Big Dan

Bugger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also uncovered the all seeing eye pretty much as per yours under many, many layers of paint on my Pig. I have unearthed no details so will be intrigued to see what you find out. Thanks, Dan.

Ah, now thats a clear picture - yep, mine is exactly like that - except that the on in the picture looks like the springed actuator id out a lot further in neutral than mine - could be stuck. When engaging/dissengaging are there clonks etc. to listen out for as, say, a Landy engaging diff lock? Thanks, Dan.

Getting somewhere now! 1. The gauge and cooling system is fine - the rad cap has no plunger so system won`t pressurise and steam escapes very easily - the gauge reads correctly - human error and a bit of over caution. 2. Engine stopped due to air in the fuel lines - I did prime the carb and it all worked fine for about half an hour - but loads of air in the system ended up starving the carb - cracking the fuel line nut, priming the line then tightening and re-priming the card had it going a treat! 3. Brakes needed loads of fluid, bleeding, the pedal return spring fitted and seized links oilong and freeing - now they actually work rather well - much better than expected! 4. Third hatch in roof confrimed as "Holy" dome not a gun mount:( - my friendly ex Reme Sargeant confirmed from looking at mountings showing on the inside of the roof that it was a dome - he had fitted a both dome and Ferret turrets in period and mine was the former. Overall I am amazed at how well it drives - sure its a bit weighty on parking steering and double-clutching is a pain but the rebuilt engine and box are smooth and precise, the brakes make me want to wear a seatbelt to keep me in the seat and the beast drives really well - a big thumbs up! I wish I could get it to Beltring but work is just to darn busy to let me get it there! As ever, a few more jobs to be done - not least replacing a handfull of hi-pressure nipples etc. Two things: 1. Dissengaging 4wd - I know this is meant to be done automatically when coming out of first - my 4wd lever does not move when going in or out of first (though it does press against the gear stick in first) - does this mean its stuck in 4wd? Not a bad thing as far as I`m concerned as its will help presserve the rear axle. 2. A longshot - Does anyone live near Adam the former owner down in the South West and might be heading to Beltring? Adam has a spare wheel and tyre for me but its proving a real pain to retrieve it - 3 abborted collections so far! I`d be happy to pay transport costs if anyone is headed to War & Peace and could pick it up - like I sais, long shot! Thanks, Dan.

Drove the Pig again this weekend and it overheated - plenty of steam and water from around the filler neck. Once cool I checked the seal and neck - the neck was very knocked around and no way would it seal - so I flattened the face off with some percussive maintenance, re-filled the coolant and brought it up to temperature with the cap off - the thermostat opened nicely and temperature held niceley at around 160f. I popped the cap back on and left it running - all was good until after about 3 further minutes the idle revs increased to 1500 then the engine shut down! - The temeperature was fine - no overheating. The engine would not restart - it would for the odd second but not for any longer - my thinking is fuel - any ideas? Thanks, Dan.

Hi Guys, Just got my Pig running and took it for my first couple of drives - awesome! It was smooth, started on the button, gear change good, went straight - even stopped! I`ll pop a video on here soon. Couple of questions: 1. When started from cold, the temperature gauge immediatly goes up to the middle of the gauge, then, after a couple of minutes progresses towards the end of the gauge. I checked the engine at this point and it was what I would describe as "running temp hot" not "OMG its off the gauge hot" - when cold I checked the fluids and all is good, fresh fluid with plenty of anti-freeze. Is this a case of "they do that" or is a shot sensor/gauge? 2. Bonnet catches - the little twiddly catches that hold the bonnet down are seized solid - any ideas? Thanks, Dan. PS - May have a lead on a guy who claims to have a very famous Pig rotting in his yard - I`m trying to find out details/reg - I suspect it may be the faked RUC "fire bombed" Pig though I can`t be sure - I`ll keep you all posted - one Pig is never enough!!!!!

And started getting the fresh paint on after some truly horrible time spent stripping the old stuff. Alas the compressor melted and sezied after the redox went on so a slight delay in progress....

Hi Everyone, Just an update on my Pig progress. The bodywork is almost reay for paint but more importantly.... After putting a post on regarding some mech help I bumped into a semi-retired time-served ex REME sergeant who spent 5 years in NI as a heavy recovery specialist - which was nice! He kindly spent a day greasing up the many suspension nipples, checking and greasing the steering (4 new hi pressure nipples on order), topping up the diffs and transmission (a mere 5 litres of oil required here!!!!) and generally sorting the beast out. As some of you may have read, I went for Adams old Pig because it was mechanically sound - and it seems that is the case. The steering has little play in it, the diffs are good, and the engine - why did I not know about the little screw top paperwork holder by the thermostat housing?????? - the REME chap undoes the cap, pulls out a rolled up piece of paper with all the re-build details of the unit that was fully refurbished at Bicester in `89 - just at the time it was de-mobbed. Hopefully painting it this week and driving next week....... maybe...... I thought the engine looked fresh I kick myself about not finding this sooner And of course the re-build details were also on a plate looking at me! Loverly grease on all those suspension points

Now that is a good looking Pig - awesome detail. Hows the interior? Thanks, Dan.

Hi Clive, Sounds good - If no one is available locally to do the work then I`ll come down - I have to pick up a wheel and tyre form Adam at some point and he`s not far from you. I have my hands tied up with bodywork at the moment - man there`s a lot of Pig when you get down to the nitty gritty! Many thanks, Dan.

Hi Everyone, I`m working on my Humber Pig and need help from someone who knows their way around these beasts to spend a day checking over it, greasing the suspension, oiling the joints, checking the diff oils etc - all the really mucky stuff! I am happy to hand over money in return for the efforts and am near Lingfield Park Racecourse just on the Surrey/Sussex/Kent border. Thanks, Dan.

Looking really good - You`re a bit ahead of me! Cheers, Dan.

Hi everyone, Have been stripping off the paint on my Amby Pig and I came accross another unusual thing - both rear Radio mounts had been cut off about an inch from the body, then welded back on again. Any got any ideas?

Hi Clive, You`ve lost me on the ERM stuff - could it be relavent? I just figured it was a sales marking to make sure the right Pig went to the right buyer?

There we go....

Ok, maybe jumping to conclusions here..... What do we think...... Damn, image is a bmp file and won`t upload. Google images has a red shield, blue infill, white eye showing under a search for "guards eye insignia"

Hi Clive, 03 BK 20 It kind of made sense looking at the shield and eye motif - when scrapping some coloured paint came off with the green - especially the white lettering which was painted on top of the blue - I could make out "IV" but there was a definate wavey line with more white around it above the lettering but I could not figure it out - part of an eye would fit for sure. Same with the red shield - from some small bits that did not show on the camera I already had it down as a shield - I`ll have to look up Guards Insignias. Once again, any help would be awesome - if Rover8ffr has tracked any more info on his Pig it might be good. Thanks, Dan.

Hi guys, Tried using some heat, but still tricky. Bit of a coinsidence but that all seeing eye would fit rather well - just with a black background and blue infill panel. Here`s todays pics: First shows location: This shows a square outlined in white, black fill, then red shield, blue infill and white writing - definate "v" in the white center writing - hence the suprise at the previous post and similarities. This is all that is left as most of the paint is missing. Heres the bit of blue/yellow by the rear left door. What do you all think?

Ah, cold and wet...... I`ll give the heat a go. I`ll take a couple more pics tomorow - the strip on the front badge is about 4 inches accross. Cheers, Dan.

Right, took a pic of whats left on the back and then started scrapping on front upper on the passenger side. Under the only bit of really solid paint I came accross an insignia with from right to left - white outer, black, red then blue, bit of white at the bottom. Its VERY tricky to scrape as it is applied on the first coat of bronze green with 20 odd layers of green on top (The insignia had not been repeated in later layers). There was also evidence of another blue badge on the drivers side of front plate, again on the first coat. Rear insignia: (the dullish red is the origional primer) Told you there wasn`t much left, however, heres the front one. If anyone has any ideas it would very much be appreciated.

Ah, just checked Clives link - plenty of blue and yellow there! I`ll try and get a pic tomorow, but there`s really very little left as it was under loads of paint and only the first red primer/bronze green coats really stuck. Clive, you mention a number - would this be above where the marking is or on top? Did I mention there`s quite a bit of corrosion in this area as well..... I`ll also check the origional wing for markings (though none are currently present so a bit of carefull scraping might be in order. Love this discovery stuff....

Hi all, OK, bit of a no hoper, I was scrapping many layers of crusty paint off around the by the upper rear door mounts and came accross a painted regimental badge on the first layer of deep bronze green (which I am assuming is as per mk1) as every subsequent layer comes off. The regimental badge is a medium blue with bright yellow on top. There was also evidence of a much later blue badge on top of about 20 further layers of green but only a tiny bit of this remained. Alas, very little remains so I doubt posting a pic will help. Does anyone have any ideas on which reg or where I can find pics of period regiment insignias? Would be great to fill in few historical gaps..... Thanks, Dan.

Just a quick question - how hard is it to track down further history of a Pig? I`ve seen the post that was put on by Clive for Adam, the previous owner, detailing the in/out dates but is there a way of tracking down which regiment, when and where - not just NI? Any ideas?

Its clear you gave the restoration of your RUC Pig a lot of thought before you embarked on it - It is a bit weird working on old armour that was in service for a prolonged period and was "chopped" around to suit the need at that time and, especially in the case of your Pig, has two rare and unique build options, both very different - not an easy choice! I notice the interior is white rather than silver - I guess an RUC thing rather than production Pig?

Wow, just checked out Clives Pig in the RUC Armour book - now thats nowing the history of your vehicle. I`m guessing we are not allowed to scan those in and put them on here? Also, have you ever been tempted to take it back to the origional roofless configeration? Appreciate the current spec is unique but it must have crossed your mind.....