Sidewinder

That sounds like a very good deal to me, I think you'll struggle to beat that.

Yep, the beacon should come on with the side lights switch.

As some of you might know I've recently replaced the left hand side rear idler and track adjuster on my 432. Well.. I was pottering around doing some work to the old girl today when I looked at the right hand side track, and something didn't look quite right. On closer inspection I noticed that the guide horns on the inside of the track were tight up against the inside of the outer rear idler roadwheel. At first I assumed this was just because I'd done a fairly tight turn to get her into the parking spot. So I took her for a 200/300 yard drive with no turns and looked again.. and to my disappointment the guide horns were still tight against the inside of the idler. A quick check with the tape measure at the 3 & 9 o'clock positions on the idlers to the hull found that the recently replaced left hand side was about 19" at either end whereas the right hand side idler was about 18.5" at 3o'clock and 19.5" at 9o'clock. So.. I now have another twisted rear idler! :banghead: Or always have had anyway... but regardless of how it happened, my 432 is purely a toy and I can't really afford to replace another track adjuster so soon. So if I carry on running it as it is how long will it last (I assume that like asking how longs a piece of string?) more importantly will it damage anything else? I assume at some point the hub will either let go and collapse or it'll throw the track or both. Cheers, James

Hm, intriguing. Like you I can't see what vital purpose a gasket would provide let alone glueing a gasket to the hull, especially via that long winded method. Even if a gasket is required, why not just have it sandwiched between the two parts or is more to do with the layer of araldite thats created? I assume the manual doesn't go into detail as to what happens should you not follow the instructions? I just assumed on such a beefy, heavily engineered part that just making sure the mating faces are clean and all bolts tight would do but I will let you know should my 432's track self-destruct... again...! James

I just cleaned everything up and bolted the replacement unit on, will just keep an eye on the bolts in future to make sure they aren't working loose. What purpose does the brown paper play then? Stop the part from seizing to the hull? I scraped off what was left of the old one, but didn't replace it. Don't tell me I've done it wrong and it all needs to come off again! :nut: James

The rear idler assembly, the whole lot that bolts directly to the hull. Basically the sand built up in the tracks and stretched everything until something went.. the something was the wheel hub itself which literally exploded, I found ball bearings some distance away. It also twisted the stub axle, radius arm and cracked most of the welds on the bracket that bolts to the hull. As a result it was easier to replace the lot as one unit. A lot of damage for what was supposed to be just a quick ten minute spin! James

Might be possible to rejoin the tracks without the clamps, but certainly easier with. The two links need to form a 10degree angle so that the hexagional bushes in each pad line up allowing the pin to the tapped through without too much force. It might be possible to do this using bars, ratchet straps, pull-lifts etc.. but I've not tried it. I got a track splitting kit (2x track clamps and a track pin drift) from Marcus Glenn for about £60. Certainly worth it considering the hassle it saved. Hope this helps, James

A few months ago, I twisted the track adjuster on my 432 while playing in sand... never again. Today after finally getting the spares and more importantly some free time I set about repairing the old girl.. by myself. A slightly daunting prospect considering the size of the task, one of the reasons I'd been putting it off for so long! However I now have a running 432 again! :cool2: First I had to split the track which had come off completely when the adjuster went, shift it around to lay it back under the vehicle, drop off the old adjuster.. which I will add is a heavy bastard. How I managed to get the new adjuster back on I honestly don't know, I'm happy to admit I'm not the worlds biggest or strongest man. Getting the track back on was relatively simple after that.. I know most of you are probably familiar with track bashing, but for those who aren't it really needn't be the scary task it sounds. The right tools, a bit of common sense and taking your time and its pretty easy, even by yourself. Isn't it nice to have 'mates' who will happily drive and play with your vehicles, but as soon as you need a hand fixing it they all disappear! I now feel confident I can tackle anything the old girl can throw at me in the future, then after a few more years experience and a lucky lottery win I can upgrade to a Chieftain! :-D

Yes, they're not exactly the most friendly and welcoming of companies, even when you are trying to spend money! Thanks for the PM by the way Chris.

I went for a nosy around Withams yard the other week, they have hundreds and I mean hundreds... row after row of 432's stretching into the distance round the back of their yard. All of them looked immacculate, perfect tracks, paints, road pads etc... saleman said most of them had fewer than a few hundred miles on the clock though whether thats true in reality would remain to be seen. No wonder they can't sell them all really, flooded the market. Would be a shame to see them all get cut up though. Nice 434 by the way, everytime I see one I want one! :cool2:

Thanks for all the info everyone, now finished filling in the V55/5. Just need to find a spare afternoon now and see what happens. I suppose worse comes to the worse, I can grab another blank v55/5 and try again in 6 weeks:-D I'd imagine a lot of it depends on how clued up the person behind the counter is... will find out soon and report back. Cheers, James

I think that definitely seems to be the main thing, fill in as little as possible, ask no questions, answer any questions as briefly as possible. Guess at the end of the day it all boils down to the person on the other side of the counter and how well they know they system. Thanks for all the answers/info, will try and get an afternoon off in the next week or so and give it ago.. Only remaining thing I'm not sure about is a question on the last page: "Is the vehicle exempt from Type Approval? If yes, give reason why." I assume it is, and its an age related thing? Google doesn't bring back any useful info. Cheers, James

Right, I know some people say it can't be done and others say it can, so in the next few weeks I'm going to go to the local DVLA office in Peterborough to try and register my FV439 to find out either way... afterall the worst they can do is say no and I've wasted a few hours. The key things seem to be trying to get it classed as a 'Special Mobile Unit' rather than a tracked vehicle and putting as little information as possible on the V55/5 which I'm currently filling in, so for people who have got a FV430 road registered whats on your V5? Key area's I'm wondering about are number of seats, Type of body/Vehicle, but any information would be appreciated. Either way whatever happens I will let people know, fingers crossed! James

There were at least five parked up round the back of Withams yard the other week, probably more in storage I would imagine. Like others have said, don't listen to a word they say.

Thats what concerns me a little, future lack of spares. Anyhoo, I need to downsize my collection and breaking my 432 for spares is one of the options I am considering (given the current prices of complete vehicles). Space isn't a problem its just a question of how much everything would fetch and how quickly it would sell.

Mike, thanks for the PM. Certainly makes for interesting reading. If anyone is considering doing this, and I must admit I'm tempted myself at that price but can't really justify the cost for the few parts I need at the moment, then I would be willing to buy a few bits off a spares vehicle. James

Could you PM me please? Cheers.

Cheers Andy, will dig the voltmeter out the toolbox and have a look next time I'm up.

Yeah, the Gen warning light goes out when the engine is running, it stays lit while the engine is running though if the jump leads are still connected. If I leave the lump leads on with the donor vehicle running for an hour or so before trying to start the 439 then the engine will start and carry on running once the jump leads have been disconnected for 5/10mins before dying, but during this time the Gen light is out. Which to me implies that when the donor vehicle is left charging the 439 batteries for an hour or so it puts enough power in the batteries to keep the fuel pump running for 10mins or so after the jumpleads have been disconnected until the batteries lose power again. Surely if the alternators were putting out power the engine would continue to run? Or would the batteries being completely dead cause this too? Cheers, James (still with a lot to learn about electrics!)

Andy, will have another shuffle through it all when I'm next in the yard. Off the top of my head I think it was all fairly recent stuff, but I didn't really have that a good a look through so you might be in luck. James

Thanks for that everyone, sounds like theres nothing to worry about too much on the 432. 439 might be a different matter though! It'll only start and run with the jumpleads connected, as soon as they're removed the engine dies.. which implies to me with flat batteries that the alternators aren't putting anything out at all to keep the fuel pump running. Or they are and there's a wiring fault.

Mine didn't have a key, but wasn't locked... all sorts of interesting paperwork and mission documents in there that I'm pretty sure probably shouldn't have been.

Just wondering what sort of ammeter readings people get off their 430's. My 432 shows a reading but not a massive one, it only moves off the stop a little. 439 shows nothing at all but seeing as it'll only run with the jump leads on I'm sure the alternator isn't putting out a charge to the batteries anyway or if it is there's a wiring fault.

I've got one, if anyone wants more pics? Looks very impressive with the 12m mast up.

Andy, yeah already know about the mortar catch and its is one of the many things on my shopping list. I was thinking more about all the little bits and bobs, theres a few along the rear of the roof and down the drivers side... probably too small to pick out in my pic. Possible mounts for spare track links/spades/picks/tools? I know every vehicle was probably all different depending on its roll and who crewed it but there must have been some standard(ish) roof mounted items?