RattlesnakeBob

It's a fascinating period for sure.....Hindsight of course is wonderful and yes we know now that we could maybe have resisted any such invasion but......you have to imagine being there back then.. and seeing what pretty much looked like an absolutely unstoppable German Army careering towards you ? ...the fear in the country can only be imagined... The speed with which the gun emplacements, stop lines and pillboxs were built and the plans to resist the invasion were formulated too .....and then add on the huge rush into production of weapons and vehicles and such like ?................fascinating times indeed When you wander the countryside now and see some moldy old concrete pillbox under a hedge it's hard to fully imagine the circumstances under which it was built over 75 years ago .. .....Near to where I live , just off a very busy main road there are still some big concrete 'lumps' with bits of girder sticking out of them ...these were apparently 'road blockers' and they're still lying where they were left..presumably by about 1942/43 ish I guess the local Home Guard must have abandoned manning any road block that was there and just humped them into the ditch where they still lie to this day .....eerie stuff when you think about it !

Looks grand ....would anyone know if she was 'complete' or has she been robbed internally of anything worth having ? .....I'd like to think if she was complete that she could be renovated rather than just sit there .....and maybe a externally complete hulk (if there's any left out there ! ) that looked good enough from the outside be put in her place? ....

Loving the bus !

Sad news indeed ...RIP

hahah Love it ! I particularly like your special duracell hose plug ! and ...I do have to say I think you were over estimating the load carrying capacity of that little trailer with the 101 on ! hahahaha ....not that I've ever done such things myself of course....oh no......

My cousin spent 12 years in an Armoured Reg ....Chieftain driver for a lot of it .........as I recall ? ..I think he said our tanks would have to knock theirs out at a ratio of about 5 to 1 if the Russkies ever came over the border ...... I asked him "So.....could we do it ?" and he said ..........."Honestly ? ...no ...not a chance "...... Not what I , nor anyone else in this country really wanted to hear back in those dark and cold days....thank christamighty it never came down to a square off is all I can say ............ Strange also to think that once again as with the Germans and their Tigers and Panthers and our lads in the Shermans and Churchills ??????........... the same situation as back in WW2 had reared it's head once again ....but this time it was our boys that were going to be swamped by 'inferior tanks' although they were in the 'superior vehicles'......... and we all know how that ended don't we

I had the same ideas when I resurrected my Hudson Commodore..... .......and a quick trawl on the WWW revealed loads of websites that you can register with ...that all... more or less promise 'work waiting' for both TV and films......and.....none of which have so far in my personal experience delivered 'work' nor come to that..... even any vague inquiries of 'work' in any way shape or form a portion of the latest episode of Star Wars was filmed a few months ago just down the road from me ....they didn't have a lot of use for a 1946 Sedan though ! I think it's down to a bit of luck and a lot of 'who do you know' as to whether you ever get any work or not to be honest

Aw ...I dunno .....no way on this planet can it be as bad as 'Battle of The Bulge' and besides !!! our mates tanks are in it !

Utterly fantastic ! Thanks for sharing !

A truly fantastic looking tank ... ....I know it's total fantasy, pointless and hypothetical etc etc but!......... ...... I sometimes ponder what difference just one modern weapon would have made to ancient battlefields......you know?....just imagine if...our boys back in 1066 had possessed just one .50 cal Browning when the Normans marched in ??......or......If our boys had just one Chietain in Normandy in 1944......what price Wittmann and his Tigers ? .....

However it all turned out?.... I gotta have my doubts over his information ... ..from every thing I've ever read of the way the Japanese fought ????? I'd have to say they were mighty unlikely to bury a tank just because the American Forces were coming ........ ..more likely they'd have fought to the death in it and then got buried in it afterwards ?.... bury the thing without using it in the first place???????? I don't think so

what an utter beauty of a beasty

What a sight to see .........and honestly...I have no problem admitting....it brought a lump to my throat ....

I was impressed enough with your first 'find' (albeit in absolute awe of someone willingly taking on such a restoration project !) .but the second one !!! ...Wow! I can see why you pulled the wallet out again ...where on earth did you find her? ...fantastic stuff! ...PS: ..whats your plans for the first one now then ???

Choose your MOT station with care ....I'm not advocating you drive an unsafe vehicle but ...dependent on where you go there are some real jobsworths in MOT stations that just love to fail vehicles ...especially older ones......... I once had a Series One with the original steering box on ( in good condition though and adjusted correctly) ..now....anyone that knows such steering boxs probably knows that MOT stations used to be issued guidelines over how much play should be expected in them ?.....mine was well within this amount of slack but still ....by modern appearances and standards .....sloppy as anything.........No way said the man.....I argue and bicker but still "no way!" was the answer...."Dangerous that is mate !!...more than my jobs worth!!!" etc etc ...... consulted a local mate who'd worked on LRs since the mid 1950s and ......he directs me to the MOT Garage he uses where the older fella there is well versed in Landrovers and their intricacies.... ...and? ......"No problems" says the man....."here's your new ticket!" So ...I guess the answer is?... ..search a MOT Garage with someone that can 'see the sense' rather than just 'read the rules'....

What's not to like ? It's a Jeep ! M38? Hotchkis ? Willys ? who cares !!!!!...... 'cept for them 'orrible high bonnet ones! .... And I'd still have one of those if it was the right money anyways !....... And yes ...... The Korean War is fascinating ......my Dad was there read 'To the last round '......staggering !

Another incredibly good job going on there Jerry, she'll make an beautiful addition to your rapidly growing fleet ! I have every suspicion that soomer or later a tank of some description is going to appear in your workshop ! ... seriously though !.....I don't know how you find the time to work like you do on your vehicles alongside of managing to earn a living AND keep a wife happy ! hahahah!! ..tell me yer secret please ! PS: Whilst generally mooching the web I came across this forum /web site and see they have a few bits and pieces for sale on there for the MWs ......I didn't notice any posting dates so don't know if any of it is left now but....worth a glance maybe ?...you never know .... http://www.bedfordenthusiastsclub.com/For%20sale%20and%20Wanted.html

Looks a grand project ..and imho it doesn't matter much what you do with it as long as you get her back together and being used again .by the way .that's a right proper good set of rubber on her by the looks of it I saw an ex military Jeep last year in California that was restored but had just the right amount 'wider' wheels and tyres on to set it right off ....again... imho ...she looked great Regards 'converting' or 'rebuilding' or whichever way you may wish to describe what you have done to any vehicle?.... I guess the bottom line is ....that you admit what you've done, be proud of it.... and don't ever try and pretend it 'went ashore on D-Day etc'

Brilliant stuff ! I can watch vintage 'heavies' on wheels or tracks cavorting about (especially in mud) any time

A slight departure from thread for which I apologise in advance but.. up on Sennybridge Range is a pretty much undamaged T55 variant that really does look like a definite 'saver' ...she's still (or was a few years ago anyways) absolutely complete, still on her tracks etc and with no gaping holes blown in her .. ....I know a few of the lads off here have rebuilt some totally wrecked 'ex-range' tanks and some are doing so at this very moment...but ..are there many tanks left out on the ranges that are actually 'worth saving'?..... without absolutely colossal amounts of work and money being thrown at them?... I know just about anything is 'rebuild-able' if you have limitless amounts of cash and time but....for the average 'fitter / mechanic/ restorer' does anyone know of anything that would be a 'feasible project' left out there?... or is anything 'of vintage' now very much, 'shot to pieces' ???? PS: There's a few other Chieftains and T55s types (plus loads of smaller stuff such as Pigs / Bedford MKs / Landrovers etc) up on Sennybridge but they are all in a truly terrible state, usually with massive lumps hit out of them and generally having been totally burnt out and shot literally to bits.........

Well it's up to the usual standard of tabloid journalism isn't it ? ... Lets face it ...if you so wished to , you could buy a different type of axe every other day from all the hardware stores and outlets in your district. After a few years you could easily amass a collection of maybe 200 / 300 different ones....Then one day, you're coming out of your local store with another fine purchase and someone just decides that you are a bit 'weird' because his mate who's mum worked in the shop told him "that old bloke is always buying axes!" ?... So......around come the police for a looksee...... the local paper rings the Police up every few days looking for stories and....Wahay ! ..here's a good one !! "Local man found with massive axe collection! Police say they could have been very dangerous in the wrong hands!" etc etc ..then the national press pick it up and run like a headless chicken with the headlines getting ever more lurid in the telling ...... The fella is thereafter known as 'that nutter who had all those axes!' and for ever after, everyone in the district regards him as a proper wierdo even though he was doing absolutely nothing wrong apart from indulging in a bit of a strange hobby and meanwhile....... the Press moves on regardless...... It's pathetic journalism at the very least but is up to what the standard seems to be these days What always upsets me is , these compilations of absolute drivel sell in their millions every single day

Just had a mooch too and the whole airfield looks a bit derelict ?....is it in use by anyone now ? friendly or not ?

crikey heartbreaking that ! Somalia's a bit far to set off to with a trailer behind my old Series 2 though

"Tell them of us" Those of the Forest of Dean who served in Burma 1941 -1945 I've just finished this fantastic book by a local fella to me called Ian Hendy. Whilst perhaps not of so much interest to those living further afield than The Forest of Dean where I come from, it is none the less, an absorbing read from cover to cover. More so perhaps for me because many of the names and faces of the fellas I knew quite well as a younger man myself growing up around here..... It doesn't list absolutely all the men nor does it set out to tell all of their personal stories as many retreated into total silence regarding their time in Burma. Some chose never even to join with their fellow ex soldiers, sailors and airmen in the Burma Star Association so great was the trauma and horror they suffered....But those that it does tell of?....Well as I said..totally absorbing. My good mates Dad is featured , also the Farmer who owned the land my sister used to ride a pony on. The lovely gentle fellow who owned the local Jewelry shop and another who worked in a local gents outfitters .....many other characters from around the district crop up..... Sadly, when I was much younger (and all of these wonderful men were still about) although I knew of all of them?.. I hadn't a clue whatsoever that they had done so much and in such a terribly horrific theatre of World War 2 ...... Our local branch of the Burma Star Association is covered including the laying up ceremony of their standard in 2006 when the few remaining men knew, their time was almost over. I have no shame admitting this wasn't the only part of the book that moved me to tears.

It's a sad time but I guess it comes along to all of us eventually....... I'm currently 'evaluating' the sense of keeping some of my bikes seeing as I've hurt myself so badly on them over the years that it would seem sensible to clear them out ..but ......I may know it's the right thing to do? but I still don't want to do it