Zero-Five-Two

Much good advice above about vehicle and engine speed when changing gear, but I would also add speed of actually moving the gear lever. The Militant is much the same as yours, they can be a very unforgiving gearbox, miss time your change and you are doomed. When I was first taught how to drive a Militant, the instructor suggested counting out the Army drill timing of 1-2-3-1 when changing gear. Count 1, and move lever to neutral. Pause of 2-3 in neutral (while reving the engine for a down change) and then 1 again as you move the lever into the new gear. He even had me shouting it out as I was doing it at first til I got the hang of it. I taught our Stuart using the same method, he was a bit embarrassed initially, at the thought of shouting 1-23-1 while changing, but Militant is so noisy no one is going hear you. Nowadays, after years of practice, I don't even use the clutch, just get the engine speed right and the gears just slide in. I still do the numbers in my head though

So, I'm back on here this morning doing a reply to Radiomike7's post about tyre size, and looking at my last picture. It suddenly occurred to me that bl@@dy wheel will have to come down again, at least a bit. 🤬🤬🤬!! There is a small bracket still to fit on the back of the cab I've no idea what it is for, but it is Tanker specific and our Stuart reckons it might be for attaching an earthing strap when refilling from an overhead gantry. Anyway, it needs 2 bolt holes drilling into the back of the cab, and the tyre is going to be in the way. The saga goes on.

15.00 was standard on the tankers, and it may only be one up from the 14.00 on other Militants, but the size and more importantly the weight difference is colossal.

Spare wheel fitting. This has been an on going mission for some time, and it has turned into a complete saga worthy of a telling by the great Bernhard Cribbins on Jackanory, except he would have to read it after the watershed time so as not to give the kids nightmares. It started last winter when son Stuart and I set out to fit the recently reconditioned carrier parts back on. All seemed to go well except we ran out of the right size bolts and had to leave a couple of bits off. We also left off some of the cross bracing to allow access to the air intake pipes and compressor condenser unit, which was yet to be refurbished and fitted. As you can see access is difficult, and I've still got the return pipe to squeeze in. One other bit still needing attention was the foot plate that secures the wheel when in the stowed position. I had difficulty in obtaining the right width of Balata strip Finally got some, and a selection of extra long bifurcated rivets. The wheel itself was cleaned and painted a couple of months back so we were ready to go It's a bit of a fight to the death to get the wheel onto the carrier as you have to wedge it in between the side of the pump box and the carrier. And it's a tad heavy too. Got it on in the end and began to wind it up. Bit of brake adjustment was required along the way to stop it unwinding by itself, and things were looking good. Until it got jammed halfway up. It appeared that now I have pumped the tyre up to the right pressure, it has grown too fat to fit on the carrier and gets stuck on the side. So wind it back down, and scratch head for a bit, needs some spacers behind it to move it over a bit. So fight the wheel off, make and fit some spacers, fight to get it back on and wind it up again. All good this time, so well pleased with the result. That was a fortnight ago!! This week got the condenser and pipework fitted and set about fitting the remaining cross bracing. None of the bolt holes want to line up, the whole carrier frame is leaning over toward the cab. More head scratching. Right, slacken all the bolts and use a ratchet strap to pull it over a bit. Fit the braces and tighten the bolts back up. Worked well, all bits fitted, all bolts tight, job done, wind wheel back up Except it gets stuck!! This time on the other side, on the pump box. Needless to say there was a few words, which will not get printed here, and the wheel comes down again, this time to remove the spacers, because now the frame is straight, there is loads of room on the carrier side. Finally, after all the aggro it is all fitted and it winds right up and can be stowed correctly Hopefully it will not need to come down again, ever!!

It's been an odd year all round, so far, but more odd with my day job. Despite being furloughed for 12 weeks earlier in the year, my boss now tells me I've still got 4 weeks holiday to fit in between now and christmas. More Tankering time, then. So last week off work and spent the time knocking off some more of the smaller jobs, and got on with the remaining major works. First off try the new Saltire in position I like the look of that, a big improvement over the first attempt, anyway. Finally managed to sort out the dynamo control box and get the thing to charge the batteries. Ended up stripping it completely and cleaning every terminal, connection and contact. There appears to be a fault in the casting of the lid which has been allowing moisture to enter past the rubber seal over the years and there was quite a bit of corrosion throughout the whole box. This time on reassembly I've put a small bag of silica gel inside to soak up any further moisture, and put a bit of gasket sealant around the rubber seal. Then, of course there's refitting of the dashboard, drivers seat and all the other bits that I had to remove to get the thing out in the first place. Moved on to the catwalk from the top of the tank Looked like this originally, but the wooden slats were rotten, and when I took it off a while back most of it simply fell to pieces. Side rails have been de rusted and seen here in primer. They are now done in green, but I forgot to take a photo. Local wood store provided a new set of slats, made from Meranti hard wood. Apparently it is ideal for this sort of application as it has very good non slip qualities, even when wet, and keeps it's colour so long as it is regularly treated with some decking or teak oil. They've been laid out here for over a week now and every time I go past they get another coating of the stuff. One of the air system pipes has suffered badly with the tin worm It returns excess air from the unloader valve back to the air filter, so as it is not pressure critical, I decided to repair it by welding in a small sleeve over the corroded bit After a quick pressure test with a bit of rubber hose from the workshop compressor and some soapy water. Clean up the rest of it and coat with DBG. Next job sort out the spare wheel carrier

Looks good. Bit of filler to hide the welds etc and a shot of green paint will finish it nicely. Is there room for a bit of sound proofing on the inside? You may need it with that 4D lump thundering away

Ah! So it was you who started the toilet roll panic buying

Are you getting confused between a driving licence, and an operating licence. Obviously you need the appropiate category of driving licence to legally drive the thing, but you would only need an operators licence if you are setting up a business to move other peoples stuff. What they call for hire and reward

Absolutely agree. Especially Militants, they were known for blowing head gaskets after getting too hot. Timber tractor was done a couple of years ago, and it was on the list of Tanker jobs to be done at some point, the leak just moved it up the list a bit

Only got a couple of bits done this weekend, spent far too much time mucking about with the dynamo control box, still cannot get any life out of it. If I fit the one out of the timber tractor she charges nicely, put it's own one back in and no charge, so it's definitely that's where the issue is. Did get the coolant leak cured. Washed out the block first, to clear all the sludge, there was quite a bit of it too so good job done Refit plate with new gasket. Run up for to temperature, while messing about with the charging lark, and no leaks found. Finished painting the saltire, in the recommended lighter blue. Looks very different to the first effort, but I think it is better. We'll see when it's on the truck next week

Quality work takes a bit of time, and your fabrication is definite quality. Looking forward to see how you tackle the curved top

As far as I have been able to ascertain, they were, as part of 154 Lowland Transport Regiment. That said, my information comes mainly from various google searches and isn't guaranteed to be right. So far, no one has told me I'm wrong, but I'm always open to information from anyone who knows better than I do.

Thanks for posting that link. Looks like any blue will do, going by their standards. I had assumed there would be a typical Army type official spec for exactly how it should be. Being the national flag and all that

Sorry, I was trying to be modern...... thinking of our younger readers I think the new shield looks more balanced now, but that is without paint. Once painted, contrasting colours can sometimes be deceptive to the eye and change the overall appearance. We'll see.

Nice try, but no cigar for that one 😁(LOL). It only looks like that. In actual fact the centre of the cross is about 20mm higher up the shield. It looks too low because the lower legs are short, and you eye gets drawn to that. It's more to do with the shape of the shield, I think. So, start again. Cut of new shield with a less pointy shape. Have a practice run with the cross before doing too much work on it. I think this shape looks better. I've ordered the right colour paint via the link Matchfuzee posted, so with a bit of luck I'll be able to have another trial fitting come the weekend

Bit of a set back on the Tanker today. Plan A was to get another load of little jobs out of the way, but it didn't quite work out. Finally got the fuel tank cap back on, and in a decent yellow paint finish Refitted the cab electrics, dashboard is back in, and all cables secured, but the damn thing still wont charge the batteries, so more work required here. Then I thought I'd best have a look at what was causing the damp patch that I'd just noticed under the left side of the engine. A steady coolant drip from the middle of this cover plate, and a suspicious looking bulge under the paint. Cancel the little jobs, get the plate off and see how bad it is Nasty pile of sludge appears to be the cause of the issue And it has eaten it's way through the aluminium plate. A good scrub off with a wire brush and hold it up to the light shows the full extent of the issue Not just one leak, but several, and the remaining metal is very thin too. Just the sort of job they made chemical metal for Substantial quantity on the inside of the plate, and a similar layer but shaped off on the outside. Nice coat of primer to hide the evidence, finish off tomorrow in sky blue. Should do the job. Just got to make a fresh gasket, and wash all that sludge out before refitting. Moving on with some more positive stuff, set about fitting up the recently made bridge plate and the other badges. The water slide transfer I got from Wally was an absolute pig to get to separate from the backing paper, had to soak it for the best part of half an hour before it would slide and even then it had to be persuaded. But it went on alright, little bit off square at the bottom edge, but appears to have stuck well, and the clear lacquer I sealed it with seems to have taken OK too. The St Andrews cross, or Saltire as I've found out it is called has been a different story. With only a slightly blurred picture to work from it has all been a bit ad hoc and guess work, and so far I'm not sure I like the result. Here's how it looks fitted to the truck. Bridge plate and RTC flash look fine. Cross looks short and fat and out of proportion. Some websites state that the blue should be Navy Blue, but others reckon a Blue colour called pantone 300 is right. But pantone shades are for printers ink, not paint colours, so what shade of blue should I use? It is currently in Halfords Navy Blue, but I think it looks too dark, almost black. Currently cutting out a second shield, of a slightly different profile which hopefully will help the short fat appearance. As for colour, any advice or suggestions would be most welcome

It's good to write about things when you have had a bit of a result, even if it's only a small one. Take one sorry bridge plate, and sand off the rubbish Good coat of primer and then a few top coats in the correct Golden Yellow. Now the difficult bit One water slide transfer to "slide" on First attempt didn't go too well. Looks OK from a distance, get close up and the cracks look awful. Second attempt didn't go too well either, managed to get one corner screwed up. Third one never actually made it onto the plate, a printer cartridge fault left a line down the first 2 But, can't let it go, keep going. Fourth attempt, then. Success, there's a tiny little nick on the second 2, but I can live with that for now. Leave to dry thoroughly then a few coats of clear lacquer to seal it should finish the job. Well pleased. Only one thing, my paint supplier insisted he needed to mix half a litre of paint to get the yellow colour right, and I've only used a teaspoon full here, so I'm quite flush for bridge plate yellow if anybody needs one doing 😁!

What a fabulous drawing, very talented lady. She could make a living out of that sort of thing. Can she do Militants? Tanker sketch would be priceless

Control box now sorted. It was, as expected, dirty contacts. When I did it last year, I just set the gap so that it looked right and worked. Since then I have acquired a copy of the tech book, so this time it has been set properly with a feeler gauge to get the correct gap. A lot smaller than I had before. Worked out well with testing it too. Wife wanted to go down the farm where the Timber Tractor is to visit the relatives. So spend a bit of time giving her a lift down, say hi to Aunt and Uncle, and get to test control box on the truck. Everybody happy. Spent the afternoon making badge plates. It is my intention to finish the restoration as it would have looked during it's time in Scotland with 225 Squadron RTC. I posted this picture from Les Freathy's book on a different thread a while back, and several learned members identified it as showing the same badges as mine should. Wally Dugan advised me the 2 either side of the radiator would be waterslide transfers on steel plates bolted to the front panel. And indeed there are 2 holes on the nearside of mine where they would fit. He also came up with some original transfers for the RCT flash. So many thanks to him, I've just got to do them justice and get them fitted right. So, two plates made and sprayed in primer The sharp eyed will have noticed the diesel tank cap hanging up behind the shield shaped plate. It's being a right pain to get a decent finish in the yellow, but getting there slowly with it.

Bit more progress on the Tanker this weekend. Down to the small bits now, the five minute jobs that take all day. Fuel filter/sediment bowl fitted and a quick test. Felt it was worth a short video, as she ticked over without stalling. Bit too slow mind and still needs adjusting. Now the fuel tank is fitted, next job wire up the fuel gauge. Connecting the sender is fun, working through a small hole in the pump room floor. Five cables to cram in, on the right terminals. Then the dashboard end, which is not quite as bad. Took the steering wheel off to get better access, but still managed to scrape off a fair bit of paint, which will need touching up later. Good news is the gauge works, and appears to be spot on accurate Which is more than can be said of the tank gauge, which is showing about 5 gallon more than is actually in the tank. Horn went in next, refitting the original one that has been cleaned up and adjusted. Not exactly loud for a truck this size, but a healthy beep, beep that will do the job. Moved on to the lights. I wired in the brakes and indicators a while ago, so at least we had the important ones when we drove over to the workshop for painting the tank earlier in the year. Now side, tail and head lamps get the benefit, and the new rear marker lights I recently fitted. Plugging them in under the dash was the easy bit, clipping in all the conduit takes the time Near side head and side light wires here, under the front bumper. Originally they were 2 BA screws into threaded holes. All of them sheared off during the dismantling process, so I have drilled them right out now and put nuts on the inside. Still 2 BA so reasonably authentic. Switch on and get a very bright pair of "un Militant" lamps. Bought on fleebay, they were listed for Land Rover, but fit into standard military shells nicely, just replace the 12 volt bulbs with a pair of 24 volt zenon truck bulbs. 110watts on dipped beam, can't wait to try them in the dark. Might actually be able to see where we are going. Thinking I was on a roll, I cracked on with the rear markers, and then, it all went pear shaped. Struck down by the curse of the elastic tape measure, to begin with. Nice new loom in new conduit that is about 6" too short to plug in. Don't quite know how I managed that one. Near side went in nicely, but that had a different issue Spot the schoolboy error! nearly fried the whole truck with this one. Double connector looks just right in the little clip. But, of course, it is a dead short to earth, not that I noticed until I tried plugging it in. There were many sparks and a rather scorched terminal. Singles look untidy, but at least they work. Got there in the end, and now have a full set of lights, including a couple of extra modifications for the modern times, like a reversing lamp and hazard lights. Back to the downside, dynamo has stopped charging again. Last time it was dirty contacts in the control box, and after a good clean up it was all was fine. A check of plugs and wiring this time, and it seems to be the same problem. Although, I may have blown the fuse inside, with the dodgy marker light. Either way the box is off again, and back in the home workshop for further investigation tomorrow. Sounds easy, but to get to it the drivers seat has to come out and the main electrical junction box on the back of the seat frame has to go as well. Another 5 minute job that took half an hour. Last job today take a picture of the whole thing. More than a bit pleased with how she is shaping up. Certainly be ready for next years show season

Are the head bolt holes in the block clear? Any debris in the bottom will cause the bolt to bottom out and lock, giving the impression of being tight to the correct torque, but not actually pulling the head down properly.

It'll get fatter when you paint it, and then it wont fit again without scraping big lumps out of your nice new green finish 😁!

It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one with tape measure issues. Looks good though.

Never did get round to posting the pictures of the internals. Bit late now as the replacement motor arrived this morning, many thanks to Marvinthemartian for sorting it out for me. But I thought I would put them up for interest. This is with everything removed, so you can see the three ports, with the surrounding metal well scored from years of use. Brass plate on next which should switch from side to side, covering one port and allowing air flow through the other two. Retaining spring and heart shaped switching plate sit on top And finally this round weight picks up the drive from the main cylinder. There is a pin on the under side that locates into the top of the heart shaped plastic bit to move it from left to right. It all seems to do what it is supposed to just all a bit worn out.

It's the little bits that always take the most time and effort, you spend ages and seem to nowhere