phil munga

Not sure if the Meteor was based here , but there is quite a bit of information on this website of the local airbase , think i might have some picture in a family album of some of the bombers and spitfires http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/airfields/midd-st-george.html'>http://www.wartimememories.co.uk/airfields/midd-st-george.html

Hi I knew of an old barn like you say ''If anything, it shows what is still hiding in barns!'' in the mid eighty's I was working up Wolsingham and there was this old barn that had no main doors as they'd been blocked up , and covered in ivy only a small window to look in ,, I was sharp to ask a chap that lived nearby what was with the old barn , his reply was go and have a look , there peering through this small window with only little light was an old car with wicker basket type running boards and snake skin sides , It's a Bean there's only 6 built he's been offered a blank cheque for it , but would not part with it ,,,,,,,,,, ten years passed and and got to return to do some more work in the same place , I was quick to look over at the old barn only to see that the roof had collapsed , so asked if the old car was still there ,, the chap was really sad saying that youngsters had got into the barn and had been smoking , the place had burnt down , the owner was still offed over 100K for the little remains that was left of the car , I do not know if he sold it or not as there had been a large fence put up and access looked difficult , bit of a sad story but like you say they're out there

Alan great pictures it looks like an early 70's raidtrac if you click the link for there website above then click on pictures you'll see a Diesel Raidtrac Prototype with the same type of track , now the one you have pictured looks more to be mid to rear engined as they probably found ( same as argo cat diesels ) that the weight of the diesel engine up front made them to unsteady and dive at the front when turning

Friend of mine just told me of one of these for sale just last Sunday not sure were he said the add was at but I said to him you don't want one of them the 4x2 version were bad enough to drive , but saying that there are ( were ) lots buses built on the chassis , Renault Dodge base so chassis could be longer on one side , but the wheelbase will be the same unlike the Renault 12 that had a different wheelbase side to side , engines should be OK ( Mazda ) Phaser Perkins ,

They should have had hydraulicaly operated diff locks like on the early Mercedes G Wagens ,, I think you should re-edit your post its not good to say you were stuck

must have got into a strange position for the axle breater to come into contact with the engine timing cover ,,,,,,,, is it one with air suspension ? this repair type material can be used on cylinder heads can be machined to fit valve seats Belzona 111 ? 1111 ?

Raidtrac 418 I rebuilt this for a bit ( LOTS ) of fun ,, Anyone know when British Military had one of these for tests ? I borrowed this pic , it would've been powered by lawn mower engine :cry: same as fitted into an Argo-cat ,, http://www.raidtrac.com/718t.jpg'>http://www.raidtrac.com/718t.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.raidtrac.com/718t.jpg</a&gt'> This is there website http://www.raidtrac.com/ I bought mine maybe more than 15 years ago and was said to have been used in military test as a swamp master ? it had a frame on top so that a soldier could stand on either side to cut back undergrowth , Well I started to build mine up scrap-heap challenge style ( my Argo cat I fitted a Citroen 2CV engine ) It came with a nearly new Honda 500cc twin motorcycle engine and that was driving a Ford Granada diff with no means of steering it and seriously low geared ,, so getting up 2 hours early before work for a couple of weeks had this built first thing to do was to find a gearbox so that it would have ( 6 ) reverse I wanted a box that had output flanges so that i could run a sprocket to drive disc's for the slewing , so got a box from a VW polo , clutch plate was machined so I could mount a sprocket to drive polo box from bike engine ,,, Had to work out the gears on the polo box and got gear selector stick and housing from a VW t25 camper two discovery clutch cables and throttle cable from a 40+ton Caterpillar loading shovel this was made and worked the gears great , the bike engine gears worked from left hand handle bar ,, Series 3 land rover wing mirror stalks bent to make foot peddles for slewing , working cables to Peugeot 205GTI rear calipers , Only new parts were for support bearings for the shafts that held the disc's ,, OH I must remember the most important part the seat this was a temporary fitting that is still on today A piece of 3X2 timber :-D I've been down the river Swale in this as well as pulling brothers Discovery out when stuck in snow ,, and used it with front ballast weight to pull a twin wheel trailer around one of the fields when planting trees , because of its light weight causes little damage , In first first its so slow it gets overtaken by slugs ,,,, third gear in the polo box and third in the bike box at 25mph back off the throttle then accelerate and it will lift up and sit on the rear of the tracks ( wheelie ) until the field ends , this is done whilst sat on the said 3X2 ,,,,,,, It has the power to get into top gear and is dangerously fast as I found when one of the track wheel scrapers broke and jammed one track catapulting me off at great speed , I remember my pal coming to the rescue asking if I was OK ,, I removed my woolly hat and looked at it and said well my hats clean so cant have bumped my head :-D 24 gears forward 6 reverse Hope you like this for a bit of fun that can also do a days work ,, I've got a 2CV engine that i might fit but have also bought a Kubota diesel engine That would make it a really good tool

Think I should make a new post under other vehicles

I'm sat at home full of cold ( man flue )and wanting to go out in the stuff If I felt a bit better I'd go and put some fresh fuel in the Raidtrac for a bit of fun ,, Anyone know when British Military had one of these for tests ?

Nigel its got to be diesel and maybe just the 4x4 , I think a unimog is next on this list to fix-up

is there no lever to flick over on the transmission for towing ?

Welcome Nigel , there's a couple more pinz on here ,, soon to be another if I get my own-way , I've been on the lookout for a halflinger for a long time but gave up , bloke not far from me has a few ,, I've a brother works at a garage repairing-servicing Pinzgauers for the Military maybe you might know of them ?

This advertisement sign was found at my grandfathers a few years ago ,CONTRACTORS TO BRITISH ADMIRALTY and WAR OFFICE I did some research on the ships the parts were for , cant think were I put the details now ,, one was the S.S. Oceanic , some of these castings are over 40 tons , I went down to take a picture of the large building but its been added onto so didn't see the point but the ground where the photographer stood-there is a new building and thought I'd pop in to get a couple of pics as I like to see whats going on , at least there still doing the same sort of work , also building a full size G5 loco you'll just make out the red-oxide chassis to the rear in the second picture

It belongs to a haulier ( his fathers old truck ) that is also a scrap man so if thats the weight he'll probably want 700 plus , I don't have a clue to its value as a restoration project but like always the cheaper the better , I'd think the running gear under the rear body might not be to bad The one with the Hy-ab type crane looks better for restoration ,, next time I'm over near this one I'll ask if they may sell it without the Hy-ab as it does not look to have moved in a while

iteresring thread , the Ye old Yankee pub sign is great with the picture to go with it , the modern army now I think the niebour used to have a tracked vehicle like the one on the middle row had a ford V8 flathead, maybe not quite the same but the barn that my Munga is in - the insulated roof panels are from the old prefab military houses that were at Catterick Garrison these were pulled down in the early eighties , and the shed that houses the lathe is built from reclaimed blocks from the same place ,

Don't know about this story but I was told of an old military store up at Scotch-corner A1(m) junction with A66 ,, Was a place that i think had Blue in the name possibly Blue Bell ?? and when it shut they dug a hole and buried some jeeps , I've asked people if they new of this place but don't seem to be able to pinpoint where it is because so much has changed

Think this deserves a picture here as think its the right place , was seen on my travels might be passing again soon , it doesn't look to have moved in a while , I take it that you would need a HGV license to drive one of these , or might some be classed as a recovery truck that could be driven on a car license ? This other one I put pics up in scrap yard finds was seen last week , not sure what MK it is , but the chap seemed to think it was a Matador ? Its just begging to be saved , there was too many bramble briers for me to see if the engine would still turn , don't think it will but you never know ,, What will one of these weigh without the rear body , just noticed the sprung tow hook

Welcome Eldon , What part of Yorkshire are you in ?

Thats looking really smart now , silly simple things like your brake peddle not returning that are cause for many hold ups and head scratching ,, Now then that trip to the fuel pumps ,, are you saying that the fuel price is only 30 pence a litre ? As said before I was going to try and find the Timing Belt Aligning tool numbers ,, found that the fuel pump has an arrester pin 2064 , camshaft setting bar 2065A , some engine failures are down to people not tightening the crank bolt to the correct setting of 46KGM ( 330 ft.bl. )I think some of these engines you can get away with just removing the crank vibration pulley just four bolts , I think your engine may have V belts and might not have the vibration pulley ? , timing belt tension tool VW210 ,, on the bell-housing there should be an inspection plug remove the plug , you'll see a pointer on the bell-housing to line up with marks on the flywheel , no mention of a tool to hold the crank other that when you need to tighten the main crank bolt there doesn't seem to be a number for this part , just call it a crank restraining lever

Hi, has anymore information been found on this fordsons age or the type of front wheels Regards Phil

This is going to be a great looking truck just looked over most of this thread and its good to see detail like the rear axle arrangement , engineering at its finest , now looking at the engine pictures I noticed two alloy plates and the shape of what might be a manifold water or air ? well the other day I was looking for a fordson 4d engine and nearby was a large generator the engine looked just like the one in this truck sure it said Meadows on the radiator , would this be correct and if so what else might this engine be fitted to ? Regards Phil

Richard , I'll check for the plates might give us an idea what there first use was ,, you say that the 6d was a common conversion would this be done by means of an engine to gearbox adapter plate or might it bolt strait to the gearbox , I asked the owner but he was not to sure ,, Regards Phil

Great information Richard, one of these that the chap has has low drop down sides on the flat back , V8 engine and badge says Thames Trader , the other has the Thames 6D , I thought that both had quite long wheel bases which could be the same length as the ambulance chassis , will see if I can get some more information about them , Will they have a spec plate if so were would it be found ? Regards Phil

Hi will, some good bits of equipment there to find in the above pictures , do you know if the jack a Bilstein ? looks like one that I have from an old VW only diference is the base its round instead of oblong shaped + the hieght of suport bar maybe longer for the munga ,,,,,,, Mark that Landy grill looks like it'll do the job , Phil

Very interesting , Its good to find reminders like this , think the year before a new Landrover was about £800 just to put them prices in persecutive , how would that compare today with a new Landy being about £20K I've just been flicking through the pages of Autocar 1977 and a new Range Rover £6844 but an Austin allegro would have been £1900