antar

Some pics of my old antar I have just scanned in. The picture of the one with the crane on is the one from Southend on Sea which I rescued for spares many years ago. My Antar is now in the ownership of Mervyn Annets in Basingstoke (its gone home) and the "wrecker" resides in York with Dave Weedon.

Here's a proper WLF !!!

No sorry, he would not apreciate it. I can confirm that there is no other armour there though.

John.

I found the others, they went to a dealer in Leicestershire to be cut up. Managed to purchase complete spare engine and transmission, two complete sets of tracks and every part we could remove in one day for very reasonable money.

It ain't over 'till it's over..........

 

Now then you lot, concerning RAF Constructors:

 

1) The red one which Paul rolled was Crouch's orange one, which before that was the James Street Motors orange recovery truck (I posted a pic a long while back of it with a radiator fan driven alternator as battery charger)

 

2) Paul got the green one from ?? and found part of an old work sheet in the cab with the reg no. 21BT41, so assumed quite reasonably that this matched the truck's i.d..

 

3) The grey one which Steve acquired - was this not the one from Gun Hill Garage/scrap yard near Colchester? It was grey and had "PSA" (Property or Public Services Agency - a govt department) on the cab door. The body was in the yard I was told, but Steve possibly did not realise at the time. Probably gone by now. I believe he bought it originall for the axles to get the ex. Geoff Rhodes one going again.

 

4) The red/grey one in Anglesssey was operated by TRS of Porth, north Wales before being bought by a farmer from the island. It has Explorer lockers grafted into the rear of the body. I believe it is still on the island.

 

5) Cyprus - can anyone say for sure that one has been repatriated from there? There was one on an old isolated and inaccessible airbase in the northern (?) part of the island. There was also one (shown in the photo) used by a transport company. Or were these one and the same?? There is also a civilian Constructor ballast tractor on the island, used with a trailer for carrying electrical transformers about, normally parked up in a layby and looking abandoned, but not!

 

6) There were 2 x 30T tractors and an RAF one in an old yard, completely surrounded by new housing, in the town of Soest in central Holland. They would have been only removable by (exceedingly) large crane or by dismantling. These were described with really nice photographs in an edition of the now defunct MV Magazine - an article by Nick Bullock - I have a poor photocopy but do not have the date of the magazine, can anyone help and scan pics please? I know someone who went to look at them but decided against, due to difficulty of removal (if anyone could have saved them, he would have!!)

 

7) The RAF Constructors were transferred to Army service after the RAF airfield construction regiments became part of the Engineer regiments. I have a list of 8 trucks with the new Army number, and (except for 3 case) the old RAF number, also the transfer date and disposal date. The W+P one (21BT41) unfortunately is one which does not have the RAF number (we have been trying to get evidence of both chassis and RAF number in order to establish if the chassis numbers and RAF numbers were consecutive). The reason only 8 trucks were transferred was probably due to the others being elsewhere in the world (e.g. the cyprus pair), these ones were never taken into Army service.

 

8) So there could be 20 - 8 = 12 RAF trucks unaccounted for so far. If we take the 2 on Cyprus (or maybe only 1 if the one photographed had in fact come from the airbase??), and the 1 in Soest, this leaves 9 or 10 still to be located. And this is assuming that all those known to exist were ex Army ones....

 

9) I have a photo of 60AN45 at an RAF open day 'somehere'. This number is not on the transfer list, so might be 21BT41. Only clue in photo is a sign on a shed behind truck "Exhibition of 16 MU Activities"

 

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU CALL AN ANORAK!

I can confirm that I sold the green Constructor to Paul Rhodes.

John Riley

Should anyone want one of the 6x6 Royal Engineers ones there are still a number at Hamptons in Keele Stafordshire.

Nice post Roland, thanks for the mention regarding the supply of the high speed crown wheels and pinnions. I have not even started to fit my own set yet !

John Riley

Should you want to add a winch to the RAF crusader I have two complete assemblies from Army Crusaders including gearbox mounted pump.

Just had it sand blasted last week

Again, no secrets, I bought a Mk111a (ballast bodied) in 1988 for £3500 which required quite an extensive restoration lasting 4 years, I sold it about 4 years ago to the earlier mentioned Mervyn Annets for £11500 when his Petrol Antar was sold to Philip Rye at the same time, Philip then purchased a second Petrol Antar from the aformentioned Brian Bailey last year. I understand that he is setting up a museum to comemorate the building of the "Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme" in Australia. I have it on good authority that it cost around £6500 to export each Antar to Australia. Someone else can add it all up but it is serious money !!!

No actually is was not. I was using a pop rivet gun to anchor the end of the webbing strip which the armoured bonnet rests on. I was leaning over the gun whilst squeezing the handles together to close the rivet, then bang the next thing I'm pulling the rivet stalk out of my eye ! 1 week in hospital many out patient visits, loss of sight in right eye for 6 months, operation to install replacement lens, another week in hospital, numerous visits for laser treatment. All over 20 years ago now. Lesson learn't WEAR EYE PROTECTION.

I owned and did a nut and bolt restoration on a Dingo about 23 years ago, nearly lost an eye during the process but thats another story. SUPERB vehicle to own, all apart from the sandblasting of the body the restoration was done on mum and dads drive at home. Ran it for 7 years including driving to Normandy in 1986. Very few problems with it, like mentioned previously you have to keep the bevel boxes topped up, on the way back from Normandy on the A34 ran out of oil in LHF bevel, only noticed when paint and co-drivers left boot set on fire due to the heat !!! Poured in about 3 litres of new 90's oil which immediately vapourised. Still managed the 200miles home to Manchester without having to strip it. On stripping down once home the only part required was a new traca joint bush.

Only sold it to make way for a new project ANTAR MK3 ballast tractor, that did not fit on mum and dads drive !!!

Sorry but just called at the final resting place for the Chieftain AVRE's and AVLB's on the way home tonight, all 6 have gone to Cheiftain heaven not one part left. One complete AVRE remains in full running order which is not going to be cut up and if their is any interest is for sale. The 2 CET's that I also wanted some parts of have also gone !

Is it the same dash in an AVLB or AVRE if so Iwill be able to get one for you out of some that are being cut. Do you want a complete take out gearbox as well sounds like it would help ?

A couple of years ago i saw this vehicle stored in the REME Museums overspill storage warehouse at Bordon, did't pay much attention to it at the time, too busy looking at all the other goodies !!!

I recently purchased an M578 privately from a guy in North Wales, there is a photo attached of me collecting it. It is in full running order (Detroit V8 425 bhp, Allinson cross-drive transmission). At the moment it is awaiting sandblasting and a new coat of paint ready for next season. Last week two non running M578's were sold in the Withams tender to "a private collector in the south" does anybody know who that may be ?

Best Regards

John Riley

I visited Sam Weiner's in AKRON, OHIO about 5 years ago and there were rows of partly disassembled tractors parked up defiantly worth a call.

Come on Kev, our ARRV, the one we paid twice for with our taxes !!!

Don,t worry about it Mark for two reasons:-

1 you would not fit in it

2 there horrible to drive anyway

Hope you have a method statement and risk assesment, wouldn,t like to hear there were any accidents during the procedure !!!

Interested in how you have handled the cooling issue ?

This Saracen was not alone 12 months ago! it is 1 of a bach of 20ish which have mostly been cut up. A better look round the yard would have revealed one more of them, painted in sand. They had all been stood for a very long time in the open and have stuck engines. I am very familiar with the yard visiting on a weekly basis, even had my own key for a few months whilst I worked on a vehicle which I bought from them. I was on first name terms with the two large Rotwielers which the night watchman would regullarly let lose!!!

If you do decide to bid dont take any notice of guide price, take a chance and bid very low. If you have followed the tenders since they began you will see that most things don't get anywhere near guide prices !

Sorry you all seem to have got the wrong end of the stick, I only drove the lowloader ! I have enough projects for a lifetime without another!

In answer to the engine question, all Pioneers were built with Gardiner engines, it was only the Explorer which was fitted with Meadows petrol engine.

Helped rescue this rather sad looking Pioneer from north wales a few weeks ago.