Tim Vibert

Hi, lugs are for drag ropes to assist shifting the Mobat or similar towed vehicle in muddy conditions. Tim

Hi folks. I have tried the usual UK dealers without success for rear cylinders complete.. Any clues on a source of one set? All the best Tim Australia.

Hi Malcolm, when I first got the Cents I was keen to get the stab working on a rebuilt tank.. Eventually after swapping out control boxes and a lot of research I got it working on one tank. It operated for 10 minutes then a cloud of smoke from one of the control boxes put me off trying again. Reading Army reports later, on training exercises, indicated gunnery rarely worked on stab. I have the full technical stuff on gunnery if you want to take it further. Nice to hear from you. Tim

My theory is bracket has been modified. See photo. Regards Tim

Hi members. Tim Vibert and my first time on any sort of internet forum. Situated in Victoria Australia I started collecting and restoring MVs in the 1960s. Blitz's, Bedford QL's Chevs etc.from the bush and scrapyards . In 1984, along with a group of Australians I attended the 40th D Day anniversary. We came under the wing of Peter Gray and I later imported a Dodge Command Car, Daimler Dingo, Harley WLA, Indian 741b and 2 Matchless G3l's. In 1987 I attended a local Army Auction that contained a large quatity of Centurion spares which I purchased. At that stage there was no indication of when the Army's Centurions would be sold. I pestered the Govt. to no avail. Eventually they were put up for Tender early 1989. 105 Centurions and 2,500 tons of spares. With the help of a friend and my brother I put in a tender and then the wait began. The specified 10 days to advice turned into 5 Months. I eventually threatened to withdraw our Tender, the next day I was advised we had won. I later found out we were only a few dollars above the scrap dealers. I won't bore you with the logistics involved over the next 8 months putting these to bed on 2 private properties. Many early buyers were losing bidders from the Tender. In 1991 I travelled to the US and then to Europe buying 4 Israeli half tracks, 2 Gama Goats, 4 OT62's and 4 OT810's. With the fall of the Berlin Wall I began making enquiries regarding purchasing Russian vehicles. It was arranged, and I travelled with Mike Cecil and Glen Dore to Moscow. We had a festinating time visiting Monino and the then out of bounds Kubinka. No vehicles were bought, far too expensive. At about this time I was accepted on the MOD Tender List. Ferrets, FV432's and Ferrets were purchased. One MOD Tender was for 36 Saracens and associated spares ex Hong Kong which a colleague and I were successful with. In 1995 I was approached by Fox Sudios to supply 12 Centurions for the film Courage Under Fire. These were subsequently shipped to LA and then onto Mexico for the filming. I travelled with 3 colleagues to assist with logistics. The sale of tanks and vehicles continued until the last one was sold a few years ago. The wind down has started with a near empty shed now. After ignoring Austin Champs for years I am now the proud owner of one that appeared in the local Army Auctions. I still have a fair range of spares for British vehicles on my website Empire Trading and Disposals. All the best to fellow members, Tim .