FEC

Where and when?

Very interesting to see the end users of all our hard work. I often wondered who the two old Polish guys with the long white beards were. They would pitch up in Mk2 ballast with the biggest living tent on top and would drop vehicles in the yard and stay over for a while. Once they dropped a D8 Cat in the middle of the yard and we, not being equipped for tracks, used it as a traffic island for a couple of years.

Amazing. Racing changes with a Mk2.

They were Mk4s with a half door panel in the centre to give the brass more leg room. The inner floor was moulded with GRP as were the doors and roof. all the windows were multi plate repellent glass. I cant remember if the V engine was a six or an eight. They came to us from NI. Very heavy.

In the haze that was Christmas and the new year, a memory popped out of the up armoured stretched Ford Zodiac's. I don't think there were many, we only saw two for overhaul. Dose anyone know of survivors?:undecided:

Very glad to see life in the Antar thread again.

They are like Hens teeth.

Thanks Ed That brings back memories. The noise the smell and the hard work Antar driving could be. Surprised the Mersey Tunnel let her through, it must have seemed like ages under water. Another Guinness Book of records for Antar's. "The longest under water journey"

Don't know what you are on about Paul. We never perspired, with our hydraulic grab and ram tyre striper. I can only recommend it.

The MOD will never change their daft practices. In the seventies and eighties as an outsider visiting places like Ashchurch, Lugershall and particularly Hilton Park Derby. Warehouses filled with vehicles which were so out of date they could not be of use to a modern military. Rover 110's, 1940's 1 ton Austins, Coventry Victor baggage trucks, Lewin Road Sweepers,1940 Fire pumps, Neils Cranes, Bedford QL's Humber Super Snipe staff cars and Humber Radio Trucks. Some times I would hold my breath when opening a door, expecting to find a line of Sentinel Steam wagons. I am sure this was the norm of most, if not all CVD's and stores in the UK and abroad. The very worrying thing was that at that time you could, if you had a parts catalogue, order any of the items in storage in kit form. This was the scale of silliness that prevailed. One troubling thing I did note was that DUKW parts had all been repackaged with NATO part numbers to make them easier to locate when front line units required them? I would like to think that things had improved.

Amen to that. I only got to test them, but found them to be the best all round tool and faster than the Martian. Attempted to trap one some years ago for restoration but was out bid. Would have to steal one now.

Early 70s. Second man. Road testing winter fleet mack. "hang on son, doing brake test". pealed myself off the windscreen. Them there Mack's could really stop. Nearly as good as a Stalwart.

What fantastic condition.

Understood. Only worked on overhaul programs. So the later production vehicles had the same set up as the Stalwart in the centre bevel boxes?

Hi Big project. Never seen a gearbox and transfer box split in situ?

Fantastic job Paul. Looks in fine fettle, when will it be set for visitors and where? By the way what reg was your ballast tractor?

As a young apprentice mech working on Stolly and Antar overhauls, unpacking of hundreds of disaster packed items. It seemed that the more the packaging the smaller the item. They said it was character building?

Yup nightmares.

It us-est to be with the old Triangle brake testers at the Testing stations, tester could counter rotate the the wheels to overcome the linked double drive. This would enable each wheel to be tested holding the prop shaft in neutral. I know this because during my training in the Ministry at Hendon in the early 80s. I was tasked with testing a Bedford double drive. This required that minimum brake efforts were achieved, whilst rotating the axle both ways. I forgot this and went for maximum efforts. This was OK for the foot brake but when testing the parking brake, out of the corner of my eye I could see the the vehicle launching out of the rollers, with the load simulator on the back, heading for the gate. The new/10year old brake testers in use don't have the facility of counter rotation. So deceleromiter is the only option. But no! The Deceleromiter is the same as a "London Glazed Brick". It has been widely accepted that if you stand said brick on the cab floor, long way up and narrowest face forward, achieve 20MPH and brake gently, the point at which the brick topples is 50%. Do that with the hand brake and life is good.

Had lots of fuel lock problems with the original fuel taps when they were stood for a long time. Not linked the the smoke or heat.

You have been busy.

Going back to the 60s. There was a poster showing a guy killed by an exploding tyre. He was imprinted in blood on the upper wall of the tyre bay. Soon after that inflation cages were produced. As apprentices we were shown this by our training officer on a regular basis, along with the perils of welding fuel tanks and of course being Pratt's.

What a team!

Scary I performance tested Stalwarts in Carr Mill reservoir off the A580 in the late 70ts. One of the 623 had a three ton concrete test weight strapped to the load platform while testing out new style side board seal sets for central stores, as replacements. The water was licking around the fuel cap. Never did that again.