paulob1

I am taking a trip out to poland to check out some of the military dealers and things...am looking to purcahse a few trucks and maybe a few other military vehicles, then have the fun of getting them back to the UK...another adventure...anyone fancy a trip to Poland then driving back in a skot 0t 64 or a ural 4320 etc...just for the hell of it...partially joking.... I am planning on driving and trailering the loads myself, the cost of delivery is too high now and therefore I need to bring them back in my own time at my cost not someone elses profit and at even 5 mpg I can do it for less than half the cost per vehicle using a delivery firm, even a polish one...

it is definitely a ural and it does look like a 4320 diesel although it could be a 375 d petrol engine...very very nice truck indeed...

as I have said, you are right, it is only 5 years of air shows, was just being a bit optomisitc in hoping that the hours have been improved and that standards of testing and maintenance would have improved the airframes life...I have no idea how failsafe the vulcan airframe is but you are right once she is done she is done and that means end of the line... Is it really less than 3 years...cant believe it... Anyway where does the funding go from their, the team etc...it has to, in my humble opinion mature into a fundraising, aircraft restoring expert house, one that can take on not just the vulcan, soon to be gone but other aircraft too... One note, if the b52 can have so many life extensions i am sure the vulcan can, I know fatigue is a well known but complex beast I am sure they can do some things that will extend the airframes life...just at what cost i guess......you have to agree the bird is one cracing aircraft the likes of which we are unlikely to see again...well not totally true, aircraft may grow and may go back to the swept delta once we stop worrying over global warming...and we head back into supersonic flight,...who knows what may yet appear...

got to try it today with the new tow bar on, I bought it from withams, (the crafty shower) Have to see how it affects handling and braking...

good enough reason for me...

yep need to take the 432 for a spin tomorrow...any excuse...

Did mine with Terry brooks, he cant get further away but he has the perfect vehicles and the perfect site...great guy too...if you want to do it go to his place...

for me the biggest issue is that this bird only has some 5000 hours of airframe time left...or whatever it is these days, its not many years of air shows, less than 10 years...what happens then...its a really tricky issue. I ADMIRE THE BOYS FOR TRYING AND GETTING SO FAR. I just cant believe they have done it. As regards people and salaries, the good need paying if they do not they go elsewhere and nothing happens...those that donate their time, are likely retired and are doing a good deal of the work for fun...i would if i was anywhere near and of any useful skills...but then i have other income...I would just love to work on it...I do still give, not enough but some... I still believe the government should offer a bit more help...we will regret not doing it in 50 years...but anyway...keep her going boys, tough I know but keep her up there...cant wait to see her at farnborough...missed all shows this year so far...but I have seen them many times before and they are part of the reason why I never became an aircraft designer after university...long story... Keep her flying is all I can say...crazy as it seems...just leep her up there..

Okay guys need a haulage company that can pick up a zil 131 in/near Brotton and then go onto grantham (withams) to pick up a couple of radio bodies, will need to be a low loader...truck drives and withams can lift the containers on the back...will need to put one of the radio bodies on the back of the zil to fit it all on I guess.......the zil is about 21 foot long and the two radio bodies 14 foot 6...each...anyone know any body...in urgent need...

well three of them i have given to my boys to look after, one i am keeping for myself....and i am going to get it on the road for travelling here and there now and again...i am off to poland in august looking for a couple of urals and a skot/ 0t 64..and just maybe if i can find one a nice tatra 813 with winch, dozer blade and flat bed....then i am done...no more toys...except maybe a saracen and a ferrett...and a spartan, ooh and a chieftain..stop now...got to kick this habit...

Most american import winebagos are over the limit....the 432's tracks are under the legal width limit, its load isnt...and to be fair a tracked vehicle cant be subject to the same rules as a normal road going vehicle as its slower, but the reality is this is a problem that is going to haunt us all and right now we are not fighting a proper corner...what we really need is a proper classification for ex military vehicles...it should in my opinion go a bit like this... all road used military vehicles must be a member of an accredited MV club...the mvt, HMVF 432 owners club etc etc etc...these clubs must have an officially rercognised expert who will sing of on the roadworthiness of a particular vehicle... no matter what the type of vehicle if it is driven on the road by the army etc, it can be driven on the road by us and should be exempt MOT if needs be or tested to a specific set of tests....agreed by the clubs...this would then negate the need for a club expert to examine and approve the vehicle... Once all this is done any vehicle could then be used for the purpose of pleasure and domestic purposes. If the vehicle is used for work purposes then it should be subject to the regulations current at the time of its manufacture...etc etc,.... Just some of my thoughts about it

well i have just bought another zil 131 and am supposed to be buying a ferret but someone seems to have gone to ground and I am looking at a saracen next week...really wanted the Ferrett...anyway saracen hopefully will be the next item...so now I have 4 x zil 131 1 x stalwart 1 x 432 scot trac unimog argocat x 2 looking at saracen, 12 seater tdi landy and a ferrett if I can contact the fella...

all track laying vehicles need an H-licence, you can drive on l plates but if there is a seat by your side you must have a competant person who is over 21 with three years driving experience as a co driver. if there is not a seat by your side it does not say you cant drive it alone but its a grey area... HGV is nothing to do with track laying vehicles,. All vehicles that cannot do more than 25mph should run with an orange warning light. if they can exceed this speed they do not need one, even if you chose to drive it at 10 mph all day long...I drive with two on my stolly and my 432 daft not to.. As to road worthiness of a vehicle it is very very complex and involved, but rubber pads make a fast track laying vehicle more acceptable, if its a 13 ton jcb they only have metal tracks but even they can be road registered if you want to...the biggest issue is lights indicators and seat belt depending upon age...the rest is, if its fitted and to do with safety it should work... the biggest trouble brewing for us all is the width issue...it is becoming more and more of an issue...and the DVLA are getting more and more keen to stop wide vehicles using the road...dumb when you think a wide load isnt classed as such until it is well past the width of most of our vehicles...the 432 for isntance has tracks that are inside the maximum width yet its body is outside...but its no worse than the wide load issue...all abit of trouble for us i think....

Okay, my initial thoughts would have been for diff changes, but i think the overdrive route may be better...he will not be towing very much i suspect....but i will ask...

stollys are great, just a few too many easy to break parts than it really needs....hows your going neil...whats the latest...

worth is what people will pay...try ebay and see...got to be worth a few hundred i would have thought to the right person...bet a farmer would buy it...

thanks guys, its not for me its a friend...but will tell him the overdrive is the way to go...he has been getting people to quote for re-gearing the box and i have told himthat seems a real waste of time, i did tell him about the fact that it likely wont run a higher ratio and he would be wasting his time...but he is determined to try, you know what some landrover people are like...

Hi guys need help getting an easier cruising speed out of this old girl Its a military 2.2 diesel series 3....I was thinking of a higher ratio final drive so it cruises a bit easier. Any one know how to do this or the best option, will a five speed off a new ninety or 110 fit...etc etc.....

fv 432 isnt easy to maintain, well actually it is if you let someone else do it....

both versions have their issues and bonus's. Generally I think the diesel is more reliable, but then the b81, looked after properly is fine too, its just that its a petrol engine and things go worng, like sprak plugs fail, carbs play up, etc. I would say if you are mechanically minded either is good...if you have other people look after your machine then a diesel may be better...I have the diesel 4342 and petrol stalwart (same engine as the 432) and it has been fine with just normal maintenance...

police have no reason to hassle us if we are driving carefully, they like many people repsect our passion and the fact that we are doing no harm is excellent....we are also a bit of entertainment for the local public too

darrel knows his stuff and if you ask l i am sure he will give you a serious run down on what is needed....I was looking at his striker for sale, not knowing the cvr t very well it looked a bit too much for me to do. But if your okay mechanically and can spray you have a good chance of getting one running pretty good...

with the k60 engine, although I think they were all upgraded to a bigger more powerful engine...k60 a bit too unreliable..and not with enough oomph..

thats what it was...solenoid knackered...anyone know where I can get another one from...

I am sure the Tank fest are happy with the way they run their show....the fact that we are not welcome unless its under their terms and conditions is just that, its their show and they make the rules... The fact that they are ignoring their past and those that helped in the past is just the way things go, it always happens in life, new people new ideas and loads of old people who dont like change get annoyed. However once money is involved the world changes.....Current statments seem to say to me that they have lost what it (bovington tank museun) is all about...the education element is just an attempt to add credence to the way they want to run their show... and eventually the musuem...banal, me too, heard it all before type stuff...not really very imaginative at all... The general public want to be entertained, if at the same time they can be educated by offering some form of realistic view at the same time seems great doesnt it...education for educations sake,...hmmm not sure it works to be honest....truth is as long as they keep coming its good news for Bovington and the tank museum... I just hope that by ostracising the general MV population they dont also ostracise themselves... It is clear that you NOW HAVE TO BE more interested in the perpetuation of the business that is Bovington tank museum than the tanks themselves...whilst this may sound like a good thing, what it will do is change the taste and flavour of the tank museum, which may or may not be good change. This new business has to find a way to survive and this is exactly what it is doing...I suspect that may not be about keeping tanks fit and healthy for the future of those who are interested in them... good luck is all I can say and I hope your new business survives....and that the general public keep coming to the museum so that at least some of the money will go to adding more and more MV's from all periods and all arenas and so perpetuating the real reason for the tank musuem...i suspect that with pension payments, wages and other costs that tanks will become a minor expense in the bigger picture of it all...