montie

Hi Sean, At first I thought, "Hooray! another oke from South Africa" but seeing the vehicles, it just can't be. Welcome, even if it is from Oz (Rugby wars, you know!) Monty.

Hi guys, More info on the MOTH club and the MV's. This documentation is not copy righted. The "Marmon Herrington" The "Bren Carrier" I have got a write-up on the Crusader as well but only of you are interested. Cheers, Monty.

Hi all, Some more photos of unknown South African MV's, not vintage but already part of a fast disappearing history with nobody trying to preserve it as it was "politically incorrect". And then "The Thing", what a waste of good spares and vehicles!! The "population Control" part is......:rofl::rofl:Maybe I should stop calling it "The Thing" and rather call it "Condom"!! They should have made better use of it. Regards, Monty.

Hi Paul, That brake pipe looks to be sitting in an "interesting" position! You waited this long, wasn't it overhauled? :cool2: Good luck with it! Monty.

Hi Jack, It is a Veteran Soldier's association and this was at a once a month general meeting. M.O.T.H. is the abbreviation for "Memorable Order of the Tin Hat". I will post more info on this if you like, I got some brochures ( I had a heck of a time getting the spelling right!) on their organisation and the vehicles parked outside. Regards, Monty.

Hi Chris, My kids were at this scapyard and the owner says legislation is preventing him from selling to the public. I have scrutinized the web for any such legislation before but could not find any. Will have to pay the guy a visit myself. Cheers. Monty.

Here we go! Apparently this was in the movie, District 9 (haven't seen it yet) The thing (by lack of another name!) was built by a farmer:nut: using Saracen parts:nut::nut::nut:. I have got some more pics from this sorry scapyard but I will post them tomorrow. Cheers, Monty.

And some more! And now this is enough to make me cry!!!! And for the Grand Finale! I presume you heard of the movie "District 9"?

Hi all, Got some pics to share, I had me scouts out!

Hi all, I had been to the MOTH meeting tonight, it was really entertaining to meet and join the old soldiers. A photo of the certificate of comradeship. Here are some pics of another Marmon Herrinton in the back of the clubhouse, apparently this one does not have an engine and the other one (previous posting) is complete exept for a missing (read stolen) distributor and manifold on the sidevalve Ford V8 engine. The misterious "6 wheeled" vehicle, apparently a bren carrier. Some other miscelaneous items An American Radio as the word has it. More radios. A light of russian origin Cheers guys.

Hi, Everything washed and cleaned. (I should have bought the pressure washer ages ago!) Trying to install that L/H front wheel assembly and getting that inside tracta fork to engage the splines in the bevel box all by myself, definitely not a one man job! The wheel assy is to heavy to maneuver, even with the crane! Will have to wait for reinforcements to assist with the man handling. Checked the post box this morning for the mail on the South African Saracens, nothing yet. Cheers, Monty.

It is a little bit confusing. Were the MoD numbers not part of aseries or were they randomly allocated? I do need the numbers of a few other South African Saracens urgently for comparison purposes. Richard, the one plate states MK2 and the other Mk 3 SA, Does the model number (model 0) contribute to anything? Monty.

Hi Paul, Thanks for the vote of confidence. The cast ID plate is on the left hand side, bolted to the hull just hehind (viewing from the front) the escape hatch. The printed plate is in a 10 o'clock position above it. Cheers, Monty.

Hi Chris, It seems that you are the real Sherlock Holmes and me just a sidekick. I never saw that! Richard, and you actually worked on the vehicle! My, what a small world!! Come on, it (THE NUMBER) is buried somewhere in the memories!! Did Banisters sell off the "Saracen 88" to a company or is there another one with no records? Howard did say...."the plot thickens!" Cheers, Monty.

Hi Clive, Referring to the "Saracen Build up" post , I have got this burning question, what is the UK MoD registration number of your vehicle, please???? Monty.

Hi guys, A little update on the vehicle history saga. A letter to the Tank Museum. The first answer. Me begging again! Next reply from the Tank Museum. Note thate this this also a Mark2, similar to the photo of the ID plate posted last night. Me being Sherlock Holmes and "brilliant" at jumping to conclusions.:nut: (That's what my other half always says when we have a disagreement!!) Cheers, Monty.

Ouch!....That hurts!! It is only a stuffed bevel box on the front wheel and a TOTALLED reduction hub on a centre wheel stopping me from driving the Saracen!! We are getting there, slowly but surely, one of these days, we will add to the human race carbon footprint again!!:cool2: Cheers, Monty.

Hi Clive, Was it similar to the Saracen 88 or what Mark was it? Being from South Africa, I do't know the engine, is the Perkins a four or six cylinder engine? How did they mate the engine and gearbox and was the fluid drive retained? What sort of belt drives are they using and do you have any overheating problems? I have too many questions, let me shut up! Regards, Monty.

Hi guys, I am a little intimidated by all this, maybe I should give it a go but only once! Fortuately there is still some work to be finished! Now where did I hide the starting lever? Cheers, Monty.

Howard, I did get the article on the Saracen 88, lovely info and photos in article, thank you very much for your inputs. Cheers, Monty.

Hi guys, Bit of an update. I did get a reply from the Tank Museum. I have requested the info of 96BA69 as the vehicles are very close. It can maybe shed some light as all others from the series is not available. Why do I have the feeling that this one could be the elusive "Saracen 88" in Europe sold to the US. From now on, I will takes pics of any SA Saracen and take down their UK MoD registration number for building up some history. This is an extract from a letter that I got. I have taken photos of the ID plate on the inside of the Saracen (I remember a post where somebody was looking for Saracen or Saladin plates?) Now, this plate states that it is a Mark 2. The other ID plate states "Mark 3SA". I do remember that I read somewhere (Can't put my finger on it at the moment) that South Africa purchased Mk2's that were modified. As they say in South Africa......EISH!! Will keep digging

Dear Sir, please do give us updates? Has she been painted yet? Please post some more pics. Cheers.

Hi all, I have written to the editor of MMI after I got his details. He responded that he is not a member of HMVF but would do some digging. I think he is missing out BIG time for not being a member but it remains personal choice. Now just waiting for a reply. Cheers, Monty

Hi guys, I have spoken to this one guy at work that belongs to the MOTH (Memorable Order of the Tin Hat). They have a meeting on this coming Friday and I will tag along. Apparently there is another MV at the back of the building, a six or eight wheeled vehicle which my contact have no clue of what it could be. Can hardly wait to snap it and get your opinions. I will have to spend some time researching all these leads you guys have provided, I will just have to wait for other cold and wet evenings and weekends. I don't want to take to much time off from refurbishing the Saracen. Cheers, Monty. PS. I will pass these old soldiers your regards as I am sure you would.

Ha-ha, Nothing quite like a bit of stirring to get some response!! :whistle: Really guys, thanks for your inputs, I have been ignorant in this field for way too long but am thoroughly enjoying the learning and education. I have been catching up with the reading of older posts (really misrable out there today!) and all I can say, there is enough knowledge in this forum to write many volumes! Cheers. Monty.