andym

Andy, can you post the legislation that states that please.

Lee beat me to it!

Note that (as far as the Norfolk Chief Test Examiner is concerned anyway), "resilient material between the rims of its weight-carrying rollers and the surface of the road" means rubber pads on the tracks. It's a standard question for the H test. The 1960 Act would have allowed you to do 12 mph if you had sprung suspension but no pads, but unfortunately you're now limited to 5 mph.

Andy

Going back to the track question, there's no real point in swapping to 430 track unless you're worried about vehicle speed. As all H Group licence holders should know(!), steel tracks are allowed on the public highway but are limited to a maximum of 5 mph. Rubber pad tracks have a speed limit of 20 mph.

Andy

FV432s always had provision for a diesel-powered crew heater, but I've only seen them in some of the late 432s that were reconditioned by Bovington. You can spot them by the exhaust (with caution notice) behind the external air filter panel. As Chris says, a manual is your friend, but the ventilation system should fire up using the big black knob adjacent to the fan motor, just behind the bulkhead that's behind the Commander's right shoulder.

Andy

That's standard 432 stuff, a crane for lifting things in to the stowage basket which is missing.

As a late one it may also have the "optional" internal heater, which might be useful!

Andy

It's OMD90 above -15 Celcius, OMD55 below that. There's been an ongoing discussion here on HMVF about a civilian equivalent for OMD90, but basically it's a semi-synthetic 10W/30 heavy duty diesel oil. Morris Lubricants suggest their Super Versitrac 10W/30 is suitable and that's what I'll be running my 432 on in future.

The gearbox level should be checked cold, on level ground. Open the air inlet louvres and raise the radiator. The dipstick has two marks, minimum and maximum, and the level should be kept at the maximum mark. The filler is the hexagon-headed plug near the dipstick.

Hope that helps!

Andy

Unfortunately there's a good chance that the STOVL variant of JSF will either be cancelled or unaffordable, the two things being linked. Hence the interest in catapults for the carriers.

There's an interesting discussion here on the pros and cons of keeping Tornados rather than the Harriers: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11997084

Andy

Off to Withams then? :cool2:

Andy

Don't forget to check the engine governor oil level while you're about it! :cool2:

Andy

Some more information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sturgeon_(73S)

Interesting that in those days they referred to "First Group" rather than "Batch One" which we'd say today.

Andy

Gents and Gals,

 

I'm making up a slave cable with interchangeable ends with a quick disconnect. The purpose is to start some British MVs arriving soon (hint, hint). I need to be able to use spring loaded clips onto a civvy 24v vehicle or pack and also slave the two between each other once off the vessel.

This is presumably relevant to the recent confusing discussion about British AFVs in "Southampton"?

Andy

i would guess , probably not chrimbo shopping !!:nut:

That probably depends on who the present is for! :cool2:

Andy

must be a dummy gun on the saladin. looks about 200mm

I've seen that one before - isn't it on a paintball site somewhere?

Andy

Please also note the "Don't clog our postrooms with kindness" link on the front page of www.mod.uk!

Andy

No need to disconnect battery.

In fact I'd strongly advise against disconnecting the 6V battery, as it's the only thing that's stopping the 12V battery from frying the 6V electrics!

Andy

Apparently lots of people drive un insured...but how does that work?

There's a growing problem in the UK with uninsured drivers due to the cost of car insurance, especially for males under 25. The cost of insurance usually exceeds the value of the vehicle so many just don't bother. Of course, when they're involved in an accident there's only one place the money can come from - the driver who is insured, so insurance premiums keep rising and generate a vicous circle. The other problem is cloning, where someone takes an uninsured and untaxed vehicle but copies the number plates from a legal vehicle. They're unlikely to be detected unless someone has reason to examine the VIN or tax disc properly. It also means that the owner of the legal vehicle gets clobbered for any speeding or parking fines! Years ago it was possible to get any number plates you wanted made up by a supplier, but these days you have to have official paperwork to do so.

Andy

I seem to remember DRA / DERA built an HMLC prototype, I think using pretty much all off the shelf components from various manufacturers, back in the '90s. If I remember right, it looked something like a 6x6 version of a modern Unimog with a forward control Unipower cab on, but it's a long time since I saw it so I may be remembering wrong. From the photos and spec it looked absolutely terrific and very capable, but obviously nothing ever came of it.

Was that the one with electric motors in the wheel hubs?

Andy

... or the "device formerly known as"? :cool2:

Andy

Still only a dusting here. I had to go to a Naval base in Gosport this morning though and they have about 5 inches down there..

Yes, about five or six inches in the garden here in Portsmouth, but melting now ...

Andy

Let me know how you get on!

Andy

... without threads like this members may unintentionally break the law as they didn't know any difference but would still get prosecuted..

Exactly - hence my thanks earlier on. Vehicle now duly SORNed!

Andy

Interesting that they only declassified this two years ago! :shocked:

Andy

Out of interest, I've just had a chat with Fuchs Lubricants, who are happy to sell genuine OMD-90 in quantities of 5 litres upwards. Unfortunately it's about half as much again as a similar "civilian" oil.

Andy

Shall we get back to red diesel now:tup::

Yes, but many thanks for the notes about red diesel and SORN. That could have potentially been embarrassing/expensive! :shocked:

Andy

SORN is one of the most stupid interfering idiocies of the UK system, I can relate but not agree with them asking me to tell them it isnt on the road, but surely by me not having a tax disc that is automatic...why do I have to have a letter telling me to re sorn it every year then a letter telling me is has been done...it is jobs for jobs sake and totally idiotic...DVLA use the car and the owners there of, as cash cows so that the DVLA can employ more people it is as simple as that...

Ah, but that assumes you're honest. In an ideal bureaucratic world, the police would have time to investigate every vehicle that's registered but doesn't have a tax disc. Because they don't, SORN is intended to direct their attention to those vehicles that don't have either SORN or a tax disc and are therefore presumably running around on the road untaxed. Whether it actually achieves that aim is a matter for conjecture ...

Andy

I would of thought the fine for not declaring it off road was an incentive.

Not necessarily, because SORN is a mechanism for explaining why you haven't renewed your road tax. The DVLA website says:

You must make a SORN if one of the following applies:

• if you don’t renew your vehicle tax and you are keeping the vehicle off the road

• if you are applying for a refund of vehicle tax and keeping the vehicle off the road

• if you buy an untaxed vehicle and do not tax it

• every 12 months if you continue to keep your vehicle off the road

• in advance if your vehicle is to be kept off the road in the UK when you are abroad

For a vehicle classed as Historic, apart from the red diesel issue there's no real incentive to declare SORN as the tax is "free", so you might as well keep it off the road but accept the free tax disc every year.

Andy