Jim Clark

Jack, Martin will be driveing his GMC352 and 105 howitzer down on the Friday with Paul Gray also in a GMC352 and Pete Eakers in a Dodge weapons carrier. They normaly leave Bristol about 2 oclock and take the A37 if you want to meet up with them give us a call. I will load the tanks on friday evening and travel down by car early Saturday to off load the tanks at the campsite. Jim

Heres some pics of Tanks in town 2006 http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/Mons2006018.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/Mons2006022.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/Mons2006004.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/Mons2006009.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/Mons2006042.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/Mons2006044.jpg[/img] Its a fantastic weekend, the convoy is awesome ,where else can you see that many WW2 vehicles, tanks and sofskins all crewed up in the correct gear in one long line on the road? The road run on the Sunday is about 20 miles and we were useing just under 2 gallons of petrol to the mile, but it was worth every penny. Looking forward to this years event. Jim.

Yes Jack we will be there again, and this year we are coming down on Saturday morning with the Sherman as we have permission to run with the convoy to Portland Saturday afternoon, should make some good photos.At the moment not sure if the M24 Chaffee is going as well but I expect it will be. Jim.

Right here we go, first of all if your canvas items are holed or thin there is nothing you can do but replace or possibly repair. Repairs can be carried out successfully providing the canvas around the hole or tear is strong enough to take the strain of the new canvas patch. If your canvas has faded there are products on the market to recolour and also reproof the material, we have never used any of these products so I cannot comment on them. Again with waterproofing not having used any products ourselves I cannot comment, only to say I have heard that Thompsons weatherseal is supposed to be good. The canvas treatment made by Catomance is news to us but we are keen to get hold of some to try. A word of warning DO NOT scub your canvas to remove marks as you will remove the colour aswell. Because the canvas is dyed and proofed after it is made the colour is only on the outer fibres not all the way through the thread.If possible sponge off with a mild soapy water, as stated already bird poo should be removed as soon as possible again soak off without too much rubbing. If you are going to cover your vehicle with a plastic sheet try to space the sheet away from the canvas to let it breath otherwise mildew can form on damp areas. The canvas we use is imported from the US of A and is of exellent quality, it comes from a supplier with history going back to the days of covered wagons as used by the early pioneers. I know we all like our vehicles to look good ,but how many wartime pictures have you seen of vehicles with prestine canvas? I hope this helps, if you have any more questions please contact us we are here to help. Jim.

some pics of the day. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/FILMSHOOT004.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/FILMSHOOT014.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/FILMSHOOT009.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/FILMSHOOT010.jpg[/img]

On the Easter weekend this year I went to Brixham and stood in the same spot where the photo was taken, unfortunately I did not have my camera with me which really peed me off. We also walked down to the slipway and there is still some "chocolate block" there.Looking at the blocks I could not help wondering how many GIs had walked over them on their way to Normandy never to return home again. Also while watching the people on holiday walking to and fro over the chocolate blocks I wondered how many of them knew what the blocks ment? Some years ago I liberated some chocolate blocks from "R3 Hard" at Weymouth they are now outside our workshop. I am fasinated to know how it was made because the "chocolate block" pattern is on both sides.Also was it made locally to each port of embarkation? Jim.

Jack, yes I am in a few shots but dont blink. you can see why fims are so expensive to make, after a whole day filming here there is only a few minutes actually on the program. We did get a mention in the credits though which was nice.

Hi Shane, basicly the film crew came with some actors to play the parts of American and German troops, they also brought a pyrotecnics bloke with gas fireing weapons and explosives. After looking around the farm for places to film the pyro man set up his charges in a gateway so they could simulate an attack on the Sherman. They did the same sort of thing with the Halftrack and Jeep, takeing and re-takeing shots of the same scene.It was a lot of fannying around but a good laugh. I have seen the end result and its very good.Jim

Hey, all I was doing was being public spirited and letting you lucky people who have a tv( I dont have one) know what was on , and whooa WW3 starts and then someone spills the beans about my pink leather armchair in the tank.

terrible thing envy.

Just to let you all know theres a program called" Weaponology" on ,Discovery Civilisation channel, Sky channel 522 and Virgin TV 217. Its on daily at 06-00 ,12-00, 18-00 and 22-00there are 13 episodes covering various topics of warfare. Episode 13 is about tanks and we were fortunate to play a small part in it with my Sherman, Halftrack and Jeep. I hope you all enjoy. Jim" ALLIED FORCES" Clark

Ok hands up, the tank is mine and the picture was taken at the "Tanks In town" weekend last year in Mons. We were waiting to move off to the field where the battle reenactment was taking place. I think at one point on the tour around Mons on the Sunday we had a total of 14 people,incuding my crew, on board. The name "Sloppy But Safe" was chosen for the tank from a list of WW2 nose art names because due to limited funds virtualy all the spare parts acquired to restore the tank with were second hand.The only new parts were the bearings for the final drive, new steel to replace sections of the hull, new front mudguards and head lamp guards(made by Adrian Barrel) and new nuts and bolts. Jim.

um not sure Jack, can you recomend a reputible company supplying top quality canvas products. any leads would be most appriciated. Jim

Hey Jack if you get a 105 howitzer you will have to buy a short wheel base GMC to tow it with to be correct like ours.

No not a museum an army, the Mack came from London and the Rogers from Witney. no I didn't buy the diamond it is for sale but rough. the Mack drives beautifully but needs the cab sorting and the rear tarp apart from that its cosmetic work to make it tidy for this season. This winter I will remove the cab and sort it properly also fit a Cummins 290 diesel as the present engine is some what under powered and thirsty.Jack if you can afford the fuel money I will give you a ride on the Sherman.

Just collected two more toys for the collection. The truck is a 1944 Mack NO7 prime mover, the trailer is commonly known as a Rogers trailer but could one of 5 manufacturers. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/ROGERSTRAILER022.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/ROGERSTRAILER034.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/ROGERSTRAILER042.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/ROGERSTRAILER058.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/ROGERSTRAILER062.jpg[/img] I know the cab on the truck is wrong and the rear canvas is also wrong but this will be done asap. This rig should look good with the Sherman on it, hopefully soon. Jim.

cant get the hang of this picture posting, but here goes.As you can see the shipping weight and a white star painted over it are visible on the fuel tank under layers of paint.http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4001.jpg[/img] The following pics are of the Cats arrival at our workshop and its partial strip down. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4009.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4012.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4014.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4018.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4019.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4024.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4032.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4034.jpg[/img] http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4042.jpg[/img] Although it looks rough it is very complete and very easy to restore. If you think it looks a bit of a daunting task you should have seen my Sherman when I bought it Jim

Just to put the record straight, my Cat is a 1943 D4. We found in a scrap yard in the Forest of Dean, it was stacked on top of two trucks! After close inspection we found the original shipping weight and a white star painted on the fuel tank. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q151/CatD4/CatD4004.jpg[/img] Here is a photo of how we found it... If there is interest I can post a few more. Jim

Thanks for the pictures Clive, you cant beat a little "double heading" especially in public. Best regards Jim.

Its on our " to do" list of our own jobs, we don't get enough time to work on our own vehicles due to the demand for our canvas goods.

Just to put the record straight, Tony Sudds buys his canvas from us "ALLIED FORCES" and has done for the past couple of years,. He used to get canvas from Fusion but they ceased trading some time ago. Jim.

Jack, you can get your "H" class for less than £ 75 just do what we did. We booked a tester to come to us to test 4 people, myself, Martin, Steve Whitehouse and Lars Henry, I think it was about £43-00 each payed up front. We booked the test for a Monday and then hired a mini digger for the weekend plus the Monday. We played all weekend on the digger and tested each other on the highway code, Monday we did the test and passed. The digger hire cost us £100 split four ways=£25 each, so there you are job done piece of cake.Stop flapping about just do it Jim.

THERE IS NO 'E' IN CLARK........luv Jim.

Thanks Clive, Looking forward to catching up with you again and your lovely other half. Our stall is in the new hall this year, the old cold hall has gone I believe at least we should be warmer. Jim.

Marty, Rob van Meel of Groucho Publishing has a repro TM manual listed as, TM8-615 Gasoline stoves and burners. His phone number is (+31) 13 535 3612. give him a call hes very helpful, hope this helps . Jim.