w896andy

Hi Adrian, I have pm'd you

Hi, I'm looking for a WW2 era Bulldozer to go on my Trailer for shows and for a heritage steam railway 1940's weekend next year. It has to be about D2 / D4 sized, Caterpillar, International or Allis Chalmbers or any other make. It has to have a blade and whilst I don't mind some restoration or painting I don't want a basket case to restore (I have too many of them all ready !!). Can anybody help please, thanks.

Thanks both. It was the Hydravac itself that was faulty. I took the unit off and took the regulator valve off the back, the insides were full of grease and this appeared as well as other things to have blocked up the air bleed in the valve casing. The vehicle was a french rebuild, stored for many years until I bought it. After I did some miles the brakes got worse so it looks like the grease inside gummed it up and kept the brakes on as soon as there was vacuum pressure. I took the safest route and got a newly rebuilt unit and replaced it rather than risk just cleaning out the unit.

I've left my GMC CCKW 353 standing over the winter and now find the brakes lock on with the engine running, but release when its not. The brakes have a nice amount of travel without the engine running, start the engine and after the first brake application the brakes lock on, the pedal goes very hard with no movement. They stay on and only releases after I stop the engine when the vacuum dies down and the pedal then has travel again. I suspect the Hydravac system but can't work out what the likely cause is. Can the relay valve stick some how on the end of the hrydravac ? If so how do I test it or where do I get a replacement ?. I've checked the master cylinder, fluid level and pedal adjustments and the master cylinder seems to release ok. I've attached a picture of the unit as I belive there are different ypes.Any help gratefully received, thanks.

Sadly I think rambo1969 is correct. I’m organising a 1940’s Weekend on the West Somerset Railway on September 15/16 this year. I placed a post here and we also opened a Facebook page ‘WSR Forties Weekend 2018’. I asked for people to come and display both civilian and military and for vehicles to be put on a military train on both. Here we had no replies and no feedback even though I reposted again, on Facebook we have now 515 people who asked to join and many are posting and filling out the application form. I see the same with other forums as well so it’s not just here. It appears to be that things are changing and forums are in the decline and that’s sad because I like the in-depth information and help HMVF provides.

Wanted. I'm looking for a rear cargo body to fit my Diamond T, they are the same size I'm been told as a Reo M35. Does anybody have any info or leads that would be great, thanks in advance. Andy

As an update to my previous post regarding a Military Train and Event on the West Somerset Railway during the WSR’s Spring Gala on 22-25 March 2018 I have a bit of an update. We will now be holding two Military events during 2018. The first on the 22-25 March 2018 is now being held at Minehead Station not Bishops Lydeard as previously planned. The second will be a full dedicated WSR 1940’s weekend held on the 15-16th September 2018. Both events will feature the military train and both events will be held at Minehead with the September event also having some of the event & displays at Watchet as well. The March event is a part of the usual larger WSR Spring Steam Gala and will consist of military or period civilian vehicles and displays at Minehead station where there is space immediately outside of the Station next to the Turntable Café and platforms, plus space under the canopy on the platforms itself. The military train will run from Minehead in the morning, will stop in the platforms at Bishops Lydeard and then run back to Minehead sometime in the afternoon for each of the four days. The September event is a dedicated 1940’s weekend with again the military train as before plus a replica Spitfire & RAF display outside of the station buildings at Minehead, a 1940’s dance on the Saturday evening under the platform canopy, military vehicles, civilian vehicles and home front displays at both Minehead & Watchet. Camping and parking will be available as needed. We will also put on Teas & coffees for exhibitors for both events. As before I’m looking to arrange WW2 vehicles for the train and uniformed people to ride with the train in the Brake Vans on all six days it will be running. There will also be a limited number of Footplates rides available for people in uniform. The idea is to have as accurate a military train as possible with military personal ‘guarding it’ as it goes along the line as we expect a large number of lineside photographers to be present. Please let me know if you would like to be involved with this either with a vehicle or riding with the train or both. For more details please ring or email me and you can also join on a Facebook page “WSR Forties Weekend 2018” to keep up with how things are progressing. You can also download a booking form, or we can post or email you one by request. Tickets for the trains and the 1940’s dance will also be available soon through the WSR Website. We would like to represent things properly so for the train we need to have WW2 only. For the events any WW2 or Postwar vehicles are very welcome along with any classic cars, civilian, etc. but please no German or Axis displays or uniforms, as has been pointed out, luckily they didn’t get as far as Minehead during the war!!!!! You are also welcome to bring deactivated or replica weapons but please display them with respect in a non-aggressive way and no blank firing or gas guns as we don’t want to frighten the neighbours. My contact details are andyfnorman@yahoo.co.uk, 07590 487885.

As well as a Military Vehicle Collector I’m also a Volunteer Fireman on the West Somerset Railway in Somerset. I’ve been asked by the West Somerset Railway Gala Team to help organise a military freight train loaded with WW2 vehicles and a static display of military vehicles, displays and reenactors at Bishops Lydeard station as a part of their usual Spring Gala on 22-25th March 2018. The WSR will have an American S160 2-8-0 freight loco available to pull the train, these engines were made in the USA and shipped to England and Europe as a part of the war effort in the run up to and after D-Day. Many operated in the UK during 1944-45 including from Taunton shed. As there was a big military base on North Hill in Minehead a military train hauled by this type of loco taking vehicles down the branch is something the WSR wants to recreate as a part of its larger Spring Gala. The WSR also has enough genuine war department wagons to make a train including flat wagons for vehicles, open wagons for kit, closed wagons and brake vans to ride in. Therefore the plan is to have a totally authentic military train loaded with WW2 vehicles running over the line, plus a display of static vehicles and displays at Bishops Lydeard next to the station platforms. It’s in planning currently and I have some details to thrash out so is all subject to confirmation which I will give as soon as I can so I just need to know who is interested at the moment. No commitment of course and as always you can just turn up to be a part of the display as you wish. However I do need to be a bit more organised for the vehicles on the train and reenactors or uniformed owners to man it, as the plan is to allow you to ride on the military train in brake vans plus some will hopefully be able to get a trip on loco footplates over the line as well. Therefore could you contact me if you would like to: 1. Have your vehicle on the train (up to GMC sized WW2 vehicles). 2. Ride in the Brake vans on the train over the line (20 miles each way) and help ‘guard’ it when it sits in the stations ( In British, American, Home Guard, uniforms for this) and talk to the public. 3. Just come along to Bishops Lydeard with a vehicle or display or re-enactment (not just WW2). British, American, Home Guard & Civilian only please. No Germans or Axis. I plan to try and arrange some footplate passes to ride over the line on the locomotives (others will be running as well over the gala) and to have some free tickets to travel on the normal passenger trains that will be running for those in uniform or civilian period dress who bring a vehicle or display in addition to being able to ride on the freight train itself. Could you please drop me a line on andyfnorman@yahoo.co.uk or ring me on 07590 487885 or of course reply on here. I have a meeting on the 5th Jan so if anybody is interested if you could come back to me by then that would be great, that’s not of course a deadline in anyway it would just help me to know some reaction when I’m talking to people then.

Maurice. I haven't found a list of chassis numbers and build dates so have the same issue for mine. The only indications I know of are the hard cab/soft cab date change. Has he found the chassis number stamped in the chassis on the rear ?

OK Thanks.

Thanks

Thanks, PM sent to you, Andy

Thanks for this, but the listing is just for the poles not the corner/straight connectors, they don't have corner connectors but have some straight connectors on their web-site but with postage they are £20 each which seems very dear. I've also tried Anchor Supplies as well, they usually have connectors & corners at £10 each which is much more reasonable but don't currently have either.

Does anybody have any spare 9 x 9 tent frame parts? I managed to lose a straight joiner and corner piece when packing up quickly in the rain so looking for either/both or I would buy a complete frame or a bundle of bits if that’s what somebody has and wants to sell them all together. Thanks in advance.

Its something that I've commented on before on another thread here. It usually means the seller wants to tell you how rare it is, how few there are for sale, you will never find another one, you had better buy it, its fully restored, it has never let him down and it was used on D-Day by the paratroopers/airborne before he then tells you its twice the price of any other one on the market but its worth every penny. The reality is usually it was painted 30 years ago, the tyres are old and cracked, it has lots missing and its not turned a wheel for years. Its simple, if people don't price things its going to be very expensive.

Why not consider a low pressure electronic fuel pump from Facet, this should cure the over fueling issue and give you a consistent fuel supply which will solve the vapor lock problem many encounter especially as your engine is in the middle and buried under armour as it will heat the engine bay when you switch off with the fuel evaporating if you try and re-start within a few minutes which a manual pump can't cope with. Try this link http://www.fuelpumpsonline.co.uk/facet-solid-state-pumps-12v-1820-c.asp I have one fitted to my GMC and it cured the poor starting issue when hot. As for electronic ignitions I don't think they improve anything and I have had a couple fail about 6 months after buying them, a set of points works well and is easy to fix. If you do go that route make sure you keep the old points, condenser etc plus some spanners in the vehicle so you can take off the electronic ignition and put it back to points at the road side when it goes wrong, I speak from experience !!!!!

Wow, a Land Rover with the wrong engine and registered 10 years later than they stopped making that version and all for around 5 times more than no end of others on the market, I thought that was the most ridiculous ad I have seen until I read the next one where a man will show you some scrap Russian vehicles in a village somewhere in Kazakhstan so you can speak to the owners son about a price he doesn't know about, all for $3,000, an air ticket, hotel, hire car, food and no-doubt some money to hire the hit man to mug you when you get there,, any takers !!!! I have to say I've never seen anything sensible on car & classic only very expensive things with sellers chancing their arms but this does take it to another level !!!!

I was talking to a friend at W&P, a friend of his is driving the new electric buses in London, when they break down or lose power an electronics expert in a recovery vehicle comes out and fixes it or tows it in. I guess flat batteries strands a number of them and either fixing it or towing to back for a re-charge must take hours. He then mentioned that in the same area 100 years ago the trolley buses were also electric, they only used to go wrong when the electric gantry jumped off the overhead wire. The driver carried a wooden pole with a hook on to flip it back on and the trolley bus was working again within a couple of seconds, that’s progress for you !!!!!!

I wouldn’t panic as I’ve mentioned on another thread, it’s a statement by a Minister who only has a 5 year remit, he will be very long gone in 2040, how often do Politian’s say something that never happens next month let alone over 20 year’s time. That's before you even start on funding the scrapping of 25 million cars and 10 million lorries/buses !!!!! Never say never but highly unlikely is a good guess.

You are right but not just the Prince of Wales (bigger than both Scotsman and Tornado) but also about 8 others currently being built from new and some nearly finished including three large GWR engines, a large LMS engine and a couple of tank engines all standard gauge plus many more in the planning stage and some narrow gauge stuff including a L&B tank. You can also get good Welsh Steam coal in any quantity you want (we run all our engines on the WSR with it) something else which the government said was never going to be seen again when they closed all the mines. As per a previous post the railway preservation movement is a hobby attracting many young people, expanding greatly and in good health, not declining as ours is, can you imagine somebody building a brand new Panther tank totally from scratch including making all the casting moulds and engine block/components from nothing !!

I can’t believe that some of you are taking this seriously, really a Politian with a track record such as this individual who having destroyed education due to wanting to make all kids academics is now going to get you the public to buy into the next fairy-tale and scrap at your own cost 25 million cars and 10 million lorries to be replaced by a much more expensive technology that isn’t even anywhere near capable of replacing carbon fuels. Next thing is the Government will be telling us that Diesel Engined vehicles are good, clean and ecologically friendly……. oh yes they did that about 10 years ago and yes we did believe them, I think I need to go and lie down…:nut::nut::nut:

To give the younger generation a bit of heart regarding their ability to pay for expensive vehicles in the future, having got some great replies on this thread I agree with many of the comments on here that new blood is not coming into the hobby in any numbers and as has been mentioned many of the older pioneers of the hobby will be giving up in large numbers as they are all of a certain age all at the same time. It then just becomes a matter of simple statistics and supply and demand which will control future prices and is most likely already beginning to. Let’s say for every 10 people in the hobby currently over 65 only 1 new person under 40 starts the hobby, it means in the next 5-10 years 10 vehicles will come on the market for every 1 new buyer, you can then multiply that figure by the number of vehicles individuals have so let’s say an average of 2 each to be conservative (I have 6 personally and I know many others have more). That means any 1 new buyer will have the choice of 20 vehicles to buy and supply and demand will then take over and dictate the price. Nothing else can happen unless there are more new people coming into the hobby than old ones leaving which doesn’t seem to be the case. The only thing that can effect that is the very wealthy but the limited numbers of those people are already buying anyway so a price drop won’t increase those numbers. So I think if you are struggling to buy something, take heart, if you are looking to invest now be very careful, the time to invest was 5-10 years ago and the time to dispose if you are only investing is very quickly approaching. If you are like me and are lucky enough to have a collection bought when prices were sensible and want to keep it until I drop off the perch, enjoy your vehicles, it will be your children’s problem as to what they are worth or not.

Its been a while since I updated this blog so I thought it was about time. Not much has happened on the truck itself other than cleaning and painting small parts but trailer wise things have taken a few steps forward. I had a 25’ single axle cargo trailer of the correct era complete with a US army dolly, and then a while later bought a 25’ swan neck low loading trailer also with a dolly which had been sat on a farm. The low loader is not military but has a nice low bed, dual brakes and a fifth wheel so I can use it behind the Autocar or my large 4wd tractor, it will take about 10 tons safely so I could carry both the Jeep on the swan neck with my M3 Scout car on the main body with weight to spare. Needless to say the trailer needed more work than I first saw and is being stripped down to the chassis before a repaint, a new bed, reinforced side frame, the king pin plate has been removed and straightened and various other repair items plus eight heavy duty new commercial lorry tyres which will take the weight safely. So the two dollies are both now finished and the low loader is part way there.

Jon, I totally agree with you here regarding the price of projects and I do exactly the same as you in buying things to do up for exactly the same reasons, although I do buy nice vehicles if they are priced right. For example I've been trying to buy a project WW2 Motorcycle for about a year now, BSA, Triumph, Matchless, etc. as long at its British, refurbished ones are already overpriced in my opinion as each one is £1,000 more than the last even though many more are coming back onto the market as they are being rebuilt (I guess because people think they are worth doing up for the current asking prices), but the projects I've seen are impossible to buy now with people asking only a little less than finished ones. When you then speak to the seller its always the same, its got no paperwork, no NOVA, its missing all the expensive bits, been sat rotting for 30 years because when granddad bought it he used it for 20 years then put it in a shed and forgot about it as it only cost him £5 to begin with, but its great because it turns over and will only need a bit of tinkering with and a lick of paint. That's all fine and all do'able but not at £1k less than a nice one. Anybody who has done anything up will know the true costs. However the most worrying one I saw recently was a Matchless on a certain auction site, which had no paperwork, the seller said he was bringing it from his home in France but would not provide a NOVA and didn't want to know about paperwork and would deliver it to you in the UK but you had to have the cash ready !!!!!! Needless to say I'm still looking.

Welcome from a fellow M3 Scout Car owner, what states the restoration at, people here love pictures please.