Ivor Ramsden

You might be lucky and find a stamped census number. The LH front chassis seems to be the place to look on early-war Morrises but I couldn't find one on our 1939 CDSW. If you strip the paint off the top bonnet panels very carefully you might find the number painted there.

Thanks for digging it out, Richard. It certainly looks like that's the type which will fit the bracket.

Whilst on the subject of oil cans, we need one (the squirty type, not a storage can) for the Morris CDSW. It fits in an oval bracket under the bonnet. Does anyone know what make and size I should be looking out for? Even better, does anybody have a spare?

I've done a bit more digging. According to the book I mentioned earlier the chassis number prefix 1794 shows that it's a Mark II from contract number V3772. Deliveries started in August 1940 and serial numbers ran from H4369929 to H4370342.

The gearbox and axle prefixes on the chassis plate are correct for a Mk1 or Mk2 Quad. It must have had its wheels changed. Have you seen the book "Army Wheels in Detail: Morris C8 Quad"? It's got some good detail photos.

In exchange for a small donation to our museum I can do you the workshop manual for the C8 FAT and C9/B on a disc. As you say, the C8GS is mechanically pretty much the same as the FAT. The main difference that I've spotted is that the FAT has an autovac system but the GS has an engine-mounted fuel pump. Alternatively we've got a bound photocopy of the C8GS workshop manual that we no longer need, but we'd want a bit more of a donation for that. PM me if you like. :-)

Yep, I'd say that is definitely blue-grey. I've still to be convinced about the previous photos.

Here are two more mid-late 60s S2As with khaki tilts.

In my first photo above the Land-Rover 69AA89 is a very early S2. It's not brand new but it doesn't appear to have been repainted and it doesn't show any major wear or battle scars so I think the photo will date to 1959-62. I haven't got my parts books handy otherwise I could date the vehicle a bit more narrowly. The second photo is a bit later than that, probably 1967-68, so it seems that khaki tilts were seen throughout the 60s. Like I said before, I've never seen a photo which indisputably shows a blue-grey painted tilt. If they were painted somebody must have a photo somewhere. If it was my Land-Rover I'd be ordering a khaki tilt.

I haven't seen a photo of a blue/grey painted hood but I've got these which are, without any doubt, khaki.

Hmm. It's helpful only in that it's clearly not Land-Rover. Somebody on here is sure to recognise it though.

Eyup, Drew, I've got ex-MoD parts books for 80, 86 and 88 Land Rovers but that number doesn't appear in any of them. My 80 parts book doesn't list a Lucas number for the dash harness used between early 1950 and August 1951 (the later 1.6 Rover Mk 1s) so it might be that this is what your harness is. The books aren't necessarily always accurate because I've got a handful of ex-Ministry Series 1 harness sections which have got part numbers that don't appear in the books either. Your number is fairly close to some of the ones that I've got. The dash harness should be very recognisable as a Land Rover part. Can you post a photo?

I'm sure Aeroventure will have the documentation relating to your bomb. Speaking from the other side of the fence, as it were, we always make sure that we've got good title to stuff by getting people to complete a donation form or a loan form when stuff comes into the museum. Sadly, from time to time we get family members who realise that the bit of kit that a now-deceased relative donated many years ago is worth a lot of money now, and demand its return. It leaves a nasty taste when you tell them they can't have it. We even had somebody demanding back an item that we'd bought on the open market!

Gloss Deep Bronze Green, same as the post-war colour. It's still available from paint factors. It's a British Standard colour and is the colour often seen on Series 1 and 2 Land Rovers. Beware of the ready mixed Deep Bronze Green which many Land Rover places sell, because it can be a poor match.

Re SJ's list of Beavers, the West Yorkshire Archives Service have got the Leeds motor vehicle registration cards which will include the one for NUM593. The cards don't contain a lot of information but they do have the chassis number, so you could reduce your "unknown" list by one. Their website is: http://www.archives.wyjs.org.uk/archives-leeds.asp

Somebody once told me that this meant workshop repair number. I've seen it prefixed WRN as well as WNR. Strange how hard it is to find out. I've seen them on a lot of 1950s Land-Rovers so somebody out there must know the meaning.

Here's a 1:1 scale version that we built to house the Morris C9b. The insulation between the inner and outer skins makes a huge difference to the temperature inside. I know that because we didn't insulate the first one that we built and in there you either melt or freeze, depending on the season. The Nissen hut is a brilliant piece of design.

Aaaargh! Nissen, NissEn not Nissan! One is the name of an Army officer, the other is a Japanese car maker. You've set me off again. Nurse, fetch my pills! :-D

I would agree that the reg number and chassis number are in the right ball park for the vehicle. The plate looks like a replacement but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's dodgy. I'm in the process of reproducing an accurate data plate for our lightweight because it was missing and it's very difficult deciding just how ours would have looked originally because of all the variations in the way that plates were marked. Some have some bits printed whilst others are all stamped. The stamping is usually neater than this one, though. The vehicle would have been NATO Green originally or possibly it could have been one of the last in Deep Bronze Green.

Hi Fred, There's a "G" missing. Try www.g503.com/

Bienvenu Aurelien, Your Morris C4 was built as a "Truck, 15cwt, 4x2, Light Warning" which means it would have had a van body similar to a wireless truck, which is why it has got the letters WT in its chassis number. Its Army number was somewhere between Z5832027 and Z5832356. I can't give you a build date, sorry. There are pictures of Morris WT vehicles in post number 20 of this thread

Welcome, Wally, it's good to see you on here. I'm sure you'll find the forum a great source of information and hopefully you'll be able to help a few of us lesser mortals out too. The last time we met was many years ago when I was "harvesting" Land Rover Series 1 bits at Jacksons. I've a horrible feeling that it was about 22 years ago! Where has the time gone?

PM sent with lots of photos!

Ours is 30ET99 but the plate says it's a 3/4 tonner so maybe this is irrelevant to the original query.

The RAF used similar kit but it was quite a lot bigger.