FV1604A

Hi Andy, I have had a quick look through the posts, but don't think you have the disposal details of your great Militant. It was sold at Ruddington at their last sale. 26 BR 34 was sold as Lot 1925, sale 179 on the 17th of June 1983, probably just before lunch! It was one of a host of Militants sold on the day, most appeared to have between 33 and 40,000 miles registered according to notes I made on the day. Good luck with the restoration. Mike.

Welcome too from another Northumbrian ex-pat. Yes, Richard, I think the initials DT might just fit as there aren't many people in Northumbria with two (or more) Matadors and then there was that fine Diamond T . Good luck with the Bedford QL tipper, a great choice of project. Numbers and pictures when you have time, please. Best wishes, Mike.

If you buy Heritage Commercials magazine, this month, you can read all about Garry's UPJ92F.

Hi all, The Albions, WD/HD/23s were all numbered usually in the BD, BL or BK sequence. The cargos usually 85 BL/55 BK, the long wheelbase workshops 98 BD/99 BD and the short wheelbase three-way tippers in the 84 BL series. For further reading; five page article in Heritage Commercials Magazine last month’s issue April 2015 along with a good piece on Graham Booth’s Rotinoff by Bob Tuck. Bw, Mike

Hi FEC, PM sent, Bw, Mike.

Hi Peakrec, PM sent regarding your Humber body requirement. BW,Mike.

For those of you who love this wonderful truck, it may be judicious to buy a copy of the February edition of ‘Truck and Driver’ magazine for a six-page article with all-new images.

Hi Winchman, Two great trucks, have owned both, but I would have thought the RL was better from the spares aspect than the K9, but someone may know different.They are also quite different vehicles in terms of size. Storage always being a problem. You may get away with parking a K9 "on the drive", but I doubt an RL will please the neighbours. Good luck anyway, hope you find something. Bw, Mike.

Congratulations to both of you. From my experience, it just gets better and better and I have a few more than you under the belt. Have a great celebration weekend. Best wishes, Mike.

When I owned them, I moved the Humbers on 5 separate occasions, all using professional companies with standard AA recovery-type winch-on or Brimec transporters, obviously legality has moved on since then.(see threads 4,6 and 7) This is a problem in reflecting on life in the eighties, in my view, a more sane time. Bw, Mike

Yes, go for it. Fair price, even with a lot of welding work, you may be lucky and get a good one. I ran a FV1604A, hence “the handle” and really miss it now. You have to enjoy lying on your back with a grease gun. They are a great truck to drive, bags of power. If you want to keep your clutch intact, careful gear changes are important as there is a lot of heavy metal rolling around down there, but a very rewarding experience. Can’t advise doing a three-point-turn in the High Street though! Like you, I loved the look of them, how or why they designed them that way, can’t quite understand, but all the wings unbolt, so you can get to most of the rust. The cargo body likewise is bolted and can be removed by two people. Cab top/door bottoms and lower section of the spare wheel cover usually rotten. There are at least two, maybe three, running examples near to your location and a possible source of used spares in Northumberland. The real expert on hmvf is, as Sean says, the extremely helpful Clive Elliott, who will no doubt, be on this post soon to give affirmation to all words on the subject. (Hope your broken Shorland following your axle breakage at War and Peace is fixed by now, Clive) Unless health and safety/road regs changed since my time of ownership, it can be carried on a standard car transporter. Cost? I would budget for around a £1 per mile, if you can get a backload, but I could be living in the past. Sean's estimate is probably nearer the mark. Good luck; Mike

Very impressive, Peter; excellent presentation. Mike.

Hi Guy, pm sent to you explaining your situation. regards, Mike.

Hi, Friend of mine has just found a pair of American Anderson O’Brien generator sets in very original condition, one has 20 minutes on the clock. The plate shows them as 10kw units. Any interest, please pm me and I will pass his contact details on. Bw, Mike.

Thanks to all who helped try to identify the Master Cylinder. Appreciate your time. Thanks, Mike.

Hi everyone, Just doing some research on the Thornycroft Amazon crane. Does anyone know what happened to the Ainscough example which was last seen on this site when it moved up to the sadly ill-fated Millom museum in Cumbria. I have tried to contact Mark Gaskell who posted the picture but to no avail. Anyone know him? Many thanks, Mike.

Hi Richard, Thanks for your efforts so far. Of all the numbers, I didn't think these tiny markings on the washer would have any significance, but there you go, wrong again! It says 32183/2 RH FT 11/16 then a short space followed by RR 15/16. Look forward to hearing more, thanks again. Bw, Mike.

Thanks Guy, Thanks Clive, Still watching and hopefully, a lot nearer to finding its I.D. Bw, Mike.

Hi Niels, Hey, that was quick, four minutes! Where else but hmvf could you get service like that? Thanks. Any other observations from the forum appreciated. Bw, Mike.

Hi, Could anyone help to identify a Lockheed Brake Master Cylinder from “our shed”. I think it may be Bedford OY or QL, but that’s only a guess. It states on the unit, 9/14438/2 Dual on one side and Tandem one and a quarter on the other. Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike.

HI John, So this is the same route that Chris Millers Antar and Bonzo Bear, the Mack Interstater would have taken hauling those Markham taps to Dinorwic power station. Bw,Mike.

Great picture Willyslancs, Know Delph well, this wasn't taken in February or you wouldn't have seen the top of the radiators! However, they wouldn't be doing it in February. Great shot though, wish I had taken it. Mike.

Hi Howard, I was in Elvington at the excellent Yorkshire Air Museum last week and they have a Fordson with bomb trolley, parked under the wing of a Mosquito and it is green. Best wishes,Mike.

Hi, Anybody had any bad experiences with theft, car or otherwise, at this show, as we are coming down with a packed car and trying to work out what we will need to carry around the show with us. Would appreciate any comments on whether there has been any trouble with the "light-fingered low-lifes". Thanks, Mike.

returning to post 5 and 6, isn't the £17,500 trailer, the 56-ton Andover plant semi on there? Great info thread, keep on posting! Bw,Mike