sirhc

I had the same problem the other day, it wouldn't let me upload. I tried again a few days later and it was ok. Sounds like a server problem.

http://www.witham-sv.com/infopage.php?ID=1081&Overide=1

Rik, I have those same problems. I have a nearly new PC, lots of RAM, good video card, 10mb broadband, it still stops every 10 seconds or so. Oh and there's really nothing wrong with Vista, once you get above 2GB of Ram! Chris

£600? Are you sure? Sounds like there's something up with it! I can do Nottingham to Beltring and back on about £100 worth of fuel in my Ligthweight!

The ignition panels on Ferrets aren't the best. I've had loads of problems with mine, swapped it for another take out which failed after a few months. I rebuilt mine using what I assume is an upgrade part, the main board had the switches modernised. It was made some time in the mid 80s, and since fitting it I've not had any more problems. Fred, try taking the switch board apart and have a look at all the contacts. Some of the switches rely on springs to make the contacts, after 40-odd years these springs can become weak. If you need a new panel you'd best get saving, I think Marcus was asking £350 for them at one point! Chris

Graham, I think it says TUH? Chris

Kevin, Do you need a pack lifting frame for your Chieftain? I know someone who has one going spare. Chris

Norman, When the vehicle was sold off from the MoD it will have been issued with a Form 654 "application for disposal of a cast vehicle' which enables you to register it for the roads. Before attempting to register the vehicle you will need to have insurance and a valid MOT. Both of these can be done on the chassis number. You will then need to take these, the 654 and a filled out V55/4 to the local DVLA office. You will need to pay the registration fee which is around £50 and pay for 6 or 12 months road tax at the same time. Chris

Fred, What voltage are you getting from your batteries? If they've fully discharged then they may be a cell down, so even if you've charged them up they won't have full charge. Check the batteries and replace if any are reading low. Chris

Hi Barry, Did you ever work on Fox or Sabre in the QOY? I'd be interested to see any pics you may have, or hear any stories you've got to tell! Chris

Lee, I tried, but aparently 'You are not authorised to view this resource. You need to login. ' even though I am logged in! I'm happy that it's up on Dougs site anyway. It's long been established as one of the best armour sites on the internet, I remember printing out his Ferret buyers guide and taking it to Withams with me when I went looking for my Ferret all those years ago. Chris

The CVRT spotters guide which I wrote for CMV and never got published has been put up on Dougs Heavy Metal Gallery. I've also helped Doug with a Tank Auctions article. Both are located here: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/lsm/dhmg Chris

Lee, I find HMVFTV to be very slow and jerky when watching videos, I barely get more than a couple of seconds before it stops to load some more. Never have this problem with youtube. Do we need a faster server? Chris

Google it. I found an assembly diagram on the web when I bought mine.

The shiny green was probably chosen to show off the vehicles, not hide them. We wanted the Russians to see what kit we had, and we wanted it to look smart. I'm sure had war broken out everything would have been repainted pretty quickly. Chris

As far as I am aware you're not allowed a commander and the examiner isn't allowed to help you. Driving a Scorpion or other CVRT variant is very easy and vision is excellent, so you don't really need a commander. Chris

Yes, you need L plates. You also need the vehicle to be road registered and everyone needs insurance. Chris

Norman, Yes the track only does so many thousand miles, but how far are you planning on driving? You'll run out of money to pay for fuel before you'll run out of tracks. The rubber track will also wear out, how many miles will it last? No idea, but when it wears out you'll be looking for ordinary track to replace it. Small excavators don't drive around at 45mph and certainly don't do thousands of miles. Sabres were mostly released with worn out track but most of the other CVRTs were released with pretty good track, I've seen Spartans with new track. The last 432 we had also had new track fitted. Although that's not important anymore, since there won't be any more CVRTs or 432s released for a long time. Any tracked vehicle you buy (unless you want something Russian or a Chieftain AVRE) will come from a private sale and who knows how well they've looked after it. You're right, the bushes can wear out, but you can remove a link to regain the tension. Once so many links have been removed you need to replace the track. Track is avaliable, expensive, yes, but then how much does it cost to replace all 10 tyres on a GMC or a Reo? A set of CVRT track is probably the same price. Everyone goes on about how impractical it is working on a tracked vehicle, maintenance costs, cost of track etc, but very few of them have owned one or worked on one. It's not that bad really! Chris

Anyone who drives it will need to be insured too.

Norman, I see those tracks and just see more problems! What happens if one snaps when you're driving along? You have no idea if and when they're going to fail. If a track comes off, how do you put it back on? Normally you can split the track, line it up and then rejoin it. If a track comes off you have no steering and no brakes. When they're worn out, where do you get new ones from? There won't be surplus anywhere, you can't get some from a scrap yard. New track costs around £20,000 and you'd have to buy it from whoever makes it. Apart from checking the pads are all there, the nuts are tight and that the tracks have the correct tension there isn't really that much maintenance involved in looking after the ordinary tracks. Chris

Norman, It's a CVRT Spartan. Those are experimental tracks, they were obviously not that great because the MoD never bought them. I've seen similar tracks on M113 vehicles in Denmark I think. Chris

About the right price for a real nice one, but not an ex corporate junker.

There's nothing wrong with the engineering, it's a prefectly good solution to the problem. As for changing the engine, you've obviously not spent enough time listening to a B60 or driving a Ferret... If you swapped the engine you'd be taking away the best part! Chris

Mark, It sounds like there was something wrong with it, or the owner didn't actually want to sell it. It's a shame he wasted your time, but there are plenty more Ferrets about. Chris

Tony, Item 9 is a gasket. The exhaust passes through the hull at this point and the gaskets are for either side of the hull. Chris