Roof Over Britain

Hi Folks, The Scottish Military Vehicle Group are holding their annual Swap Meet this coming Sunday 3rd March at the Institute Hall, Bridge of Earn, Perthshire. (2 mins off the M90 at Jcn 9) There will be the usual selection of vehicle parts, militaria and collectables, with a selection of military vehicles on display. It's always worth paying a visit, even if it's just for a chat and a cup of tea at the NAAFI. If you want to unload some of your surplus bits and pieces then give Al Smith a ring on 07704187739 to book a table, or email publicityofficer@scottishmvg.org Traders and private individuals welcome. Admission 10am to 4pm, Adults £1 accompanied under 16s free. It's always a good day out and a nice friendly social event. See some of you there. John

If you mean the one that was in A F Ross's yard at Girvan then I can confirm that disappeared from the yard way back last year, but to where I don't know.

The manual I have is '42 dated and shows -ve earth. I think most military vehicles were -ve earth even back then.

Hi there, and welcome aboard. I've just got my WDCO up and running again, don't know about a center stand, but the civy post war model G rear stand fits fine, not exactly the same as the CO rear stand but a lot stronger and probably easier to find! I found Hitchcock's http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/home very helpful. Best of luck with the rebuild.

Hi Ian, not sure of the size of your spring, but you could try old type clutch pressure plates, not the diaphragm type, the ones where the release bearing operates on three levers, some of those have a similar spring holding the levers in position.

Hi Tom Congratulations on the completion of your Project. One thing you can say for certain is there will not be another like it! looks like it will have an impressive off-road capability. Hope you have many miles (sorry Km) of trouble free driving. Cheers John

So where were the "number of blank blue V5Cs" nicked from? Surely the only place they would have a "number of blank blue V5Cs" would be DVLA themselves!

And here was me thinking you was the shy retiring type Gary. - it must have been that pipe rack you fitted to Betty that clinched it!! Well done guys!!

Hi Garry, Liked the site, I'll see if we can find some on our Drive it Day run in Galloway for you. Cheers John

Hi Tam, Welcome to the forum, there are quite a few of us on here from north of the border.

Hi Marcel, Good to have you on the forum, Myself and a few others from Scotland come over to the Arnhem weekend most years, past few years it has been with a Bedford QL 3 tonner and a couple of the inevitable jeeps, so no doubt our paths have crossed. See you again in September. John

Big problem with this bike is that it had been civilianised at some time then had been completely striped down before I bought it as a kit of parts. There was some paint on the under side of the tank that looked like faded bronze green, but it is unknown if it is the original tank. Realy I am starting from scratch with this one.

Thanks Guys, Ted, your vast wealth of knowledge has come up trumps again. I did have a copy of the SCC colour descriptions in a book, but as usual, couldn't find it when I needed it. Since my CO is a 1943 build date I think I will go for brown, BS381 499. The paint guy at my local Dingbro (Motor Factors) branch in Ayr is very good at mixing colours from the BS numbers, I have had several mixes from him in eggshell or semi-mat finish which I have been very happy with, so I'll see what he turns out for Service Brown. It will be a good trial run since my next Matador is going to be a brown one. All the best and thanks again to everybody. John

Eventually I have (with a lot of persuasion and the offer of help from a friend) got round to starting the restoration of my Enfield WD CO. My question is this, what colour should it be? I had made the assumption that the bikes would leave the factory in something like deep bronze green, then be repainted by the Army or RAF or war office depending on the theater of operations they ended up in. I may of course be completely wrong in this assumption and they may have been factory painted in what ever colour was specified by the particular contract number they were being built for. Can anybody enlighten me?

Hi Garry, I had missed your initial post about the Stirling do, but it was in my diary, no doubt all the usual suspects will turn up. You will likely get a bit more response once all the locals have come out of hibernation!

Hi Garry, Welcome to the Forum, Got something a bit heavier than a jeep now? Cheers John

Found a photo of one of the ex snowplough Atkies with the Albion body fitted. it was taken in the early '90s. just before it was bought by a friend of mine for restoration.

Yes, although the wire ropes are round the two C shaped carriers, the two hinged bars are there to hold them in against the tail board. I'll try and remember to take my camera with me and photograph the rear of my Matador.

Hi there, The two bars are there to retain the two wire ropes used for the skid pans that go under the front wheels when winching. They are normally stowed in a figure of eight across the tail board. You very seldom see them on preserved examples since they make the tail board even heavier than it already is. The central item is a three leaf spring that strikes against the tow hook to take the shock when the tail board is dropped.

Hi Danny, currently on fleebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROVER-P4-LUCAS-BAKERLITE-4-JUNCTION-WIRING-TERMINAL-/250931051397?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a6ca7fb85#ht_500wt_1287 and http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NOS-LUCAS-SWITCH-2-WAY-/120704433227?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c1a8b7c4b#ht_617wt_1037 you might not like the price of the switch though! cheers John

Can you imagine what the electrics on a modern Scannie or Volvo would be like, The ECUs would have given up at the first smell of the sea air!

All good stuff. Can you imagine the red tape and health & safety issues if that was tried today!

Hi Tom, Here are the measurements you asked for. The windscreen does slope back and the cab is also slightly narrower at the top, it tapers in from a point level with the bottom of the door windows. I have taken some photos of the windscreen, if you PM me your email address I will send them to you. cheers John

Welcome to the Forum, good to have another Scot on board! I'm no expert on 1st war trucks, but I think your grandads lorry is a Peerless Cheers, John

Hi Tom, Interesting project, if you need any particular measurements or photos of a particular part let me know and I'll take measurements or pictures of my Matador for you. Cheers John