paulob1

I like the magazine, and the MVT...green sheet becoming superfluous these days milweb taken over...save money and stop the green pages..

note to myself, will write an article for the magazine this year....

I didn't really think about nor really consider that you wanted articles sent in...obvious really but not clicked in my head, so maybe some good will come from this...now where did i put my pen, think I will write an article on the fun of owning over 60 military vehicles...with more to come...or maybe on the woes of restoring a Foden GS with beavertail body, or on the electronic ignition of a Ural, or the fun of driving the ferrett in winter with no windscreen and a scantily dressed fiance in the back...hmm loads to write about.....

sorry but thats not true, if you export it ie sell it knowing that it is going abroad and there is a licence needed you the owner are still liable to prosecution...you are exporting arms...you do not have a licence then expect porridge for a few years...

Withams sell the 432's to uk users only, they were run over the coals for not making it a condition of sale theat they would not be exported...the 432 is a current vehicle and whilst I would be suprised in the 432 does need a licence other than a proper export licence, from the CBI in london, if it does you must get the licence not him...

was a fair view of the place, the extremes in that country are great...forget the rich poor gap in the UK its tiny compared to russia...

all chieftains need a lot of work, even a brand new one needed a lot of work, they were forever unreliable and forever in repair...the leyland engine, great design that it was, was rushed into service and was never really truly reliable...add to that 60's technology and ambitions and you have a recipe for disater...41,000 is a lot of money but chieftains are about on going costs not purchase costs...the worst you can do with one I understand is leave it for 20 years without running it...or if you do leave it non running...

thanks Guys, hopefully in the next 6-8 weeks their will be the following new vehicles in the collection...

 

CHieftain

T54

PTS-m

KUB

Kraz 255

Bat M

ZS2

Star 660 with ambulance body for display of the horrors of war...what the cold war was all about stopping war...

BMP

and WDK arnmoured recovery tank..

 

just sorting colection and deliveries etc...think i need to seriously consider getting myself a tank transporter...

forgot the BTR 60 PB too...

thanks Guys, hopefully in the next 6-8 weeks their will be the following new vehicles in the collection...

CHieftain

T54

PTS-m

KUB

Kraz 255

Bat M

ZS2

Star 660 with ambulance body for display of the horrors of war...what the cold war was all about stopping war...

BMP

and WDK arnmoured recovery tank..

just sorting colection and deliveries etc...think i need to seriously consider getting myself a tank transporter...

will do as soon as i have it ready to go...

feedback already been recommended to up it to 10 pounds by a few people so its going up already, inflation...

cool. tell me more...

After much searching and much prevarication I have finally decided to open the doors to the collection where it is in Guildford

We are re-organising things and hoped to have the doors open before Christmas but that isn't going to happen now, it will be in the new year, I will spend most of the break tidying and setting the place up...cleaning vehicles organizing displays and data sheets, info packs and other stuff, its only the first phase, just to get a feel for the interest...and to see if people want to come...it will take me a bit of time to get the place sorted as the current place is just a load of 18x 24 tents, we have a lot of them and outdoor displays a small marquee and a small entrance and coffee shop in one of the insulated 18 x 24 tents...they are really cosy with the arctic insulation panels...

going to charge 5 pounds per person, kids free....

we are going to fit out a saracen hull as a kiddy play thing, so they can jump all over it and sit in it and drive it, we have to make it safe and clean, we will remove the good parts we need and make the rest of it comfy and safe, although we will make it clear that children must be supervised and play at their own risk...insurance with the NFU

going to have a B81 and a zil131 engine on stands running, 1 pound to start the zil engine...may have a k60 running but thats maybe a bit too noisy and cumbersome but we will have one pack displayed...maybe one by the 432...and likely we wont get the time to do all of that...

Currently we only have an acre to use but hopefully once i get the new place we will have a good deal more...

got to get the T54 and Chieftain sorted for the display and put the fh77 into the arena and for now will only display vehicles, no rides will be given although my son will start some of the vehicles at times when people are about, there may be a country walk for those who want to go for a wander...but not sure about this as of yet...

am still looking for more vehicles and have a load of work to do but its a start and all ideas or help gratefully accepted...

paint it, patina is okay if original but if restored it will soon get its own patina....unless there is an exceptional overriding issue of originality needed for its uniqueness or similar, if not, paint it....

ouch thats painful....

got to agree engines look so damn good on a stand...

I bought two from the same guy and no real problems but he did not do anything to mine...they are as they left the army...

nice truck and the right machine for what you want...I have had two stalwarts on mine, one on the bed the other on the trailer, not a single problem...with my mtlb on the bed it is perfect too...have run her with the MTLB and the stalwart on the trailer without any issues...

you wont have CG problems unless you drive it like a loon....the only issue I have is the retard button, it needs to be on the dashboard...they run sweet, drive sweet but keep your eye on gearbox temps when heavily loaded or going up hills, and dont panic when the fan comes on as the temp rises going up a steep hill, you will think the engine is about to explode but it isnt...

never done any more than 6mpg and never any less than 5 mpg, even fully loaded as above...

the old foden GS I have with 340 bhp eagle, does around 8-9, and the Foden GS with the 220 engine does well into the 9's...although not done enough miles in her to confrim this...

just read the report, yes it does depend a lot on the companies doing as they have been told...sensible as long as it is done...just shows how tough it is to run a business, cutting safety corners is one of them...

interesting that the fire on the london dukw was caused by the installation of the foam...safety isnt always safe...

I would have thought the best way to keep a duck afloat if it were to try to sink would be with external buoyancy aids...and surely these days they can use non burning foam...

I actually think the duck is done for after this, it looks highly unlikely that it can carry enough foam to actually achieve the correct safety levels, only choice is to cut the fronts and rears off, weld in at least a foot of extra length and fill with buoyancy aids, non flamable, then go to town with the normal filing of the void spaces with safety bagged removable foam, so it does not soak up oil and diesel and become a fire hazard....with this work you have a working solution, or you just sell up buy a purpose made bus and get on with the tours, or you buy a proper boat...

restoration costs can rarely be recovered....for this you need something like a bit of german ww2 gear...maybe the cvrt's were up there for a while but nowadays prices too high for restoration ever to be worth it in the short term...

That is the attitude I like to hear, fall down, get up and carry on.........from one who very nearly drowned, together with my wife, when tipped into Windermere.

scary moments, I was planning on swimming the channel 6 years ago, but then had a serious motorcycle accident....I now struggle to swim 25 yards of the pool without stopping and getting my breath, if I were tipped into any heavy water I am afraid it would be rather more serious than it was....

I still forget this and go jetskiing without my life jacket, wet suit but no life jacket...daft...

Life jackets really do save lives...they should be accessible...

My partner and I have been on one of the yellow london duck tours, it was funny, informative and my partner really enjoyed it, yes the water was within easy reach of the windows but we payed and we took our chance, that was our choice and responsibility ,it's a shame but we were obviously lucky

dont think its supposed to be luck that you survived

A few weeks ago I went on a DUKW ride in my village.

When unloading I looked at the propellor and was pleasantly surprised to see there were rods welded between the sides to avoid big debris being caught by the screw.

They also had a lot of lifevests in easy reach.

 

It was a bit cold and rainy but had fun.

He floated it and drove a small bit over the beach to get the whole amphibious experience.

I was reading that on d-day loads of dukws sank in the heavier than expected waters...mind you dukw preferable to the DD shermans, 5 kms in heavy water no bilge pump, no spray sheet, no buoyancy aids other than the skirt and less than 5 km per hour...pure madness in the sea even in flat calm let alone a force 4 to 6.

fire will kill any ship. it is one of the most feared of all problems aboard....how the fire started is the mystery, if it has the diesel engine then to get diesel burning is a very hot exhaust and a fuel leak onto it I guess....seems to me its not the end of the world for the DUKW's at all...

If you follow that thought through its the end for anything old...especially when carrying people..and even more so when they are paying passengers....but it doesnt need to be....

this problem wasnt a dukw problem it was a failure of a modern part likely that maybe should have been spotted sooner...or maybe it was like many things a basic failure of a component that no one could foresee,,,

fantastic story, how do I find out more...my eldest son said he would like to go over so likely i think we will do a drive over sometime before next years big celebrations and see what we can find out...

yes it was a really good taster, we did all the beaches and arromanches plus four of the museums. We did not do the new Overlord Museum, its apparently on the tour for next time...it was a great trip, very busy and has inspired me to do a few more tours....

highly recomend people doing this...

Yes I have liddel Harts books, Antony Beevers and one by the german tank commander whos name slips my memory, bluthenmal or similar...its very interesting stuff and will be good to see the ground...

going on a D-day tour, want to go and see some of the history of it, been reading a few books and getting all clued up on it...never read much about it to be fair...it was a very interesting period for us all...and a hell of a problematic set of commanders leaders and weather men...ike had a terrible job to do and I can only say he did it really well, well that's what I get from all the books so far...cant wait to get to see the beaches and the mulberry's etc...museums, cemeteries, bit of a whistle stop tour but cant be helped this first time.,..