Sean N

Anton, Wally, Out of interest, DVSA have confirmed the plated gross weights for the Austin K9. They are front axle weight 2040 kg, rear axle weight 4070 kg, for a plated gross weight of 6100 kg. For future reference, I now have a scan of the DVSA Standard List covering Austin 2 axle rigids 1961 to 1960. Sean

What is the project, and when you say 'cope with 250 bhp / 600 lb ft torque', in what sort of use? That might significantly affect what components are suitable.

Hi Wally, thanks. That ties in well with the 4630 kg discussed previously. I don't think it contradicts the Ministry plated gross weight, though; I'd expect the military to be much more conservative on weight.

Anton, the tag in the glove box looks original so I'd believe that for the V62, at least in the first instance. Wally, is that 10,192 lb gross you're quoting military use? I don't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure the plated gross weight VOSA used to give me was a touch of 6 tonnes, 6100 or 6200 kg. When we discussed this in another thread, Richard quoted the 1956 FVRDE book as saying 4630 kg which agrees well with Wally's figure.

Do any of the tags & plaque match, or are they all different? Photos? Rear axle should be narrower than the front. 4950 kg is low for a K9, if I remember correctly GVW should be 6100 kg. Is the orange really orange, or is it red oxide / brick red sort of colour as appears in your photo?

Anton, that is a correct Austin chassis number so is likely to be the number for your vehicle. A K9 would normally carry a chassis number plate like that riveted onto the inside of the glove box lid and on the top of the drivers' side chassis rail near the steering box. Ex-military vehicles should also have a square brass Ministry of Supply plate on the face of the LH chassis rail just behind the cab, which will give military VRN, Austin chassis number and other information. Your K9 is already registered - you've given the registration - so if you have the information needed for the V62 getting a V5 should be straightforward; it's more if you need to register the vehicle that things get difficult. 1959 will be the date into [military] service, which would have been given to DVLA when it got the USV 615 registration. It's probably more like a 1955 truck. Your K9 has the wrong back wheels on; it should have the same wheels as the front, but I guess you knew that.

From experience with MoD auctions, I can also see a basis of truth in the story. Things do get lotted up incorrectly or misdescribed at sales, including at the MoD disposal sales, but in my experience a buyer getting more, less or something different than they thought is more often than not the buyer's fault, not the auctioneers'. A bike in the back of a truck is likely to have been offered as such by the auctioneer and missed by the buyer rather than anything else. I've seen a lot of spares come out in the back of vehicles, and I've got a Rubery Owen office trailer that came with new lighting, map tables etc. in the back, but I'm pretty sure the disposals people knew they were in there. As to the stories of new jeeps, why not? Perhaps they won't have been CKD in crates, but I've seen plenty of brand new and delivery mileage only vehicles go through MoD sales, so why would that not happen in the '40s and '50s? The key to the story, though, is usually the price, forgetting the effect of subsequent inflation. About the time I was going to Aston Down sales, I picked up a catalogue from the late '40s with prices in. On the face of it they looked cheap, with Bedford 3 tonners making around £25, but work it out in proportion to the weekly wage of the time and it was almost exactly the same as the current going rate for Bedford TKs at Aston Down. I suspect Vass may have been given the option on those Bedfords; something auctioneers (used to) do to get through a large sale quicker. Instead of putting each up individually, the auctioneer would offer the first lot with an option on a number of subsequent identical lots. The winning bidder for the first lot could then take the rest at the bid price.

Equipaggio Inglese is English crew Not sure about pillola, but I wonder if it's colloquial for land mine as they can be pill shaped ...

Clive, seen this? https://www.milweb.net/webvert/a4652/98326

Apart from the ones with the cancelled overprint, I'd have thought there'd be interest in those if only for reenactment / display / decorative use. I might be interested in some UK 1:50000 or 1" to 1 mile if you've got a list.

I think it will be out with the welding gear; the cab is what always goes, so it's highly unlikely you'll find a good cab unless it's already on a good vehicle. Cab is common to all the Austin Series 2 / Loadstar trucks (there are detail differences) and the Austin Series 3 and BMC WE / WF cabs are pretty much the same (front end and some other details are different), but these all have the same rust problems so that probably doesn't help either.

Thread on PPRUNE about this: https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/633244-bruntingthorpe.html

Is it one of these types you're after?

I'm not really following the argument about silicone hoses. I can see it might be more of an issue in extreme climates or where rubber is particularly exposed to environmental degradation, but in a lot of years of driving I can only recall having an issue with a hose once - and arguably when I was young and naive - or on vehicles that had sat rusting for 30 years. I'm also not sure I'd want to ignore a cooling system for half a million km, even though given Australian distances they probably clock that up rapidly - don't these guys do routine checks? Having said that, I'll probably get a blown hose now...

I'd guess the rear engine was steering?

Might be a daft question, but are there no pipe and tube benders locally? We have a couple here who are normally quite happy to do small jobs at sensible prices. Appreciate the desire to DIY, but it'd be done and dusted and let you get on with other jobs...

I'll agree with Duncan's post about the Avons, they wipe the floor with Trak Grips and bargrips. I think it must be as much the compound as the tread. Avon have gone through a few changes and the tyre business is now owned by Cooper, so chances of them having such obsolete moulds must be pretty minimal.

I'll bet that wasn't universal; I can recall vehicles coming through sales post-GW1 that had obviously had lights, mirrors, glass, the works sprayed over, and clearly had barely seen a wash for prep, certainly no scotch or any other keying!

Actually yesterday - mobile crane 37 KM 37 travelling west on the M27 near Hamble, and Lancaster travelling north at low altitude just east of Cadnam, presumably on the way back from Jersey.

The axle type was used in series 2 and 3 trucks (and series 1?) and all the Austin based BMC and smaller Leyland trucks e.g. WE, WF, FE, FF etc. I didn't want to say too much as there will have been variations so it doesn't follow that every one of those trucks will have an identical half shaft. It seems to me if the number was cast in the flange it might not be the proper part number for the shaft though.

I don't think it would come to that. I may be wrong, but the same type of axle was used in at least some of the Series 3 trucks, which later became the BMC and Leyland range, so I'd have thought it quite likely that several of those used the same shafts. Where on the shaft is 11K 7895 marked?

Bu**er. Sorry to hear that, Justin. Richard Banister?

It's estimated at 15k Euros

Howard, I'm willing to bet knowing GM they're the same as a lot of other GM / Chevrolet stuff; tried the Stovebolt forums and parts suppliers?

Very tidy G plate Lightweight in Shillingstone this afternoon.