Lewis Garner

No point putting yourself out if your back was going to make a misery of things! My grandad has similar problems, he's worked as a farmer and then a quarry foreman for most of his life so as you can imagine he's a bit worn out at present, he wants to do all the things he's wanted to do in retirement but can't because of crippling arthritis and bad knees, as we speak he is having a knee replaced in hospital so fingers crossed all goes well. Pictures just loading now.

Great job Chris, wow those roadwheels were nasty!

Hi David, George at http://villiersparts.co.uk/ is a very helpful chap, if you need any spares for the engine he will be the man to get them for you. Regards, Lewis

Sorry to hear about your condition Ray, hope you're feeling better soon. I took a few pictures of the event, I will load them up soon. We went on the Monday for a quick look about after many of the vehicles had left due to the pants weather conditions, still didn't seem to dampen the spirits of those that were left and it was a good day out! Lewis

https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/347 This may be worth signing chaps!

You couldn't be more right Mike, thankfully after a lot of hunting and calling different companies I managed to find a decent route in at almost reasonable money. It is unfortunate because I've been driving the Land Rover round the farm since I was 12, and driving dad's MVs even earlier than that. A degree of mechanical sympathy certainly helps too. I haven't had any mishaps so far (touch wood) but someone I know has managed to crash three times in the space of a year. Numpty or what? Ruining the situation out there for the rest of us. I would love nothing more than to take the Landy to a couple of shows throughout the season and take it for the odd trip down the road, but this won't be feasible for another 7 years or so :cry:. The whole boys worse than girls argument is a bit of a farce too, there's a steep hill near us and I kid you not a girl I know of attempted it having just passed her test, stalled, couldn't get the car to move again, started to cry, and had to flag down another passing driver to drive it up for her. How the hell have these people reached test level standard when they can't even drive up a hill? Another one I heard about was a girl that always comes to a dead stop on slip roads to check for traffic. How do they make it through? In my little Micra I'm constantly thinking 200m or more ahead, the brakes aren't particularly great and I know in the event of an accident it'll fold up like tin foil. The understeer round bends is absolutely diabolical so this inspires even more of a slow and steady attitude everywhere I go! :-D Lewis

I passed my test recently and obviously I can only drive up to 3.5 tonnes on a post 1997 license, is it true that if the vehicle is pre-1960 and over 3.5 tonnes I can still drive it? I heard somewhere that was the case. Insurance is a killer I'm afraid, for just me to be insured on my 1988 1 litre Nissan, a car worth £200, the cheapest quote I could find was £3368. I had quotes right up to £13500, and my excess is already £250! The situation really is dire out there...

Signed by all four of our family purely to add to the numbers, this must happen! :-)

I look forward to seeing this old beast about, what a lovely example. Unfortunately dad and I were busy on the days of the shows otherwise we would've driven the Spartan down for a run!

Hi Rob, We live near Bassingbourn and although I'm not saying it wasn't a gate guardian, I know for years and years they have always had a Saracen and FV432 guarding their entrance, it may have been before this but perhaps it did actually perform light duties around the camp, it is a big place!

I watched Ice-Cold in Alex a couple of days ago and I still maintain it is a great war film, except of course the American half-tracks posing as German vehicles and the Series 1 Land Rover in the closing shot :-D. Battle of the Bulge definitely tops it on my 'worst' list...

Good luck and well done for taking such a big leap of faith Mark I've promised myself one day I'll buy a Chieftain of some kind too, not the most practical thing ever but nothing beats owning your very own 55 ton battle machine!

Oh no not Adventures In Time, awful on a new scale . Tiger Moths done up as WW1 aircraft if I remember correctly, and the throwing a grenade into the cockpit of a moving fighter? Only in the 80s would that seem plausible...

I would say nearly all maintenance tasks on a CVR(T) are bound to be easier than Fox, and of course the spares are far more available. We haven't had any big problems with ours yet having owned it for nearly two years. Keep an eye on the levels, don't thrash it and all should be okay. Chris has more or less summed up the issues, a gearbox problem is not something you want.

Hi Mike, As far as I know there's not any Battle HQ there but it's still interesting nonetheless, a lot of the original buildings are gone now and only one hangar remains. The control tower has long gone unfortunately. The runways are coned off because the site belongs to a farmer, it would probably be okay if you approached him first. I haven't really been over Thurleigh way, if I find out any information I'll pass it on. Presumably you have explored the whole site and still not found anything? It may not relate to your airfield project but I have many pictures of the Beacon Hill Battery in Harwich if you'd be interested in seeing them, it was such an interesting place, left virtually untouched since it was closed in 1956. Regards, Lewis

Hi Mike, To be honest this is really taking me back, I was probably only about 10 when we photographed some of the site, dad wanted to get some pictures before it was demolished. Though I can't remember where it was in relationship to the roundabout, I remember it was literally right beside the road. No more than 20 feet away. I will have to ask dad to see what he can remember, he went there a couple of times. Regards, Lewis

Hi Mike, Welcome to the forum. Have you looked at Tempsford airfield at all? We're only about 3 miles away and I bike there regularly, the runways etc are off limits but you can still visit Gibraltar Farm barn where the agents used to receive their equipment before departing on missions. I have flown over it a couple of times, if I take the camera with me next time I'll get a few overhead shots, it's clear to see the layout from the air. Regards, Lewis

Here's a few, they aren't great, I thought I had more pictures left over. It was literally right off a main road, even back in 2006 they were beginning work on whatever's there now so the buildings have long since gone! Back then the control tower was in a terrible state, massive cracks in the structure itself, and parts of the outer 'balcony' had fallen off.

Hi Mike, Son of said Mick G here :-D, I believe Beccles has now been demolished :cry:. If I still have some pictures of it on Photobucket I'll post them up for you to have a look at. Regards, Lewis

I agree, they do what they do incredibly well, it is no longer a proper car show but who doesn't enjoy watching people prat about? We'd all do some of the things they get to do on a daily basis if we could :nut:

I think it was based on the M113

Did anyone see the MVs on Top Gear last night? I noticed they used some of Andy Baker's CVR(T)s whilst looking at the vehicles at Withams, all staged but made for good telly nonetheless! :-D

We used to get 10-12mpg from ours

Ransomes MG crawlers are worth a fair bit these days in running condition, that one looks fairly complete, wouldn't be hard to source the JAP engine etc as they were used in a number of machines.