fv1609

Sorry Peter that was an experimental one on display in 1956. Here is the normal version in 1954.

Yes, 1953. Are you sure of that ERM? Its just that the info I have indicates that contract ran from 65 BJ 78 to 88 BJ 77. The Asset Code was 2805-0215

Yes I have picture of my pig in the Bogside August 1969, where it is being stoned & petrol bombed.

A = Deep Bronze Green (painted in 1970) B = Deep Bronze Green C = Olive Drab D = NATO Green H = Light Stone G = I don't know what this is. It was sprayed in 1966. I have not been able to match it to anything. Anybody any ideas? F = A concoction I made up that in the lights in the garage looked quite passable doesn't look so good now I have removed the wing & viewed it in sunlight, where all the colours reveal their characteristics properly. E = R&R "Andy's Forest Green"! Thinking that I had a good match with F, I took a test piece & matched exactly to R&R Andy's Forest Green. Having opened the tin it looks nothing like a Forest Green more like a poor Deep Bronze Green. So I don't know it the wrong label was stuck just on mine or a whole batch. So my main quest is a match for G. I am waiting for it to dry but I am getting close with Light Brunswick Green 60%, Appleyard Green 30%, Black 10%. But may not be so good when its dry & in daylight!

Not quite sure what you mean that you can spin round in the cylinder. I can visualise a situation where it has been left with hand brake on (best to leave stored with handbrake off but choked & in gear) So that the cup is seized but the plunger from with handbrake cable can moved. Looks as if you'll have to dismantle the cylinders & see. I had this once & I couldn't get the cup etc out. So I had to drill a hole in the cylinder base, then with a thin rod bash out the cup. Honed the cylinder, tapped & plugged my access hole, new cup & rubber-greased. Until such time as I got another cylinder. Although the cylinders are the same as Ferret the cable lengths are different. Appx 39in for Humber but appx 54in on Ferret.

I have been messing around mixing paints. But before I did this I painted on some reference colours. There are some old favourites, but there are a couple I need to identify. So I would be interested to see what people make of these shades. These are illuminated in daylight.

Rachel on top of the hydraulic pumps there are 3 Allen screws & a larger hexagonal headed one - that one is your filler plug. Do watch your fingers those visors are very heavy. It was a struggle for two of us to carry one. Unlike a Land Rover with the hand brake operating on the transmission, the Humber has rods linking the handbrake to all the wheel cylinders. These rods are either seized, or the wheel cylinders are seized or the brakes shoes have got stuck onto the drum with rust. If you are convinced the rods are not pulling the brakes on, try slackening the brake adjusters off & seeing if you can get a wheel to spin freely, then re-adjust. You may encounter two types of adjuster. The earlier system with slots in two horizontally adjacent adjuster wheels accessed through a slot in the back plate, usually covered with an elliptical rubber bung. Or you may have the later type which is a square nut head with a hexagonal one superimposed on it. When re-adjusting do the lower slotted wheel first as it tends to pull the upper wheel. Similarly with the other type do the square nut first. If you take a wheel off remember, the studs on the RHS are RH thread & on LHS are LH thread.

To protect the rear of the light sockets.

VPK, you can still some bits on it. RUC had about 100 in use in 1980s.

It might seem nice that bits can come out of the proper box, but the problem with NOS (New Old Stock) for rubber components is that it will have started to deteriorate to some degree. ISTR that the service shelf life for such rubber components is something like 5 years. John Walker supplies new seals & is very reasonable & helpful. I think you will find he is cheaper than the sources above. I'll PM you his number.

The EMER puts a Mk 2 at 7797 kg & that is without the wings. When I had a Mk 2, I had terrible problems getting the weight & engine capacity assigned correctly, both were wrong. At first they changed the weight & engine capacity to the figure of the weight. I re submitted & then they changed both to the engine capacity! I think I should have just submitted one change at a time, rather expect multi-tasking.

Yes well done Ashley. I'm afraid I fiddled with the image, just to see if anyone was observant enough to spot it!

Humber 1-Ton FV1601 1952 GS with winch £1,916 0s 8d Without winch £1,882 16s 2d GS Body £160 10s 0d Basic truck & conversion to armoured FV1609 prototype 1955 Chassis £1,767 19s 2d Basic body £160 10s 0d Armoured body (4 off) £1,608 0s 0d Armoured body (16 off) £1,655 0s 0d Fitting body £317 7s 6d Conversion of GS to Pig FV1611 1958 Supply of hull £990 0s 0d Conversion & fitting £628 6s 0d B60 engine 1956 Basic engine £730 0s 0d Tooling charge £143 0s 0d Development & conversion of FV1601 to FV1620 by end of 1963 24 operational vehicles & 8 prototypes £90 million Fitting mount GPMG (mount only) per vehicle £22,000

I like the idea of another manual section. But would suggest the split is not between WW2 and PW. I think should it be a section for British & Commonwealth then another for US & foreign, irrespective of era. The present WW2 section is in effect US, in which I have no interest. Yet despite my ownership PW British vehicles my collection of British documents covers all ages as far back as 1884. Over the years there was a flow in the development publications from a particular country. To break this up into WW2 & postwar is not for the best. Keep country blocks separate. I think a British section should cover the Empire/Commonwealth/Dominions. I collect Indian Army publications that often mirror or are modifications of British documents & are best kept together. A trailer section & plant section? I'm only interested in British trailers, I have no interest in plant of any nation. So maybe have a plant & machinery section. But trailers seem to fit in under the present national & era demarcations.

With reference to the ambulance. Under VERA 1994 & the statement by the DVLA official that "once registered it could be used for no other purpose". Therefore suggests that you need to have a sick, injured or disabled person permanently installed wherever you go, to verify it was being used for no other purpose. Once it is empty you are not using it for the carriage of sick, injured or disabled persons. Therefore the conditions are breached, so the DVLA official's interpretation doesn't hold water? I could understand the interpretation, if it said it should not modified for any other purpose.

Paul & Adam you are right to be cautious about the artistic presentation of this vehicle. It is actually a sort of 3D logo, but none the less is a bit strange. Yes very good. On the roof there is a spotlight mounted on the base for the smoke discharger. Discharger, Smoke Grenade, No.11 Mk 1 was introduced in Aug 1973. The nearside is sporting a support for a wing mirror which was the place for it on a Mk 2 halfway along the bonnet. But mirrors were moved to the front of the wings in May 1977. So Aug 1973 to May 1977. Trying to find the tours undertaken 33 Sqn RCT proved fruitless. Col Dewar's book does have a compilation of units served but no mention of them there. The only reference to them is if you sign up to Friends Reunited & I'm not doing that. The others hits for come up for RCT as Roller Coaster Tycoon & Root Canal Therapy :shake:

Yes, see post #4

Running, moving & stopping, all good news. One further important test is to ensure the rear axle is ok. So hopefully it can move along in 2 wheel drive ie on the rear axle. When you start to move a Mk 2 always engage 1st gear, that automatically engages 4WD & shares the strain between the front & rear axles. As you move along & engage 2nd gear a spring eject mechanism should push the 4WD lever from about 30 degrees down, up to horizontal. Hopefully it still moves along. When going into reverse you should also engage 4WD. Moving off from stationary should always be done in 4WD to ease the strain on the rear axle. This was an order introduced in NI to try to reduce the wheel station/axle failures. At any one time 80 pigs were off the road with these problems, so it was a serious issue.

What, like banking then?

Ah well you've given it away now. It must have been used as a device to reduce splashing in a field latrine. The enticing object of curiosity was placed in the middle of the 'target' area to encourage aiming to which the Handbook of Army Health refers.

Anyone brave enough to have a go at a date for this?

Particularly as it was struck off census on 2/8/84. I have never seen regimental markings on a Mk 2 Pig. In fact regimental & unit badges were discontinued under a CRAOC order in 1977.

Automotive first, paint last