oily

Hi Montie!.... As a self-confessed Saracen nut, and Mk 5 owner, I'll do my best to help you with your Saracen... It looks to me like it's 'nose' had been lengthened, as I'm led to believe that several were modified in this way in order to fit a diesel engine into the engine compartment... look up 'Saracen 88' on the internet. As for driving, I'll search through my various manuals and email some copies of the driving instructions to you, I'll send a PM, with my contact details.....

I'm already saving for mine, ~the Mk 5 Saracen, a really impressive looking kit.:-D:cool2:

very, VERY funny!!!:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::-D

...Well it's good,:-D,..... but NOT a Ferret, ~no spare wheel ~no drivers hatch ~front slope of hull wrong shape/angle It looks rather like an Italian Autoblinda armoured car, I think..... I'm hoping my girl will make me a Saracen cake for my 42nd, this year....:-D:cool2:

...Give the tank museum a quick call, they should have some info, and for a small fee, they'll send record cards (well photocopies, anyway....), which will show where the vehicles went to 1st after disposal....

absolute gems! we Saracen 'nuts' need more pics like these!!!:-D

R.I.P. Tony, You were a great source of info, when I started my hobby. You were a credit to your family, and your business, you will be remembered for a very long time to come, of that, there is no doubt. ...........................................................................:blush:......................................................................... ...........................................................................:-(.........................................................................

I made up some new vision blocks, with bent sheet galvanised sheet steel, and for glass I used 2 sheets of laminated windscreen glass cut to size with a spacer between them. The insides of the metal surround was painted matt black, the outside was done in Deep Bronze Green, when refitted, they are almost indistinguishable from the genuine article, other than that you can see through them!...still have blindspots on some 'T' Junctions though -cost was about £10 for the glass, and £5 for the steel...

Age-related No. plates, can be the same type as originally fitted to the vehicle, for the period it was 1st registered....

well done! looks like you've started off with a good one there!....I promise you'll not regret it!:-D...now get a move on, register it (if it needs it!) and get out on the roads!!!!, (-or off them!!!):cool2:

go for a Honda XR 350 then ...-it's jap, so you ought to get on with it.....:yawn:

....so you wanna buy a saracen eh?, ...well where shall I start?:-\ Firstly, usually they are cheaper than Ferrets, oddly enough, so you get a lot for your money, but you can get a lot of problems for your money too, so beware!..Saracens have a somewhat complicated hydraulic system, unlike Ferrets, and components such as the gearbox and transfer box are very labour intensive to change, and obviously, because of the extra set of wheels, axle 'wind-up' can be more of a problem, -rain never stops me from going out to play in mine as a wet road can help minimise a lot of axle 'wind up', due to the tyres slipping slightly on the wet roads. You are quite correct in thinking it's not much more than taking on a Ferret, it does all depend on which Mk, you go for as some, (like my Mk5), do not have opening side hatches on either side of the drivers' position, like you do in a Ferret. This tends to limit peripheral vision to a rectangle about 2 and a 1/2" by 4", due to the angle of the vision blocks, making 'T' Junctions a little awkward. The Saracen is quite a bit wider on the road, just about taking up 1/2 the width of most smaller 'A' roads, and most 'B' roads. They don't accelerate, so much as gather speed 'gracefully', but in fine fettle will keep up with most traffic. I've fitted truck mirrors to mine, and rearward visibility is probably better than most 7.5 ton box bodied lorries.... All of the 6x6 Alvis FV600 series vehicle tend to 'wander' to a small degree, this is down to the steering arrangement, -4 front wheels steering, it is easily overcome by slight, continuous corrective input through the steering wheel...you soon get used to it, and are soon flicking the gentle giant around with ease. They don't like wet cobbles, but then I don't think any wheeled vehicle does! When it rains you seem to stay drier than in a Ferret, because the 'bonnet' does tend to throw any spray upwards to the unfortunate commander -if you are using one (highly recommended on your 1st few journeys onto the Queens highway!). Fuel consumption, I find is slightly more than a Ferret, but not painfully so, and is better if you can keep up momentum. Unfortunately they can be a bit of a slog when you get a steepish hill with no run-up. As you can see from my accompanying pictures, I can recover my fuel costs by getting passengers to pay for the fuel, weddings, proms etc, all perfectly legal as long as they are friends and you don't make a profit, (-wink, wink) The other pictures are before restoation, and after..... but I still have minor bits and bobs to attend to.... As regards maintenance! well again, where does one start?.....I'd compare it to working on 3 Ferguson tractors crammed into a large metal box, that is just not quite big enough to hold them...it's almost as if the hull was built around its contents!:undecided: Tyres- 11.00-20 and 12.00-20 Dunlop Trakgrips, are hard to find, and expensive when you do find them, but modern replacements with different tread pattern are available. All this said, I'll never part with mine, as it was a childhood dream come true. I may not get many miles to the gallon, but I get loads of 'smiles' to the gallon. There can be some headaches, -but you take the pills. -or rather sit down with copius cups of coffee and all the EMER books you can get your hands on...and you methodically sort the problem. If you do your own maintenance on your Ferret, then if you have the room, there is no reason why you shouldn't manage a Saracen..... if you get one, try to go for one that is already registered, and hopefully a pre-1960 one!.... There could be problems looming for this type/size of vehicle if it's a younger one. Also some area DVLA offices are getting rather strict on registering 'overwidth' vehicles- the Saracen being one of them! That said if you do get an unregistered one, just use Portsmouth DVLA branch, a very understanding lot they are! Hope this is of some help, feel free to pass any more queries on the subject my way.... and one more piece of advice.... -GO FOR IT!, - YOU WON'T REGRET IT!!!:-D Best of Luck

when at last you do manage to remove the manifolds, use loads of copperslip when you put nuts back on new or old, (always try and use new nuts, brass if possible, ...but in all my years of working on engines of all sorts, I've never had a steel nut sieze, after having used copperslip on them...)

I take it you are familiar with the Saracen layout... all front armour needs taking off, then all interior floor panels, most likely the fuel tank also, then the engine comes out, then if I'm not mistaken the gearbox and transfer box also.... these then need separating, ...but a little bird tells me it may just be low fluid level in the flywheel. Gonna top it up with some fresh oil and some auto-box leak sealer and hope for the best, first of all, and take it from there....:-\

Thanks Jim, very kind of you....Looking at those pics was a little scary!.... seems I have a long lost twin!!!:wow:

thanks John....:undecided:

here's my Saracen:..........................2nd pic is how it more or less was when I bought it

looking good!

it's all been said...if it's pre 1960, a car licence will do, and is perfectly legal. Mine is strangely registered as a 'heavy duty bus/coach', but as I have a class 2 licence anyway, there really were no issues, but I'd thoroughly recommend a class 2 licence as a minimum, for reasons already mentioned....:undecided:

My girl, 'Nikki', has had a go at mastering the black art of the pre-select gears in my Saracen, and she took to it like a duck to water, but says she wouldn't be confident enough in traffic on the open road, and it made her leg ache alot too....:-D

love the hair!

odd choice of camouflage paint scheme!

......once I've got the cover off, how do I check to see if the band adjusters are working?....-is it just a case of toggling the GCP, and watching to physically 'see':wow: what actually happens in the box?

Cracking response guys! and so quick too!:shocked:...I'm off work this week, so I'll try and check the fluid flywheel level, at some point. I'm thinking if it is a leak, does anyone reckon the proprietry auto gearbox leak fix juice, commonly available from Halfords etc, would be worth a try? and if it would be compatible with OM13?:undecided:...obviously I know the best solution would be: engine out, and replace seal on the flywheel.... but am thinking...'do I feel lucky?'....I have a prom booked for it in July.....:cool2:

a ferret port!!!, you lucky sod!....My Saracen has to sleep under a tarpaulin...at the moment anyway (angles are all wrong to get it on the drive at home:mad:, but it is going to live between two 22ft containers, with a roof over the top, as soon as I can get the yard landlord to move things around, ...so I'll have a 'Saracen Garage'.... hee hee):cool2: It'd be good to see some photos of your ferret!