andym

Would anyone have a copy of Special Servicing Instruction No. 23 for the Stolly? It contains information about the centralised lubrication system on Mk.2 vehicles that isn't in the User Manual for some reason. Andy

Perhaps if they'd ever deployed Abbots in the tropics they would have? Andy

Actually, they just sent the Abbots to Germany instead! Noting the comment about gear shifters, the report also suggested thermal covering for the steering tillers but that never happened either. Andy

I haven't got the driver's seat back in yet! The missing pack might also be a slight problem ... :-) Andy

Unless I'm mistaken there was a thread on that IS-3 here fairly recently. Nothing to do with the Ukraine and the gun was crudely gas-axed before recovery. Andy

Aha - now I can say something without giving the game away! They temporarily moved the driver's air vent so it was closer to his face instead of his knees(!) but that seems to have been about it. I'll have to see if I can find any follow-up report. Andy

I found Hampshire police to be very helpful. Bearing in mind this is a bit outside their usual comfort zone, a joint discussion on the wording of the Firearms Act and the Home Office Guidance document had the desired effect. Andy

As is my Abbot. Andy

The training ones at Bovington have now grown "Vehicle limited to 20mph" signs at the rear. Andy

If my vehicles weren't a four hour drive away ... :-( Andy

Talking to a half track owner at Tankfest over the weekend we've concluded that the 20mph speed limit doesn't apply to half tracks as they aren't a "track-laying vehicle steered by its tracks". Only our opinion mind, not legal advice! :cheesy: Andy

Looking good, Chris! Andy

Food for thought - thanks! Andy

The batteries may yet respond to the PulseTech charger, they're probably heavily sulphated. The Hawker 6TNMFs are a far better battery anyway, no maintenance, higher starting current and lower self-discharge rate. Some of the problem with the overheating bulb-holder might have been because it had a 12V bulb in it! I'm wondering what to do about the brake lights, I might just ignore the check valve and fit a mechanical switch to the pedal. Andy

Neil had already said that one rear light wasn't working due to a cracked bulbholder. The screw heads were past their best so I drilled them out. On cleaning the holes up I discovered that the screws weren't self-tappers as I had expected but were bolts with nuts on the back. There's no obvious rear access to the light fittings without dismantling the rear load bed so I opted to tap them 3/16 UNF, slightly larger than the original bolts. I couldn't find a plastic fitting the same as the original so I used the more common metal bulbholder that's used on FV430s and some Land Rovers, reassembled with the original lens. Andy

The first job was to tackle the batteries. I think the wet lead-acids she came with are a bit tired although they may respond to a good session later with the Pulsetech Xtreme charger. Luckily I had a pair of NOS Hawkers left that I was intending to put in the Abbot's turret but I thought this was a more important duty. I cleaned everything up, replaced the battery clamps and neatened the bare cable ends with some heatshrink. The small black cable is the remote charging lead for the Pulsetech so you don't need to remove the battery covers to charge them. Neil had warned me that the radiator duct was full of leaves so I hoovered them out, not just to aid cooling but because there was a thick mulch forming that didn't bode well for the metalwork. I also cleaned out the carburettor idle jets which fixed the non-idling problem only for it to return after a quick trundle across the fields, so I think a good flush through of the fuel system is in order. The gearbox also seems to be running on chicken soup (albeit quite clean chicken soup) so a change of oil and filter is also on the list. Andy

I thought I'd start an occasional thread on the progress of Maud the Stalwart. Please don't expect too much too often, but it might provide some interest. As already mentioned elsewhere I bought her from Neil and transported her from the smoke of Essex down to sunny(!) Devon. Here she is arriving on Andy Webb's lowloader, the only time it rained at all that day but luckily not enough to be annoying. Getting her off the lowloader was "interesting" as she had flat batteries, wouldn't idle and the driver's seat adjuster was too stiff to let me bottom the clutch. It all worked in the end, though. As the barn she'll be living in isn't cleared yet, she will be outside for a couple of months so I've sheeted her up to keep the engine bay dry. Andy

If they're like FV430s they're all UNF of differing sizes, depends on how big the nipple is! Andy

That's a very interesting question and I don't know the answer. Tracked vehicles are limited to 5mph on bare steel tracks and 20mph on rubber pads. As I understand it's a road damage issue I'd suspect the same should logically apply to half tracks? Andy

Don't forget that in a tracked vehicle even 30 mph will get you a speeding ticket! Andy

Drop an email to Network Rail, perhaps? Andy

Maud enjoying the glorious Devon sunshine! Andy

Thanks both - in the end it was that simple, although getting to the jets is "interesting". Unfortunately after a 30 minute escapade round some fields the problem has returned, so looks like it's time to drain the tank, flush through and replace the fuel filter. Andy

My new acquisition, Little Maud, refuses to idle. She'll run quite happily at 2000rpm or above, and will just maintain 1500rpm on the hand throttle. Anything below that the engine revs gradually decrease until it stops. This feels very carburetter related, would any fellow B-series owners care to make any suggestions of where to look for the cause? Andy

They must have had an ex-MOD defector working for them when they designed that! :-) Andy