David Herbert

The small idler wheel below the sprocket was originally officially called the Tension Compensating Idler Wheel but that got shortened to Compensating Idler and then to Tension Idler which is a better term as it was sprung downwards by a small torsion bar but not linked to the rest of the suspension, unlike the Track adjusting Idler at the front of the tank which moves forwards as the front road wheel moves up, thus compensating for compression of the suspension and reducing nose diving when braking. The Tension Idler was to prevent the track bunching upwards between the sprocket and the rear road wheel when reversing, or when braking that track whilst going forwards. As the track is rubber bushed it is damaged by bending it sharply back on itself in the wrong direction. If driving forwards the tension of the sprocket pulling that part of the track will keep it straight however slack the track is. It does also contribute to guiding the track onto the sprocket and reducing flapping of that part of the track when coasting. They were kept in place for most of the US Army service life of M47s but were often removed by other users to reduce maintenance. David

Good Grief !! David

If you want to change a vehicle so that it differs from what is on the V5, just do it and then notify them in the way that it asks for on the back of the V5. If you are changing it TO what it says on the V5, just do it. Then the paperwork will fit the vehicle and everyone will be happy. Of course the insurance companies are getting fussy about modifications to vehicles being notified to them, which can even include factory installed optional wheels. David

I used to buy bearings regularly for my business and EVERY time I would be quoted a price four times what I paid last time. When challenged they would ask me what I paid last time and without argument would more or less match it. Certainly it seemed that at that time there was a huge discount to be had and list prices were inflated to allow for it. A crazy way to do business ! David

Mine was the same as Richard's. David

That is a good find ! My MW has a dipstick made of a sort of fibre board, dark grey and completely proof against petrol. Were there two types or was mine home made long ago ? David

I suspect that there are many more failures of relatively new tires, simply because there are many more of them. Does this mean that all tires should be banned ? Also most preserved vehicles do not travel very quickly and anyone that can't control a blowout at those speeds really should consider whether they aught to be driving. Just my knee jerk reaction.... David

I find it astonishing that these kind of parts are still out there to be found, so long after they were of any real commercial use. My first MV was a Bedford MWR which I acquired in 1970 and at that time there were almost no new spares available because the enthusiast infrastructure did not really exist. On the other hand there were lots of reasonably good trucks in scrapyards that weren't particularly rusty but had no use so they got scrapped. David

Hi Glenn, A good thing with Clansman is that all cables that look the same are the same. If they have matching plugs on each end then both ends are wired the same so pin 1 goes to pin 1 etc. So all 12 pin cables are interchangeable except for length. The original cables supplied with the vehicle specific installation kit were each numbered in a series that was special to that kit and were labelled at each end with what they plugged into but were often replaced with non-vehicle specific cables that happened to be the right length or a bit longer. Unfortunately the 'CES: installation kit, electronic equipment, Clansman basic harness' for each vehicle gives a full list of components with NATO stock numbers but not lengths of the cables. Most of these lists are available quite easily (Ebay) David

I don't recognize any part of the part number but I wonder if it is a bearing cap from a paddle wheel of a ship. There were plenty of paddle steamers in British service in WW2 and those in military service would have needed parts backup. I am not thinking of the bearings for the wheel itself which would have been much bigger but those of the actual paddles which are pivoted to the paddle wheel to give a feathering action as the wheel turns. The cap would have been retaining a split bronze bearing which was almost expendable because of the harsh conditions and difficulty of lubrication. David PS, Sorry I didn't read Graem's last post properly. I still think it is a bearing cap but some sort of asphalt mixing plant does sound possible.

I strongly favour the Clansman ANR system (Active Noise Reduction). The boxes have gold coloured fronts, though for some reason not the 'Driver's Box' (which is labelled ANR if it is). Tanks are much noisier than say Ferrets and the ANR system really works. I don't believe there is an ANR headset/throat mic combination but there is, as Gordonb said, an ANR headset with no mic which are cheap and easy to find and could be used with a hand held mic, plugged into the other hole of the crew box. That would make the commander a bit less obviously modern than the standard boom mic. David

I think not steam powered. If it were, the actual steam engine would usually have been in unit with the differential and gearbox, with the cylinders running fore and aft and the crankshaft cross-ways, thus simplifying the gearing. There were steam wagons made with the engine mounted cross-ways but then it was amid-ships as the space at the front was occupied by the boiler. In this vehicle there is a conventional diff / gearbox / chaindrives with a propeller shaft visible from the engine at the front, under the seat. Also a steam engine would not have a filler cap on the condenser (radiator) as that is supplied with exhaust steam at the top which condenses and is pumped out of the bottom and should be almost empty of liquid. I do think it looks rather wonderful though. David

Referring to the number of leaves on the Pz2 suspensions, It is not impossible that the middle wheel stations have more but thinner leaves to give a softer ride but the end stations have fewer, thicker leaves to give more resistance to pitching which is always a problem for smaller tracked vehicles. Being German it is quite possible that they are each optimized (ie. different) to get the best possible ride, regardless of production and maintenance complications. It is also possible that that particular vehicle has been repaired with a rather random selection of whatever versions of the springs were available at the time. I would make them all the same ans see how it sits when complete. David

Ditto ! David

Excellent idea John. Placing the FV434 fuel pump in the 100gallon tank was never going to make for easy maintenance of the pick up filter which seems to need it due to algae growth in the tank, presumably caused by condensation. At least on a FV432 it is in a separate collector tank which is accessible and can be isolated easily. David

Hi Keith, Welcome to the forum. If you have any photos from back then we would be very pleased to see them. David

What great photos, thank you for posting Ted David

You can see the edge of the counterweight - an area about 3" wide parallel to the weld. The angled face is at exactly the right angle to reflect the sky but it does obscure the nose of the aircraft in the background which is 'cut off' at just the same angle as the lower edge of the counterweight of the M10 in the next listing. David

It Isn't ! David

I suspect that the petrol engine was fitted in anticipation of using them in arctic conditions because the perception at the time was that petrol engines would be much easier to start than diesels at very low temperatures. David

Actually they will say that anyway ! You just need to decide if you can be bothered to engage in a pointless conversation... David

Lovely !!! David

Paul, The H class in the UK licence is used much more for tracked agricultural tractors, excavators and tracked dumpers than for armoured vehicles. Surely the Germans have an equivalent ? David

Thank you Robin, I was there a couple of years after the 'incident' with the Ferret and was told about it by a couple of people who I respected so had no reason to doubt the story. I am grateful to you for putting the record straight and my apologies to everyone for introducing some fake news. I will edit my post to reflect this. David

Edited: My thanks to Robin Craig for correcting the fake news that I had repeated in this post about a Guy with a Ferret at the Canadian Parliament, Please read his version below. I think that the risk to most of us is people like the guy in 101Ron's post above rather than terrorists but we should be aware that if something can happen it will do, somewhere eventually. No one believed that 9,11 would happen till it did.... David