Grasshopper

We've used it twice - once on a MUTT restoration several years ago, and I just used it in our Ferret fuel tank which I had cut open, shot blasted and welded back up. The product seems to do what it says on the tin from the MUTT experience. Make sure that the prep is carried out correctly (you may need to let the tank dry out overnight following degreasing and prep solution. Vince

Personally, I think that this may well become less of a problem in future. At my work, we have already replaced a few "bespoke" (see unreliable/obsolete) electronic controllers with off-the-shelf items, using some generic software to make them function as we want. With the future skill set of the younger generations tending towards electronics and programming, they may well view retrofitting ECUs as simple a task as some more mechanically minded types do retrofitting diesel engines in place of petrol engines.

Sorry if my previous quote came across as critical, that was not my intention; I'm glad that you have suitable tires on the vehicle. Its not unknown for UK Ferret owners to have fitted inappropriately rated tires on their vehicles, which quickly manifests as poor handling characteristics due to excessive side wall deflection.

I just looked up those tires, and if they are 8 ply rating then they might be considerably under-rated for the weight of the vehicle.

When we went down this route for our CVRT transporter, we found Trucktrader http://trucks.autotrader.co.uk/used-trucks to be useful. Getting private HGV taxation can be difficult; we got the dealer we purchased our wagon from to do it as he was an exporter so did things like that on a regular basis. The bigger issue was insurance; we somehow ended up with the wagon under a classic policy with one of the well known MV insurers. Surprisingly NFU and some of the other companies dealing with classic vehiciles wouldn't even quote on it. Its far easier to insure an ex MOD wagon and if we get another transporter in future, this would be he route I would go down.

Might there be a suitable epoxy coating that could be used inside the headers? I know its not in keeping with your original methods, but may serve as an intermediate fix. I did have to seal a cracked Matador bottom header with some silicone sealant and Belzona once (needed to drive the thing to a new site), and it was still fine when I sold it on.

One can only guess that the psychological effect of this additional armour must have outweighed the additional protection offered by the material placed on the hull. As an aside, I'd always wondered how additional stowage was affixed to CVRT hulls until it came to fitting some on one of our CVRTs. Turned out it was very easy to just drill and tap into the (aluminium) armour plate...

We have a box that wouldn't select 2nd or 5th correctly in fwd, I never thought to try it in reverse. Fortunately we had a spare gearbox so fitted that, although it would be nice to know what the issue is with the other one so we could perhaps look to fix it. It had been suggested that the "bread basket" gasket behind the cover plate could be the fault on ours. I have made one of these gaskets by hand before, fiddly but possible. What were the suggestions for the fault with your box? Vince

Keep up the good work, you'll have her running in no time! Bulbs should be available through most good auto factors which deal with commercial vehicles. Failing that, ebay.

I would have thought that vacuum forming a replacement item ought to be feasible. That method would also have the advantage of being insulated. You would need an original to make a mound from initially.

Has anybody seen Lebanon? A lot of the action is filmed from inside the tank, making it a very claustrophobic experience. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanon_(2009_film)

Having seen it years ago, I could never remember the name of that film! Thanks for posting, I'll have to search out a copy to re-watch now.

With certain vehicles I used to work on which suffered this issue, an old screw driver (carefully placed), stand clear and a spin on the starter used to do the trick...saved us a few recovery fees when we were sent out with the wrong belts!

The Matador is by far a simpler beast...

When I replaced one of my Matador engines years ago, I lacked the use of a forklift or other suitable lifting tackle. I removed the front axle and then pushed the engine in on a pallet truck (engine atop a stack of pallets). Not too much to get in the way!

Sounds like it could be a bit of transmission wind up.

When I was looking after a fleet of AECs busses, I used to make my own gaskets when our stocks were depleted. I successfully made a full top and bottom set for a horizontal 9.6, but took a lot of time! With the advent of companies who make gaskets, we did have a batch of the more common ones we used produced.

When I was looking after a fleet of AECs busses, I used to make my own gaskets when our stocks were depleted. I successfully made a full top and bottom set for a horizontal 9.6, but took a lot of time! With the advent of companies who make gaskets, we did have a batch of the more common ones we used produced.

I think it belongs to Maverick on this forum http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/member.php?961-Maverick

Glad to see you managed to source the exhaust components. Vince

We have 3x P class locomotives in the collection; 2 are currently operational, but one of the pair requires a new cylinder block (and has done since it arrived about 40 years ago) so has had operational limitations imposed on it following a worsening of the cylinder block damage. For this reason they are looking to have at least 2 blocks cast, perhaps 3. There are 4x P class in preservation, not bad for a class totaling 8! They are a pseudo-copy of a Terrier, with a slightly lower haulage capacity but allegedly (as I haven't yet been on a Terrier) much easier to fire and drive then that on which they are based. The cab is also more spacious than the Terriers, and the P class has a steam reverser which makes for a very driver-friendly shunting locomotive. I have done a fair few turns on the Ps, and you need to be on top of your game when firing them up the line. The only downside of them is the gert-big brass dome cover that needs polishing on a regular basis! It is becoming more common (in the railway world) to have limited-run patterns made in polystyrene. Things like wheel patterns continue to be made in wood, as they will generally be required in multiple quantities; some wheel patterns I have read about have been cleverly designed to suit several types of locomotive by the fitting or removing sections. Cylinders are more often made using polystyrene patterns, and some cylinder blocks are now fabricated instead of being cast.

Linking to a military theme, we have a locomotive which is a WW1 veteran, having been shipped to France and used by the ROD in Boulogne. She is currently undergoing a volunteer led and funded restoration. Link to blog site: http://wainrightsfinestsecr27.blogspot.co.uk/ Link to history of 27: http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pics/27.html

Some nice countryside you have up there! Also some tough conditions to deal with, but all you P-way boys are roughty-toughty types and take it in your stride (unlike signalmen who like a nice clean, warm box). What is the difference between God and a Signaler? God doesn't think he's a Signaler...

I will come down for a couple of days some time Andy, probably with our mutual friend "Mr Wright" (who was my inspector for both tests). He's a nice enough chap as long as you can put up with his jokes...(we did meet at W&P when you camped with us B.T.W) Technically I am a Passed Cleaner, 4 years probation before I'll be getting a Fireman's grade card. A trip "on the cushions" does seem to be very tame now, especially when you've witnessed all the drama that can occur on the footplate! All the passengers know is that they've arrived at a station; there are times when the crew knows it was a close run thing to not making it at all...so many variables to manage does make every trip different.

Unfortunately I don't know the names of most of the guards, but I do recognize the name.