sirhc

The vehicle is very dirty inside, I thought it had been 'restored'? Perhaps they meant restored to as released condition, rather than as new condition?

Mark, These filters are expensive when you need them, the worst thing is if you find one in the original packaging with a price to the MoD of much less than the dealers are asking! Best thing to do is memorise the numbers and buy them when you see them. Chris

Lee, Any chance you could save my spot too please? Got the CVRTs coming down again so may need some help with unloading too! Thanks, Chris

John, I have only ever done mine on axle stands, never taken the hubs apart. I usually get it up in the air with all 4 wheels off for servicing as it makes the job much easier. I think you're correct in saying that taking the hubs apart is the only way to make sure you are doing each brake individually, without the effects of the other wheel, but we have never had a problem. Chris

Glad to see you made it back too John! Chris

Hi Hanno, it was nice meeting you too. We were staying at Hermanville, but the truck drove everywhere from Pegasus Bridge to Dead Mans Corner and Omaha beach. We must have easily covered 700 miles over the last week! The truck is still going strong, but the engine is a little noisy. Might need some new big ends! I'll do a bit of a write up later, but for now here is it on Sword Beach. Chris

Mark, I'd loosen them off and re-torque to the correct tension. I think you may loose some pads prematurely if you leave them as they are due to the extra stresses etc. Chris

I don't know what Varsol is, but if the oil level has gone up, and the oil is now thin and smells like Petrol, it sounds like your fuel pump has failed and is letting fuel into the oil system.

A Ferret without armour wouldn't exist! It's bascially an armoured bath tub, when a wheel station at each corner and an engine in the back. I passed my test in 2000. I have a 1959 Mk 1. You need to ignore a lot of facts and figures posted on the internet, they are usually nonsense. The Ferret book quotes a Mk 1 as 3500kg and a Mk2 at around 3700kg. People have had a Mk 1 on a weigh bridge and they are less than this.

CVR(W) Ferret does not exist. Ferrets and CVRWs are very different animals. It all depends on when you passed your test.

If you can drive up to 3.5 tonnes then no problem with a Mk 1. A Mk 2 is a little bit heavier, around 4 tonnes.

I would suggest not buying a 432 as your first vehicle. You would be much better starting off with a Ferret. It's much easier to manage on the roads, much easier to fix if things go wrong and much easier to find somewhere to store under cover. I don't know how good you are at mechanics, but to correctly service the engine on a 432 you have to remove by lifting it up out of the hull... then there's all the effort of changing tracks and roadwheels. Most jobs on a 432 require at least 2 people. You can pretty much look after a Ferret on your own, generally as long as you keep everything full of oil they are ok. Chris

It seems crazy that you need an export licence to take a 66 year old truck to France for a week. Would I still need one if it were painted red? I've filled in all this stuff, but we're going in a week so I guess it was a bit pointless.

We filled in all that information, sent the money to the MVT and never heard back. I don't know what's supposed to happen?

Thanks for all the messages. Hopefully we should have a rear canvas now, thanks for the offer Andy. I spent the day doing some of the little jobs on the never ending list! Chris

Well it's been a while since I updated this thread, but we have been working very hard. With a week to go before Normandy the truck is not too far off being ready. Just the rear lights to wire up, then a test drive. We need to do the stencils and number plates tomorrow too. We are waiting on some canvas from Allied Forces, but they hadn't started it last week, so we may be getting rather wet. I have the hoops for the rear, but again no canvas, which is rather disapointing. I'll go back and fill in the massive gaps another time, but here are some photos taken this evening. Chris

Yes, not ww2, but we'll have the Sabre and Striker there.

1. Approx £100 a year. 2. £500+ depending on how lucky you are. 3. They are fairly reliable if looked after.

It sounds like the bands might be worn You can get a take out steering box for around £100, and it's not a massive job to swap them. Try these guys http://www.liquibiz.com Chris

1. They don't require an MOT because it's not possible to test them. 2. They were built before 1973 and are therefore tax exempt. 3. A few years ago you could buy them for £2000+vat in a tender sale, now you're only option is to pay £6000-8000+ for one privatley. Chris

Yes, they get power from pin E on the plug. It goes to the side lights and tail lights. From the (poor) diagram I have it seems the feed goes to a 4 way connector, one to each side light and the other goes to the rear of the chassis for the tail lamps.

This has already been discussed in detail on this forum. I found the shed and went there myself a few weeks ago.

John, Marcus Glenn had Fox starting handles. A Ferret one does fit if you have the rear armour off. You can carefully turn the flywheel with a screw driver if you stick it in through the opening near the starter motor. Chris

Vince, Do you need a seat for the rear of your Spartan? I do have a spare.. Chris

John, I have found that the gear changes are always better at higher revs. It may be that your water loss is through the pressure relief valve on top of the header tank. If you ever take the rear armour off there should be a small hose attached to this which is then attached to the alternator with a P clip. Any water which comes out here goes down the rear armour and collects in the bottom of the hull. Chris