paulbrook

Let's hope that the RLC Museum vehicle collection fares better than the post-Beverley RCT vehicle collection then.

If the "knowledgeable gentleman" is who I think he is then 12 would almost certainly be the correct answer!

Loving the "beast"! Must dig out the brochures etc I have for that and send them to you.

Interesting link - shame the advert has one image of a RCL!

If it is as mint and original as you say it is then it has to sit somewhere between £5000 and £10000...

If it has a particular and peculiar history it could top the latter number, stranger things have happened at sea.

Its all a bit Spy vs Spy I know (for those of us who once upon a time read the "Mad" comic) but the latest versions of the tracker can sense a jammer apparently and send an alert before the jammer actually jams the signal (a bit like radar warning systems can alert a user long before the radar can actually see the object in question - I seem to recall studying the radar range equation at some point).

I still think there is a bit of a two-men-in-a-jungle about this. Faced with an angry cheetah man one grabs a pair of trainers. You will never outrun a cheetah says man two. I don't need to responds man one - I just need to outrun you...

I think all the things mentioned here from rotor arms to hi-tech tracking devices are all readily available and whilst nothing will ever foil the really really really determined and clever thief my own view is that we should all endeavour to make it as difficult as possible for them to succeed. Not all are criminal masterminds. I once had a quite unusual but otherwise unremarkable digger stolen. Our local constabulary were very nice and helpful but admitted candidly that they saw little prospect of me ever seeing the equipment again.

Later that week on Ebay my digger appeared...............

Smartwater does deter as long as you ensure that the would-be thief knows that it is marked up. All my vehicles tools and equipment are smartwatered and marked as such. Also in the event of a theft it makes the identification of stolen items easy, and they can be traced. The prosecution record using Smartwater is impressive. So in this case even if the jeep were broken for parts those parts (provided they are marked, in itself the easiest process imaginable) could subsequently be identified.

As for trackers my own view is mixed, and I hear all the nay-saying. I think though that something that tells you that a vehicle is on the move when it shouldn't be is helpful, allowing early intervention and action. The devices are small, the size of a matchbox, and the one we are looking at has a 36hour battery life once activated (and you activate it with your phone). It can actually be hidden inside panels etc and cannot be jammed. Additional power could be provided, if the need arose, with a discrete feed from the vehicle battery. It costs £15 and uses a pay-as-you-go simcard so no subscription, alerts are by text. Once the vehicle is on the move the ap on your phone tells you where it is so that you can inform the appropriate authorities.

As I say we have yet to trial it and yes of course it is not going to worry a clued-up and clever thief. But it might, at which point £15 looks like a bit of a bargain. So much so that you could hide 3 or even 4 of the blighters on a reasonable sized vehicle for the price of a tank of fuel!

There is a thread on here asking if it is worth fitting a tracker to this type of vehicle. I think this sad event suggests that it would be....

We are already investigating fitting them to customers vehicles - in fact we have our first trial fit going on at the moment.

I would also commend the use of "Smartwater"

In the meantime let us all hope that there is a good outcome to this.

And just to add to Ted & Clive's comments, many of the specialist RAF vehicles (and some Army vehicles) built in the 1970s and that came out through the sales in the '90s were obviously in their original paint and were wearing full gloss NATO green (while others were still wearing deep bronze green!).

 

With all these questions on paint, markings etc. I think it's very easy to assume that everything's cut and dried - an edict was issued from Whitehall on a certain date, the edict went out to the various units and manufacturers, and everyone painted their vehicles a certain colour.

 

Practically speaking, that couldn't be done - but even ignoring that, we all know that real life isn't like that, particularly when a complex organisation like the armed services is involved. The reason there is often no clearly established, well known chronology for such things, in my experience, can often be that such a chronology didn't exist, or existed in theory only!

As someone who was in the procurement system on and off and also a recipient of vehicles as they came into service over nearly 4 decades I wholeheartedly agree!!

Indeed. I quite fancy having another go at getting stuff out myself.

Bribes????

Noooooo - just contributions to pension funds. And sadly a lot more than cigarettes. A decent briefcase full of US dollars more like.

Down through Kosovo, through Macedonia and then on to Thessaloniki in N Greece and onto a ship...

You need a decent shipping agent who knows the way things are done in those parts and patience. Lots and lots and lots of patience.

I didn't see that much in Bosnia but of all the ex Yugo Republics BH are the easiest to deal with.

Lots of US "B" vehicles too - I know because I imported a load a while ago (Dodge WC series - and even a Carryall). And of course one of the Sherman recovery vehicles in the REME Museum is ex. JNA.

MEXE can and does operate in surprisingly big seas - when loading at anchor though there is a bit of lee from the vessel ahead and things tend to go up and down together.

It can get sporty on the beach though in a big swell as the waves tend to break over the stern of the raft.

I didn't put the sound on Bill - were they singing sea shanties?

Very good to see!!!

I am an old 17 P&M hand and it is great to see MEXE continuing.

I have some 8mm cine somewhere of us unloading Chieftain over Browndown beach back in the 1980s - there is little difference in then and now. I think we used Maxi-MEXE though (5 cells wide rather than the normal 3). And we were transferring from LSL not RoRo.

That exercise was also notable because it was the first time I had ever seen a GS shovel used as a pogo stick (there is some impressive metallurgy in a GS shovel and the point is both tough and springy).

Happy days.

A quick update if I may, and hot off the press as it were. The deadline for the 2015/2016 awards has just been extended, although the Transport Trust website has not been updated yet (it still says that applications need to be in by the end of June)

You actually have until 1 Nov to get those applications in, so don't be shy!

I love a decent trolley jack (and am looking for another 5t one at the mo) but I also love the air-operated bottle jacks, easy to stow on the truck and big capacity (20 tonne). They run from the truck air or a compressor or good old fashioned lever action.

I think I paid about £60 for my 20 tonners.

In answer to the jeep question - nope. I have been looking for one for a customer for a while now and even the ones in the States are getting pricey. In my humble opinion the current state of the market suggests a start price of around 5k, and even that will need key bits finding.

My own view is that there is a bit of a "garage factor". Big, complicated expensive to buy and difficult to store machinery will have a very limited market, whereas small simple and expensive machinery (that will fit in your garage) will have a better one, especially when, over time, the latter have a decent track record of holding their value.

The second key factor is the "wife factor". I sense that this will need no explanation whatsoever........

Bearing in mind the alleged state of the economy the classic vehicle business is in surprisingly rude health, but that is not an across-the-board statement; rather too much of it is still fuelled by a degree of speculative trade (especially at the top end where profits are free from capital gains tax). The two vehicles that you have on the market are superb and I could certainly give the Saladin a home; but for the same sort of money I could probably sort myself out a very classic sports car, tartan picknic blanket, two folding chairs and thermos flask.

Stick with it I would say - or alternatively, if you really really want to test the market, just keep dropping the price till they are irresistible!

Just for anyone reading the restorations do not have to be at the top end of the scale in terms of complexity or cost - any decent project is in with a chance from a folding paratroopers pushbike up to a Tiger tank.

I urge everyone undertaking a restoration to have a look at the links and give it some thought - as well as the kudos the awards are reasonable four-figure amounts so it is well worth making an effort.

Similarly look at the categories for people rather than projects, such as Young Preservationis and so on.

Many thanks Richard!

Hi folks

I have recently taken on the role of coordinator of the Transport Trust Restoration Awards. Whilst some will know of them many do not and that is a shame - imagine a worthy and old-established coming up with not only an award for you in recognition of all your restoration efforts but also a significant financial contribution towards completion of you project.

Well that is the awards scheme and having just attended the ceremony for the recipients of the 2014/2015 awards I can tell you that there are lots of worthy projects in the military vehicle world that would stand a very good chance indeed of qualifying this time around. You do not even have to be a member of the Transport Trust.

So if you do nothing else, have a look at the appropriate page of the Transport Trust website

http://www.transporttrust.com/10004.html

If you have any questions or need any help please do not hesitate to get in touch here or at pcbrook@mail2world.com - but please put TT Awards in the title!

Many thanks

Paul Brook

PS any chance of making this a sticky?

Years ago I visited 23 Base Workshops at Wetter in Germany where they refurbished both 43 series and Chieftain.

The APCs were stripped of all their assemblies and wheels then the whole hull was dipped in an enormous vat of boiling caustic solution for a few hours and it came out completely stripped of all traces of paint inside and out. It was then pressure washed off and painted before going onto the assembly line to be rebuilt. Every last nut bolt and widget was removed, checked for condition and if OK refurbished then reused. Most impressive.

As for this job if you really want it gleaming then blasting really is the only option. In my opinion....

Well it's on Ebay if anyone is interested - with a start price that would have looked cheap in the 70's......