Sean N

Hi Richard, this is why I ask. Normally you'd expect helical gears to be quieter than straight cut gears - the trend over the years has been to go to helically cut gears in cars for exactly that reason. If the K5 transfer box gears were helically cut, what was the reason for the noise?

Richard, straight cut gears, surely??

OK Ben, since no-one's jumped in on this I will! I don't definitively know the legal complications, but I can't see why you would need a Q plate - you're not changing enough of the vehicle, and you're keeping the original chassis and body. Nor do I think you're changing enough to require SVA / IVA. As it's a coach there aren't any implications for plated weights, so I don't think that would be an issue. Your insurer will want to know about the modifications and may want an independent engineer's report to satisfy themselves that the work has been done to a satisfactory standard. Before going ahead, measure up as much as possible to see how it fits; width of spring mounts, width of axles, length of Bedford vs. Iveco steering arms, axle ratios, how will it bolt together, how will the prop fit, plumbing issues, how will the steering fit, will you use the Iveco or Bedford springs, and so on. I assume you're thinking of using the whole Iveco brake system including master cylinder and foot valve, so that'll get you round any potential mismatch, but you need to think about how you're going to mount it all and plumb it. Given that it'll be a restored and presumably low mileage vehicle, how important will spares availability be? Are you giving yourself a lot of trouble for a purely theoretical advantage? If it was me, I'd stick with the Bedford bits unless I had very good reasons not to. There's no real reason why a J2 should be expensive to put brakes on, and you could still convert to air over using later TK or TL bits if you wanted. The job would be fairly straightforward and quick, and wouldn't distract from the rest of the restoration. Hope this helps

I don't think you'll have a problem there. In over 15 years of taking trucks to GVTSs I've always found them to be fair, consistent and to know the law even on fairly obscure stuff; under-run bars should be meat and drink to them.

I don't think this is correct, Barry; my understanding is there's still an exemption for combinations under 7.5 tonnes not used commercially. I'd agree with this, though!

Don't have anything handy to check, but I believe it is. It looks as though that's lifted pretty much straight from CU 1986 anyway. In my experience if you call or drop into your nearest goods vehicle testing station they're normally happy to advise on these sort of issues.

Not quite that far, Montie - south of England!!

Not really one for shouting, but I seem to be getting nagged to make an introduction so here we go. Been driving MVs for 20 years, owned, driven or worked on Austin, Bedford, Morris, Ford, Landy, Scammell, Leyland and more, even a EWK M2D bridging rig. First MV was an Austin K9 which came direct via the Aston Down sales; at one point I owned 9 of them and supplied spares for quite a few others. I'm not sure which is closest to my heart, though, the K9 or the Bedford R types - glad to say I've still got both! Sean