RattlesnakeBob

boy oh boy they are certainly impressive ! thanks ! ...better include Bovington on a trip this year then!....I've been a few times over the last 25 years but didn't recall seeing one there ! thanks again!

I have found this picture on the WEB but can't find where it's from yet... http://data.primeportal.net/trucks/de_craecker/aec/aec_5_of_6.JPG Wiki says it was based on the Matador Chassis (ok I know Wiki is not totally infallable ) but the picture clearly shows that the rear was leaf sprung..either way I think they look awesome and would like to see one in the flesh so to speak PS: I do know of one 'Dorchester' Command Car.it's currently sitting in my mates yard awaiting a rebuild but it has been on hold for many years.It ended up in his yard after he did a deal on a Matador that he had completely restored and a fella took a shine to it.the deal included a Jeep and the job of restoring the Command Car that had spent many years since the war as an airfield fire tender vehicle.....It is or certainly will be, a colossal restoration job however and I don't see him much to ask why he hasn't really got stuck into it yet .....I'll see if I can catch up with him and also ask if I can take some pictures for you all....

A quick question... Is there an example of the Matador chassis based 'AEC Armoured Car' (any MK) in private hands in the UK? Also....which/if any museums have one????

Only one I can think of round these here parts is outside the Royal Engineers Museum in Monmouth....there's a Combat Engineers tractor/dozer there too.. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRQshWddZ7j20ZxvT0fyyAjUYLq62_9RFysrNIiUx5LgNp0Y48x PS: It's not in as good a condition as it looks in this photo though...she is getting a bit rough sitting out in all winds and weathers... .. I know we hear of museums selling kit off from time to time what with all the cutbacks etc these days???.. So....who knows? might be worth an approach .....and also....wasn't there one on Milweb a few weeks ago? ... Thinking of it.....there is a paintball site near to me and they did have a carrier of some sorts there a few years back all splodged with paint and looking very sorry...... I'll drop by as soon as I can and get some pictures but I don't think it was anything like you're after......thinking of it... it might have been a Humber Pig type vehicle?

Added some photos of the old compressor and Briggs & Stratton engine........

heheh! does make you wonder though doesn't it?...a couple of them charged right up.....a few spanners to bleed her through and a 5 gallon tub of fresh gas oil........ but like someone said ...where you gonna drive to ? ah well ! ..I honestly think I'd start to weep if I saw some of that kit 'in the flesh' .oh what a waste ! mind you ..d'you reckon you could get those Sherman final drives on a couple of good wheelbarrows ????:-D

:-D..there are a few websites out there with plenty of info and pictures on the Alaskan highway and yes I know what you mean!....stacks of abandoned trucks and excavators etc....I'd love to see it one day for myself and ....like you ........having taken (well....she didn't describe it like that ..I think the word she used was 'dragged'! :cool2:) a very disgruntled girlfriend all over Normandy a couple of times .....I'd do the same as you mate ..... ....go on my own ! haha!

I did mention this old compressor a long while back on here but forgot to do anything more about it ... ..this isn't a picture of the actual one I own but it is exactly the same model etc .. ....with a bit more digging on various websites it's suggested it was part of a WW2 Mechanics Unit and was part of a 'Second Echelon Tool Set No:3' ....it would also have originally come with a pneumatic grease gun and a few other pneumatic tools which I sadly do not have.. ..anyways ! .... ........On the one I have, the engine has been completely (absolutely not just cosmetically) rebuilt to total show standard but the compressor and frame need tidying up to match....... So !....any ideas of what it was used for ? It's been suggested to me in the past that it may have been issued specifically to tank units but I'm thinking just about any 'mechanics unit' would have had a use for it in maintaining any kit they had?... ...... and.....finally :cheesy: ....does anyone have any idea if it was issued to British forces as well as US ? Many thanks in advance Bob http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=165415&showall=1 roll down to the picture on post number 14 ..thanks

No no!!! it's nothing weird Rick promise ! hahah! .. .seriously:cool2:..... when I have an hour or so to spare I will often mooch in some strange areas on the WWW and a favourite one is usually 'abandoned' or 'disused' or 'ex-military' ...or some connotation of those manner of words... ....I think I found this one when I was originally looking for 'abandoned ex military vehicles' .....I was originally searching for pictures of the hundreds of vehicles that were abandoned in the Aleutian Islands after WW2.... .I usually keep swapping from 'text' to 'images' every now and then ...and then...on finding one intriguing bit of text with a picture of a big old overgrown 'Yarder' with what looked suspiciously to me like Sherman running gear!! ... .......I followed the url ( is that what it's called the 'source' address thing ???) to the original website and..... .. away you go ! Glad you like it anyways !

..........that old plant is mouthwatering isn't it ?..mind you ....I did look on Google Maps to sort of 'check out' where a lot of the sites are but.... the SHEER SIZE of Alaska is rather daunting :nut:..where on earth would you start ? :-D:-D:-D:-D

I noticed an old thread on here t'other day regarding the various uses found for Sherman chassis/running gear during the war and also post war ........and it reminded me to point folk in the direction of this website and thread... Bewarned! :-D there are hundreds of photos to work through but.... I think a lot of you may find it interesting although it is not entirely 'ex-military' vehicles that feature........ Apparently big changes in the attitude and financial climate for Forestry and Logging in the Alaska region meant that many huge outfits simply closed down a few years ago and cleared out .. .most of them simply abandoning all their gear as it was far to expensive to ship it back to anywhere that it could be sold and often then, the value of it either as a secondhand logging machine or as scrap wouldn't have come anywhere near the cost of moving it....... ...so...hundreds of dozers, trucks and huge 'Yarders' (often built on ex Sherman and other tank Chassis') and other machinery lie where they were left.....deep in the forests for the interested to find.... ...Enjoy! but do bewarned ....because as I said...once you start on this thread you will be hooked for hours ! http://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?17042-Alaskan-Logging-Equipment-Left-to-Rust&

No nothing wrong with that thinking at all mate! ...I do entirely understand ! :cheesy: ....My now very sadly gone cousin Dave Smith was a Chieftain driver in the Guards from 1978 'til I think about 1990 and always talked very fondly of his time in service most of which was in the BOAR and I'd guess he'd probably say the same..... Best of luck and very much look forward to seeing the photos if you don't mind showing them to us when you get them

I take it she's on the range as a target ?....won't you find that bit heartbreaking??.. ....I don't know if I'd want to go and see a tank I'd 'owned' and 'lived in' if she was in a battered and smashed state...for fiscal reasons as well as emotional mind you!.....mainly because if I saw 'my' tank all forlorn up on a moor taking a beating I'd invariably have to start some daft scheme involving loads of money I don't have to 'rescue' her ! :-D

also....in good running order?...for rebuild/restoration? ...'tis a long piece of string :cool2:

crikey...:wow:..... even if ( as I guess they'd have had to somehow ) the crew managed to 'brace' themselves ready for the landing ...would a landing such as this not have put a colossal strain on the suspension and other components ?..if immediately not smashing or breaking something? I can guess this was probably done for publicity of some sorts but surely this wouldn't have been suggested as any manner or method for driving these tanks in 'normal' operations????.........

Absolutely incredible.what an awesome endeavour

Ah ...very sorry Marmite....very sensible rule....sorry again ! anyways..... I may be on the hunt for bits in the near future we'll have to see!... ...I'd never thought of an armoured car/scout car (or whatever it should be called) for myself but having had a sort of resigned "oh why the hell not" off my Missus :cool2:....... we'll have to see what happens! Thanks for your interest and suggestions , I'll keep you all informed if it comes along PS: I've also edited my other posts to remove any details ....I know it makes the whole thread a bit confusing but I should have thought about the very sensible rules of the forum before I originally posted!... sorry to all and Marmite once again !

ahead of you ! negotiations opened watch this space

Well I dunno. the company had quite a big scrap operation going alongside of their demolition and dismantling and skip hire trade so.??..... if it had been parked up in front of the house like that I'm guessing they thought it was worth 'keeping to one side' for various reasons , either to sell to any interested fella wandering by or because the family thought it was 'quirky' enough to keep as a sort of a 'garden ornament'..... .............otherwise it would probably have had the lamp the day it appeared in their yard

Certainly it looks a bit rough but...:-\.. ....from a restoration point of view, surely there's more than enough to make her worth having?? I can see the engine and all the wheels are there, as is the suspension and the turret and the main 'body' doesn't appear to have suffered from the attentions of the gas lamp..... ..The bits that to my untrained eye do seem to be missing, such as wheel archs/mudguards/storage boxs etc would be easy enough to replicate given that there are quite a few about that you could get your measurements /dimensions off etc........All I can say is ..If I had a suitable workshop and the resources I think I'd have a go at her.......but.... to be fair I've never worked on an armoured car of any sorts in my life.... so hahah ! ... what do I know!

Whilst generally mooching Google Maps I happened to look at an old company that I had a lot of business with 20 or so years ago and noticed a rather sad old armoured car lying by the lane outside their yard.... .....I think it's a Ferret ??? PS: Edited all the details out to comply with the very sensible rules of the Forum...Sorry!

what a lovely old truck ..looks in very good condition too and goes to show whats still out there to be found :-D

Now then Lad ..you obviously haven't been around these folk on this site for very long.....let me tell you ....there's plenty of that old truck left .well put it this way .... .....currently on this forum are a few wrecks being rebuilt / saved that make the one you've found look in almost concours' condition

Don't know what the going rate is these days for sleepers Ray.. .back in the '80s I used to sell a lot to farmers for making silage pits out of and back then, 'rough' were £6 each up to 'excellent' at £10 .. ..unless you had a real serious proper haggler of a farmer and to be fair most farmers were well versed in the art of the 'haggle' .... then they might have to come down to £8 a piece .....always plus delivery of course PS: a quick look on Google and there seems to be any number available around the country from 14 quid or so plus the VAT

I think they were sent to Burma.... If that fella does find any in Burma... ..........and yes............... it is a very big 'if'...but. .................if he does......:-\ .....there sure is going to be some brisk trade in the humble pie and edible hats business