oily

All bulbs, as an obvious one, ignition coil, and capacitor in distributor (if petrol), starter motor, Dynamo , Control Box+voltage regulator, or alternator....

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I tried 1ag fuses, but can't find any of 800mA, the seem to go from 750mA to 1A, etc

Ukraine, apparently, according to the news.

That's what I meant to say.... Oops!

Where can I get the really 'tiny' sub-miniature 15mm glass fuses used in Larkspur Control boxes... The one from my 'I' Box has completely disintegrated, so I'm not even sure what rating it should be, I've heard a rumour it could be 0.8 Amp.

everywhere I try locally RS/Maplins etc only sell 20mm ones which are too long.

If you can let me have an email address I can send some photos of my gorgeous Saracen APC....

Looks like they've gone to Syria, then....😉

Describe the parts as 'Construction Plant Spares', or 'Earthmoving Equipment Spares'.... There shouldn't be a problem as many plant vehicles use similar hub reduction gears...

Is that you Mr Garoffolo?

Hi....-you know me as I had a little drive in your saracen at 'Overlord' the year before last.... -I'd go with the Ferret for 'manageability' size-wise, but if I was wiping my butt with £50 notes/(money no object), I'd happily use my saracen everyday, (-if I could obtain enough tyres to last my lifetime...)😜😜😉

Is that the Mk 6, advertised as a Mk 1? It looks to be a pretty reasonable vehicle.

 

Cheers,

Terry

I believe it could be a Mk2, as I'm sure Mk 2's had RFC too,

I've not looked at the photos close enough yet though....

It looks ok from what I can see, but the seller mentions an oil leak,...-which from personal experience can mean a lot of heavy time-consuming work!....

Hi Gary,....

I did all the restoration work required on my particular Saracen, myself with my (now, sadly departed) father watching as I

removed the engine using a forklift to replace the Fluid Flywheel, then I had a mate help me to shove the engine back onto the transmission, after having done the flywheel.

I had new rigid hydraulic pipes made up to replace the rusted-out ones under the floor/transmission.

I had to cut open the fuel tank, to make some repairs where it was rusted. Following this was a complete bare-metal repaint, brake overhaul, followed by some running/adjusting of the gearchange mechanism.... That was likely the most mind-numbing part as it has to be driven, to warm the transmission up, then adjust the 'throw' of a link rod connected to the gear change pedal, to ensure the internal mechanism works correctly. It now drives beautifully, and has done for over 1000 miles.

Referring to your other points, a 'steal' would be anything from £0... Since even scrap they are worth a fair bit, but it is SUCH a shame when these fine vehicles are scrapped, since even a 'range-wreck' can provide much needed parts to keep others going.

A scruffy one which runs/drives/stops is worth more than one that's simply tarted-up with a fresh paint job, sometimes done to draw the customers eye from a myriad of annoyingly awkward faults to attend to.

Generally due to the physical size of them they tend to be stored outside, unless the owner is lucky enough to own a big enough shed.... Saracens are NOT water-tight, and if stored outside, uncovered they will let rainwater dribble in through where the turret top-hatch hinge is... Causing ugly rusty streaky stains to appear inside on the usually silver-painted interior...As for oil-leaks, pretty much every armoured vehicle of this era tend to 'leave their mark', where parked, also the engines oil-breather pipe exits down the side of the engine, about 4-5 " off the engine-bay floor... an oily film will naturally build up on the hull floor, and if left indefinitely will eventually form a slick of oil sloshing around in the hull.... In the base of the hull there are several access points to drain oil from various internal components, so any surplus oil will likely drip from these. Normal practice is to periodically swill-out the majority of this so as not to leak oil every time it's driven... Personally I leave my access panels off, and it allows virtually all oily deposits/rainwater to drain away safely.

The Rolls Royce B Series engines were designed not long after the end of WWII, so are of the type that wer designed to consume/use a little of their oil in normal running, if all the oil seals are in good condition, oil loss is fairly minimal, dependant on mileage. The vehicles will deteriorate if not used, as seals dry-out, or get used to being in one position, then when used after a long period of storage will start to leak, sometimes catastrophically, as happened to my fluid-flywheel main seal.... No amount of leak-stopper fluid will sort this as the pressure in it when operating is so high...so it's quite an involved job to sort that particular nightmare out... The engine is almost half a ton by itself, and the armoured radiator grill and top-plates are not exactly light either....

As for prices, well, its a buyers market, if a buyer is really set on one, they'll usually pay whatever the asking price is, but generally a scruffy runner with no mechanical faults you are likely looking at between £4k and £6.5k depending on its 'completeness', -sometimes things like headlights, light fittings, the horn, (oddly VERY expensive to buy and difficult to find cheap....-I've just found one after looking for 9 years!!!, I found one for £8.00, but have seen them sold for £258.00!!!!!, yet you can buy a pair of rear doors for £180!!

An immaculate runner, all up together, road registered, fully serviced ,complete with all its C.E.S. and radios etc would likely change hands for £9.5k +

Once you have one, it's still not all plain-sailing.... Maintenance is quite full-on, and physically demanding.... For example every 5-6000 miles the circumference of the tyres must be measured, compared, and the wheels swapped about to even out the wear, sometimes even between two or more similar vehicles!,... The front and centre tyres wear quite quickly!, especially if you do a lot of Tarmac-miles, not so bad if it's raining, as it allows a little bit of 'give', as there's only one differential, so transmission 'wind-up' can cause problems... They need a bit of loose/dirt running fairly frequently....

The thirst for petrol is in the region of up to 3 mpg off-road, around town etc about 4-5mpg, while on a decent run, where you can get momentum on your side you CAN get 8-9, MAYBE even 10mpg if all your roads are flat.....

the other problem is the tyres again.... They are VERY hard to find here in the UK, as Dunlop sold the moulds to Simex Tyres, who, while the can produce new ones, they won't sell to EU countries as the tyres are not 'E' marked.

Useable tyres here, when they do turn up are £350 +, new £500+..... and you can't just put one new tyre on, for reasons already mentioned above.... (I was unbelievably lucky and won a full set, on wheels, on eBay for £650...-mainly because someone spelt 'saracen' wrong as far as I can make out, as I was the only bidder!)

let eat me know if you want me to look at this 'Telford' one or any others...- as I said I'm going to look at another one needing some work in London very soon, too.

Hopefully some of the above is some help to you

I'm trying to make this Tapatalk thing work.... I can't upload any photos onto it!...

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I have a very nice Alvis Saracen, which could be used....-seats face inwards

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Hi all,

 

Have found a very interesting Saracen located in Telford UK. Plan was to purchase it and overhaul it in UK before exporting it to US, where I live. But, Seller will not sell unless buyer inspects and the shops I was thinking about doing the overhaul are pretty far away. Seller emailed me today, saying another buyer is doing inspection this Sunday, so if I want it, to inspect it quickly. The other buyer apparently offered more, so I also have to deal with prospect of bidding war.

 

Does anyone know someone that can do a prepurchase inspection? The vehicle is owned by a company and the guy with whom I am dealing has no idea about its history or anything. He's just trying to please the bosses and get best deal. The company bought it for promo use and now want the space it's taking.

 

I think this is a nice vehicle, so I'm inclined to fight for it. I don't think they will entertain any higher offer from me unless it's inspected and I don't feel a higher offer is warranted without inspection.

 

Anyone can post referral here would be a huge help!

 

Gary

Hi Gary,....

Ive owned a Saracen for the last 10 years, so I know a fair amount about them, including all the pitfalls/problem areas, as I've done a fair amount on mine when I restored it....

I'm in Birmingham, which is only a short drive from Telford, over the weekend, and could take a look/maybe a test drive for you.....?

... If you aren't successful on this one, or it turns out to be not a viable proposition, I have another one to look at in London, which could be suitable for you...

My email is:

oilyboy68@hotmail.co.uk

kind regards,

Matt

My illustrations are rather poorly copied and very dark.... Where/what does the rounded lower end of the rod rest on in the gear box?

Thanks ever so much for that, Clive..... I'm going to try and sort out my indicators tomorrow afternoon, after work... I have 2 new flasher units, (in case I inadvertently blow one!,-as not the best at interpreting circuit diagrams!),... But these are a great help... I intend taking Saracen down to Thorney Island on Saturday, to help with Baker Barracks 'family day', if I can also adjust the gears in time, too.... Then Saturday evening I'm off down to Okehampton, Dartmoor, to work with the Army Cadets for a week.... Not taking the Saracen though, as it'd bankrupt me!... I have a feeling Saturday is going to be a Lonnng day!

Thanks Clive, I'll gladly pay for a copy of that...., or even a photocopy of the circuit diagrams/description....

kind regards

Matt

Thanks Montie!,... Still not overly sure what I'm supposed to be measuring though... Is it the amount/length of rod protruding down into the gearbox? -measured from under the piece of flat bar?

-and are these the measurement mentioned in the table printed in the manual?

kind regards

Matt

Ok, there I was trundling along, when I realised I hadn't cancelled my left-turn indicator... (Only 500yds or so), only now they aren't working at all...

I checked the bulbs, =all ok,

I checked for loose plugs in recently disturbed engine bay wiring, =all ok

I replaced the flasher unit, (existing one looked as if it was original 1956 item!)

....still no joy!

I decided to investigate the switch....

upon removing it from the panel, it became apparent that the wires were not secured in their respective terminals by the grub screws at all!,...(been ok like this for last 6 yrs!),... Anyway, the way I was holding said wires, it seemed obvious where they were supposed to be, so as I didn't have any manuals with me, I reconnected them and tried it

STILL no joy...

question is could I have damaged the new flasher unit by connecting the wires wrongly?

My Saracen EMERS manuals do not cover my Mk5 Saracen, as mine has indicators, yet in the manuals there is NO MENTION AT ALL OF INDICATORS.... Does anyone have the circuit diagram for the set-up I have in it?:

Lucas SD84 Indicator Switch

Lucas 3 pin 24v Flasher Unit

4x indicator lamps with glass lenses

Was just talking to another Saracen owner and he said that in recent years he was using grease rather than oil in the suspension; reason being that the oil leaked out badly.

 

He believes that the grease is lubricating the suspension, it is clearly used in the Ferret suspension quite satisfactorily is there a good​ why it can't be used in the Saracen

I've often wondered this myself, as for 3years I've used grease, but my suspension is a bit creaky, so I'm gonna start using oil,... I suppose oil gets into the tighter spaces easier.....

Oily,

The bands are unable to self adjust if the trigger on the auto adjuster does not meet the square headed bolt on the band. you can check all this out with the lid off the box and see if this is the problem. Then the bands can be reset and the bolts. Once done the procedure is to turn back the adjuster a quarter turn and pedal up again, the adjuster should stop at the previous position, if not, minor adjustments are made. It is all in the EMER section I quoted for the measuring tool.

 

Richard

Which section of the EMERS, again, Richard?.... I can't seem to find that post/quote of yours that you mention.... It's probably the one I've been looking at with parts missing.... Saying something about putting a tool in so that it rests on the bus bar groove or something, and taking measurements but its not clear where the measurement are taken from.....

Would this still be the case, John, ie, when COLD it seems to work fine, only missing the gear when at running temperature, its almost as if when things have expanded slightly (due to reaching running temperature) the clearances/tolerances required are far enough out to negate correct operation of the mechanism?

Would you be able to post some sort of picture/sketch as to how it is fixed in place and used?,... The description in the manual does seem a little vague... I could certainly make pretty much any tool needed, but its the actual method of use I'm not clear on...

Many thanks for your help, Richard

kind regards

oily

Thanks John, although Ive not personally disturbed the gearbox itself when i changed the flywheel seal, its possible i guess, that when the gearbox was replced in 1983, that adjustment wasnt made....I'll give that a go, sounds easy enough,... -as I said, I can't believe that the brake bands can be worn out completely to the point they won't self-adjust, ... not after only 1320 miles.....

on that point, how many miles does a saracens gearbox lastgenerally, if its driven correctly and looked after sufficiently oil-wise...?

Would a stalwart gearbox fit in place of a Saracen gearbox? ie. I know it's a manual box, but does it share same dimensions? (Length,height, width etc)