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Ist pic is me leaning on my pride and joy.....in the yard where it lives.... 2nd pic is me and my 'toy' arriving at a Prom-Night, in Ascot, after having driven from Southampton.....LOTS OF PETROL!!!

Here's mine, again.....:cool2:

To my understanding, 'vapour lock' is when petrol evaporates into a vapour within the fuel line that runs between the pump, and the carb, thus causing a sort of 'air-lock' which the pump cannot overcome, as the vapour is compressable, and fluid petrol isn't...... caused by high temperatures in the engine bay, either from hot running ie. RFC without front shroud fitted, or from 'heat-soak'..... switching off, and leaving vehicle with engine hatches shut, residual build-up of heat in confined space, causing said vapour lock, ....-in my case it was aggrevated by low oil level in fluid flywheel, increasing already high ambient temperature from the boiling hot day I was driving on.... I think the designers were relying on the cooling effect of the fresh fuel flowing at a copious rate to keep the fuel pipe mentioned cooler.... I can see how it would work, but not in private ownership, and having to pay for our fuel at todays evil prices!. I'm gonna look at re-routing the fuel line and insulate it against heat.....:-\

What type/size electrical fuel pump would be suitable to fit onto a saracen?:undecided:

and the rough stuff won't slow it down much either... I'll try and find the video clip I have of a Saladin running at full speed over some railway sleepers!:cool2:

I think the GOO would work, maybe as a get-you-home bodge, but I think the way forward is a new flywheel, I have found a stock of them for £100 each.

I've done 60mph in my saracen!:cool2:

they'll rev safely up to the rev limiter....4000rpm, cruising speed, on the road, 30-45mph it'll probably be doing around 3500rpm anyway....:-\

already been said.... but yes the panel/wing adjacent to the exhaust do get very hot, fairly quickly... start worrying more though if the floor around the flywheel area starts getting very hot, hot enough to be uncomfortable..... cos it's probably the fluid flywheel oil boiling if it's low, or leaking...... very runny oil on base of engine bay can also be a sign too..... as I've just found.....

...I think the mechanism inside the gearbox causes the pedal to move back up.......please pass on my congratulations to your daughter (who happens to look absolutely stunning, by the way!), and your new son-in-law. I'm glad it all went to plan, and may they have many happy years together:hug:, now good luck with the rest of the saracen,.... I'm about to embark on a pain of a job, with mine.... fluid flywheel replacement!..... engine out, methinks.....still, I can look forwards to finding all those 'lost' tools, that lurk under the engine, in armoured vehicles......

my policy covers me whatever vhicle I'm in, saracen or my car, or anyone els's I'm driving....

I think they all do that.... 1st in a saracen is extremely low, and only for really heavy going, off road, 2nd or 3rd for the traffic light grand prix, that'll suprise a few motorists!...probably you too!..... I need to replace/reseal my flywheel.... it's leaking, badly, in a very leaky way!:-(:-( big job, I fear!

....the woe's have returned.... it is a very leaky leak in my saracen's flywheel! ...bugger it! anyone any ideas as to prices for the seals, or for a new flywheel, in case mine is buggered through overheating... floor damn near cooked my feet on Monday!:nut: and roughly how long to do the job?

Finally managed to get a whole set of nearly new condition 12.00-20 Dunlop TRAKGRIPS ... on wheels , complete with air! ......for £600 !!!! Bloody bargain!:-D..... hopefully these will last!

Beret pulled down on wrong side, should be over right ear, and badge should b over left eye, or are you dressed as a non-British soldier, French Foreign Legion,....maybe?

Try 'AUTOHOME' Classic Commercial Vehicle Rescue. it's who I use, and I can't fault them.... very reasonable rates too, here is a copy of their brochure.....

Normally my minimum suggested DONATION for fuel, etc is £350, if you divide this by the number of passengers it works out far, far, cheaper than say, a limo,.....Saracen 8 seats, +1 in turret. My average return distance is about 65miles.... about £75 in fuel usually covers the driving, but you have to take into account things like track-wear...-in your case, and I have to consider tyre wear.... the 1st job I did, I didn't realize the front tracking was way out, so one of my front tyres has been ruined prematurely, my tyres, if I can get hold of them, as they are so rare now are anything up o £300 each!...luckily I've just got a set of 6 tyres, nearly new condition, on wheels for the princely sum of £600.... eBay is a wonderful thing!:cool2:

pic of fuel tap, in 'reserve' position,... if driving over rough ground, it is advisable to switch to reserve due to the large flat shape of the main tank, and the likelihood of getting vapour lock!:-D

When we turned up to get the wheels/tyres, I had a brief glimpse of your toy, it looks very nice!...... unfortuneatly we were on a tight schedule and had to go... but I'd like to come up again soon, and have a little look around if that were possible? Maybe you'd like to become a member of our military vehicle club: S.O.E. We run the annual show at Horndean...... great bunch of like-minded fools, into all things military..... good social side of things too, and some very knowledgeable people!:-D

.....present and not working, it would appear. Saracens have normal rear stop/tail lights (24v), and the stoplight switch is situated on the tail end of the accumulator (the one for centre and rear brakes, ..the one nearest the rear door) Have you checked that someone hasn't fitted the lens to the wrong lights?

..have a look under the battery box/tray, and you'll see the reserve/main fuel tap.... a word of warning... it is possible to get abuild up of rust particles in the 90 degree bend just prior to the tap, in both lines... a cause of fuel starvation, easily cured by lifting floor panels, disconnecting both fuel lines from tank, and the other ends from the tap,....blow through with compressed air, but don't get in the way, or you'll end up being 'peppered' with rusty shrapnel! The fuel filter should be near the tap too, it's held by a sort of wing nut, undo it, and the bowl drops down with the washable filter inside, ..... I stripped my filter, let it dry, and washed it in the washing machine.... (don't tell the missus!).... on reassembling it, and refitting it, the saracen seemed to go hellof a lot better, and faster too!:cool2:

have had plenty of hot days, very hot, but non of those problems,..... had starvation once due to going off road and not switching to reservre, when only had a little amount of fuel in main tank......put it down to inexperience:blush:, but that was 2.5 to 3.0 years ago....:blush:

I came home on saturday, last, and my missus said: "hooray!, I can see that 'I've just been driving the Saracen around' look, on your face, again!',.... what with it's gearbox/drive problems, it's been too long, are you going back tomorrow, too?" -One very understanding girl, my Nikki! A saracen does make you think you are king of the road!, and driven responibly is extremely satisfying!:cool2:

...so all in all, not as greedy as one might think, and the fuel cost shared by the passengers DONATIONS to running costs......I get the fun of driving it, the saracen gets it's much-needed exercise, i get to keep my hand in with the driving skills required, someone gets a day/journey they'll remember for a long time (for all the right reasons, of course!)... and it earns enough for when i want to go out in it for the monthly shopping trip, or shows, or just out for the enjoyment value... wins all, hands down, really.:-D

Loads of 'smiles' to the gallon, for sure. As for mpg, since I have 4 seasons of proms/weddings under my wheels now.... around town, I get approx 4/5 mpg, and 7/8mpg on a decent run of about 60miles (return journey), with higher cruising speeds, (supposed top speed is 45mph, but my missus has clocked me bowling along at 55 and 60mph!, sat-nav backs this up too!)... I'm kinda thinking that maybe when it had it's refit in 1983, before storage and subsequent de-mob, some REME chap decided to fit a B81 Stalwart engine, -6500cc as opposed to the saracen's normal B80, of 5760cc... it would defineatly account for it's nimbleness, given that mine is a Mk 5, and is up-armoured... what would be nice is a Mk 1, with the B81 engine in!... about 2ton lighter! I did one prom in Ascot, round trip from my place was 134miles, and I worked out it did approx 10/12mpg, as I dipped the tank before and after.....:-D