Southall wizard

Hi dan,I weighed mine with no gear on and it weighed 21,500 kg and then with the gear on it went 25,000 dead.

The one on my foden is steel I'm not sure they made any aluminium ones

Hi there,you will need a block of wood and a bit of patience,you need to put the wood in the water inlet so it sits against the cooler and a few gentle taps on the end with a hammer should dislodge it.just knock it back far enough to remove o ring then knock the other way to remove o ring.it should then come out.make sure to clean housing and o ring groove apply a generous coat of rubber lube to o rings and refit.

Hi Steve,I had to replace the short shaft on the offside front it is a major strip out to get the shaft out.so I like yourself have become fanatical about keeping them well greased,I don't quite know how they sheared the shaft in two must have had the axle locked and crossed on the road.i will post some pics of the strip out. Regards, Andy butler

We have fitted aec 505 engines into matadors,rolls eagles into scammells,and an 11.3 aec into another matador.

Hi Iain, I will have a measure up tomorrow and post,from memory the matador shoe is approx 4" wide,I have used a mat brake drum on my other militant and it fitted ok.

Hi bill,speaking to a few ex reme reccy mechs when they were in Germany they seem to think they could get up to 70 on the autobahns.all I can say is fair play if they did I got up to 55 in mine and then it drove me not the other way round.they do tend to wallow in there tyres and if not fully inflated are a real bitch to steer at low speed,we always run our tyres at 100 psi and the steering is ok at low or high speed.again if you do acquire one they are a marvellous bit of kit.as for spares the rear end is as near to a route master brake as any,engine parts are still available.as for the front axle I have found the matador front axle is a good place for spares.as we have quite a few mats spares are quite easy to come by.i hope this helps mate Andy

Hi bill, I have a 71 Millie mk3 recovery I get about 8mpg solo down to about 6mpg when towing,I have never motd the old girl but I keep it roadworthy and it is well lit up with side markers and beacons.So joe public are aware you are on the road. Regards, Andy Butler

Hi dan,the old girl is looking good,the gear change prob is most likely the blocking cylinder on the gear box to prevent top gear being engaged in low range.as for the steering mine was stiff til I flushed the system and new filter fitted.i can probably locate some reaction plates for you if your stuck.i also have the proportionate control boards that your missing for the control box operations.as for the green light not coming on it could possibly be the stops,but I had a right headache sorting mine.

I carry out the repair and maintenance of refuse collection vehicles and recycling equipment which I have done since leaving school.

Hi Carl mine does not have the reactor but our other one has ,we have just removed it and the crane assy from the back as we have tried to lose some weight from it as we will be using it as a showmans haulage tractor with a generator mounted on its back.

Hi Carl,I think you will find one is for the winch p.t.o and the other for the crane p.t.o as it sounds like the layout of mine.

AEC militant mk3 recovery x2 FODEN 6x6 recovery AEC matador x5 SCAMMELL explorer x2 BEDFORD QL FWD SUCOE x3

It is a two man cab with reversible seats to carry out winch opps which is done when the drivers seat is reversed,they wallow a little when driving on the road.But the sound of the engine when under load is second to none.IHave owned mine for five years now and wouldn't part with it now even though I have a foden as well.i have recently recovered a combine stuck in quicksand after many attempts made by the owner and other recovery companies,the old girl just sat there as we winched it clear,I will post some pictures shortly,once you have played with one it is very hard to find anything better.

The guy who owned it chopped it for a foden,when I asked about it they said they wasn't sure when they would sell it.

Hi mark, nice milly I climbed all over it at withams a real clean and tidy example.i have one myself just about to start a major restoration of the cab as it is starting to look a bit tatty.but as a work tool it is second to none,hope you have a lot of fun with the old girl as I have with mine.

Hi dan,all you can do is peel the rope off and remove damaged section and refit pear and anchor to block hopefully you won't have lost to much.have you got her back to the Wirral yet.

Hi Trevor,the vehicle Kevin entered is the one that belongs to the Harris funfair family who use this sucoe every day they also have two other examples in their yard one with the original petrol engine.I'm sure if you made contact they would only be pleased to help with any probs you have. Regards, Andy Butler

Hi Steve,yes mate I got the remote working it was a headache but managed to get some info from within,which was a great help.all I need to do is sort the cosmetics mate every one loves the joker on the door.

A picture of my foden after giving her a shakedown this morning.

Hi,have you tried to manually engage low range by removing air cylinder and select by hand if this works then I think you may have a trapped air pipe from control in cab to cylinder on transfer box.also drain the oil in the transfer box and check for debris just in case you have a internal problem.

Hi mate, I will be that way on weds afternoon if that is any help to you,I have quite a bit of info on these vehicles as well.i will p.m you my contact number.

Hi there,I have a foden eka wrecker myself I have just got it all up and working,whereabouts are you based as I can look yours over for you.as for the gear it does crop up from time to time on eBay, dave crouch from crouch recovery did have a lot of kit for these.i know withams have a load but they are not selling any at the moment .

Hi,the best way to find air leaks is a washing up bottle full of soapy water and start at the back and work forwards you will be surprised how many leaks you find.this method worked for me when doing the foden wrecker.

Witham have a clean mk3 wrecker for sale the guy has just part exd it for a foden.it has been kept inside all it's life by the looks of it.