79x100

Can you get a hydraulic torque wrench head in there ? http://www.hytorc.co.uk/

My understanding from studying the spare parts and instructional literature relating to various motorcycle contracts is that they were published by the manufacturer, generally using their preferred printers (often from pre-war days). Presumably the main contractor was responsible where various sub-contractors were used. I can't detect any official and across the board colour significances. What does seem likely is that manuals were continually reprinted, often with no updated printer's reference and these colours may have varied.

There doesn't seem to be a specific Retriever thread so this may be an appropriate place to post a couple of reasonable pictures of Retriever front mudguards (Sorry that they're GS versions). Both are from contract V3065 and were abandoned in 1940. Great-looking vehicles. L384626 marked to 506 Field Company RE :- L384674 :-

I have a copy of some BEF instructions which refer to the 'nearside' (driver's left) headlamp switching out when on dip..this would of course be the 'offside' headlamp in France...The reverse situation would presumably have been applied in the UK on vehicles where two headlamps were fitted.

The deletion of the lamp seems to have been more a reflection of the existing black-out regulations. As early as August 1938, the training pamphlet 'Mechanized Movement by Road' was detailing the removal of the offside bulb. Little point in fitting a lamp unit if it was not to be used. I have the impression from later documents that 'offside' and nearside' all became a little confusing when the BEF moved to France

Lex, you need to click twice with the pointy finger and then you get the plus sign in a magnifying glass and can make it bigger again. Wally's scans are quite readable then. Your large scan made my browser freeze !

Most odd. Have you inflated them on a rim yet ? Mine measure 3.3" inflated.

No clues from the census number. 6246200 - 6246299 are simply listed as Make - Various, Type & Spec - Miscellaneous Vehicles. 6264421 - 6269420 were listed as Volkswagen - Car, German Produced.

I buy plugs for the Norton wherever I can find them; I have no reason to suspect any counterfeits. The trouble is that it's become a hobby in itself....

I used to reckon on one or two duff per box of ten but that was back in my two-stroke days. I've always found Champion more reliable. There have been suggestions of counterfeit NGKs on the autojumble circuit over the last few years. I have no idea if the stories are true.

Was he on the Bayeux parade as well ? Someone had quite a bit of trouble getting a Matchie to fire at about 1'30 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RP-postcard-soldiers-in-armoured-vehicles-/131241382286?pt=UK_Collectables_Postcards_MJ&hash=item1e8e98918e He got quite a cheer when it started though !

The DU42 and D42 are the 6 1/2" - 7" versions (the 'U' indicates instrument panel in the shell) DU142 and D142 are the corresponding 8" - 8 1/4" lamps (with and without instruments) Those without instruments were used where panel tanks were fitted. There are at least three variations in rim clips and slightly different shells in consequence. As far as I know, there is no apparent difference in identifying number which doesn't make life easy. Beware eBay sellers who use the Lucas references interchangeably, as they do with MT110 / MT210 rear lamps and MCR1 / MCR2 cvc boxes.

Roger, lots of the MV owners in uniform that I saw in Normandy last month needed a good haircut. I reckon that you should be able to trade your services for mechanical knowledge !

The Royal Enfield Owners Club are certainly on the DVLA's most recent list and probably the only organisation who can provide an accurate build date as they are the sole holders of the surviving factory records. Any more general club will be reliant on secondary sources. This may well not be important to an owner looking simply for a wartime dated registration and may not warrant the cost of joining a further club. WD/COs in particular are a complex area as so many were factory re-stamped before being re-sold by Enfield in the immediate post-war period.

Thanks, Wally. I'll take ten of 'em ! I really do appreciate you posting these pages. These are most interesting. The April 1948 date seems to have meant that none of the three from Norton contract C5109 were retained long enough to appear in the post-war 'Key-Cards' This is perhaps logical as they are likely to have been struck off some time prior to the sale. If only they'd also included the frame number in the catalogues... Cheers, Rich

Lex, the third item on this latest page, listed as Norton Combination, 500cc was probably indeed a 16H - (RAF) 167490 - Here's a picture of RAF 167352 - a lateish war 18"-wheeled 16H passenger outfit. The serial number is close enough to imply that there may have been a block of numbers issued....but we can't link them to contracts at the moment. The registration number (G)UU allocated to the Indian was a Central London Series issued August 1942-on. Would this have been when new or indicate a transfer from a military to a civilian agency ?

Wally, there are some Nortons from the contract that I'm researching on that last catalogue page. Would you be able to tell me where and when the sale was ? Thanks-ever-so.

Well Said Mike. Me too. The trouble is that if he's in a third world country and one in a hundred pay him a £100 holding deposit then he's making a good living.

...and no strap round the headstock for when the fork spring breaks !

This file might be worth a look :- http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1030021679 There are various clues in the NA MoS files but I've yet to see the '"Rosetta stone' that unlocks it all. The situation may not be helped by the fact that there seems to have been a severe rationalisation in 1949 and the old papers may have been long since disposed of.

Christian, as Richard Farrant indicated on your intro thread, your WD Serial number can be narrowed down by reference to the relevant contract. Catalogue Reference 14 relates to Dennises' 14th WD contract - S2081 for 700 vehicles (L5218661 - L5219360) I think there was a small 'typo' in Richard's post as it looks like L5219234 to me, not 9324. My detailed study of WD records relates solely to motorcycles and although contracts were often issued long in advance and it is difficult to be definite, we can draw some broad conclusions by looking at other manufacturers. BSA Motorcycles received a contract S2603 (C5207518 - C5215517) dated 3/3/1943 with delivery to commence December 1943 and Norton were contracted under S2602 also dated 3/3/1943, delivery from January 1944 but with serials C5266965 - 5271964. This probably means that your Dennis contract dates from late 1942 with delivery scheduled for sometime in 1943. However, if you want to do the research, there are a number of things which will probably help you to be more specific. It is highly likely that the RAOC 'Contract Receipt Card' for S2081 is held at the Tank Museum at Bovington. If you're able to obtain a copy of this, it may well show contract date and commencement of deliveries etc. In addition there may be additional information in the Ministry of Supply ledgers held in The National Archive at Kew. These are somewhat haphazard and contain often little more than financial information but there may be extra clues. They are searchable but it would mean a visit in person. This is an example of what they can hold - the entry for an earlier Dennis tipper contract (V3934 - L4426517 - L4427052). By coincidence, it was on the same page as a motorcycle entry. I don't seem to have S2081.. It looks in this entry that even though the contract dates from June 1941, the Ministry were still arguing about delivery charges in July 1942 ! Wouldn't you just love to find those spare engines gearboxes and axles ? 10% spare engines and 5% spare gearboxes seems to have been a standard addition to vehicle contracts.

My personal feeling as the son of a WW2 serviceman who still hasn't claimed his medals ("If the buggers couldn't be bothered to send them to me, I can't be bothered to ask...") is that medals worn on the right at remembrance ceremonies by the widows or children of those who didn't survive the conflict have some relevance. In many ways, those widows and fatherless children are the ones who deserve a medal.

The Feked price for a dummy case with hidden battery is very good. If you're WD rivet-counting, Ian Wright who posts on the WM20 forum can supply moulded replica WD Lucas PU7 battery cases with either a 1940 or 1944 date. For those doing pre-or very early war, a French chap appeared in Normandy with some very good replica WD Ni-Fe cases. They aren't cheap though. Henk Joore on the M20 forum has contact details.

There were three Scammells and a Matador on the campsite at Etreham. Magnificent ! Oddly, I don't think that I saw a single Morris-Commercial anywhere .

I've looked at a lot of 1940s stampings including those from auxiliary and REME workshops and one thing that is very consistent is the use of a flat-topped number '3'...It just seems to be a feature of British stamps of this period. The tall ciphers have a continental look. Could it have spent time with BAOR and have gone through one of the many German workshops dealing with British military contracts in the immediate post-war years ? There's probably not much hope of finding out what it means.