BRDM Driver

Any advice on dealing with the effects of ethanol in petrol? Is Frost's Ethomix any good? Is using 100LL aviation fuel an option?

If the car was invented in the last decade, there's now way it would be petrol powered or 'driven' by the passenger or privately owned. A fully automated road system makes a lot of sense. Letting the 'joe public' loose with a 500hp vehicle doesn't make any sense at all. I'm not anti car, I have loads of them. It will be a very sad day when human operated vehicles are consigned to special roads, but it is inevitable. There's a reason we don't all own our own private trains!

Nick Meade was on the Vine Show today, along with a chap who is looking for gearbox for his Scorpion. Mr Baker joined in too!

We were on CBBC tonight! Take a look at Episode 6 of Absolute Genius Monster Builds on BBC iPlayer. 25 mins in (if you want to avoid the annoying Dick & Dom!) Rick 'Charlie' Chase commanding...

And in the case of BRDM-2, not pushing the red lever the wrong way.... It either opens or closes the sea cock!

Sounds light, but then I've never measured mine.... Have you checked the filter in the pump and the fuel filter?

Yes, that's something I have been meaning to do for ages! I did think about using a boat fuel tank that can easily be moved about, but they are not legal for use in road vehicles. I'm not 100% sure what is road legal with regard to non-standard fuel tanks. Possibly just fit a small car fuel tank somewhere inside the original tank. I doubt I'd ever need more than a 40 litre tank.

Yes. See my post re fuel tank on Scorpion. I did take the seat out though. Just one nut and bolt and the seat pops up off it's spring. I tried to get the seat out of the hatch but it appears to be a very tight fit, so i just put it to one side in the turret... The lower bolts on the access panel are tricky to get at, but do-able. I ran a die over all the stud threads before undoing them to get the paint off, so avoid the studs coming out.

Found the small float arm!

Looks like I am missing the small arm that is bolted to the float arm. The brass bush for the float arm pivot has also disappeared... Not sure what the two small pin type things I found are though...

Anyone have any pics of a complete fuel sender/float for a CVRT (Scorpion in this case)? After finding a good quantity of water in my carb and fuel filter, I decided to open the dreaded fuel bag access cover! The fuel gauge has never worked and now I can see why. The float appears to have been reduced to a kit of parts! I don't know if some of it has simply corroded to nothing or what, but the bottom of the fuel tank has some sludge in that looks just like tomato soup (doesn't smell like it though!). There's a lot of 'organic matter' like leaves, pine needles, grass too. God knows how it all got in there. This is the back of the access plate showing the sender. There's some corrosion on the top of the plate but the sender looks 'as new'. These are the bits I've found so far... And this is the float which also looks perfect. I think I am missing a few more bits though... The fuel I removed has settled out with water/sludge at the bottom, clean petrol at the top and something else in the middle... Not sure what exactly, it's clear but dark brown, like a good ale! It burns but with a very sooty flame. Maybe it's just very old fuel.? So any pics of a complete sender would be appreciated. The parts diagram shows most of the parts but not assembled... Cheers!

And here's some video. To avoid bottoming out we elected to go for the corners. Something went wrong... The trip back was very sandy despite taking ages brushing down everything.

No problem!

Fortunately the council changed their minds!

Mission accomplished! We had to demolish a 25 tonne sandcastle on Weymouth beach today. (As you do...) This was for CBBC Absolute Genius with Dick & Dom... We decided to avoid a head on with it (it was over 2 metres high and about a metre thick) and opted for taking out the corners! It was a bit spooky driving with hatch down and having the vehicle tilt up on one side as it rode over the sand castle. No track issues fortunately and a hassle free 20 mile run to get there and back too... The main issue was getting my face sandblasted on the way home! Thanks for the hints and tips!

Yes, I have set the track tension. I'll probably have someone keep an eye our for any build up of sand when maneuvering. Thanks.

No I didn't actually! I have arranged for recovery should I get bogged though. Thanks for the heads up though!

Any tips for driving a CVRT on sand? Sand in the Gulf seemed to cause regular track shedding fro what I've read. Presumably beach sand might be more forgiving than bone dry desert sand. I think neutral and tight turns might be out, to avoid collecting too much sand between the wheels and spuds. Any other advice welcome!

I presume you've tried Andy Baker or Terry Brookes? And Milweb? http://www.milweb.co.uk/webvert/a2059 http://www.milweb.co.uk/webvert/a1998

There's a pair of contacts in the hazard switch that disconnect the indicator when the hazards are activated. This is a normally closed contact. For some reason, probably because I decided to test the hazards, this contact now opens slightly when the switch is in it's locked in position... Pressing the button in slightly lets the contacts close properly and the indicators start working. It's a standard Hella part so I should be able to replace it.

Looks like it's the hazard switch... Pushing it in and wiggling it made the indicators start working, so I'll give it a dose of contact cleaner.

What would cause the indicators to stop working, when the they work fine with the hazard button? Indicator switch is fine. Having taken a look at the flasher unit, I am now guessing that it might be faulty, given the vast number of components in there!

Quick question before I delve further. Indicators have stopped working. Hazards work fine. Relay buzzes a bit or does nothing at all. They worked very briefly for a few seconds while trying various switch combinations. I suspect a bad earth somewhere and will try the instrument panel first. The dash has all new wiring and the indicator switch is new. They were working fine a few weeks ago. Cheers.

So they do! They cover vehicles > 3.5t. I'm insured with them too.

Errrm, yes, that is indeed what I'm asking... Is that odd? Paying a small fee every year on the off chance you need some expensive help is what the insurance is based upon, isn't it? Or am I missing something???