ghasp!

Thanks for the input, I've opted to go with 3 seats, so I can at least take two kids to school, just for the hell of it. :evil:

Don't know if this counts as it wasn't my vehicle and it was an aircraft, but... http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j214/x902110/46183518_20a1f3d9ba_m1.jpg[/img] I was about to do a parachute drop from an Antonov 2 which had been standing for the winter. When they finally got the engine started in a huge cloud of black smoke, two bats were seen (and caught on video but unfortunately not on a still camera!) flying out of the exhaust. :schocked: I swear they were coughing as they flew off

Calling all Jimmy owners! When you registered your truck, how many seats did you include? :dunno: I know the cab has the two seats, but the back could hold troops so does that need to be included? I don't want to register it as only having two seats if it means I can't take people in the back without risking having my collar felt. :whistle: :thankyou:

Actually they're using a bazooka, not a PIAT (that spring powered :schocked: masterful piece of British engineering). Can't remember off hand what the vehicle was supposed to be, I'll have to check tonight.

Is there anywhere in the new VCR legislation a definition of what 'close inspection' is? Are we talking 50 feet or 5? :dunno: When I built my KWK38 blank firer in the summer :evil: I purposefully left the wood grain visible on the barrel (it meant less sanding too) so that from a reasonably close distance it was obviously not a real metal one. Is that going to be good enough? http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j214/x902110/bovy2006/kwk38/assembledfront.jpg[/img] http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j214/x902110/bovy2006/kwk38/barrel.jpg[/img]

To get my 6-rad project running before the end of the school year. It doesn't have to be finished, but at least usable. My eldest wants to be taken to school in it. :evil: She goes up to senior school in September, by which time I doubt she'll want her old man visible at all. :embarassed:

Anyone had any experiences of road accidents while driving heavy metal? I imagine even a small armoured car (let alone a tracked vehicle) would demolish most modern vehicles that they come into contact with. I remember a friend of mine told me about a story when he was on exercise in Germany many years ago, riding down a country road on the back of a Chieftan (in a long nose to tail convoy). Suddenly a beetle came up behind them tooting loudly. It turned out to be full of German teenagers leaning out the window making it very plain what they thought of British soldiers, before overtaking on a blind bend. Unfortunatley there was another convoy of Chieftans coming back that way. :schocked:

I had our driveway made wide enough for two cars and a bit more last year, nothing of course to do with the GMC 353 I purchased recently (at least that's what I told the wife) :whistle:

Welcome on board! You must have plenty of space and spare time for those projects :schocked:

Thanks chaps! Jack if you could burn me a copy that would be great. I guess a paper version on hand in the cab would be a good move too!

Can anyone tell me where I can get my hands on a Maintenance manual / schedule for a GMC 353? I assume such a thing once existed and that someone somewhere has reproduced it? Cheers in advance

I'll contact the MVT tomorrow and get something underway, thanks for all the help.

Today I took the brave step of trying to register my new GMC at the 'local' DVLA office in Wimbledon :shocking: I had all the information, the truck's date of birth, the release form from the French army, which clearly stated it was taken on service n 1956, renovated in '68 and sold on in '76. I had the sale documents from the ex-owner in France, I had the insurance, a photo and even the completed registration form (what is a CoC document by the way?). Was this enough? No, not a bit of it. :banghead: Apparently, the release form wasn't any use, neither was the sale document, as neither of them are listed on their system as viable supporting documents for a registration. It seems that they get "all sorts of vehicles coming through here pretending to be from the second world war, and most of them aren't." :rofl: "I politely pointed to the photo (which they took) and told them that "they hadn't made those sort of trucks since 1945, so I could hardly be pulling the wool over their eyes. "We'll get back to you in 4-6 weeks, you'll probably get a 'Q' plate," was the best I could get. A :argh: 'Q' plate?! :eek: So it seems that because the staff at the DVLA don't actually know anything about historic vehicles and couldn't pick a 353 out of lineup of transits, and because their system doesn't recognise French documents as being genuine my new pride and joy is going to be registered as a kit car. :-o Please tell me this isn't going to happen!

There appears to be something similar to what you're after in the latest green sheet from the MVT. If you haven't got a copy let me know and I'll forward the details.

It's hopefully going to be a schwere panzerspawagen sdkfz 231 6-rad replica by the time it's finished. I've always been interested in these vehicles, ever since Matchbox brought out 1:72 kit many years ago. It was originally thought that the 6-rads were retired from frontline use in 40/41, but my research has turned up extended use on the eastern front into 43/44. Also there is some evidence that when the 21st Panzer division reformed in early 1944 it may have taken some on strength. The reconnaissance unit was reformed from a training unit which could have brought their 6-rads with them. There's documented evidence that the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance made contact with a couple of 6-rads on D-day, just at the time Von Luck's kampf group of the 21st panzer (including the reconnaissance unit) went into action. I'm still investigating.

Actually, the idea of a trophy isn't bad. If there isn't one already, we should set one up. It might even make the agony of breaking down slightly more agreeable. If not the stories should give everyone else a laugh.

I think you should add a large bottle of brandy or whiskey to the first aid kit for breakdowns, for situations when all else fails and you need to keep your spirits up. Especially when you're stranded in the cold and wet with no roof to your cab! :shake: As to the history of the vehicle, it was manufactured in January 1945, taken on strength by the French army in 1954 and released in 1978. Since then I believe it has mostly been sitting in a barn. There are a few lamps missing and wires in the cab that go nowhere, but the body work is really good. I had to search quite hard before I found a single small patch of rust on one of the front wings.

Yes after 14 months wait, numerous slipped delivery dates and one aborted attempt at collection I finally have my truck! Here's a picture of me in a wet windswept France :shake:, having spent the past hour running around the docks looking for the truck. At one stage two French security guards, in black uniforms and red armbands (very much like the SS) told me it was not possible to enter the lorry park on foot. I had to phone the French guy and he came and argued with them, in the way only the French can, until I was eventually let it. http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j214/x902110/SA400135.jpg[/img] "There's a slight problem with the gearbox", was the first thing he said when we got to the truck, "but don't worry I knock off some of the price". It was a struggle to understand, but I gathered some sort of securing clip had come off which meant the gearbox wasn't working, but they'd bodged it with a bit of wire. He didn't know how long it would last. :schocked: Aggghhh!!! Anyway I got it on the ferry and everything seemed to be fine. When we docked in an even wetter greyer colder Dover :shake: I thought I was home, if not home dry. Then just as I reached the top of the offloading ramp, the gearbox failed. I now had articulated lorries bearing down on me at a rate of knots and nowhere to go, there wasn't even a footpath. Eventually the port authority towed me off, but that was the scariest bit, because the tow rope was only about 7 feet long. The ramp was very high and very steep and I had to rely on 62 year old brakes that I'd never really tested before, to stop me crashing into the back of the tow truck and writing both vehicles off. Luckily we all made it down in one piece. I'd arranged for a low loader to take the truck off to a R&R services and give it a once over, so thankfully I didn't have to drive it any further! Needless to say I haven't told the wife about the gearbox incident! :wink:

Good news!

That's great thanks!

Thanks for the diagram, any idea of what goes on in the unit marked 2?

IMBSB... how does the mechanisim work that connects the steering column with the canted over steering wheel in vehicles such as the ferret and other similar armoured cars? Is it all done with gears or some sort of universal joint?

I understand that it used to be looked upon as a section 1 FAC as it was effectively a single shot breech loading rifle. However I had a discussion with a few people at Bovington during the tankfest (so this is just hearsay evidence), but they said that attitudes have now changed. I was told that under new guidelines any weapon that could potentially be used to fire depleted uranium rounds was being moved further up the FAC scale. It doesn't matter that the 25 pounder never used such ammo, if something modern is close enough to be converted then the alarm bells start ringing in the Home Office. Again I have to stress that this is only what I was told by a couple of HMV owners, but they did own similar artillery pieces / tank main guns.

I got interested in Military Vehicles when I started WWII re-enactment about 8 years ago so I'm probably biased. Let me tell you why I do it. At my first event at Beltring with the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance unit (part of WWII LHA), I was met by a couple of Arnhem veterans. When they introduced themselves, I was a bit concerned about what their reaction would be, but they told me how much they appreciated the effort that we'd gone to and how pleased they were to see us. It’s a scenario that’s been repeated many times over the years and I’ve never had a bad reaction. In fact, while taking part in the Arnhem march we've had groups of veterans standing to attention and saluting us as we marched past. We tried to explain that we were there to remember them and it should be the other way round but they would have nothing of it. “You’re helping keep the memory alive, thank you” was one of the replies I remember as I was shaken warmly by the hand. I think that’s what we’re all trying to do, just in different ways. Lest we forget…

The museum in Saint Mere Eglise is very good too. For those on the Normdany trip I'd recommend buying the book that explains what happened where on all the signposted tour routes. It's like having a museum the size of whole battle area.