David B.

It came to me direct from the army nearly forty years ago in silver over red oxide only under the bonnet,having had no civilian restoration. I suppose the paint spec. depends on just what point in a vehicle's chequered and much rebuilt past you choose to go with. Same as the engine colour. in this case that was eau de nil but there are arguments about that. Silver will do for me, apart from anything else it cleans easier.especially if you choose to run without the belly plates. Any ideas chaps ?

Can anyone give me their experiences please or any recommendations for a source of Aluminium Paint to repaint an AFV (Dingo) engine bay. A synthetic, brushing type would be preferable,with a degree of heat resistance. Thanks. David.

I've got about eight various Enfields and a couple of Brens on the wall of my office,a Bren and a Vickers on the floor plus several Stens, the odd Webley and a Thompson lying around. When the County Firearms Officer came to inspect my shotgun cabinet in the same room he simply said "very nice",I produced the deac certificates and insisted he look at them. Cabinet pronounced OK and no further comment. On another occasion when on holiday a few years ago,the alarm went off. Two officers turned up and went through the house room by room with a keyholder. Their torch beam fell on the "Enfield" wall and the comment was " f****k me - he's not Irish is he". Again the paperwork was produced and no further comment.

Thats interesting Richard . I wonder if our mate Singe would be able help out here ?

Well there is something in black and white (or red at least). A much bigger circle than I've ever seen though,the K2 came with a 1" circle on the rad cowl. I've not come across the wording on British vehicles either. thanks for looking Richard.

Thats either age or colour blindness......

Thanks Robert, Just before this request sinks below the waves - has anyone seen any coloured discs in the flesh other than red ?

Thank you Richard and Adrian for your thoughts. Still no further forward with any evidence of an ordered sequence of colours relating to different years. Is this yet another thing which appeared in print but not in reality ? Has anyone seen any colours other than red ?

So has anyone any evidence of the circle painted in a colour other than red ?

Hello Richard - quick off the mark as always !! I'd like to do a quiz in your team. I've also heard of blue markings. I suppose you have to think that WW2 vehicles with antifreeze mix were quiet rare. Most would have been drained down overnight,certainly in the UK with the exception of the duty 15cwt or an ambulance on call perhaps.

Here's a rather esoteric challenge for the likes of Clive Elliott and Dickie Farrant - (evening chaps) or anyone else with access to the right information.. I've just picked up a handbook for the Austin K2 Ambulance dated June 1940. Just inside the front cover is an insert regarding Frost Precautions and it says " Vehicles with Antifreeze mixture in the cooling system have an identification mark on the Header tank of the radiator,under the bonnet in the form of a disc in a specified colour. THE COLOUR WILL BE CHANGED EACH YEAR" The Americans did it as always -simply. They stencilled the date of when the the antifreeze mix was added. The British....? I have only ever seen a red disc of approximately 1" marked on a white background on the bonnet of British vehicles and over the years I have heard this marking on the bonnet of my K2 described by the general public as " a Japanese kill mark " or something equally daft. Question is - does anyone know if different colours were in fact used for different years or did this system not get used and were all antifreeze markings a red disc on a white background. Any chapter and verse quotes would be welcomed.

Hello Bernard and Marion - I'm sure you will be asking for any information,photos ,parts or relevant help that will enable you to restore your latest and probably unique project which attracted so much interest on here recently. I'll leave you to give the details. Best wishes, David Belcher.

Robert, it is one and the same vehicle.

Richard - I initially typed in simply "K5" and was told that the post was not valid because it didn't contain enough characters. I then had to type again and re-enter. Then there is the question of rounding up to whole minutes. and so by my calculation I pipped you by about 30 seconds at least. Could I have an extra point though please for saying 3 Ton GS.

Austin K5

As a MCC Adderley Park product,it would appear that this model was bodied locally at the Mulliner works. I don't know if the Mulliner archives were rescued and went to Gaydon but I visit the old works sometimes and I doubt somehow if any information is left there. The old factory now houses a Pakistani firm who make mattresses but I will call them just to see if anything remains in a cupboard ! I spoke to B and M recently and will ring them if there is any news.

Why don't you just come over and have a half day looking at mine with notebook and camera. You're very welcome. Give me a call on 07860 889524. David.

I can only remember seeing another Churchill running. That was at Blackbushe about thirty years ago. My impression was then that it was about as slow and cumbersome as a WW1 tank, perhaps it was running badly on that day but this video certainly belies that. There must be at least a half dozen actual or potential Churchill runners about - why don't we see them more often ?

As always - thanks Richard. I'll give them a call later on and let you know how I get on. Cheers, David.

No Tony - any commercial tyre place can not help. They either roll their eyes and say "its years since I saw that size" or if they have a vested interest (ie 9.00 x 16 tubes in stock) they will say "no problem to use the smaller size". I'm trying to get an impartial and educated opinion. Anyone ?

As usual, I couldn't commit to an entry until the very last minute and was much heartened by Paul's attitude to my call very late on.( Saturday ). I thoroughly enjoyed my Sunday out and met a lot of old friends. Very many thanks Paul and thanks also to Bob James (the land owner ) who will magically make the ruts disappear by next year I'm sure. All the best and best wishes to both of you.

Any leads please on the tubes and flaps ?

So - is a 9.00 x 16 tube fitted with a flap considered close enough to fit to a 10.50 x 16 wheel without any ill effects or should I continue looking for NOS 10.50 x 16 tubes ? Its an important question because any creep on the tyre will pull the valve and deflate it. I had a rear tyre deflate on Sunday whilst running at 40mph on a straight road and by the time I felt it the tyre had overheated and cooked itself.

But the real question is whether the smaller 9.00 tube will work satisfactorily in the larger 10.50 tyre. Another item I will probably need are some flaps. Same question - are there any about specifically for the 10.50 x 16 and if not will a 9.00 x 16 flap do the job ?