sirhc

Mick, If you can't find any of those connectors local to you let me know, I have some I cut off the old pipes I scrapped, so I can probably help. I've never had any of the carb icing problems but mine did encounter a few problems on the way back from Beltring last time I drove it there. It wouldn't go any faster than 45mph and was really struggling up the hills. I changed the points, plugs and condensor and it was totally transformed, the last long run I did was to Kemble and I was overtaking all the trucks on the motorway! :whistle: Chris

Mick, The place I got them from was a small company near where I live, they can get pretty much anything. If you look in the parts book it'll tell you what size and thread the connectors are. We used a pipe bender and a flaring tool, it was a pretty easy job, the worst part is bending the pipes to fit. I replaced the brake pipes in my Ferret with the engine in place, that was a nightmare. It took about 2 evenings work each side to get the pipes connected as I had to feed them through straight and bend them to fit though the drain hole under the engine...! Pickering Brakes & Clutches Bridge St Works, Bridge St, Langley Mill, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG16 4EE Tel: 01773 530639 Chris

Mick, I changed all the brake pipes in my Ferret, and all the Brake, Power Steering and Fuel pipes in the Fox. I didn't have a problem getting bits, they were all standard sizes. I bought rolls of pipe and bags of connectors from a truck brake supplier so I am fairly sure they're not marine specific connectors!! Chris

Jack, I knew it wouldn't take much to tidy it up, I had everything ready to put it back to new inside and outside, but we ended up selling it rather than doing it ourselves. We would have liked to have kept it but it was a big lump, and not much fun on the roads. We used the cash to buy a Sabre though, which is a proper tank and not just an apc Chris

Just found the website of the bloke who bought my old 432 Looks like they've done it up which is nice, and it seems quite happy. They didn't fix the bent exhaust from when I crashed it into a gate post though :whistle: http://www.tankdriver.co.uk/gallery.htm Chris

That Ferret is very confused, with the Larkspur antenna bases, Clansman antenna bases, steps in the bins, grab handles, flashy light tow hooks?!?! and extra bits bolted on anywhere they fit. It's almost as bad as the pimped one on ebay. Lee there is a Fox windscreen which is quite good and much better than a Ferret one, it would stop the Beltring dust problem. Have you got one? I can take a photo of mine if you want. Chris

Mick, Good luck with sorting your engine troubles. It looks like you need to get the head off and have a look down the bores. I'd also get rid of that small inline filter and replace it with a new correct one. I think that Ferret was cheap for a reason? Just remember everything you do to it will only increase its value! Even if you have to buy a reconditioned engine it will still be a cheap ferret! :-) Chris

I found this one round the back of Withams in 2003, no idea where it went I'm afraid. Chris [attachment deleted by admin]

Paul, You can have a ride, infact if I can get all the vehicles to Beltring which I want to take I might be short of a few crew! Chris

Mick, I know the guy you bought it from had trouble getting any power out of the engine. I told him to check for air leaks in the fuel system as it sounded a bit like air was leaking in under load at high revs. There is also a cork seal on top of the fuel filter (the metal cage part which holds the element) and I have had one of these fail in the past. Chris

If to balance a wheel they need to put rims all the way round then this suggests to me it doesn't actualy need balancing? I had my Land Rover wheels balanced with no problems. You can also get stick on weights which they use when people have fancy alloy wheels. Chris

Diamond T 980.

I remember seeing photos of a load of them lined up somewhere after they'd been sold for scrap. I think there is one in the Littlefield collection, I don't know if anyone else managed to get hold of one though. Chris

Mick, I know the guy who sold you your Ferret, he is a good guy. Keep practicing with th transfer box, when I got mine I started out by shutting down the engine when I wanted to go into reverse because I was afraid of the terrible noise! I am tempted to get my Ferret out this weekend now..... :-D Chris

I'd say either Ferret Mk 1, Chieftain ARRV or CVRT Scimitar. Chris

Mick, They are a real pain to get from forward to reverse, it's the same in all vehicles with that type of gearbox. The worst I've seen by far are the CVRT gearboxes, you can't change from forward to reverse without either making an awful crunching noise or turning off the engine, changing over and then restarting. There are lots of suggestions on how to make it easier, some people suggest selecting a gear and then moving the fwd/rev lever quickly while pressing the gear change pedal. I prefer to do it with the vehicle in neutral using a very quick and firm movement of the lever. It will take some practice but you'll get the hang of it. When driving above 40mph I recommend some glasses, goggles and a decent headset. Mine will cruise happily at 60 on the motorway 8-) Chris

Paul, I need a new car, can you get deals? Chis

It is now far too expensive to get in, and for vehicle owners there isn't much to buy when you do get in. Of course we all go anyway, just incase we miss something. The main reason I go is to do a few car park deals! Chris

I don't know if you've heard about the Challenger 2 which got damaged in Iraq, I have the full story at home. Basically the vision blocks were shot out, it reversed into a ditch and threw a track. The Iraqis launched something like 15 RPGs at it, aswell as a wire guided anti tank missile. The only injury was a broken wrist and it was back in service within days. Chris

You can paint it on but you must have the civilian registration on the front and rear. Technically you're supposed to cover up the military numbers when on the road. I have the military numbers painted/stuck on my hull and made magnetic civi plates to cover them up on the roads. Chris

They've lost loads in Iraq, I forget how many but I think it was quite a few. Chris http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/DM-SD-04-07075.jpg

Green Machine Surplus have steering wheels, Banisters or Marcus Glenn might have the rest of the bits. Failing that, a scrap Ferret? Chris

Yep most of them have an hours run meter too, although not in CVRTs. I don't think the engines lasted long enough to count the hours :shake: Chris

Most of them!

There was someone at a show with a gas turbine driven water pump. He said they turn up on ebay, might be worth a look! Chris