andym

This thing is truly a work of art. It deserves to be sat in a museum somewhere with perspex replacements for the end covers, being slowly turned so that people can observe the genius behind the design! Andy

Take a good look round the vehicle and see how unmolested it is. Are all the bits present in the engine bay such as the Firewire frame in front of the radiator? How much of the turret contents are present? They are awkward to find if you want to do a full restoration. As with all K60 vehicles, the heat exchanger is the weak point. Look for water in the gearbox oil or oil in the radiator. They are unique to the Abbot, impossible to get hold of as spares and very difficult to repair, not helped by the fact that the entire pack seems to be built round them. Check for overheating, the fans and their hydraulic system are also unique to the Abbot. Other than that, check the battery charging voltage as dead regulator boxes aren't uncommon. Some Abbots suffered from hull cracking but as it's under the pack you won't be able to see it. Oh, and take it for a decent drive to check gears and brakes! Andy

There are three types of starter to be found on FV430s with K60 packs. The original axial Starter No.3 Mk.1 has a thermal switch that opens at 135 degrees C to prevent the starter from overheating. Not surprisingly, it was later realised this might not be a good idea on the battlefield so the outwardly identical axial Starter No.3 Mk.2 does not have the thermal switch. Both types of starter were later replaced with the S152 coaxial starter which also doesn't have a thermal switch. Note however that vehicles fitted with the S152 must have the modified DLB with starter relay as the starter switch can't cope with the higher solenoid current of the S152. Andy

Be careful though - not all 7 pin to 7 pin cables have all the pins connected, depending on their original purpose. Andy

Still fascinating, though! Andy

Incidentally, in my experience applying large amounts of steady torque isn't the way to break a sticky thread (and torque multipliers are designed for doing things up, not undoing them). Using a decent length bar on the socket and bouncing the head of a sledgehammer off it is far more effective as the shock breaks the "lock" without wrecking the stud. Andy

"I have come across left hand threads before...but nowhere near as late as 1985 ! " My 1992 RB44 uses them on the near side wheels, although I've never understood the logic behind it. Andy

Are you sure they're pads rather than shoes? The xmod had some shoes in stock last time I looked, but as has been said, the old ones can be relined anyway. Andy

I hate Facebook too but unfortunately a lot of useful people have defected to it. 😞 Andy

What an amazing piece of engineering. The Explosion museum in Gosport may be able to help with Mk VIII injector information? Andy

There's an RB44 group, unfortunately on Facebook but full of helpful people. Andy

RB44? I've got one with a radio body that gets used for radio shows as well as military ones. Andy

The Abbot also hides the fuel pump inside the fuel tank, probably because there's nowhere else to put it! Andy

As an owner of both an Abbot and 432 with K60s and a moderator for the FV430 forum I'm not aware of any issues. Sounds like a wonderful piece of myth and rumour! Andy

Agreed on the fill gun, and they're quite rare, seeming to attract silly prices on eBay. Not sure about the other one, any chance of a close-up, Dougy? Andy

Those numbers would probably have been used on the individual packing labels that came with the installation kit.

For info, "equilibrator" is apparently a valid British term too. The FV433 Abbot has air over hydraulic equilibrator rams. Andy

Would you care to define "not having a lot of luck with the MVT "? Are you a member? Andy

You really expect him to take the time to saw them in half? 🙂 Andy

Your best bet is just to ask on here, Si. Andy

I thought we were talking about 08 GF 04? I was, anyway! 🙂 Andy

Unsurprisingly it doesn't appear in the Merlin records! Andy

Don't panic about the USB lead, eBay is overrun with them! Andy

Google "theatre maroons" Andy

Merlin says date in service 01/01/1955, cast 26/09/93. Andy