16 hours ago, LarryH57 said:

 

Or MVT membership £35 - 6 magazines a year = £5.83 each with 'free' insurance

I'm glad you approve of the six Windscreen per year seeing that it was me that got it changed from four plus the Green Sheets. As times changed, the Green Sheets were attracting fewer and fewer classifieds so were essentially redundant and the cost of printing and mailing them as well as Windscreen meant that it was more cost effective to move to six Windscreens. 

2 hours ago, Bob Grundy said:

Surly Mr Fletcher's articles are not poorly researched, as for the rest excluding Tim Gosling of course I agree..... Just purchased Flyfast and ready to enjoy.

As above about generalisations... Surely Mr Fletcher isn't surly? I found him quite pleasant

6 hours ago, johann morris said:

and then you read cmv full of adverts and  badly written, poorly researched articles.

 

Jon

I think you have to be careful about such blanket generalisations like this - names that spring to mind include Karl Ludwigsen, Tim Gosling, John Teasdale, Duncan Glen, Jim Kinnear and others who also write well researched stuff (I know that these names aren't in the issue you are discussing) but I don't think you should do them a disservice. 

I was a fan of the Folkestone site but as I said further up this thread - W&P's glory days aren't coming back... JC

deleted

Having commented on this thread previously, I am not getting involved in discussion about CMV magazine other than to say that it has been nothing to do with me since the March 2019 issue.  

I am glad to see that the AEC Matador is held in such high regard. This is one of my favourite pictures of one in WWII - blokes who probably didn't want to be soldiers sweating and swearing on some North African road, moving the gun in the dirt and the dust because they had to, uniform almost a memory, no doubt looking forward to a cup of tea or a letter from home more than shelling Jerry... One of my uncles was a bloke like these (but with a Morris Quad and 25pdr in Tunisia and Italy).

On 8/14/2019 at 7:10 AM, Zero-Five-Two said:

Has to be AEC  Matador. As a kid I bought loads of the Airfix models of them, and always wanted a real one. Into Militants now, but still love the old Mat. Might get one one day

So right!

1 hour ago, Alan said:

Always fancied an M201 myself , in French camo and dressed appropriately I think it would make a pleasant change on the mv scene, I see there are now a few re enactors portraying 1950’s French army as well. I did start collecting the appropriate uniform for this, but even M201’s are now expensive. 

 

The mahindra has has always been tempting as a fun vehicle, but having a lightweight LR ticks all the boxes currently in that respect.

You could do a French set up like this with a Mahindra (judging from the windscreen this is either a 3A or a 3B). I know nothing about the pic but found it on the net one night. I agree with you that Mahindra Jeeps and Lightweight Land Rovers offer a similar fun driving experience

2 hours ago, matchlesswdg3 said:

So why have'nt you got a real one, then?

Over the years, I've had a '43 MB, a '53 Scammell Explorer, a couple of '42 Harley WLCs, four Lightweight Land Rovers and this M201 but the CJ-3B/CJ340 is my favourite because I have had so much fun in it. I'll see what happens when the M38A1/M606A2, MB bitsa, CJ-2A and '32 Ford projects in my shed are finished but I doubt they'll change my mind about which is my favourite...  There's no accounting for taste eh? I guess I'm just fascinated by the complex story of the CJ-3B and its M606, Mahindra, Viasa, Hotchkiss, Ebro, Viasa, and Mitsubishi versions. 

Or I could just say that's my business...

2 hours ago, Baz48 said:

Think that about says it all – nice Jeep

Thanks - here it is at Asnelles this year

I have been watching this thread on and off as it lengthens (even though I didn't go to W&P this year). Here are  a few of my thoughts about some things that have been talked about for years and some just this year;

1. I am of the opinion that shows - especially big ones like this - have three distinct periods in their time line, a period of growth from their beginnings when it's new and exciting and so more people go along year on year. The second period is of some stability when a show has found a level and is still good so is on something of a plateau and the final period is one of decline as it slides off the plateau. This decline can vary and is affected by all sorts of things and factors; weather, moves of venue, change of organisation, changing fashions, rival events etc etc. (I saw exactly the same thing happen to something nearby years ago - the Kent Custom Bike Show. It started at a cafe on the A20 boomed, moved venues and boomed but eventually declined and ended). Then, in this final period, grumpy old blokes sit around saying, 'it's not as good as it was...' Basically, W&P's glory days are over and they ain't coming back. 

2. Some people on this thread want a big show full of rarities and expect everyone to be as reverential as them. It isn't going to happen - the only way big shows can break even is if big numbers pay to come through the gate. People don't all want the same thing from a show - one group might want it all to be WWII American vehicles, others need to sell stuff, some want to dress up and strut about...

3. Add in the cost of many vehicles, a factor that limits the hobby for many, so - to get big numbers - it's inevitable that there will be impostors and 'odd' replicas. Those people pay their fees that help put the event on so being snobbish about them serves no purpose apart from giving grumpy blokes something to whinge about...

4. Too many Land Rovers? Maybe but they are pretty much - in Britain anyway these days - the only affordable/entry level/call it what you like military vehicle. If anything surprises me about Land Rovers, it's the fact that there aren't more  Malaya/Aden/Kenya/Ulster dioramas

5. No fairgrounds? It's about getting numbers and families through the gate - mind you Carter's Fair with its AEC Matadors always appealed to me  and I'll watch a Wall of Death wherever there is one. If you want a show full of a specific type of armour or vehicles then organise a small, specialist event that isn't reliant on day visitors - Overloon works for example - the more specialist something gets, the fewer it appeals to. 

6. Lack of traders? The traders aren't charities so won't come if they don't make a profit. It costs them a lot to make that profit too - staff, transport, subsistence, security, (ferries in some cases) plus plus... By this line of thinking - there will be lots of Jeep traders because there's lots of Jeeps and owners. eBay has also changed the face of selling for traders too.

Anyway that's a few of my thoughts but the reason I didn't to to W&P in 2019 (and am unlikely to go ever again) is that I can't be bothered to drive to Kent from Yorkshire to use horrible bogs and stand in a beer tent surrounded by Nazis... especially after I got a sh**** email from one of the organisers after mentioning the poor toilets in a magazine article.

Finally, here's a picture of one of my quasi-military Jeeps on its big alloy wheels - it's been to Normandy, W&P, Elvington, Bovington and more over the years (but don't make the mistake of thinking that I have got it because I can't afford a 'real' one as I have owned it for 30 years).

Toodle pip,

JC

On 7/2/2019 at 1:42 AM, fesm_ndt said:

all sounds good... I hate seeing something like this going outside the family.... maybe they all moved down here after the war

Sad to say there's tons like this on eBay etc...

4 hours ago, paul connor said:

Ah, yes, the heritage thing looks promising. Does anyone have any experience with one of those?

I have a heritage certificate here for a Series III - information includes the chassis number and  exact model and the fact that it was built on 6 Sept 1983 and despatched on 12 Sept 1983 to a dealer in Newcastle on Tyne... 

JC

My understanding of things is that 'Wolf' wheels are on the variant of the Defender known as a Wolf TUM/TUL - they have Mini Cooper-esque circular holes around the wheel. They have a greater offset than some of the earlier types of Land Rover wheels so - for example - fill out the wheel arches on a Series III more than standard SWB rims or even some types of LWB rim. This means they - and pattern copies - have become popular as an aftermarket fitment for Land Rovers. 

Another reason for their popularity is that they are tubeless (certainly the ones I have seen and those I have on my Series III) which means that they offer convenience when it comes to tyre choice/fitting and punctures. Many tyres will fit them - 235/85R16 in particular. 

Has anyone got a running Jeep F-head four-cylinder engine that they would like to sell please? I don't mind if it is a military one or one out of a civvy vehicle. Ta

On 6/15/2018 at 6:29 AM, Surveyor said:

Good point, may look into

This is quite a handy little manual - it turns up on eBay quite often; 

The Land Rover Guide To Winching In Safety Manual

This The Land Rover Guide To Winching In Safety Manual, provides a guide to the proper use, safety, techniques, and winching information for your Land Rover.

Contains 99 pages

ISBN# 9781855202986

Here's a photo of a military Land Rover with a winch

I am not sure if you are aware that there is a Matador group on Facebook and plenty of knowledge there. They may be ablee to offer advice as they will be pleased to hear of another being saved; https://www.facebook.com/groups/284225112074783/

Good luck with project, JC

9 hours ago, startinghandle said:

thanks for replies... I had not considered  about steering and brake and suspension improvements needed for making it safe , perhaps you guys can tell me if parts are available to make it original

There's lots of Jeeps running around with non-standard engines and there's no saying that your Chevy engine is making the thing into a hot rod - it could just be a low compression old pick-up truck engine for example especially if it's a 'farm repair'. In the UK there's lots of insurance companies that deal with modified stuff, it is nowhere as hard as it used to be to sort that sort of paperwork. If you do feel the need to change the springs or steering there's a US aftermarket that supplies everything you need - I can't see why you would need to change the steering, maybe front springs to carry any extra weight and you can always use bigger brakes off a later CJ... What I'd want to know before I bought it is how the engine swap has been done - is it an engine swap or an engine and tranny? This part of the job can be done nicely or really poorly and I wonder how the extra length on an in-line six is accommodated under the bonnet. 

(Just to illustrate that I have had a little experience of these issues; I had a Ford V6-powered Hotchkiss M201 that was one of the the 'stunt' Jeeps in Saving Pvt Ryan for a scene that was cut from the final movie. The engine/bellhousing/gearbox part of the conversion were really badly done as it was only intended to be crashed but I persevered with it for a a couple of years as it was great fun - stock brakes and steering too. Picture here shows it ahead of two others).

In response to your question, I'd ask this; 'what do you want the Jeep for?' 

If you're after authenticity and counting rivets, maybe not. If you want something you can drive and have fun with, maybe. If you want something to restore to standard, maybe (all the bits are available and a welder and a grinder work wonders). If you are worried about MoT'ing something that should be roadworthy, maybe not. 

I have had stock ones and modified ones and am building a bitsa - it's the less stock ones that I have had more fun with as I haven't been worried about any green lane - or similar - damage. 

I finally got around to watching the whole programme on catch-up or iplayer or whatever last night. I think it was phenomenal - regardless of some of the comments on here - because a fairly ordinary bloke uses his celebrity, and the power of TV, to recreate something huge from 100 years ago and get it running with a lot of, widely acknowledged, help. His enthusiasm is infectious and, as he didn't know much about the scale and detail of WWI or H licences, as he learned on screen, he will have enthused others about the subject, engineering, welding, tanks in museums and more. The late Fred Dibnah didn't have the monopoly on being 'a bloke with a regional accent who liked British engineering history' and, as he's dead, the next generation needs a new folk hero. Then, finally, driving the tank at Cambrai, in my opinion, was far more poignant than threading it up a high street. The world is changing and we need to embrace that, in order to see the history that interests us is remembered. I can't wait to see the tank itself somewhere next year. JC 

12 minutes ago, Baz48 said:

The above statement regarding Guy Martin’s facsimile of a MK IV Tank to me gives the impression SAG or local authority Safety Advisor Group are a statutory body. The HSE website offers this in respect of SAG's. They are non-statutory bodies and so do not have legal powers or responsibilities, and are not empowered to approve or prohibit events from taking place. Event organisers and others involved in the running of an event, retain the principal legal duties for ensuring public safety. The event is passed any impact Mr Martin or his Tank may have had on visitor numbers and there safety for Armistice Day in Lincoln is hypothetical. On a positive for me a running WW-1 Tank albeit manufactured using modern production methods old fashioned ingenuity with great skill. So Guy Martin didn’t appear to know much regarding the subject, isn’t that’s down to the production team prepping him before letting him loose on camera. I enjoyed the program as I suspect many others on here did too at least it didn’t air-brush history

I am not getting involved or taking sides, I saw that this had been released by Lincolnshire Police and merely posted it here for information in view some of the comments in this thread. 

Statement regarding the Guy Martin WWI tank programme

Following the airing of the programme on Channel 4 on Sunday 19^th November, many members of the public have formed the impression that Lincolnshire Police refused to allow the tank to be part of the Lincoln parade. In response to a number of comments we have received, we feel it would be helpful to clarify the actual circumstances.

Members of Lincoln’s Safety Advisory Group met with programme producers as soon as the group were informed of Guy’s intention to drive the tank along the High Street.

Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs) were formed nationally as a result of some serious incidents at several events (such as Hillsborough 1989).  They are independently chaired and include representatives from a number of agencies including City of Lincoln Council, Lincolnshire Police, Ambulance Service and Fire Service, Emergency Planning and Lincolnshire Highways. The role of the group is to provide advice and guidance to organisers to ensure their events operate safely.

Chief Supt Mark Housley explained: “All the partners in the SAG were thrilled to hear of the plans to bring the replica Tank to Lincoln but whilst the SAG were open minded,  several issues were raised and a number of requirements identified to ensure that any risk to the community was mitigated.  As the public will appreciate, the Remembrance Day parade attracts a few thousand people in Lincoln, with a demographic that includes both young and senior citizens The addition of Guy Martin and his tank would expand that number considerably and, therefore, action needed to be taken by the production company to ensure the safety of all participants. We were also minded that the event is a sombre event and that we should respect the occasion.

“Accordingly, plans needed to be in place to ensure that everyone could participate in the event in a safe way, and that the entertainment of the tank did not distract from the importance of remembrance. The event was not refused but further work was suggested to ensure safety. Following discussions, the production company made the decision that France, where the tank was first used, was also a positive option.  Relocating there would allow them to meet all the programme’s criteria, which was to recognise the brave people involved with the tank invention, construction and use and also to produce an entertainment programme”.

20 Nov 17 12:22 PM

6 hours ago, Pete Ashby said:

   I suspect company names were not provided for legal reasons 

Quite right. Getting involved in others' disputes can be a minefield for magazines and there's often two sides to a story. I do feel for Peter Dixon with his tale of woe especially when lots of classic US pick-ups are coming over at the moment - presumably in the hands of reputable companies. I have Peter's email but don't feel that I should post it here but am happy to pass on anything you want to PM me or email at CMV. JC

Ok so this doesn’t spiral into a slanging match and we don’t upset the Mods lets inject some facts into this conversation to unravel who has not done what.

 

1. I had an emailed reply from the Key Publishing Group Editor on 26 April, I don’t want to post it here but it clearly states that my concerns would be investigated and passed to the Commercial Director who would “follow the matter up and will speak to the freelance CMV editor” the email finished with “please accept my apologies and rest assured the matter will be investigated as quickly as possible”.

I further emailed the Group Editor on the 8^th May to follow him up. Neither the Group Editor or the Commercial Director have responded to me since 26^th April.

 

2. I asked a specific question regarding who wrote and titled the article, the answer I received was very clear. You are now stating that this is not the truth. So somebody is not being truthful with me.

 

3. Clearly you were aware of my concerns by the 8^th May but did not respond and are you now saying Key Publishing have not passed my details to you when they said they would or asked you to reply to me or agreed that they as Key Publishing would reply to me.

 

Now clearly we are not going to agree on whether the title was appropriate or not and lets skip over the typos and inaccuracies as perhaps our Peers reading these posts should be the judge of good or bad journalism.

 

I would ask you to take a step back and ask yourself: Have I as a customer received good treatment from Key Publishing and CMV Magazine ? You can keep blaming other people but I as a customer see you all as one business. People from that business at all levels are not telling me the truth, blaming each other and not doing what they said they would do. That’s before we get to I’m a customer and I have a complaint which needs somebody to reply in a courteous and professional way. The last part of your post even asks me to message you my email address, again I seem to have to do the running here just to make myself heard. So my last question is: Is this really the way you do business or is it the people above and below you always letting you down and causing the problems ?

Point 1. I was away on holiday until May 8 and this matter was mentioned to me on the phone as soon as I returned. That same day I emailed John Norris and, as part of the email correspondence, I asked him for your email address.

Point 2. The feature as a complete thing was supplied by the freelance - words and captions by him, title by the editorial team. Here's the beginning of his email, "Hello John,

I've finished the revision of the M3. Let me know what you think and I'll send over the pix.

All the best..."

And my reply, "Yes, that's more concise. Please send the photos and captions as a word doc and it should make a very nice story for the mag.

Thanks,

JC"

I have no reason not to be truthful.

Point 3. They did ask me to respond to you and, as point 1, I asked the freelance for your email address and haven't had it yet.

Point 4. You have a point about customer service and I am trying to deal with it - admittedly later than it should be - but if you don't send me your email address it is difficult to do so. I am 100% happy to mail you the completed feature as submitted with original title. I am not blaming the management in any way - had your concerns been raised by email from the office, I would have your email but it was raised on the phone immediately as I caught up after being away. I thought that, as I was having some email correspondence with the feature's author, that he'd pass on your email address. With hindsight I can see that I should have gone back to the office to get it to avoid this situation. Unfortunately I didn't and this matter has remained unresolved until today. I would suggest that as I have made more posts in this thread in the last couple of hours than anything else for months - and sent you a PM - shows that I am trying to resolve it. JC