All Pigs had 3 antenna mounts, the 4th one is an indication of the change from FFW to FFR role. If it has served in NI it may well have rear seats to convert it to FV1611 role ie carrying personnel. If the chassis plate is missing can you read the engine serial number & I can match the engine to a vehicle, provided of course it hasn't had a transplant.

Good man! Here it is again in official BSC Lemon with chassis, diff guard & belly plate in gloss black not green

Interesting that during two days of Tankfest I wasn't aware of any tapping on the Pig at all. Different sort of attendee all together! It wasn't dusty everywhere, the cleanest bit of the Pig was underneath. Being on a slope with the front wheels on blocks of wood allowed easy access underneath. Not that anybody bothered to look at my winter's work

It was a delight to just wake up at home by natural means rather than being woken by moronic tapping/thumping on the side of the Pig. With the MV section being a bit further from the main thoroughfare it did reduce the number of cider-heads passing by. But as we were en route for the tractor pulling behind us it guaranteed a regular flow of people obsessed with tapping & banging the Pig at all hours. It seemed to be worse this year. My curiosity at times would get the better of me & I would enquire of a tapper as to whether it was as they had expected. The usually answer was along the lines that they were checking the hardness & to see if it was real with the occasional "What's your problem mate?" My main problem was trying to get some sleep & resentment that my vehicle was not there to be kicked & thumped! Despite that there were at times some good contacts made with intelligent & appreciative people.