Tony Graves

hi all, i think that explorer was restored and sign written by graham booth, i am sure it was in graham,s yard for a long time. all the best tony g.

hi tony b, the swanley diamond the black knight is pictured on page 27 of this thread i think at petts wood near chislehurst, i knew i had seen it somewhere, all the best, tony g.

hi tony b, i clearly remember the diamond at swanley all those years ago, it was called the black knight and had chrome wheel trims and was painted black and gold and in beautiful condition, it was a petrol 6x6 969 with standard holmes w45 recovery gear , hope of interest, tony g,

hi all, i agree, original palm couplings are very hard to come by, modern couplings are not the same. i was led up the garden path for a year by a chap in belgium and nothing came of it, i finally found a diamond t rolling chassis which did the job, perhaps someone out there is breaking a similar vehicle or hopefully nos will help you out, good luck, all the best tony g.

Hi All, sorry for the quality of the photo. This ws Arthur Carter's Diamond shown recovering an artic during the 1970's. It was fitted with a Rolls C6 which blew a hole in the block and was re-fitted with Cummins 335 supercharged engine which was taken out of the famous Wynn's Pacific 192 Dreadnought which was cut up afterwards. Note also the cut back battery boxes to make room for the shear legs. Hope of interest. Tony G

Hi All I took these photos of Arthur Carter's Diamond T a couple of weeks ago. The wooden back body has been replaced with a cut down Diamond balast body. He has a fair way to go yet but the conditions he has had to work in has been horrendous (snow, rain and wind) and he has tried his best with very little money. Hopefully it will be finished for the new rally season.. Hope of interest. Tony G.

hi dizzy, spoken to john wynn for you about colours on the diamonds, the nearest red was post office red and the ballast body was maroon, but he said no two vehicles were the same colours, the nearest would do, perhaps this may help you in making your models, hope of some help, tony g.

hi dizzy, i have a book here called hauling heavyweights and a section in it is devoted to wynns with coloured shots of their diamonds, i have had the book for over twenty years so it may well be out of print, but the other way is to buy john wynns dvds 1 to 7, there are hours of coloured footage of diamonds and pacifics, well worth the money, hope of some help dizzy, all the best tony g.

hi dizzy, hope everything ok, there are a couple of john wynn books available with plenty of colour photos of original cabbed diamonds, hope of interest tony g.

hi rosco, quite interested in the photo of wynns wrecker 3624dw fleet number 201,is it a recent photo, if not do you think it maybe for sale, it could be a good restoration project, if it is for sale could you give me the location, all the best, tony g.

Hi, as promised, two photos of the low loader diamond taken 20 years ago at Rex's yard near Sanwich. Tony G

hi,the diamond on the low loader is ex rex cadmans, it originally had a yellow erf cab on it, it has a rolls royce c6 diesel but it is in a bad shape, i first saw it about 20 years ago and two months ago when i went to visit rex for couple of beers, i am pleased someone has had the courage to have a go at it. i have a photo of it from 20 years ago, i will find it and post on this site, all the best tony g.

Hi All, I was driving through Carentan on Sunday and saw this Diamond 981 parked at Paratrooper Vehicles. It is quite original with a Hercules diesel and wouldn't take too much to put back to standard. The cab is quite good and I think it has been restored before. It is in the colours of the US Navy and by the look of it, it is a non runner but has been kept under cover. I know the people at Paratrooper Vehicles and if it is for sale I will post the price. It would make a good project. Hope of interest. Tony G

hi juergenkurz, i went on to google stonehenge brabazon crane, i hope you find it ok, all the best tony g.

hi juergenkurz, for a better picture of the ransomes crane trailer at work go to stonehenge erection of trilithon lintel in 1958, it is a british heritage site. we have never found who did the work at stonehenge, diamond ts were used but with no trade names on them, stonehenge purists say the ressurection of the site never took place, hope of interest, tony g.

Hi, In response to your question I think this is what you are looking for. The trailer was not "Rogers" but the 40 ton British Crane Tank Trailer. The crane on the back, I think was similar to the "Ransomes" which had a capacity of 60 tons and when not in use folded back onto the trailer. The crane did not swivel so the trailer had to be positioned correctly for the lift. Originally used by REME, several were purchased by Wynn's Heavy Haulage of Newport and I think Wynn's called them Brabazon's. Hope of interest. Tony Graves

hi peak, i might be wrong but isn,t 23yz80 the armies diamond based at bordon, i cannot remember if it was named old joe, but i know the army museum still retains a couple of diamonds, all the best, tony g.

Hi All, just a few photos of the Diamond. It is nearly finished. I have just bought the 2 pack silver paint in England (the paint here is rubbish) so it ois just the wheels, back body and crane to paint. I will post more pictures when she is finished. The engine has been in bits , new head gaskets. I sourced a good pair of wings (ex. Italian). The doors, cab and bonnets have all been re-built.

hi all, the diamond did belong to graham booth many years ago but was bought by queens motors of penge who,s owner used to drive the wrecker nearly forty years ago. the original rolls c6 went bang and the engine was replaced with a 335 supercharged cummins which came out of wynn,s famous 192 pacific after it was scrapped. the wrecking gear is not a dummy, the booms have yet to be fitted to complete the crane, the floor is also made of wood as arthur carter the owner is waiting for the holmes back body to be delivered, hope of interest tony g.

hi all, re the 12volt 24volt floor stater button, they are not all the same, for the diamond 980 and 981 ,inside the switch there are two flip up contacts, when depressed the first contact is 12volt for the flame thrower, and when fully depressed the second contact gives 24volt for the starter motor. you must remember these switches were used on a numer of other vehicles including macks which did not have the flame thrower, obviously because they were petrol. these switches all look the same from the outside but inside they are not. hope of interest ,tony g.

hi maccdt, hope everything ok, am i right in saying the blue diamond is ex cazdow's heavy haulage fitted with leyland 680 and has been to dorset last couple of years, the lifting mechanism was designed by bil jackson formally of chaseside engineering famous for their cable operated loading shovels in the fifties, hope of interest, tony g.

hi maccdt, hope everything ok, what are you looking for from a c6, i have a complete c6 i43 series here and was a good runner,if i can help give me a call, all the best tony g.

hi maccdt, great to see the old girl is going to be preserved, as an aside i have an excellent air cleaner bonnet side with the ventilation piece and the cut away chequer plate for the top of the wing, you can call me on 0033231101198. i wish you all the best with your project, all the best tony t.

hi, the essex diamond t featured in the previous thread is now in normandy, there was a problem with a broken valve spring, it has a rolls c6 and needs a lot of work doing to it. it is located near domfront about two hours from me, i went to see it last year and it was up for sale for 1500euros, i do not know if it has been repaired but if anybody is interested in it i have the chaps telephone number, all the best ,tony g.

Hi All At last I have managed to download my film with the great help of my Son-in-Law. The Diamond had been in Bishops shed for 21 years after being pulled up on the M25 by the Police for going too slow towing their 60 ton concrete crusher. It took 18 months of constant telephone calls to negotiate a good price and then the deal was done. It has a new Hercules Diesel engine and i doubt it has done 500 miles, but i have had the heads off the engine and the timing was a mile out, but now shes running sweet without the aid of a sniff. The flame thrower works perfectly. I will post some pictures later of the restoration progress. I hope you enjoy the video - Part I & Part II. Part 1 Part 2 Regards Tony G