kevin powles

I know of one that sold for 50k in the uk last year, I spoke to the seller and he told me that figure, I later by chance meet the buyer and he confirmed this, it was sold by a connected dealer and the carrier was not an 'out of the create' find. I have driven the carrier for sale a couple of years back and if you are looking for a carrier this is pretty original, correct engine, carb, oil filter, etc. I also have done some restoration on it with Malcolm the deceased owner, very nice guy indeed. same dealer tried to sell me a 2pdr barrel for 7.5k, I politely declined. kevin.

Gents, I saw the add on Milweb regarding the T16, looks to be at a very reasonable price for a piece of genuine WW2 armour, Anyone looking to get into WW2 tracked armour this is a must buy, Carriers like this dont come along that often and anyone thinking they can get a fully restored carrier for less than £25k in the uk is dreaming, even if you buy abroard getting a carrier into the uk for less than 9K delivered is also a dream and then you will have restore it from a basket case, (I know because I have done it several times). If I had the spare cash I would invest in this, it will only go up in value. Kevin.

Rick, When you get the Cromwell finished can you make a video like this one :

Rick, Looks and sounds great, cant wait to see it driving, love the lab coat:cool2:. kevin.

Hi, Progress is slow due to two more carriers. here is a few pictures. Note the carrier buried in the ground for many years to stop river bank erosion, now the one painted white. kevin.

More Pics.

Hi, I am restoring a Centaur Gun Tank, I purchased from a guy on this site, its progressing well, I have it stripped down and the hull, suspension and side armour, grit blasted, zinc rich primed and the hull in two pack paint, (please excuse the present colour). I am looking for a few parts for the project : wheel hubs, drive hub, two suspension split retaining brackets (will post a pic of these), brass retaing ring for the Centaur style track tensioner assemblies. I have the tank at mine now and can progress the project more economically. I am casting a Besa mount from an original if anyone is intereted as i am having moulds made, if so please p.m. me. I would appreciate any leads to parts or finding a turret to restore with turret ring. kevin.

Hi Rick, Adrian, I might have to do that after work on Tuesday about 14:30 will let you know. regards kevin.

Hi, Not having a workshop manual to hand can anyone talk me through removing the final drive including the sprokets from a Centaur hull?. thanks in advance kevin.

Hi Bob, Nice truck, I have a few items for this truck, front Radiator grill muff cover NOS, but I think for the Chev version, I have the canvas bits that run down the door glass leading edge but again maybe these are different on a Chev version. Some NOS seat swab covers. Regards kevin.

Thanks guys, I was unsure about that track, but yes clearly not a Cavalier tank. I will certainly look at converting the wheels, having machined Windsor wheels to make Carrier wheels before, a good finish can be achived on the rubber sides, I will cost up this conversion to see if it viable. Were the holes in the rubber for suspension 'give' or to aid cooling the tyre?, would like to try and replicate this on the converted wheels.

Hi, Just looking at this film, Is that not a Cavalier in the test?, the track looks to be Cavalier, but does anyone know the differnce between, Cavalier, Centaur and Cromwell track?, Cavalier track appears to be unique and the Centaur and Cromwell very similar in apperance. Also anyone know were to get NOS Centurion wheels to make them into Centaur wheels?. kevin.

Rapheal, how many conduit elbows and 't' boxs do you need, You will find 3/4" and 1" on a carrier the difficult conduit fittings to get hold of are the split sandwich types used on the the division plate behind the driver. I can supply the elbows and T boxs you have pictured but they wont be marked with the CU number. I also have carrier parts to trade if you have anything up for trade. kevin.

Hi, I have just purchased a CMP c15 Chevvy, it is currently subject to an MOT and I want to get it MOT'ed. The cab is very rusty and so is the buck, I plan to remove the cab and buck and run it intially as an open cab with no rear buck. What is required for an MOT ON THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE?. The Chassis,running gear and engine is all very good. Could someone advise on the requirement for an MOT please. thanks kevin.

Hi, That photo could of possibly been taken at Fritton Lake in Norfolk, the tree line looks right, dd shermans trained there. kev.

Eddy, Glad you got home safely, had to rush off from Beltring on Friday to beat the traffic home. On the MLu site we are getting some track pawl tension springs sent over from Australia, I noticed your carrier was fitted with these, I can get you a set of two if you like. In exchange for them i would like to borrow if possible one of your rubber gun firing rests with its metal tray, I have attached a pic of what i would like a lend of, also the radio valves spares box you mentioned you had as well which sits on the track guard on the drivers side, pic attached also, its the box to the right of the radio set. with the two storage prongs on it. I can bring the springs up to you as i am up your way in a couple of weeks. thanks kevin.

Hi, Lowestoft Poppy appeal launch 2010, universal carrier.

Hi Eddy, Glad the carrier is nearly home, Carriers can still be a pain to move even with the tracks off, If you have a wheel like I did with half the rubber missing, it will act as a brake when that wheel bottoms out, if it does try and knock the rest of the rubber off to make it round or remove the wheel altogether, pin should knock through with the nut removed, also with the tracks off check the springs sit up to the stops, if they dont they could be seized, but saying that with the rear axle still on your carrier they may sit lower. Also when you remove the rear axle the carrier will sit forward and roll on the two central bogie wheels only, with the rear trailer bogies off the ground. All good fun, cant wait for the pics, good luck. kevin.

Hi, Good luck and looking forwrad to the pictures, can you possibly send them to kevinpowles@btinternet.com in return i can post up to you a british carrier user manual and maintenance manual on cd, I particulary interested in the rear battery box areas and the boys rifle brackets (left hand side rear compartment). kevin.

Hi Eddy, You bought that carrier at the wright time, when your married you have to send the missus on holiday for a week to give you time to get the carrier home and in the garage before she comes back...................like i did. Kevin.

Hi Eddy, Southampton has no on terminal unloading arrangements, we had to arrange an unloading agent to bring it out the docks and unload it at there container handling facility. Is your Carrier free rolling?, I suspect not. I suggest you collect it with a flatbed with crane. Firstly the facility we used only had a ramp they could offer up to the back of a container, (which will be on the back of a lorry), try stopping a free rolling carrier down an incline with no brakes with a forklist only to stop it. We had a flatbed level upto the back of the container and were able to drag the carrier out with the attached crane. Dont do it on the cheap or your in trouble. I know someone who collected my carrier and can do the job, I will dig out the name of the agent used in Southampton and suspect John will have arranged the same, I know we had to get some import duty paid paperwork in place before the carrier was released. This was hassle too as the agent quoted an obsolete form with a long since departed tax office address which we sent it too. Let me have your private e-mail and I will find the form numbers you need and were and what to send.

hi eddy, i bought the last carrier john had for sale, its worth buying all the repro parts he does and have them put in the carrier to save the shipping costs, if you dont you will regret it later. i would have bought it myself if the armour was uncut. drop me a line if you like at kevinpowles@btinternet.com always interested in trading parts. good luck kevin.

Hi, that top carrier pictured is un restored and in original paint as found near Cowe Hill in Canada, very complete, its a 3" mortar version that was laid up in the forest for many years, cleaned it out the other day and found a number of 1943 dated 303 rounds. I know John from Midwest as I bought this carrier from him among many other repro items for my other carrier. I'm on the MLU site but I thought they may be more British carrier owners on this site. kevin.

Hi, I have a couple of bren gun carriers as pictured and am interested in contacting fellow like minded people to share restoration information. I am also looking for carrier parts and have parts to trade. drop me a line at kevinpowles@btinternet.com also looking for a dingo to purchase. thanks kevin.