Sean N

Richard, Wally, we've discussed this before and no doubt will again - probably still without a definitive answer, as my bet is there isn't one! My experience is from cast vehicles sold in the auctions of the '80s and '90s, and surplus and scrap engines of about the same period - so not contemporary, but perhaps indicative. From my recollection, pretty much all the 1950s and 1960s built vehicles I dealt with - RLs, K9s, early Militants, Explorer etc. - had Eau-de-Nil engines. '70s and '80s vehicles - Landrover, MK, TK, Militant Mk3 and the like - typically had Sky Blue engines. I can remember quantities of scrap engines - mainly Landrover - being cleared from Bovington, and they were all Sky Blue. I guess we might assume that 1950s vehicles cast in the 1990s might have done little recent work and had their replacement engines fitted many years ago, possibly from older stock, while later vehicles were probably in more regular use and had later rebuilds fitted more recently? I've just checked a 1968 RL at the workshop, with the last version of the 300 petrol, and that's sky blue. I can't recall the dates of the detail changes to 300 petrols, but even if the engine is older than the truck, it seems to me it's unlikely to date from earlier than the mid '60s. I recall in another thread, Wally said he thought the edict to paint Sky Blue went out in 1950, which would tie up with those Sky Blue Dingo parts and Richard's recollection of the Rolls B series changeover. There's a tendency to look for a definitive changeover date and say that after that date, it must be Sky Blue. Is it unreasonable to think that real life is more messy than that, things don't just happen neatly, and our experiences are not incompatible? Perhaps armoured vehicles went Sky Blue earlier, or that whatever the edict from on high, workshops and contractors might have been sticking with Eau-de-Nil, changing to Sky Blue during the '60s; or that there was a good stock of previously rebuilt Eau-de-Nil engines available for the older vehicles? Edit - by the way; MAUDSLAY!!

There's a place in Manchester that does Rexine, I found it a few months back. Can't recall the name, unfortunately, but I'm sure Google will know. Could be the site MatchFuzee quotes is referring to the genuine branded Rexine made by the trademark holder, while other sites advertising Rexine are in fact referring to a copy or leathercloth.

Richard, just occured to me that being that bit later, Mk 3 might have been different. Bob, I'm not an AEC expert by any means, so you can take this with a pinch of salt, but... I had thought that WW2 Matador engines were black from the factory. I may be misremembering. I think the standard AEC engine and chassis colour from the factory in the 1950s was a light grey (per Routemasters etc.) I have seen suggestions - seemingly confirmed by Richard above - that for the military vehicles everything was painted Deep Bronze Green originally. MoD reconditioned engines were originally painted Eau-de-Nil. This changed much later to Sky Blue. This is supposed to have changed in the '50s but from what I've seen appeared in practice to have happened much later. My experience is that most engines I've seen in 1950s to 1960s era vehicles have been Eau-de-Nil while those I've seen in late 1960s onwards vehicles have been Sky Blue. That doesn't tally with Richard's memory but he's been intimate with a lot more Militants than I have! My guess is you could go light grey, DBG or Eau-de-Nil legitimately, but perhaps Wally Dugan or the AEC guys might have some thoughts on this. A lighter colour would be better for oil leak spotting.

Bob, original colour or MoD recon, and if the latter, what period? Mk1 or Mk3 Militant?

I'd think most modern seam sealers or mastiks would do the job. There's a huge range of brushable, gun application or ribbon / tape seam sealers available from companies like U-Pol and 3M. Might be an idea to either contact a sealant manufacturer or a local car bodyshop supplier for suggestions.

Cat D shouldn't affect the value too much. Cat C will as it'll need a VIC and be marked on the V5. (incidentally, isn't all this being revised soon, or am I misremembering). In assessing value etc. are they looking at it as Tithonus LEP or just as a 1986 Landrover? I've never heard of the third party's insurers being asked to assess repairs, the normal procedure would be for your insurers to deal with it and reclaim their costs from the third party's insurer. If you are concerned you should take this point up with your insurer and consider going to the insurance ombudsman should you not be satisfied.

I know they're selling to a moneyed clientele, but are Bonham's a bit away with the fairies on price estimates? Series 2 SWB for £18k plus, and a very average looking 2A Safari £10k?

These are great photos, Pete, and the Bedford ones are apparently unknown to Vauxhall archives but probably taken by a VM staff photographer, as they are in sequence with other known ones. The ones of all the Bedfords lined up in the street are Kimpton Road, Luton, which now looks very different; see: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.8746791,-0.397379,3a,75y,144.6h,82.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPKeScHb1I3Q6h0MKkMF2QQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en I assume the factory gate & shift change ones are at the tank & ordnance factory (factories?) shown. The tanks are definitely at Nuffield Mechanisations as there are other photos of the same factory that are known to have been taken at Nuffield.

Rob, you can remove the pinion assembly from the nose of the axle casing by removing the prop shaft and the ring of bolts on the cover the way you think, rebuild and check on the bench and then refit. However you should also take the rear cover off and check the crownwheel etc. to make sure the damaged bearing hasn't caused any knock-on damage. If there's no damage you won't need to remove the crownwheel and diff assembly. On re-assembly you should check the mesh to make sure it's correct as Vince suggests, and adjust if necessary. None of this is difficult provided you take it carefully and use some common sense - I've done them at the side of the road without problem. You will need engineer's blue, a dial gauge and mag base, a caliper or mike and a spring balance or some other way of checking the preload on the pinion bearings (1 - 3 lb-ish at 8"). Pinion preload is set independently of CWP lash so it's not too much of a faff to do. You'll also need a decent quantity of new pinion housing gaskets as the pinion setting is done by varying the thickness of the gasket pack. Buy new bearings of a quality make, not cheap unbranded Chinese ones.

They're not too bad once you get used to them. And by and large you'll be starting off in second anyway, unless steep hill or heavy load.

And I'd guess not original to the trolley but added afterwards, but try Richard Banister on 01797 253211 for a replacement.

Colin, it's the control box for the auxiliary generator fitted to radio vehicles.

Pete, given your comment above I assume that's in an 'as low as reasonably practical' context?

Have to say I'm really surprised at the comments about NGK plugs. You have to go with your personal experience, of course, but coming from a motorsport background we always swore by (rather than at!) NGK; I've seen NGK plugs and leads producing increased power on a dynamometer vs. Champion. Since then I've used NGK where possible, Bosch when I can't get NGK, and never had a problem.

Hi Peter, just for clarity, this is the rolling chassis & cab that's for sale per the photos, not just the chassis?

Pete, yes, with you. It is, as you say, all about common courtesy and situational awareness, which should apply to any driver; and worth flagging up every so often. I am only working from memory, but I am pretty certain that magistrates' court cannot set precedent.

Pete, I think you are worrying too much. It's something to be aware of, but there has been an obligation for many years to be aware of and considerate to other road users and to travel with the general flow of traffic - or if you can't, to pull over regularly or otherwise make allowances so that vehicles could pass. I seem to remember it was in the Highway Code when I took my test, and that was many moons ago! This is by no means the first person to be prosecuted for it, and a case in a magistrate's court doesn't set precedent anyway.

Rick, give this is four years old I'm way too late, but I believe this is NATO green, but gloss not matte. I've also seen these Mastiffs in RN / Navy Blue. I have a memory of some specialist vehicles with Bathgate cabs coming through Aston Down in the early '90s, but it may be a totally faulty memory. They would also have been gloss NATO green.

Ah, this is the crucial point. Thanks, that confirms they are a pair then. Not that I actually have a QLR for them... Thanks for your help, chaps.

Bit harsh, maybe? Stephen, I've no particular suggestions but as people look at the forum over the next few days perhaps someone will have an idea, or know of a vehicle available. Do you have any particular idea of what sort of thing you're looking for i.e. WW2, earlier, later, armoured, not armoured, truck, jeep, etc.? One issue might be insurance if used for hire or reward, but you could take that up with the individual owners.

A mate who was in the RAF refers to these document wallets as Form 600 wallets, I'd guess because Form 600 is the equipment demand / issue form. If I remember rightly from trips with him in RAF vehicles, and from those vehicles I bought that escaped the disposal sales with some of their paperwork intact: Form 600 copy, accident report forms, mileage / trip / fuel record, contact details, maybe driver and recovery instructions (not sure on these), any paperwork specific to that trip, random bits of paper etc. stuffed in there for convenience. I once bought a vehicle - can't remember what - from Aston Down that was absolutely stuffed with accident report forms. Not sure that unit had much confidence in their drivers. I also bought an RL workshop vehicle that had every drawer stuffed with Biscuits, Brown, but that's another story...

Gents, thanks for that - I was leaning towards QLR it confirms what I originally thought. I'd also seen a photo of a QLR generator with a pulley for belt drive on, which is partly what threw me. If these are a pair as I was told, I guess the 'for D5LA-26X' is a red herring and the 141 control box was also used for the DW7X8X? Or these are in fact from two different vehicles?

I have here a generator and control box that came direct from an MoD vehicle repairer as a pair. The control box is a CAV type 141 and looks like the type fitted to 15 cwt wireless trucks e.g. MWR. The generator is a CAV DW7X8X, which I know were fitted to QLR. On the face of it, then this is a pair for MWR or QLR. What's throwing me is that I thought the MWR generator was D5LA-26X, and the control box says 'for D5LA-26X' on it; and I thought the QLR generator was belt driven, while this one is shaft driven. I don't, unfortunately, have any books that cover QLR or MWR. Can anyone shed any light?

Of course they are, thanks Richard. It's been a long time since I've done one and I'd totally forgotten, and allowed myself to be mislead by the discussion. You can also use a spot of (industrial flexible) superglue on the cut.

Rob, it's EP 90 in an RL / MK axle. I think if this looks like an MK axle, it's likely either to be an early MK axle or an R type axle. Reynolds-Boughton and Bedford used other options, but the diff casings are significantly different in appearance. Do you have a photo of the whole axle so we can check? The R type and early MK parts books give 6350119 as the tracta housing seal, with 24 mounting bolts per axle (so 12 per side). I can't speak to later MKs / MJs as I don't have the parts book here and it's a long time since I've done one but you may be right about them only having 6 bolt fixing. I'm not sure the 3 ton rating is meaningful here. What's the chassis number, VIN or model designation from the logbook or chassis plate?