sirhc

Lee, We may take the Fox to Kemble if it is ready on time, not sure about Beltring, it depends on transport for the Spartan and crew members. My brother might not be able to make it this year, which leaves us with too many toys and not enough drivers! It'll be at some of the shows though, probably the Town and Country show at Stoneleigh too. Chris

We've now got the Fox running and driving in all gears. Latest photos: http://www.sirhc.co.uk/cgi-bin/emAlbum.cgi?cmd=show_thumbs&path=Fox%20Movement&tn=1 Chris

Ivan, The Sabre is for a friend. I know Withams have Sabres, but they aren't selling them as projects anymore. My friend has just enough to afford a good project vehicle, aftr saving up, and now they won't sell us one! Chris

Neil, It's Beltring. Chris

Neil, You probably wouldn't want to drive the Stalwart too far on the motorways. Especially with no brakedown cover. The police like to get broken down vehicles moved as quickly as possible, if you can't shift it in a given time frame they'll do it and send you the bill. ££££ Also where are you going to go to unwind the transmission? I take my Ferret over kurbs and over the grass at motorway service stations when nobody is looking, quite easy with a small Mk1 Ferret, but I doubt you'd get away with it in a Stalwart! I also only drive it on motorways where I have to, at times where there is least traffic. I have driven to Beltring (220 miles) overnight, with plenty of stops. We did not brake down, but lost all lighting going over the Dartford crossing. Luckily it was 6am and the sun had just come up. Chris

My CVR(T) article has been delayed, due to Military Machines running a similar (but inferior) article this month. Pat wasn't too happy, as he already had it all sorted, including a picture from my article on the cover. He has decided to delay it by six months, but assures me it will be in there soon. Chris

Lee... I'll let you know about a race when I have more than one working gear!! Chris

I have an electrical manual, including fault finding charts for the charging system. http://www.sirhc.co.uk/documents/432mk2elec.pdf I suggest you save it (right click, save target as..) since it is a big document. Chris

P.S. I hope you're disengaging the final drives as detailed in the REME recovery manual before you tow it about on an A frame.

I'm sure the R means runner, but I can't remember what the P means. The circle is a tac sign but I cant find the list which tells me what it means at the moment. Chris

I think they forgot to write 'over' next to the done. It was written on there when it had the engine removed, also has 'barell removed for deac' written on the turret too. Looking forward to getting it going finally. Will yours be at Beltring this year? Chris

Neil, Yes it is a good site, but it mostly relates to the Mk 1, as this is what Dave Giles has, there's not too much on the more common Mk 2. Chris

Our Spartan, 48 AT 14, was used in Kosovo during Operation Agricola by 26 Engineer Regiment, for route proving and reconnaissance. Although it was used by other units after it returrned we found the KFOR markings under the paint and decided to restore it to how it was when it was out there. We also found a lot of white paint which ties in with the history dcument as it was also used in Operation Grapple, when it was painted white in UN service. By getting in touch with 26 Engineer Regiment I was able to get hold of the following photos: Chris

Dougy, I do have the user handbook, and the electrical system manual. The 432 is not stored at home so we don't get over to it much, and when we do it's normally just to give it a run up and down the lane. We'll have to go and spend some time on it going over all the problems as it is now road registered but we haven't taken it out on the roads yet. Cheers, Chris

We've now swapped the gearboxes and refitted the engine. The vehicle has moved, for the first time since it was delivered in November 2002! It was only a few feet, but it was still progress. We need to do some more adjustment on the gearbox but hopefully we'll get it on the road by the summer. Chris

Rob, We didn't go last year, but may go this year. My Dad has had a bit to do with Austers in the past, as he works in aviation, so he would be interested in coming too! Do you have any dates etc? Chris

Kubinka in Russia - http://www.tankmuseum.ru/ Chris

Rob, Welcome to the forum. I'm only young myself, 23, but have been restoring vehicles since I was 17. I'm just down the road from you in Nottingham. Might see you at some shows this year (if we ever get to any..!) Cheers, Chris

Dougy, We did have the indicators working, but having not read that page of the manual they stopped working when we put it in neutral. The indicators only work when it is in gear, but we'd already messed with them before reading that! I have some new flasher units, and have changed it, but we still have to put the wiring back to how it was... it's just going to be trial and error. The interior lights don't work in ours, and I can't get the NBC pack to operate, but everything else works ok. When we get the Fox finished we'll start doing all the little 432 jobs. Cheers, Chris

Neil, That was on the side of a Spartan. Not seen many with markings like that on though. Quite a few with KFOR or SFOR, Kovoso or Bosnia. I don't think I have any more photos of the vehicle in question, so I can't find the reg no. Chris

I have seen quite a few ambulances go through the sales, have a look through the Withams section of my photo gallery http://gallery.sirhc.co.uk There are also a lot of photos of our vehicles there. We have been running on contaminated fuel and haven't had any problems yet. There was 3/4 of a tank of diesel in it so we just dilute it down. We put it into clear containers first and then if it looks ok put it in. I don't think they really care about registering. They probably can't be bothered to go and find the hull number, especially if it is under some paint, so don't bother. We have a problem with the indicators, and need to know how the switch is wired up. It was wired up differently to the diagram inside, my dad rewired it as per the diagram and it doesn't work at all now. Anyone got any ideas? Two of the wires on the flasher unit were cut and joined together with tape. Cheers, Chris

When I did my Ferret the heatshield was a new one, I sprayed straight over it 4 years ago and the paint has never come off. I have used factory manifold grey and black velvet for the exhaust parts. I sandblasted the manifolds, tubes and everything else then applied 2 coats. The paint has stayed stuck despite people telling me it wouldn't. You can get it from Frosts, http://www.frost.co.uk I also recommend Marine Clean from them, it's excellent for getting everything nice and clean before painting. Good luck! Chris

That's Ferrets for you! A mate of mine totally rebuilt his, he put all new seals everywhere. Once it was done and filled with oil it still leaked.

Along this note when we owned a Humber Pig we took it to a show. This ex soldier came over and spent ages looking at it. We said he could get in if he wanted, but he kept refusing. Turns out last time he was in one it got set on fire on the streets of Northern Ireland and he didn't want to be reminded of it. Chris

Is it not easier and cheaper to buy new zinc plated fasteners?