TooTallMike

Not wanting to hijack this but as far as I'm aware you can drive within the EU according to UK regs as long as you are in a vehicle that is UK registered, taxed etc. However you need to be very clear of your facts and have your paperwork in good order if pulled over. Back on thread, I had my new Ward laFrance delivered from Northern France to my driveway for £500 on a truck that was running light on his return. I had to wait a few weeks but if you're not in a rush it can be done cheaply. I've done colecting vehicles and driving them back and frankly it isn't worth the hassle when transport is that cheap. - MG

Surely a lot depends on what exactly the trailer is being used for? Scenario 1: a Brockhouse trailer converted to living accomodation, and with a few deckchairs and other camping bits and bobs chucked in on the floor area. I believe this qualifies as test exempt as it is within the spirit of being 'used unladen'. Scenario 2: the same converted trailer being used to transport a stall-holder's stock on the same floor area. I believe it is difficult to consider commercial stock as directly relevant to the trailer's use as mobile accommodation so I would say it is being used to transport a load. A laden trailer over 3,500kg gross weight requires a test, regardless of its age. Incidentally in many cases the towing vehicle would also need to be tested, as well as no longer being tax exempt... Clearly there is a grey area in between these two scenarios and indeed one could conjure up a more extreme second scenario but I have tried to describe scenarios that could be relevant to our hobby. In the case of an accident or stop/check it would be up to the Police, VOSA and ultimately a Court to decide where the line is drawn. The driver needs to be satisfied that they have done their research (above and beyond just asking a question on HMVF) so that they can defend their own decision. As regards the original question "My Diamond T is pre 1960, therefore MOT exempt, If i were to put a trailer (living van) from after 1960 behind it, does the trailer need testing?" I would suggest that both are legitimately test-exempt, provided nothing is carried that is not relevant to camping/exhibiting. This is my understanding of the situation but please do your own research and don't just believe me! - MG

Interesting photos. The 'D' sign mounted on top of the cab is the standard illuminated French 'Dépannage' (breakdown/recovery) sign carried by all wreckers and heavy haulage trucks. I've not seen this on French military vehicles, so could it have been French civvy registered before being transferred to Alvis? Had it been operating somewhere that French rules of the road applied? - MG

Thanks John, I had not read the TM properly before - I'd always assumed the spare parts box was stored under the seat as on a GMC but now I look it does indeed say 'right side crane frame'. When you have time could you please post a more detailed photo? Regarding the pins, I'll let you know. They only need to be replaced if the axle ones have come loose in their castings, or if the ones on the chassis brackets have worn (or if the nuts won't come undone or destroy their threads when un-doing!) - MG

Looks great John, Those tyres look like the ones Mark (Heliops) has on his truck. Are they Dutch mfr.? What is the small box mounted on the crane frame above the right hand spare wheel? - MG

Thanks for posting this. One immediate question which springs to mind is how to amend incorrect 'age' information for vehicles for which the manufacturer no longer exists and for which there is no Glass's guide available. Presumably a letter from an identifying club would be acceptable in these circumstances? - MG

Richard, Bolster is also 11:00 x 18. They are near-impossible to find NOS or second-hand. New are expensive. Some people have converted 20" wheels to CCKW/DUKW centres. - MG

If I were contemplating doing this I certainly wouldn't be discussing it on a public forum. It is perfectly simple to register a vehicle properly with a verification letter and the rest of the paperwork, and there's much less chance that your vehicles will end up crushed by the police. - MG

Hi John, We use an EP80/90 or EP90. The important thing is that it meets GL4 spec. which means it is compatible with yellow metals. - MG

Hi, I'm looking forward to following your Chev thread but actually I'm more interested in one of the other vehicles in your shed - I owned and restored GMC 'SAP 23N' in the early 90's. I can give you some history on it. PM me if you're interested! Regards - MG

I'm looking for 4 of the gel type 6TNs. Can anyone point me in the right direction? - MG

Interesting about the significance of 1952 rebuilds. Is there any info out there about the rebuild depots? Any surviving records? Andy - it'll be staying yellow for a while as I think there are enough green ones out there now. It's not as tidy as the photos suggest but I shall just regard that as 'charm'. Tony - baby seat is on the cards as t he hard top means I can fit a third point for a proper seat belt. - MG

Don't blame me, it was the others who made me do it... Earlier this year I sold 'my' WLF to a nice chap down in the West Country who is going to use it to work on his collection of crawlers and other tasty kit. At W&P I was notified that another would be coming available and in August we went over to view it. A deal was done and last Friday it arrived. Chris unloaded it with the Berliet and it was shunted into my workshop by Ross. On Saturday I rebuilt the carb, cleaned the plugs, stoned the points, replaced the coil & king lead and then with a flash of the jump leads on the starter it roared into life. We celebrated by driving it around the field. Everything on it works apart from the crane slew which has an as-yet un-diagnosed 'issue' (I knew about this before the purchase and it is not a serious issue as I have a complete spares truck). The truck was built late 1944 and has a 1952 rebuild plate from Aalen Ordnance Depot, Germany. It has French data plates suggesting further service with the French army. Following this the truck was operated by Garage Canuel, Giverville, Normandy in whose colours it remains. The vignette in the windscreen indicates that the truck was last insured in 1991. It is understood that the garage owner retired and simply locked the garage doors with his fleet inside. He sadly died around two months ago and his assets were sold off. The cab has been extended rearwards by around 150mm to make space for a very civilised suspended seat. The crane boom has had a substantial amount of bracketry welded on to permit the rear winch to be diverted over a snatch block to give an improved position for suspended front lift. The lockers and wooden side boards from the rear body have been removed and a pair of hinged steel side panels have been installed. The plan is to keep the truck unchanged externally other than a tidying of the paintwork. Underneath it requires a torque rod or two, a new front prop, full air system inspection... Oh, and a Cummins...:-D - MG

Great photo! If that truck still had a petrol engine it would have been a veeeery slow journey... - MG

Hi Richard, There are hundreds and hundreds of variants of this engine but all use essentially the same basic head and block. Variants include fuel pumps (Bosch, CAV, inline/rotary), pistons and rods, compressors, steering pumps, fan locations, idler locations, alternator locations and types, bellhousing diameters, turbo sizes, manifolds, inlet air coolers, sump types etc etc etc. I recently picked up two 6Bs to combine into the donor for my new WLF. One is from a bus and one from an 18-tonner and they are almost completely different aside from the heads and blocks. With regard to preparing one as a donor, I would start by stripping yours down to bare basics and block off all unwanted oil and air connections. Depending on what it is to be fitted into, you may require components from other spec. engines to correctly locate the fan etc. - MG

Hi, PM on its way. In the mean time take a look at the following threads on here: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?3922-Autocar-U-8144-K-31-RADIO-VAN-TRUCK&highlight=autocar+8144 http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?20189-Autocar-U8144-van-truck-restoration&highlight=autocar Regards - MG

And I believe I saw a 'camouflaged' Eager Beaver forklift. - MG

To all those who mocked when some of us expressed concern about MoT's no longer being required for pre-1960s, this is exactly the sort of legislation that was predicted would follow. - MG

Progress has been slow and erratic due to multiple other pressures but we have now had time to do a bit more. I won't bore you with photos of components being blasted, primed and undercoated but suffice to say there are very few parts now not on the 'ready-to-fit' shelf. The engine is now well on its way to completion with just the starter motor to refurbish and fit. The biggest achievement of recent times was extracting the chassis from its dry store out into the field where it is to be steam cleaned, shotblasted and painted. I towed it a fair way with the Dodge WC but when that ran out of turning circle I had to resort to lifting the front up with the bucket of the JCB and manoeuvering it that way. - MG

Thanks Gordon, but as stated they must be for the earlier civilian-cabbed 4144-series. Cheers anyway - MG

This has all been discussed on here before eg. http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?28061-LEZ-3rd-Jan-2012&highlight=low+emissions+zone Search on here for 'Low Emissions Zone' for several other threads all going over the same ground. Petrol vehicles are exempted. Anything taxed as 'Historic' is exempted. Land Rovers are an issue because of the way they can be one thing or another depending on body type. LEZ status is based on taxation class and body type as per the V5. For a Land Rover to be compliant it has to have body type as 'Estate' on the V5. Due to laziness on the part of Land Rover Ltd., most Defender shape vehicles were recorded as '4x4 Light Utility', even Station Wagons. As far as TfL are concerned, this means they are commercial variants. For the same reason a Discovery Commercial is non-compliant (4x4 Light Utility), while a standard Disco is ok (Estate). It is possible to have the body type of an individual vehicle changed by presenting DVLA with a current photo and a letter from Land Rover confirming that a vehicle was built as a Station Wagon. Once the DVLA database has been updated the vehicle should show as exempted. Any vehicle not built as a SW is non-compliant, full stop. You cannot modify a vehicle to resemble a SW as the chassis no will show that was not how it was built. I have heard third-hand stories of individual cases of people obtaining exemption by direct communication with TfL. - MG

Sorry Mark but I disagree, Anyone who knows about scrap metal will know that armour can be a nightmare to cut up. They might not realise that the HT is only lightly armoured. A HT would also be a lot more conspicuous on the back of a wagon or being driven. Beware cheap GMC parts... - MG

For ruture reference, TFL have a 'compliance checker' on their website where you type in your registration and it tells you whether your vehicle is compliant or not. It's also handy for checking the LEZ status of a vehicle before you buy it. https://lowemissionzone.tfl.gov.uk/b/pb/lezComplianceProvideVRM.faces - MG

FYI, and for future reference there was a MUTT parts stall at W&P. Hans Shoenmaker comes over every year with a stall of MUTT and ex-dutch army gear. He had a GamaGoat for sale on his stall this year. As for fuel pump diaphragms, if you can dismantle the pump you would be best off sourcing a sheet of thin neoprene (99p from Ebay or similar) and cutting new dia's from that. Modern petrol is containing increasing quantities of ethanol, which will eat any NOS dia's still out there. Neoprene and a few other modern materials are not affected by it. - MG

The transporter belonging to my friend, and to which I have referred, is not an artic. It is a green rigid beavertail Volvo with stars on the doors and front panel. There are several rigid and artic trucks painted in similar colour schemes which transport show vehicles to W&P and other major shows. - MG