GlenAnderson

I'm really sorry as well, as I'm having trouble typing this whilst laughing! Somedays you're the windshield, somedays you're the bug... Must be a bug day today for you... Not to worry, I'm sure it won't be long before you're laughing at one of my many mishaps! All the best, Glen.

I was just about to say I had one, then reading the above post I have to say it's almost definitely for the little 8/10hp four cylinder sidevalves. I'll try and find it tomorrow and take a picture and some measurements. If it's no good to you it might as well go on eBay! Glen.

I'd suspect the diesel lift pump as being the likliest culprit. A rebuild with new diaphragm should sort it out. All the best, Glen.

Hi Steve. My dad was a REME mechanic during WW2, attached to an infantry brigade in Italy. He wound up as NCO I/C the workshops in Trieste at the end of the war and, as such, had the pick of the available transport to swan about on. His favourite was the Triumph 3HW which was a 350cc ohv, with rigid frame and girder forks. He said it was lighter and nippier than anything else in the workshop. After de-mob he bought himself an unused, surplus WM20 from Pride & Clarkes for about £40. I asked him once why he bought the BSA rather than the Triumph he'd preferred and he said that the smaller bike was fine whilst someone else was picking up the tab, but if it was going to be his money buying and running it he felt the BSA was a more reliable proposition. I have 1948 rigid/girders (civvy) M33 BSA that, when I first owned it had a WM20 engine fitted. Performance was best described as "gentle", with only 13bhp. It would do 50 mph all day long, and I did a long trip around the British isles on it, 3500 miles in 4 weeks without it missing a beat, but it really was a bit too slow for my liking so I rebuilt the ohv engine and refitted it. With some mild tuning it puts out a bit more than the factory original 25bhp and goes pretty well. I think the BSA rides nicer than the 16H Norton, but that's just me. None of the options you've listed are going to be what I'd call cheap, so I'd strongly advise you to try and get a test ride before you commit yourself. I'll be listing my M33 for sale in the coming weeks as I've used it less and less over the last few years. Hopefully it'll raise enough cash for me to buy myself a Bedford lorry of some description! All the best, and good luck in your search, Glen.

Hi, I've not long been a member of this forum, and have spent most of the last month wading through this thread from the start - very inspiring! Today, whilst ferreting around in one of my lockups looking for something else I found a small bag (100 or so) of what looked to be 3/8" by 1-1/2" coach bolts, either UNC or Whitworth, hard to tell in the poor light. Most importantly though, they all had square-headed nuts fitted to them. If they're any use to you I'll gladly let you have them. Not sure how best to get them to you as I'm in Kent and they're heavy enough to be pricy to post, but if you're not in a hurry and are ever heading past Canterbury on the way to the channel ports drop me a line and I'll rendezvous with you en-route. All the best, Glen.

The 4 cylinder Perkins lumps might have been ok back in the day of 20 mph speed limits, and if you wanted to run on what was then very cheap diesel, but I'd reckon they'd be massively underpowered on today's roads in such a big vehicle. I had a 4236 in a LWB Landy and, whilst it pulled well from low down, once I'd raised the gearing to give a top speed over 50 (rangie diffs and 9.00 tyres) it didn't go any better than the 2.25 petrol it replaced. If you're not worried about a conversion being "period" then a modern diesel like the landrover tdi gives about 107 bhp and 200 lbf, with a rev range comparable or slightly higher than the original petrol engine, but in a much smaller and lighter package. Doesn't sound anything like as nice as the petrol six-pot though! An engine and gearbox from a modern 7.5 tonner like an iveco might be do-able too. Give you around 140/150 bhp and 5 or 6 gears. It all depends what you want to do with it once it's finished. I think I'd be most tempted to try out the original setup before making a decision - maybe there's another QL owner here that would let you play with theirs to see how the standard engine performs? All the best, Glen.

Bedford's own 214 cubic inch engine is a more modern version of the 28hp you have fitted. Higher compression and more generous breathing give it almost 100bhp if I recall correctly. You could also try the 300 ci petrol as found in the post war RL, but I'm not sure how much space you have in the QL for the bigger engine. If you want diesel there's also the 330 ci diesel Bedford engine, either turbo'd or not. I don't think you've the room for the bigger 500 ci Bedford engine though. Glen.

Hi, I've been speaking recently to VOSA regarding the licensing/registering/operating of an MJ and they've been very helpful. They sent me a copy of a Bedford factory engineers report stating how to downrate the MJ. It states the MJ was offered as a factory variant at 7499kg gross. The conversion (from 9500kg) involves: Rear springs: Helper pack removed and replaced with packing spacer Bedford part no: 9962650 (spacer dimensions 57.1mm thick, 76.2mm wide and 115mm long - that's 2-1/4"x3"x4-1/2" in real measurements) Front springs: Bottom 2 leaves removed making 7-leaf pack instead of normal 9-leaf. These suspension changes give revised axle loadings of 2850kg front and 5110kg rear. Hope this helps. If you want I can try and email you the pdf of the letter. VOSA technical officer told me that a vehicle presented for first plating and test with those modifications carried out would be plated at 7499kg with no arguments or worries. I imagine a copy of the letter would be on their files, but having your own couldn't hurt. If you do buy one, and remove the helper pack from the back and bottom 2 leaves from the front, let me know as if I end up buying an older one that has been down-rated I'll be looking for the bits to put it back to it's full weight! All the best, Glen.

Hi, I had a word with my mate today - the one who's storing the QL. I think he'd be pleased if it found a new home! He said he'd ask the owner if he'd consider selling it, and if so at what kind of money. If they do turn out to want to sell, and the price is right, I'll try and organise some pictures. If I hear anything I'll send you a message. All the best, Glen.

Hi, With reference to your "buy another with a rotten cab" comment, I have a mate who is storing (for another friend of his) a very sorry looking QL. He has made a couple of attempts at selling it to me, but it want's far too much work for me to take on. It's a GS bodied one, from memory, the body isn't actually too bad, although it has a twist to it as one or more of the mounts has gone west. The cab is a bit of a horror story though, and I don't know how complete it is. I am sure though, combined with yours, there's enough to make a good start at getting one tidy truck from the two. Would you like me to ask him if it's for sale still? The last time I was at his place it was still there. All the best, Glen.

Having gone into this at some length with the DVLA and VOSA: Generally, you are quite correct, and the date for "normal" commercial vehicles is that of "first use". Because most trucks do not sit around long after manufacture, and certainly don't sit around long after registration, in practice for most civilian trucks manufacture, registration and first use are as near as the same as makes no difference. Ex-military vehicles fall into the category of needing a "first registration", but are not new. In this instance the DVLA will accept either a MoD date into service as a basis of ageing the vehicle, or a factory dispatch date. They were not concerned which of the two were used. So, although the truck's "first registration" would be 2011, the V5c would be endorsed to the effect "vehicle not new at first registration, declared built 1984". VOSA apply the regulations appropriate to this "declared built" date. The whole area is a minefield. Really easy to make an expensive mistake. All the best, Glen.

I've just has a very helpful communication from the Bedford CF owners forum. I'm assuming that as their vehicles are generally newer than those I'm accustomed to they're more familiar with the VIN number system than I am. I thought I'd copy it here as I'm sure the information would be helpful at sometime to somebody else. As I understand it, all the ex-military MKs and MJs are 9652kg gross as they have single wheel rear axles. The civvy versions with the twin wheel rear axles are the ones with the 11,177kg gross weight. Time for me to stop daydreaming and concentrate on the job in hand of sorting and listing all my bike spares for sale on the dreaded eBay! The sooner they're all gone and turned into pennies, the sooner I can start hunting in earnest for my new toy! All the best, and thanks again, Glen.

Hi All, Thanks for your comments so far. I agree, fitting side/rear bars isn't the end of the world. Neither is fitting a tachograph if needs be - or I could down-rate it to under 7.5 tonnes until it's over 25 years old, then up-rate it back to 9.5 afterwards to get round the need for a tachograph. What I am trying to find out is if the build date of the truck can be narrowed down by checking the VIN number. I know that each character of the VIN has a significance, I just don't know what it is! Withams have been very helpful, but really specialise in export and aren't too interested in UK based "problems". All they can supply is the Ministry of Defence "date into service", which whilst adequate for the purposes of registering the trucks, may mean they appear newer than they really are having sat for months or years in storage prior to issue. If, for instance the twelfth letter/number in the 17 figure VIN denotes build year, then If I can crack the code then I can roughly date a vehicle just by looking at it and narrow down my search. What I don't want to do is spend relatively big bucks on a really tidy motor, only to find I have more to spend on side bars and tacho (or downrating) when if I'd bought the one parked next to it I wouldn't have to do anything to it. I'm as yet still unsure of my budget. If my BSA doesn't attract any significant interest I may only have enough money for the bottom end of the market, in which case the year it was built is going to be the least of my worries! I have a couple of feelers out on other forums for info - and it may even be possible to get build data on specific trucks from Vauxhall. Cheers again, Glen.

Hi All, Having gleaned some very useful information from this section of the site, and from VOSA with regard to what I would like to buy and what I would like to do with it I have a question... But first, I'll outline the basis for my enquiry, and I'd be glad of any corrections to my logic you could offer: I am in the market for something along the lines of a Bedford QL, RL or MK/J. Now, if I am right in my interpretation of the rules of classic/private HGV ownership, vehicles manufactured before January 1st 1973 are eligible for a free "Historic Vehicle" tax disc, and those manufactured before January 1st 1960 are also exempt from MoT testing. Provided the vehicle is not used to carry a load. Now, as someone with an interest in all kinds of old junk, and a house extension project on the go, I cannot imagine owning a vehicle with a payload of 3-4 tons and not being able to go and collect spare parts with it, or a pallet of bricks, or a couple of tons of firewood etc. So, to do that legally with a pre-1960 vehicle it would need to be plated and MoT'd, and a pre-1973 vehicle would have to be taxed at the Private HGV rate. Making them less attractive propositions than they might at first appear. Notwithstanding the flak I might generate taking a restored truck and breaking it or wearing out hard to get parts by loading it to the gunwales and slogging it from one side of the country to the other! The MoD appears to be shedding quite a number of Bedford MJs, and even from dealers they appear to be very good value for money indeed at present, with low mileage examples in very good order within my budget. I have direct experience of them (and the earlier MK) from working for a small-time ex-military dealer back in the mid-nineties and they are cheaper now than they were back then! Having spoken at length with the technical officers at VOSA it appears that an example built before 1/4/84 is not required to have side impact bars or a rear under-run bar retrofitted, and one over 25 years old can be MoT'd without a tachograph fitted if used for non-commercial purposes. There is also the option of down-rating the truck to 7499kg gross, in which case one less than 25 years old can be tested without a tachograph, but as I have a full C+E LGV licence I see no point going down that route. So basically, I think I'm going to try and find myself the tidiest pre May 1984 MJ I can within my (yet to be determined) budget. Which brings me to my question... The nice people at VOSA talk about a vehicle built before 1/4/84, and Withams talk about "date into service". I am well aware that stuff bought by the MoD can sit for months or years in storage before being used, and indeed can sit for similar amounts of time with the supplying manufacturer before being handed over to the MoD to then get put into store! So, does "date into service" mean the date it arrived at the MoD, or the date it was handed to a MT workshop? Does anybody know if it is possible to derive a build date from the chassis number? And if so, is there a recognised authority (ie the Motor Heritage people at Gaydon, or Marshalls at Cambridge, or even the Vauxhall factory) that can substantiate that build date for the DVLA and VOSA? Thanks (in advance) for your input, all the best, Glen.

Hi All, After a warm welcome from the moderators I thought I'd better introduce myself here to everyone else... My name's Glen, and I'm from Canterbury in Kent, UK. I'ver always had an interest in Military vehicles, and a recent decision to part with my BSA M33 after many years of ownership is going to (hopefully) liberate enough funds to dip my toes into the waters of something a little bigger! I'd like to find something in the 3-4 tonner range. A QL, RL, MK or MJ really. Not 100% sure of my budget until the bike (and associated spares etc) is sold and I can do my sums properly, but I anticipate a £3-5K range, so hope to get something tidy for that. I run a 1959 Series 2 Land-Rover 109" as a daily driver. Owned it about 20 years now. 200 Tdi engine and countless "triggers broom" type changes. Anyway, enough about me for the moment, I'll post more when I've more time. All the best, Glen.