Sean N

Thanks chaps, interesting. Richard, I hadn't noticed those on early R types, thanks. Must have been deleted on later vehicles (1960s). Clive, yes, that's the style. I suspect if you three learned gentlemen aren't familiar with the mounted equipment, and there aren't plenty of photos showing it, then the mounts were probably used rarely if at all. I suppose the most likely place to spot them would be in photos in conflict zones.

Clive, Wally, thanks. Wally, I don't recall ever having seen these mounts on an RL or Q4, and I can't find any on a quick Google either. Any on a Commer cab Ford would probably have rusted away before anyone had a chance to mount something on them. Clive, unless there's a bit I can't see, that Humber mount looks different. The ball type mount I refer to is conspicuous on this photo of a K9, particularly if you view it full size. One above the passenger side A post on the bracket silhouetted against the sky, one above the driver's side wiper blade: http://visitbrighouse.com/brighouse1940sweekend/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/01/Austin_K9_Dave_Carten_web.jpg Anyone got a photo or exploded diagram of something fitted to it? In practice, were they ever used?

As far as I know the roof hatch / hip ring / cupola / whatever you want to call it on post war vehicles was just an observation hatch, and this seems to be borne out by the total lack of anywhere to attach any kit to on, say, an RL or similar. However a few vehicles - I'm thinking of K9s specifically - had brackets with a ball shaped mount on. Were these for mounting weaponry or just something innocuous like a searchlight? Has anyone ever seen - or got any photos of - anything with kit mounted on it in period?

I thought the terms were very reasonable for a modern sale, with only 5% + VAT premium and apparently no VAT on the lots. Again, the AFS RLs seemed reasonable, but difficult to know without seeing the condition.

The ex-Museum one was bid to about £13k - £14k and didn't make reserve. The other good one was sold for £13k. The restoration project went for around £2600.

Yes, I'd remembered 0.028" to 0.030" - GM seem to like vague clearances! I hadn't come across that 0.040" spec though. Was it on a different / unusual distributor or coil? I seem to remember the 0.012" / 0.028" spec being good for all Bedfords with Lucas ignition, or am I misremembering?

I don't think it's a tricky grey area, nothing's said about use.

Just noticed that as well. Also, I don't have the books handy to check my increasingly dodgy memory, but shouldn't the points be 0.012" to 0.014" ?

Prices were on the iBidder site, but now the auction's over they can't be accessed! Carrier (Bren) made £28k. Resto Fordson with the welding genny made, I think, around £3k, maybe less. Cent made £32k, Cent ARV £24k I think. On the whole the vehicles made around or below bottom estimate, except for one or two. A few had reserves and didn't sell, most went irrespective of estimate, from what I saw and heard of the sale via iBidder.

Vehicles "designed and constructed for use by the armed forces, police and civil defence" will be exempt. Also, will this apply retrospectively to vehicles built before type approval was needed?

Having said this, most of the military vehicles seem to be struggling to reach bottom estimate...

Not impressed with how flaky iBidder is, but maybe it's their signal given that it's an outside auction. Wonder if people are having trouble getting internet bids on. AFS control vehicle made £1800, Goddess made £2200, both seem cheap but again, it's difficult to know the condition without seeing them.

Just watching this on iBidder, having resisted the temptation to go and buy several vehicles up there. Prices seem pretty variable, but it's difficult to know without actually seeing things in the flesh (or steel). Just getting on to the tractors now.

When is this? This weekend?

I was there. Four hour wait for them to arrive, over two hours to get out of the valley afterwards, and well worth every minute. Very emotional.

I've not heard the term Challis, but that's what it is. Thanks Richard.

Richard, there's no number apart from the NSN. It's not boxed and I don't want to undo all the waxed cloth that's around it. My guess was Q4 as well, just by putting 2 and 2 together as you have. I suppose there's a slim possibility of it being Karrier or one of the Commer 1 ton or 4 ton prototypes, but it's very unlikely, and I can't think of anything else it could be. Does your parts list show whether these are handed - it sounds as though you only have one part listed for both sides?

Can anyone identify 7RT 2520-99-837-3312 for me? It's a tracta joint housing, probably WW2 or '50s, but I'm not sure for which Commer / Karrier / Humber.

This seems to me typical of phosphor bronze bush / plain bearing design in industrial machinery. I've seen PB bearings done like this in machines built right up to the '60s. Is it likely that, given it was the very early days of IC engines when design fundamentals were still being sorted out, they simply drew a parallel with what they knew?

As already mentioned (and assuming you're in the UK) the width of a vehicle is defined in Construction and Use as: the distance between longitudinal planes passing through the extreme lateral projecting points of the vehicle inclusive of all parts of the vehicle, of any receptacle which is of permanent character and accordingly strong enough for repeated use, and any fitting on, or attached to, the vehicle except— (a) any driving mirror; ... (plus other exceptions) That appears to mean that your van is narrow enough at 6' 6" to comply with the exemption. If you want to be certain, ask the highways authority or traffic police for your area. There's also the practicality of it. It sounds as though the road's fairly local to your operating base so presumably you and others know what the restriction is, i.e. narrow bridge, gap between buildings, artificial restriction etc., but if you don't it might be worth driving it in a car to find out.

I think I may be forgetting. From the design I thought it should clearly be a through the roof (or through a piece of plate) mount, with the two parts of the ceramic insulator clamping either side of the panel. I couldn't recall anything on a K9 roof that it could fit through, and there certainly isn't anything on the two I still have. On a K9 there is however an aperture front and centre of the roof with a steel plate over, which has a Vent-Axia fan in. Thinking about it I have a feeling on the SR D11/R234 box this plate also has an aperture that this mount would fit through. It's all coming back to me now...

Chris, thanks. The truck it was out of was FFW SRD11/R234. I'm afraid not knowing anything about radios the second part of your comment is fairly meaningless to me though! Would this have been part of a separate aerial assembly guyed to the ground, rather than mounted on the vehicle?

I've just found that I have a listing for 'attachments' in my account settings which tells me I am using 12.96 MB in 96 attachments referenced / stored locally. As the last two items I uploaded defaulted to URL instead of upload from computer I presume I might be reaching the limit of any available storage. Does anyone (Mods, Joris) know what the limit is?

Fairly recently I read a discussion here about the canvas covers for the hip rings / roof hatches on British MVs. Of course I can't find it now to reply to, but the gist of it was that someone was after a source or dimensions for them and none seemed to be forthcoming. I thought it might help to measure the mortal remains of the one on my K9. The main disc of the cover is 28" diameter with a 1/2" hem making it 27" diameter finished. This has a 27" pocket of canvas 2" wide (hemmed size) with 3/8" hems sewn onto the outside face across a diameter, with a 1" x 1/8" piece of steel flat bar inside for stiffening. The rim is made of a strip of canvas about 1 1/2" wide (finished hemmed size) with a 5/8" approx. hem, into which is inserted a length of the old fashioned spring curtain wire with a hook in each end. The disc is sewn to the outside of this to leave a rim of about 1". At the back there is a canvas flap 2" x 9" with two pieces of 1" webbing 7" long sewn to it, for pull handles to remove the cover. There is a gap in the hem of the rim at this point to allow the spring to be inserted and hooked together. Hopefully this might help if someone wants to make replicas. The wreckage of my one is available for anyone who might wish to do so! My experience is that despite the steel stiffener these tended to dish inwards allowing rain to pool in them and drip into the cab. I used to keep a disc of hardboard under mine to prevent this. I guess they could be made in such a way that the stiffening was improved while keeping the original appearance.

I've had this knocking around for ages; it came with a K9 but I can't see anything on the K9 it would fit. It's in three main parts, an aluminium aerial mount and two large ceramic insulators. The insulators presumably fit either side of the panel it would be mounted to. The parts are separated by copper washers.