paulbrook

http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr206/RustyTrucks/Humber%20Heavy%20Utility/

If I can help - ask! Advice is free - work rates are a bargain (well I would say that wouldnt I?)!

I found my driver once wandering around a dripping wooded location in Germany carrying a landrover door.

When I asked him what he was doing he told me that he was looking for the rest of his landrover..................

Where are you Andy? If yr not to far maybe I can help.

All I can remember about the Mk6 engine was that it was totally useless, with the same power output as a Yugo 55 and none of the excuses.

When the 90's and 110s were first introduced we had terrible trouble with the new (diesel) engines - and all sorts of shenanigins were undertaken as the "blame" rocked back and forth between LR and MOD. No fewer than 6 variants of the engine were tried and eventually under an initiative called Op Terry we got to test the latest version - all 55bhp of it. We trialled a fully laden FFR with a 3/4 ton trailer, all up weight of the whole thing 3.5 tonnes. It reached 30mph in 30 seconds (unless you turned right up Queens Avenue in which case you didn't get to 30mph) and pulling out at every road junction was a heart-in-mouth gamble.

After that the MOD bought a load of V8s as a stop gap, plus we naughty boys in the user trials organisation started using disgusting words like Pinzgauer in polite conversations....

So even with a better power curve than the Mk6 Terry engine theoretical towing weight is one thing, the reality of taking something with a big anchor on the back onto HM's highways (safely - and by that I mean being able to accellerate as well as brake) needs careful thought.

As an aside LR insisted that their engine was excellent as witnessed by the fact that it was fitted to virtually every London Taxi in existence. We checked with the cabbies who nearly choked on their bacon sarnies before saying exceptionally colourful things about that particuar engine (and the benefits of repowering with Isuzu)

Lift the cab - it'll keep you warm!!!

You know......I was just thinking the same thing ! Is it squaddie proof ?

 

Very Thunderbirds & all very fancy.....but will it keep going for as long as a Scammell (call it a DAF if you must) or a Foden? Will they still be in service in 20-25 years I wonder.:-\

 

 

H

They seem to be managing just fine in Helmand province. I remember when folks used to say of the Scammel DROPS "yes but is it squaddie proof?"

Remember that the average british soldier could break an anvil...

Its called EPLS not DROPS and has been in service for quite a long time now. If you think the ordinary one looks complicated you want to have a look at the armoured and armed version or so called TES (Theatre Entry Standard)

Ill post a pic or two when I have a moment

I must scan what piccies I have from the 1970s. I also have some cine film of taking them cross country somewhere (well I know where the cross country was - Haltern Training Area - its the location of the film that is in question......)

And dont forget the self-exploding batteries...especially on a cold morning.

In fact come to think of it they were bloody hard work.......................

I rest my case yr honour.......................

My first troop were knockers (1977). The best drivers only ever used the clutch to start and stop. For the less experienced the trick was to put weight on the gearstick and actually start to move it before depressing the clutch. Oh and you gave up releasing the handbrake correctly soon after skinning your thumb or knuckle on the angle iron below the windscreen, replacing it with techique where you would grab the lever about 6 inches below the breakneck, pulling the lever back then throwing it forward hard (when it hit the stop the handle would continue forward and release the cable).

Its over 30 years since I last drove one. Maybe I should put one on my wishlist.....

There are lots (not least the Army) who would say otherwise............

Small items coming say by parcelforce you will be required to pay the post ofice the customs due before the item will be released. Small items will actually get as far as your local post office and be held there. Larger parts, say an engine (presumably shiiped using a shipping agent) , you will need to pay again before customs will release the item or items but this time they will be held at the port of entry.

With anything that is remotely like a vehicle (and it does not have to be much) one thing to watch out for is US customs release - a "vehicle" must have a title before it can actually be shipped out of the US. This can be problematic as most titles (logbooks) were not issued until the early 1970s. So if it does not have clear title your seller has to go to the local DMV and get a letter to confirm that the vehicle is exempt title (it sounds beaurocratic and it is.....

I cant remember what the duty rates are, but they are cheaper if the vehicle or equipment is over 50 years old. Duties are levied at the US ticket price (ie what you paid for the item)

Oh and it is pretty straightforward - I do it all the time

Of course there are other vehicles from other (real) collections that seem to have ended up in private hands too, which whatever you think about it is not how things should be.

Ah the joys of a knocker gearbox......I am all misty eyed

It does indeed pop off - although you and I might discuss the exact definition of "with a little effort" over a pint one day! Actually there is little point in splitting the cab as all the real damage is below the join. I nearly gave myself a hernia just getting the door down the stepladder. They dont look that big on the truck but try lifting the beggars off though!

Happy with that - it seems like a great idea. I am down in Hampshire in the next month or so - I will get in touch with the date and come and have a chat, snap and measure up.

My brothers got one of these Crossleys with a knackered cab, taking up undercover storage. He''ll never restore it, dunno why he keeps it. Got a lovely office/command body/box on. Shame it's gonna die.

Any chance of measuring it up and photographing it to bits in order to create a record from which other owners can get bits fabricated? I am happy to call in and do it if needed!

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the offer, I will need lots of tin work as I only have the faintest of rusty outlines for most of it.:cry:

No worries - looking at the picture there is little to worry about - and you have quite a lot of stuff which is good enough for patterns.

I can't get over how similar your engine looks to my 1920s Mack AC engine:

If you need any tinwork or windcreens making feel free to get in touch!

Interesting discussion here about corrosion. Shame landrover didnt take a blind bit of notice when it came to putting birmabright skins on steel door frames.......

Stainless are fine anywhere except suspension and steering.

OK shipmates what is 9 ft long, weighs rather a lot and has enough welding in it to sunburn the back of my hand?

Answer - an Antar mudguard.

At first I thought I might patch it here and there but then I thought to heck with it and knocked up a new one. Quite a lot of the underpinnings needed some MIG loving too. Next stage is the cab on this side, then I will be over to the nearside for a repeat performance, which should be quicker as I now have all the measurements and settings for my folder and rolls logged.

A knock behind the wheel eh?

I wonder.............

Once upon a time Jim'll Fix It did a thing with Stalwarts from 21 Sqn RCT with a kid - which included swimming them in the Rhine (21 were in Glamorgan Bks Duisburg)

During the filming the stollys did some very - er - energetic cross country then piled straight into the river, whereupon one of them began to ship water and sink due to a wheel station banging up and damaging the hull.

Luckily you didnt see the recovery on the telly, as Jims team had leged it by then

But you never know - this might be one of my old mate Marty's boats!