ajmac

It's a beautiful building. My favourite on the site.

Fitting a rear hull panel. Running on its tracks soon.

I've not managed to find 1/4 plate in lincoln. Using 6mm as its only for some mounting brackets, that are hidden away on the Loyd. If its a small enough plate you need you can use 7mm and have it surface ground down to 6.5mm or as Adrian recommended to me order some from the USA. Nice Half Track.

If you were a professional outfit you would have used those throughout the Loyd throttle linkage system, however the Loyd being what it is they just bent the end of the rods a 90 deg and held them in place with a washer and cotter pin!

Cromadex Northampton have SCC15 on file from a paint chip but it’s only available in two pack. I have used a fast air dry from them called NATO Green which they have on file from a paint match they did for a customer at some time.. This isn’t official NATO green, just a match they did for someone who said they were t6ring to match NATO green, hence the name....it doesn’t match real NATO green but it does match SCC15! Post war SCC15 became BS298 OD But I am not convinced it’s that close to o the original SCC15 samples I have.

Many thanks.

Great project. Could you do me a huge favour and send me some measurements of the skid assemblies mounted on the back of the front gate, that’s the wood and the metal strips. They are missing on my mortar trailer. Thanks,

My problem with M4A1 76mm HVSS being displayed as NW Europe theatre is that there is as yet no evidence that any reached Europe during WW2.

Update video.

I recently joined a French Facebook group called barn finds, there are the odd modern day find but the majority of the content is scanned in old photos from the 1980s and 90s. The quantity and quality of wartime German vehicles or part there of found is incredible! We all tend to forget that that was basically 30 years ago and today people can only dream of those kind of finds. Very occasionally one may locate an original 'lost' vehicle but its very unlikely today. At the very least you will not be finding one which was dragged off the battlefield by the farmer and it still stored in his barn. Sadly its because the guys who did such hording have now passed away and the hoards already dispersed. Where hoards still exist, unless the owner has the ability to store vehicles correctly time has not been kind to the steel work. I've seen Loyds which have been outside in yards for 40 years with 1/4" plate chassis which have completely disintegrated!

All of the bearings are still manufactured today and the road wheels can be stripped of original rubber and new rubber wound on, vulcanised and machined to the correct profile. They are NOT press on tyres. The parts getting more difficult to find are the fork pivot seals, I had new ones waterjet cut; the asbestos cup linings riveted into the positions where the spring packs seat are also more difficult to find than they used to be. I imported my asbestos cup linings from New Zealand, NOS. Road Wheels: There are a number of different types around, TL94 was the early war part number but later they changed the spokes a bit and the profile of the tyre, late ones have escallops in the rubber running all around the tyre where it is bonded to the rim. You have: T16 disc wheels, T16 curved spoke wheels, Canadian wheels, Australian LP wheels, British cast wheels and British fabricated wheels (these have circular lightening holes and stand out a mile). Track return Rollers: Lots to choose from again: T16 solid metal, Canadian (lots of rubber), British early war with thin rubber and lightening holes, British later with thin rubber and no holes, late war with no rubber at all and Australian. I'm sure to have missed some, its a mine field. Oh...Windsor Carriers have wheels which look similar to normal Universal Carrier items but they are wider as the spacing between the guide horns on the track was wider.

I've seen a couple on ebay about a year ago which had a buy it now of £350 I think, however I don't know if they sold. Most projects at least come with the bogies, although mine didn't. It also depends on which type of bogie it is, there are cast Canadian ones, cast british ones, cast Australian ones, T16 ones and fabricated british ones.

Anything Ford Flathead V8 from 1938 through 1946 will be fine, the post war update which changed to the shorter bell housing is not correct but will fit with a period adaptor to an original gearbox, they continued on into the early 1950s and are probably more easily located.

I've just acquired a Mortar trailer to tow behind the Loyd Carrier. Its reasonably complete but has no cleats, I see mention of getting new ones cast, did that happen and are any still available? I do have the correct hitch assembly but with the small eye, for the loyd I need the 2 13/16" ID 'large' eye, can anyone help out? I am happy to swap it for the smaller one which would be more suited to jeeps.

Glad that my drivers floor pressing tools came in useful again. Congrats on the rear hull plate track adjuster support relief pressings. I will need to get mine done...but they are different because I have the fish plates too.

I wonder if there was ever any shallow wading instructions done for the loyd, can't imagine there were as they were such a poor design for keeping water out. Simple instructions: Wading, Don't Attempt.

Who on earth was still in a position to need to fire 17Pdrs in 2011?

Blimy it will be finished soon Pete!

I read that Donnington Park Race Track has either been sold outright or been leased out, thus the museum had to go as that was not required by the new owners / occupiers. It would seem to have been a good move as Kevin and the team have been getting a lot of vehicles out to companies for restoration over the last year.

A hell of a lot of work Pete, I bet you are glad they are over! Now I can do the easy bits.

Hi Mark, Page 20. http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Achilles.pdf

I saw that Adrian’s M10 has been sold and is now on display at its new home in Russia.

I first saw these two in their position outside the museum back in 1994 on the 50th anniversary before I travelled over to Normandy. Today a video popped up on YouTube of the two being lifted onto a transporter to be sent away for restoration. I th8nk that was a couple of years ago. Any news or photos of the current condition of the two. I guess the Churchill is from Pounds and the Grizzly is one of Ian McGreggers Portuguese imports.

This is the missing handle support, I photographed an original a few years ago.