Rangie

I've used electrolysis with great success for years! Just remember for best results to change the solution for each batch of parts, as it eventually gets spent. Also, give the anodes a clean before each use to remove the grotty oxide residues. The anodes eventually get eaten away but it does depend on how rusty the part is/how many amps you are pumping in etc. Be careful with aluminium as it can be vicious with it. I have removed an aluminium piston from a pump by using a salt solution instead of a caustic solution, it ate it away sufficiently to get the damned thing out!! :nut: Or you could try the age-old american way of submerging ferrous parts in farm treacle or molasses, leave them in a few months and it cleans them up nicely! Alec.

I would seriously suggest getting some 3mm plate and making them up yourself. Quicker and easier. Measurements can be easily supplied!! Or go into a breakers yard an chop any battery mount off of a 12V series truck, they're the same. Depending where you are, there will be local enthusiasts willing to help. Alec.

Thorny Amazon sir? Don't mind if I do old boy!! Mmmmm Alec.

Grand! The Landie will fly through the next MOT again then!! :-D The XJ40 on the other hand, uh oh, abs, randomised lamp failure modules and iffy 8-way adjustable seats..... :banghead: I love British Leyland, I love British Leyland, I love British Leyland, oh wait, its a Ford, I have a fighting chance (just) then..... :cool2: Alec.

It looks not unlike my father's one he has after national service in the 50s. He was a navigator in the RAF. Will try and dig it out. Alec

Jones the butcher was often criticised over his definition of free-range mutton. Alec.

As an instrument man, that really floats my boat! I'll get me coat... Seriously though, nice bit of work, I am continually impressed with the standard of work on this and your other restos! Sorting out all the niggly small things can often take as long as the main resto itself!!! Alec.

Err, was just thinking that myself...... :-X Alec.

At first glance it looks like he is smoking a cigarette! But no, a spoke on the steering wheel............ :-D Alec.

Lots of good ideas here!! My personal favourite is one of the rear jacks on my old JCB Mk1, bead-breaker extraordinaire!! However, stuck and rotting heavy-ply tyres like that Matador's may be another story!! :wow: Alec.

Excellent, thanks very much! I've said it before, there's an eclectic bunch on here!! :-D Cheers, Alec.

I walked past mine the other day and I was sure I heard singing! Almost unmistakable! I opened it up to see, but no, it was only some chive talking. Merry Xmas, Alec.

Hi, I agree with this, when our big tank is freshly filled its a nice red colour, but as it goes down and after about 6-7 years its changed to a light brown..... It may be heating fluid/kerosene/gas oil though, but as long as you say it feels oily, it will be fine. I use a 50:1 mix of heating oil/engine oil in a 3-phase generator, no probs, 10 years plus. Perkins diesel tho.... Up to you, but I would use it, albeit dilute it say 50:50 to give you confidence, it will save you half the fuel costs till it is done and it was evidently what the MOD ran it on!! Alec.

Hi, It looks like an Optimus 80 to me. If you ever fancy selling, let me know....... Alec.

I agree, the small pulsating chargers work great! Haven't tried a Ring one but I have a couple of C-Tek (or Ctech or something), ones. They do well maintaining the batteries on my lesser-used vehicles!! They work well on larger batteries in excess of their current range as well. The battery has to be fairly well charged first for the largest batteries to be conditioned, the wee units go into meltdown if not........ Thumbs up! Alec.

The majority of problems with these bikes can be put down to operator error and lack of training. They are amazingly capable machines, when treated with care and respect and driven sensibly. Any machine/situation has the possibility to be lethal!! Rant over :-D I believe the US army did use the 250es (shaft drive with bullet proof engine and uprated brakes) for runabouts but they were used for little more than toys. Same spec as the 250 Big Red in this country. They were produced up until autumn 87, when the big three manufacturers (honda, yamaha, kawasaki) signed a pact not to produce the bikes for a period of 10 years. Remaining complete bikes were sold off (thats why there are a few 88 year frame numbers out there), but the stock of new frames were chopped. :-( They were never banned as some say, they were pulled in the face of public opinion. Production was never re-started. Shame. I've played with and used these bikes for most of my life on the farm/in quarrys/dune blasting etc, towing trailors and carrying passengers and never had a problem! My current little beast (and the one i'll be keeping and restoring on a californian frame shortly), is a 84 Honda 200ES Big Red that i've had 6 years. Dead lucky as it's road registered!! The Ambulance will be towing a little trailor behind it in the near future...... :cool2: My tuppenceworth anyway, I feel very strongly about these much maligned vehicles! Alec.

I know scenes like that only too well!!!! Dusty marshalling cubicles in a dark corner of an old building.... Yes, it may work, but when it all goes to chuff at 3am and you get called out to make sense of it............ It's a wonder I have any hair left!! Turn it off to tidy everything up?? They want you burned at the stake!!!!!!!!!! :-D Alec.

If you are ever up in the far north, i'll give you a set of channels and 2nd row stretcher bearers. Far too heavy to post or courier i'm afraid. Try Blanchards in York, they have a few scrappers in the yard and won't take the eyes out of you if you go and strip the items out of them sympathetically yourself. :-D Alec.

Always a perverse favourite of mine: Assistant- "That'll be £4.48 please" Me- "Well, here's £5.03 just to make it easier for you" :-D Shame the electronic idiot-tills have made it easier for them, they don't even have to work out the change now!! I still calculate the change, the number of times they have short-changed me by "accidentally" punching the wrong amount into the till is unreal, and still they ARGUE about it! The till says thats the change so it must be right!!! Grrr! :mad: Must.......stop.......rant........starting.............:nut: Alec.

Ah good, you made it here then! Be careful on the forums, some of them bite!! :cool2: The snag with this site is the dearth of information on Landies, Lorries, Obscurus-maximus vehicles, Tanks and generally excellent engineering!! It will give you lots of bad ideas :-D Alec.

After 2 hours of trying to post a message I have found I can only enter text in the text box when it is switched to source-mode? I found this out by accident and desperation, randomly clicking buttons!! The welcome guest box also dosen't disappear when I log in and have to manually click it off every time i log in/time-out log in, very annoying! Ho hum............ :-( Alec.

Any more ideas? I could do with a spares list/exploded diagram for the brake system. Going to strip and rebuild them but wouldn't mind knowing what i'm facing!! :-D Alec.

Hi, I was speaking with Keith P on Friday night and he mentioned you!!:-D Nice to see another highlander on here............. Alec

"Oleg Titberiya, head of The Battle of Leningrad Museum, on his part, said that the tank would be eventually repaired and put on display – a process that he warned may take at least 10 days, given the tank’s rusty parts" Now THAT's optimism :-D Alec.

Could a MOD have a go at fixing some broken links/tidy up the early galleries please? Love Matadors, and there's an unloved recovery one near me........... I try to buy it every couple of years :cool2: Alec