simonm

I thought a few words to say how I have moved on with my Saracen / OM13 etc etc.. Richard very kindly sold me some OM13 ISO10 oil which went straight into the hydraulic system, it needed slightly more than I was expecting so thanks again Richard for the 1/2 gallon. While there, along with a lot of advice about how to handle Saracen's, well received and will follow religiously, Richard showed me his tool for getting the fluid flywheel filler bolt out and suggested a call to Bannisters in Northiam, something I had planned to do for some time. Anyway, the tool was a serious must as having taken the filler bolt out before - very very carefully - the correct tool would potentially save a great deal of heartache, along with an engine out job! I've since refilled the flywheel, gone for a 10 mile road trip and topped up with about 2/3rd of a litre. Clearly it shouldn't be losing oil but I'll stick with it, that's managable and affordable. Somebody is now going to say it is extremely precarious, but so is taking a 12 ton almost tank on the road. I've also signed up with Autohome, just in case and though lots more work on Sherry (short for Scheherazade) our Saracen's name we are off to show her at Belmont and the local primary school where they are doing a WWII project. Okay its a bit late for WWII but a tank is a tank!

I shouldn't say this but, there I was driving in my old TR7 through Ash (Nr Sandwich) on the way to Canterbury when a Volvo (looked like the one here) drove straight out of a car park smacked into the side of my Triumph, spun me around ... The whole of his front exploded - I suppose its the anti crash system - his bumper and what looked like various panels were left on the road. My Triumph, well, it need a bit of T-Cut. There's a message there somewhere!

goran_noren asked about Jeeps in Pakistan. Well its 10 years since we lived there, had a great time and though it lacks a 'deserted' hinterland, there is a lot of wild land - great for off-roading - but whenever you stop there is a crowd that builds up very quickly. The vast majority of the old M38s were rebuilt and stretched for use up in the mountains, a very few were bought and retained in green by both ex-pat and Pakistani entheusiasts. Some, they were cheap were just treated as toys. Mine certainly was! Two owners back it was pink! When I bought it for all of £1,500, all the fittings were chromed, I'll sort out some pictures. Jeep parts and renovation was a bit of a minefield. I had been using a chap called Bhatthi in the engineers section of Rawalpindi. He had a yard along a back street - a muddy lane where his men worked on stretch jeeps. Big mistake, he got so far and effectively stopped, I think he had his eye on a free jeep! What does a Brit do? Well, fortunately I had a very good friend Yeldram who I worked with, Afghani background, loads of mates, in particular the Afghani Taxi mafia who paid a visit to Bhatthi and suggested that he finish work on the jeep double quick! Not the best restoration project but a complete strip down, all paint removed, primed and repainted, new brake lines and a new canvas, replacement seats and loads of other bits for about £300. Shortly after that, it was loaded onto a container and shipped to Britain. Realistically the problem with shipping Jeeps to the UK from Pakistan - I had considered it as well - is the horrendous paperwork, finding an agent who you can trust and the cost of getting the Jeep(s) both from wherever they are in Pakistan to Karachi, then on to the UK. Also, Pakistan is less and less safe as time goes by. While we were there, though there were bombings and riots, Europeans were not targets as such, even so it was less safe by the time we left in 1998 than when we arrived in 1994.

Hi, Just a short intro, should have done this a while back. Long time Willys M38 owner. My jeep - Veronica (actually wife's Jeep but her name isn't Veronica) Bought in Pakistan while out there on Govt service, wife in FCO. The jeep was Pakistan Army surplus and had previously been owned by head of British Council in Islamabad. The Jeep orginates from the Korean War, at the end of that conflict the Pakistan army bought a load of suplus equipment, I guess our jeep has been in at least 3 wars - Korean, and two between India and Pakistan (no bullet holes). We used to go mountain climbing in her, she would keep going up beyond where the Shoguns and Landrovers had to give up. Brought her back to the UK in 1998 and been in storage till about 2006 when I finally had some time to get her to UK MOT standard - new brakes, joints etc. Now moved on to A Saracen. Always wanted one from being a teenager - in my 50s and seeing them drive around in NI (on the news, I'm born and bred in Kent) Almost bought a brand new one from Wytham SV, it was a tender offer back in 2007, went for £4,300 I bid just below that! Should have bid higher. Bought my Saracen shortly after and have been working on it off and on. It now starts 1st time, engine runs so very smoothly, gears now work and fluid flywheel no longer slips - it was all but empty! Next step is to take her a bit further than the nearest layby / turning point which is just round the corner! Also putting effort into bodywork, she's in pretty good nick but I'm working through the panels, stripping down to bare metal then re- priming, gloss and then mat. It came with a Larkspur which I have kept though overlaid with a Clansman. My interest realistically is the mechanicals. Not so much the re-enactment though am a regular at Living History and love the re-enactment displays! Background and work is Oil industry, Computers, then marketing and now web. Not web design!!! I do the back end and SEO. Also saving the planet, wind turbines, solar panels, water recycling (www.solarkent.co.uk) - perhaps on the face of it not such a good fit with Military Vehicles, but I see it as a big form of recycling! Based on the top of the North Downs near Lenham. I'll post some pictures of Sherry (Scheherazade) the Saracen All the best Simon

Thanks Richard Shows what my local garage knows, I asked if they had any ISO10 oil and I left with LC10 - clearly not ISO10. It'll stay in its carton. I must admit it did look a lot more viscous than I was expecting! I'm in Lenham (I think you're in Ashford?) is there anywhere local that you would recommend for ISO10? regards Simon

Really good advice above and very relevant to my very cautious renovation of my Saracen. Can I add another question, re OM13 equivalents and the jungle of comparing ISO OM SAE etc I have got LIC 10 ( Lic 10=ISO VG 32 ) see: Looking at the Richard Norton's quote: "As you can see from the chart referenced above, the spec is always at 40ºC and the cold oil is far thicker than at the reference temp. Hydraulic circuits are extremely tolerant (they have to be) and a lot of the mil fittings are commercial parts anyway intended for the middle of the road, to be found in every JCB, ISO 32" This looks about right. My dip stick is just touching the top of the hydraulic oil so I am looking at topping up. LIC10 (depending on how I interpret the above) appears to be spot on. Is anybody going to say - don't. Simon

Looking at Military Vehicle Breakdown cover I contacted Roadsure who are now Premium Choice and they were able to quote £125 for my Saracen but the big difference to Roadsure is you need to be insured with them. They don't provide the breakdown cover on its own, actually I can quite understand. The Insurance quote was a bit more than Flux's - quite a bit more so I kept looking for breakdown cover - historic vehicles, commercial fleet etc. Isn't the web a wonderful thing! This led me to Autohome http://www.autohome.co.uk/ who quoted on the phone £95 for vehicles between 3.5 and 16 tonnes and are sending me the brochure and ts and cs. I'm keen to start displaying my Saracen - still needs a lot of TLC but have got the engine to the point that it starts 1st time, hydraulics pumps up pretty quickly, brakes work brilliantly, gears change. Now its down to lots and lots of wire brushing and repainting! (tried paint remover and sandblasting - realistically its an angle grinder with a decent wire brush attachment)