Rangie

............bought another Marshall Ambulance!! Good grief, they're breeding!! :wow: This chap is 06FL52, same contract code as the other one - WV10634, but the batch serial number in this case is 1040/01!!! First of the batch! :-D My other beastie, 06FL90 is 1040/35. I'm tempted to refurbish this one to original spec................ My pennance for turning the other one into a camper! I may still use it for spares though, its been well robbed, however it is in generally good, solid condition, a 2.25D has been hacked in (and don't mention the wiring). Any pics/memories of my new acquisition? I'll put off for the BMIHT Cert and the B Vehicle Data Card out of interest regardless tho. Alec.

Nissan 2.8, LD28, 95bhp, no turbo to shock load things, plenty of pith for towing and cruising and fitted as standard with the big brother of the Bosch VE Injection Pump and indirect injection, i.e. it LOVES Bio/Veg..... Next up to do is 3.54 ring-gear/pinion in the salisbury and a rangie diff up front. Its goodbye overdrive then........ Standard truck apart from that, (well, FW hubs too), keep it simple/maintainable is my motto..... :cool2: Alec.

Perverse of me I know, but it does give a certain amount of satisfaction that we are all now paying about the same for fuel across the country, we used to be a minimum 10p/liter more expensive than the rest of the country, now its just 2p!! Its sad to think I now have a monthly drip account to save up petrol money for summer touring trips in the Ambulance..... With Biodiesel at £1 a litre now, the daily driver is getting expensive too, 280L a month is getting pricey.............:undecided: I still wouldn't change to a modern vehicle though, I stubbornly refuse to, 40 year old nissan-powered landrovers are the future!! :laugh: Alec.

Hah, brilliant! I was under the impression he was an elderly gentleman though, it may have been a relation! I'll pass the message onto the aforementioned people, you never know! Thanks, Alec.

Completely random question now, but considering the range and spread of personalities on the site, is there anyone from the Bristol area here?? I have a 1949 Bedford MLD, used to be owned in the late 70s/early 80s by John "Dixie" Dix, of Bristol. He of the Dixie's Fine Cider Company and the Cripple Cock name before it was bought out.... The man was what we would describe as a "Hero"........ ie a cider-making, drunken-delivering, taking-a-wall-down-with-the-lorry-because-he-couldn't-aim-the-entry, worthy of a gentleman Does anyone remember him? Anyone related to him? Any pictures of the lorry when it was in use? A mental image given to me by a previous owner was that the lorry had a thatched canopy over the load-bed, it was painted green at the time, and Dixie would go round the Bristol area delivering his cider..... :nut: What a man! The history of the lorry is missing between being registered in Derbyshire in 1949 and Dixie applying for a new type V5 in 1980. Any help appreciated! :-) Alec.

Thanks for the info! Very much appreciated. I don't have the UIN for that period, all I have is: 3 RAVP CV HQ RCT from 02/05/1979 to 17/01/1980 Another snippet I spotted was from 1978 when it was at HQ E District, is the annotation: POO786, I wonder if this was the motor pool it was in......... Alec.

Thats normal for series landrover optional-accessory-foglamps. Its a heavy switched feed from the dipped-beam supply. Red main+Yellow tracer wire to the foglamps if memory serves me ok..... I assume 101's use the same switch/circuit but I stand to be corrected............. Alec.

With the Army's general insistence on commonality, having Rover diffs front and rear (albeit with reinforcing plates on the rear axle), how long did the diff last in-service? With a 109 GS, I could not see it being too overloaded the majority of the time and would expect it to last a fair while. At the other end of the scale, is the likes of a Marshall Ambulance. At 2.7 tonnes ULW and up to 3.4 with casualties, the Rover axle must put up with some abuse being driven as hard as possible, usually in 2WD (albeit not very fast 45/50mph on the flat)!! Were the army continually changing differentials, or (and I am of the opinion), the rover diff is a damn sight stronger than people give it credit for?? I have many years experience of using/owning/running/abusing/occasionally modifying landies and rangies and have yet to burst a Rover diff.............. Alec.

Thanks DMC, very useful! It's all piecing together nicely now....... Any idea of the other acronyms? I feel a dummys-guide to data cards coming up, so much information hidden behind so few abbreviations :-D Alec.

My god, they have my dream Russian Truck.......... :wow: I shudder to think of the hoops that would have to be jumped through to get it over here, they make it sound oh so simple............ and expensive....... Alec.

You should make an enquiry with the Royal Logistics Corps Museum, their address: RLC Museum Princess Royal Barracks Deepcut Camberley Surrey GU16 6RW Tel: 01252 833371 There was a nominal charge for having the service done, cannot remember how much now but well worth it. Give them a ring and they'll let you know how much info they need. I'm sure I just sent make, model, chassis number and mil reg number. Happy enquiries! :-D Alec

Just going over old ground on the data card again, a couple more quereys. There is a unit code A9971A, or A9971H possibly, the last letter looks like an A though, the two letters look similar in script. (?) Vehicle ARN RU562A (?) It was listed as class 1 from 74 to 81, then class 2 from 81 to 84. Was this downgrading as the vehicle got older? No mention of the period 84 to de-mobbing. Lastly, when I was rubbing down and prepping paint, I kept a continuous lookout for markings and numbers. However, due to its sedentry life, I wasn't all that hopeful. The only markings I could find (and I kept), were white-painted number 8's, within a white-outlined box, painted on the background of the red-crosses on the rear doors and near-side body. About a 5" square box. The only mention of operational use I could see was 1 RRF, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers or Rapid Reaction Force. If the 8 unit number means Infantry Battalion, this seems to tie in. However, from what I have read, 8 could also mean 23rd Artillery Group 5 HQ Can anyone shed a bit more light on this? I may be reading too much into it!!! Alec.

Incredible!! I'm drooling...............:cool:

Excellent Clive, i reckon I'm nearly good to go for an experiment now!! Got the headlamp filters home now (although how much of a light source 36W pre-focused lamps are, shall prove to be interesting....) Referring to the Tabby systems, an image intensifier and focussing eyepiece is still required in the goggles to amplify the reflected IR Beam. I'll have to get creative with an intensifier tube etc now. Here was me half-thinking a set of filters in a pair of welding goggles would do the trick!!............. Hmm, Alec.

So, using these on headlamps it becomes an active-IR source, filtering out the white light. I should only then require a set of IR goggles/optics to view the reflected IR light, correct? However, is there still the requirement for an image intensifier, or does it depend on the strength of the headlamps/IR source?? I don't suppose anyone has a picture of the kit required.................... Alec.

By gum, the Sage of the HMVF has spoken. :cool2: Absolutely excellent Clive, thats my bedside reading taken care of this evening! Brace yourself for the inevitable questions....... :-D Alec.

Many of us with ex-mil landrovers, not to mention FV's, have the optional infra-red circuit fitted to out vehicles. I see the headlamp covers pop up on fleabay occasionally, but what else is involved in the use of the system? Do you use powered goggles/image intensifiers to view the terrain or just wear extra spectacles? How much visible light is produced from the filters? Is the rest of the kit mega-expensive? :cool2: I haven't seen/read much about it........ Alec.

I'll just take a run down to the Tip with it dear, do you need the newspaper collected as well? :red:

That makes sense. The anchor point would need to be proportionately stronger, it would be horrific to see a bumper or a hitch come flying off and impact someone...... As said, if used correctly its probably excellent, in the hands of idiots/uneducated folk, potentially lethal. Hmm, think I'll continue with the strop for now...........

I may be a bit old-school but I like to have a length of inch poly rope or a 2.5-tonne strop with me for general recovery and yanking stuff....... Whats peoples experiences with Kinetic Ropes? I have heard as a rule not to use them for general towing or winching duties, but are there benefits to using them in specific recovery situations? I have never as yet been beaten yet using a strop/rope, but was wondering about the benefits/downsides of using/investing in a KERR, or is it just an unnecessary extra in most situations....? :undecided: Alec.

Hmm, well its IT (Stephen King), for the second time, many years since I read it first time around.......... Current bedside reading also includes salivating over my ZIL-157/157K in Detail book. I love these trucks, I want one badly but finding them in this corner of Europe is like looking for Rocking Horse S##T!! :cry: Alec.

What a tip! This may just have saved imminent wailing and head scratching!! I take it the flywheel is a lot deeper then?

I find freewheel hubs make around a 3mpg saving with a petrol, no difference with the diesel. Speed-wise and response-wise, oh boy! I found with a petrol, not too much difference, but the 2.25 diesel, it would knock 12mph off the top speed when the hubs were in!! Theres a lot of extra metal churning around. And, yes, the steering is noticeably lighter in both instances!! Just my tuppence-worth anyway......... Alec.

You lot are bloody lucky!!! 1.34 for unleaded and 1.39 for diesel up here!!! :shocked: The Orkney and Shetland Islands are usually a good 5p more than us as well. Make it a uniform price across Britain is what I say, then we can all gripe together! (As if we don't all gripe about the price of fuel anyway!) Yours, Disgruntled, Alec. :cry:

Good luck deciphering the tin! :shocked: I notice it has No.2 on it, hope you haven't bought one half of a two-pack adhesive??? Let us know the results, i'm going to be making a couple of fume curtains very soon, this would be an ideal solution (pardon the pun!) Alec.