g0ozs

Mike Sounds like progress! I found a couple of new issues with the SUMB having got it home and in a garage this week so I am a bit behind you now ! Iain

The truck is finally all paid for and on the move I was able to get it moved by the folks at Woolpit Garage and it is now with them to get steam cleaned and weld up the wheel arches and fix an oil leak in the engine/turbo seal (it was re-engined with a Volvo D24T and auto gearbox by the previous keeper). The V5 has been sent off with the engine change (which had not been previously notified) and I will go the "writteb confirmation on headed paper from a garage (see http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?46760-Changing-engine-number-without-reciept-(DVLA)&highlight=engine+change )" route if it is queried by DVLA. Hopefully I will be able to get the new doors, sides and windows fitted before it comes home as well since a 2nd and 3rd pair of hands will make it much easier! Sorry for the poor quality phone photos !

I have hit this with the "new" SUMB - unfortunately a previous owner didn't update the V5 at the time they changed the V8 Petrol for a Volvo Diesel. Fortunately I have only paid a deposit but I wonder in the worst case if anyone has tested whether "a letter on headed paper from a garage" can be from a garage that inspected the engine now (which can be done easily) or has to be by the garage that did the original engine change ? Originally I was content to wait for the vendor to sort the V5 but he now needs to clear the site where it is stored and I face the choice of losing my investment in parts purchased to restore it when it goes to scrap instead, or paying the balance and taking it without a correct V5 and sorting the issue myself. Iain

Robin I thought that both the separate bench and dexion and the demountable unitary radio station could be fitted in the lightweight - certainly I have seen both in restored vehicles - I cant recall seeing a unitary station in the 1/4 ton and 3/4 ton FFRs but cant see a reason why it would not have been possible to fit in a GS as a temporary measure - whether it was done is another matter of course. You can find a pic of the unitary station at: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?31588-landrover-Lightweight-Unitary-Radio-Station-For-Sale&highlight=unitary+radio Looking in the back of a landrover the ribbed battery box is an easy way to tell the difference. Regards Iain

Clive FT290s are almost collectible now - I sold one (original model not R II) for £70 a couple of years back. Iain 73 de G0OZS

Looks awfully like a guy stake for an antenna mast ? How big is it ?

Welcome here !

Hi Mike I just grab what I can when it comes up within a days journey there and back ! Good luck extracting the bits from France Iain

I wonder how much work would be involved in returning them to original specification ? I can't imagine anyone setting up a DUKW ride business with them after the recent press coverage which should be enough to scare off any bank manager asked for start up finance ! I'm sure they must have a few decades left as non-swimming historic vehicles if it can be done (sadly I lack the time and funds to attempt it) Iain

Storage now sorted thanks to http://www.highelmssuffolk.co.uk/storage_workshops.html There is a small community of motorsport and vehicle restoration companies on site so already sorted out spray painting

I didnt get much done this summer unfortunately due to work, family and a bad reaction to hay fever pills. I did get lucky with http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?46172-Simca-Marmon-MH600-(breaking-for-Spares) replacements for most of the rusty bits on No. 18595 I also have workshop facilities on a farm converted to industrial units near Stowmarket (with spray painters on site ! ) and hope to be posting more updates over the winter. All that remains is to resolve an issue with the V5, pay up, and get it recovered to the farm. Here are some pics of the newly acquired bits now in the painting queue: Rust Free unbroken front windows Right Door Mirrors (new pattern with hinge and room for a blind spot mirror below) Cab Floor free of rust Sides (x 2) with minor repairable rust Tailgate (purchased earlier from a seller in Kent) needing some welding Tool Rack not rusted to flakes I also got a spare set of instrument panels from the one in Aldershot and a tilt from R&R services over the summer which will need minor repairs but I still haven't managed to source the hoops - if anyone on here has a SUMB and can measure them accurately I would be ever so grateful. The front end of the body and the seating on the one at Aldershot are different from any SUMB I ever saw before - I suspect it was intended as a roll bar of sorts and I may do something similar for mine. That the seat is original and fits leads me to believe that this is an in-service modification. Iain

Si Welcome here - hope to see you and the RB44 around Suffolk sometime ! I assume Hangar 53 refers to one of the local airfields ? Iain @ Rattlesden

I still have a bench vice that belonged to my father and which I remember from before I started school in 1970 Iain

I have no connection as a buyer or seller - I found this link because of some items being also listed in Milweb: http://www.cheffins.co.uk/catalogue/vintage/the-brian-mack-collection-381-0?pg=5&perpage=50 Happy Browsing Iain

Clive The Martlesham Microwave Round Tables are still going - now in April rather than foggy November - as a club we still run beacons on all the higher bands at the top of the radio tower. There are a lot of stations using the DB6NT modules - originally they were his homebrew designs but he has now made a successful business from manufactured units. There are still quite a few kit transverters around using MMIC amplifiers - in fact Sam G4DDK has also done VHF and UHF variants as kits recently - and many people have adapted Satellite TV receive chains and cellular base station transmit parts to work on various microwave bands so the spirit of creative reuse is still there. I have fond memories of an FT-290 in my early days on air - now long replaced with an 817. The photos remind me of the equipment used in the early days of G4MRS/P in VHF field day - I used to operate the night shift on 70CM using a station built by G4FSG (now RSGB Chairman) to a design by K2RIW and worked well into Eastern Europe on a good day. I think the last big thing I built was the PSU and tone decoder for GB3PO Mk III (1989 version) - these days my close vision isnt good enough and trucks are easier to work on .. A lot of people still use TWT amplifiers at 15-25W on the microwave bands - I think mostly ex satcomms use. Iain 73 de G0OZS

Congratulations on the 50 years and interesting to hear of the early days of UK microwaves - I worked closely with some of the newer generation of operators (G4DDK, G4FRE, G3XDY etc) at Martlesham in the 80s and 90s. My own route into military vehicles was rather similar having bought first the NCRS trailer as a shack and then the SUMB as a self propelled field day station (having got fed up with putting up tents and masts for the weekend!) Best Regards Iain 73 de G0OZS

Thanks - I have commented !

Paul Not much ! Let me find them first Iain

I should have an IBHA and some short harness leads - they are in storage so I wont be able to get to them until next week though Regards Iain

Congratulations to you both ! Iain & Sunday

Dear All I expect to complete the purchase of a SUMB (see: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simca_Marmon for details) near Sudbury in the next few weeks. As I live near Stowmarket and it is self-propelled but not currently roadworthy (lights etc need refitting) I expect to need transport. Does anyone know a reliable low loader or heavy recovery company in West Suffolk that could move a 3.5 ton 5m long 101 inch wheelbase 2.1m wide truck weighing around 3.5 tonnes empty ? Also, as I dont have covered working facilities and winter is setting in I would be interested in renting a barn or similar for the winter in the Stowmarket-Needham Market-West Ipswich area which is between my home and my work so I can do more than would be possible if limited by weather and light over the winter. (Ideally I'd like to find the barn first and then arrange transport to it !) Best Regards Iain

Hello and welcome The pronounced angle along the sides and the relatively large gun barrel suggest M10 tank destroyer (which has Sherman derived suspension) to me - see: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?34407-Tank-of-the-week-M10-tank-destroyer&highlight=m10+tank+destroyer Regards Iain

Terry, Jack My experience with my father's (metal) hard tops in Scotland in the 1970s was that they had bad condensation inside in the winter - I'd definitely recommend a soft top if the vehicle will have radios installed for that reason. I'm not sure if modern hard tops are any better ? Iain

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The front sloped front of the buried APC is too long for an M113 or FV432 - I dont think it's an MTLB or BTR-50 as there is no change in angle to the slope - as to what it actually is I am not sure. Chinese type 63 perhaps ? could do with seeing all the road wheels to be more convinced.