fv1609

Yes you have volts feeding the distributor. Put a bulb on this feed with the other end to earth & with the points open it will light up. Presumably when you use your screwdriver the light will go out. But what happens when you close the points by rotating the distributor or cranking? The light should go out, if it doesn't then the points aren't closing or there is some break in the connection at the earth or the pivot post that supports the points is not free to move fully. If it is stiff it may not allow the points to relax & close fully.

Winston you will have seen my remarks above & no doubt compared your pictures with those on the Shorland Site. The liberal use of white paint being used to side step the lack of the Dunlop 'Trakmark' lining. That aside, it looks in very good condition. I do hope you are successful & being LHD for you & no doubt its age will allow it to be imported. The GNR Shorlands were originally fitted with two radio systems. VHF - Storno CQM 632 HF - Racal Syncal TRA-921 this was a manpack radio but boosted with a 100 watt linear amplifier for AM/SSB with a manually operated aerial tuning unit Racal MA-942 There was also an intercom amplifier integrated with the radios using Larkspur accessories with a RSB2 control harness box & a type C junction box. Your Shorland appears to have Clansman units to perform this task, whether that was a genuine upgrade I don't know. Given that the Trakmark lining was stripped away or had deteriorated so badly it is unlikely that these were the original units. But anyway that is only a minor issue. The GNR used the 7.62 GPMG & fired either CS or smoke from the dischargers. If you do get it I beg of you to keep it as original as you can. To be marked up in GNR livery would be quite a head turner. I know an owner can do just what they like with their own vehicle & why should they listen to anyone else poking their nose in? But I have seen so many Shorlands ruined by the owner turning it into a fantasy vehicle. It's sad enough to see a Land Rover or Jeep turned into something strange, but there are enough of those around for it not to be the end of the world. But there are very few Shorlands to play around with. The thing is any owner may not keep a vehicle for the rest of their life. The novelty may wear off or something more fascinating may come along that needs to be funded. Selling a vehicle that is pretty much original will command a far higher price than one that has been turned into something of the owner's fancy. The owner may well feel proud of their embellishments but a buyer may just cringe & walk away or it only realises part of the value it would have as an authentic vehicle. Sorry I have gone on a bit there & don't mean to insult your motives. Good luck

Sparking at the points is not actually desirable, it is the Back EMF of about 300v from the primary circuit as it opens. The job of the condenser is to minimise the spark to encourage an abrupt switch off & collapse of the magnetic field to promote a high back EMF in both primary & secondary windings that add together (if the coil is designed for that polarity). But I grant you it is some sign of life. What voltage do you get with the points closed & the ignition on? If there is still voltage it means the points aren't making electrical contact, when you come with the screwdriver you are doing the job of the points. So it suggests there might be something in the distributor mechanism not allowing the points to make proper contact when there are meant to be closed.

An aberration of the Queens Royal West Surrey?

You need to look for the AESPs with the octad 1015-K-100 which covers L118 and L119 There is also coverage in EMER ARMAMENTS H 140-149 Associated instruments are covered in EMER INSTRUMENTS B 420-429 and B 440-449

I've known Pat Eagan from Tulsa for several decades. He would come to the UK to stock up & always was quite discriminating in what he would buy as he has a good reputation to protect.

It should be on the confirmation email you got Chris when you booked the tickets. I think they said it starts with TNX but mine just started with #

I've bent an arm to get a better cut off. On another carb I rebuilt using a full repair kit I eventually found a tiny dry solder joint in the float that allowed fuel to seep in.

Yes you can try to claim a refund, but you have to give your reason for requesting it. I've claimed mine : )

Rings, yes, in one catalogue I have there are scribbled calculations for payments to be made to another dealer.

Well once you get all the crap off it, underneath it seems to still have the screened 24v system & an original engine not a V8 or TDI which is something in its favour.

Brian 31 BK 42 was a Mk 1 Pig FV1612 sold at Ruddington in 1971. Yes they were still selling off Pigs to only start buying them back again a year later! So I wondered if your chassis number was perhaps 31420 as it should just have 5 digits. But the lowest chassis number starting with 3 was 32311 & besides 14 BK 20 was also a Mk 1 Pig struck off in Cyprus in 1967. Have you got an engine number? If that was original I could trace it back that way.

Barry presumably it is now 7310-99-139-4087

Brian tell me the chassis number of your FV1601 & I can tell you when & where it was delivered to the Army, the engine number, the receipt voucher number & the contract. Do you want just the info or a scan of the ledger? I can also tell you when & where it was sold with the lot number & sale number & possibly the selling price. Also the date it was struck off census, which is not the same as the sale date.

If it was in use by the RAF Rgt it might well have been in disruptive camo although not quite as it appears in the picture. On an airfield with public access then it would be marked as below from JSP 341. I had an Aircraft Armament Support Vehicle & that was plain green as it would not be in role at a civil airport.

Allan yes I just used DOT4. I assume the second question is not linked to the first, as there is no clutch fluid. The clutch withdrawal mechanism is merely a chain from the end of the pedal. So I would remove the split inspection panels over the foot pedals & inspect the chain to ensure it hasn't broken or rusted up. Some Mk2 Pigs were modified with a slightly more robust mechanism than just a chain, but even these still stretched or broke. PS I assume the wheels are free to turn & the brake shoes are not stuck on? Bear in mind the hand brake is not on the transmission but a mechanical linkage to each wheel cylinder.

In this upgrade the brass instruction plate was removed & replaced by a self-adhesive label. There were three issues of the upgrade. I don't know the actual date of the first issue but it was listed as current in Feb 1981, subsequent issues were Aug 1982 & Sep 1985. Unmodified cookers were modified to the burner grid from Jul 1989

NSN 7310-990125-1745 indicates it is an early model. Following the fitting of a new burner assembly which increased the thermal output, producing cleaner combustion & simpler to operate it was designated 7310-99-139-4087 on a replacement plate.

Thanks Sean, yes indeed I have. It has advertised a month or so ago when it was priced. I can't remember what the price was but remember thinking it would have been a good buy. So obviously no takers so far. To see what it should look like in GNR service have a look here: https://www.shorlandsite.com/Shorland3apcGNR_Lemos.htm I wouldn't call it complete, as it is devoid of the Trakmark & foam lining, but has been painted white internally. This lining is not a luxury extra, it was to help absorb bullet spall, reduce the heat inside & to reduce condensation. It can get extremely hot inside, recently I was relining my Shorland & found in the Sunshine with an outside temperature of 25c within an hour the temperature of the armour had risen to over 60c. The chances are that the chassis may be reasonable, given the temperatures in Portugal & they did not have the disastrous undersealing that UDR Mk 3 Shorland had.

Phil thanks it would be interesting to see where they fitted in with 3700 production run for UK vehicles. Originally UK ones were designated to a "CT" (Combat) spec but certain economies were introduced downgrading them to "GS". Were the Australian ones CT or GS I wonder?

Phil thank you for the quick response. That's interesting on the engine number, British Humber engines were mainly 4-digits but there was a batch of 20 fitted with engines in the 5-digit group 13164-13618. Our 5-digit chassis numbers provided the basis of the registration mark, by ignoring the first number & inserting BK between the last 4 digits. Is there anyone over there who has correlated the ARN, chassis & engine numbers for these Humber/Commers I wonder? I have lists for all the UK ones, it would be nice to add the others.

Welcome Phil nice collection & good to see your Commer. I too would be intrigued to know the chassis no. & also engine no.

An appx date for this from this book I have: Chilwell Cat. No. 34/173. Illustrated Spare Parts List. Trailers, 1 Ton, 2 Wheeled, GS, Water Purification, Pigeon Loft, AA Command Post, Gas Welding, Petrol Pumping, Pole Carrying. Apr.1946

More user friendly units.