Sean N

Think you may get your wish if the weather carries on as it was today, Jack. Pretty miserable this morning, hope it's not causing too many problems up there & everyone's staying dry.

John, great photo. I had a look at Channel 5 News' website but it's not very helpful. The article you cite doesn't appear to be available to watch on demand, but watching it again may not enable you to contact anyway. You could try emailing 5 news on c5planning@itn.co.uk or if you know anyone on Twitter or Facebook, tweet them on @5_news or go to www.facebook.com/C5news, or try emailing C5 customer services on customerservices@channel5.com

Not familiar with the starter on that Cummins but assuming it's a normal pre-engaged type attaching jump leads will be a little awkward as you also have to bridge the start connection, and if the solenoid's faulty may not help you anyway. If you go straight onto the starter terminal it'll spin immediately without engaging. Solenoid clicks but no start is typically a solenoid problem but could also be batteries or connections. Are all the terminals tight and clean, and did you do a drop test on the batteries or just check with a voltmeter? If that's all OK chances are it's the internal contacts inside the starter solenoid, either sticking or corroded / burnt. Be careful bridging / putting jump leads on 24V connections as if the batteries are good and your connections aren't you can make some big sparks and can melt things quickly!

...well, Saturday. Dodge WC going east on the A351 in Purbeck around lunchtime.

Hmmm... Obviously either too difficult or not interesting enough! How about this. I'm sure I should know what this is. It's marked Butlers 1091 and both fittings are 2 pole bayonet. It's about 3" - 4" long. ...and while I'm here, can anyone shed light on the use of these cans? The larger one of the two - centre in the photo - is the same height and width as the typical oil can but not as deep, while the other is considerably smaller. The larger of the two is stamped HA14185 H&L 10/1952 and one of the ones I have is marked O.C. 110, while the smaller is stamped 22810 HB&S 1955. Both have a broad arrow and W.D. on top and an injunction on the cap to re-use the can. I've shown them next to what I know as the standard '50s vehicle oil can (on the left) for comparison.

It'll turn to slime quick enough if there's rain!

Bedford spares generally are pretty good, as they've got a big following and therefore specialist suppliers and there's a huge commonality of parts across the various models and generations.

Pretty typical of a lot of Mat and Mil recovery trucks though, particularly bus company service vehicles. Some of them end up looking really nice and some - well, like the back end of a bus.

SSU 746 has turned up in this reply in the Militant Mk 1 gallery, now owned by one John Hanna. Still looks very tidy but a bit clumsy with the tilt raised to accommodate a caravan: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?7394-A-E-C-Militant-MK-1-Gallery&p=415148#post415148 That still leaves the Commer to pin down and an O type, a Hippo, Jack's Matador, an M2D, an RS and an 11 cab CMP to find - so far!

See the lengthy discussion here... http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?31165-An-old-friend-oh-dear-oh-dear-oh-dear :wow:

Clive, I don't expect I'm going to be able to catch you out very often so I'll enjoy this one while I can!! :-D

Hi Duncan, The gas analyser would tell you whether it's running rich or not, and allow you to adjust the mixture correctly. However it won't give you accurate information, nor will the fuel burn right, if there's something else wrong. It'd be worth checking through the ignition system, plug condition and so on to make sure that's all in good order. Correct initial position for the mixture screw is two turns out from fully home, I think. Is the carb a 48 VIR?

The tester's manual is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consolidated-hgv-inspection-manual-2013 In fact, the reasons for failure are unchanged: [TABLE] [TR] [TD]A tyre a. with a cut which is deep enough to reach the ply or cords, and is more than 25mm long, or 10% of the section width, whichever is greater. **b. with a lump, bulge or tear caused by separation or partial failure of its structure, including any lifting of the tread rubber. *c. with exposed ply or cord. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] As regards perished NOS tyres, all tyres should be date stamped. Look for tyres which are less than 6 years old. One advantage of VOSA test stations is they do know the score and are very consistent. That's probably why the government wants to close them.

IRRC it depends on the extent and depth of the cracks. You can look up the MoT tester's guidance online - it's on the VOSA site and elsewhere. The cracks have to be below a certain size, I can't remember what, and you mustn't be able to see the construction of the tyre at the bottom of them.

One truck I always coveted was a Royal Navy Bedford R type recovery truck that lived in the South-West - I used to see it at Yeovil Festival of Transport, and I think it made it to GDSF once I can't remember if it was an RL or RS - RS I think - and it had Holmes type recovery gear on, though I suspect made by Reynolds-Boughton. Anyone remember it or know where it is now?

Looks lovely Duncan. Why do you think it's running rich, rather than some other problem? I assume you haven't had a gas analyser on it?

Gutted I missed this. Was on Wool station waiting for the other half to get off the train around the time they must have left Bovvy; I heard a whistle but couldn't work out what it could be, or where. Are they doing any other runs before (or after) GDSF?

I think so, that's why I checked; as we said earlier it seemed unlikely the rotation would be changed for late engines as it'd need a major engineering change for no obvious reason. If it wasn't a Lucas document it may just be a transcription error. Hi Clive, EMER D602 as amended (1954, last amendment I have 1958) says the screened distributor is DBCH6A. Out of interest Austin say it should take you 15 minutes to remove and replace a distributor

K9 screened distributor points gap 0.010" - 0.012" K9 unscreened distributor points gap 0.014" - 0.016" Plugs Champion XN8B gap 0.022"

Not if you're on the pre-1960 test exemption - "...used unladen and not drawing a laden trailer" A-bar car would probably count as an unladen trailer, unless you had stuff in it. The other thing no-one's mentioned is that to work this needs a vehicle that will turn corners naturally while being towed on an A frame - 'castoring along'. Not all vehicles will.

Late here, but as said 4x4 in low range, 4x2 in high range. You can shift from one to the other on the move, unlike a lot of vehicles. Not recommended at speed! Don't use in 4wd on hard surfaces (even packed dry gravel) for any distance - they wind up like mad. If the steering gets heavy and it wants to turn left all the time, check for wind up.

I've just come to this topic after C (KloudNine)'s recent posting on his K9 distributor. Having owned, run and worked on a fair few K9s I'd say the following: Fuel consumption: Assume 15 mpg but in good tune and driven moderately 18 mpg is fairly easily achievable. Speed: You can get a decent K9 to run out of speedo scale. They drink like Dean Martin at that speed though, and are quite lively into the bargain. A sensible compromise between getting to places reasonably quickly and comfortable cruising with reasonable economy is around 38 mph. Engine conversions. K9s can be readily converted to gas or diesel, and there are a variety of diesels available that make good conversions. However, is it worth it? The 4 litre petrol is a decent engine and reasonably economical. All conversions carry a cost. If you've got to pay someone to do the work the cost is substantial. Say your LPG or diesel conversion costs £1000 - £2000 plus, ask yourself how much petrol that will buy, and how many miles you're honestly likely to do in a year.

I had a look at my remaining two K9s this morning. The early one has a screened distributor in - I couldn't see the part number. It's marked for counter-clockwise rotation. The late one has a DM6 40932F in, though this isn't the original distributor - it came out of another K9 to replace a faulty screened distributor, and I doubt it was the original distributor in the truck it came out of. I also checked the rotation first-hand by turning the engine. On both vehicles the distributor rotates counter-clockwise.

If I remember rightly there were trials around the time for 1 ton and 4 ton trucks plus maybe some others; is it reasonable to guess that the EM series would be all those trials vehicles? If I remember rightly a lot of them were in the 1966 FVRDE book. Would be interesting to know but don't go out of your way.

Thanks Wally, that's interesting. Do you know how many were built originally?