Jolly Jeeper

Here's a picture of the Vimoutiers Tiger (from a Normandy trip a good number of years ago) - I remember seeing the cut up the rear of the tureet where the scrapmen had started... It's on the cover of an old copy of After the Battle too (a shot of it before it was dragged out of the hedge and onto the plinth)

Tokarev - everyone was very friendly without exception; civvies, military checkpoint staff, military escort guys, hoteliers... everyone. A handshake and a smile goes a long way. Many locals had their pictures taken with the Jeeps so I guess they're all over facebook. Many of the locals have seen Jeeps in war movies but never seen a real one up close. JC

My story about the trip is in this magazine; http://www.classicandsportscar.com/news/general-classic-car-news/alfa-giulia-stars-in-august’s-classic-sports-car

You're right about that, keeping any old or cherished vehicle outside year round does it no favours. Keeping up to the woodwork on my 109in LR Carawagon was a constant battle until I found somewhere with a tall enough door to get it inside.

More about it here - http://inshriachhouse.blogspot.co.uk/

Saw this some month's ago. Shame they couldn't have used a vehicle that hasn't seemingly been lovingly restored like this one though. Last saw it in 2007 at War & Peace:

From what I can see, they have just put stuff in the back for overnighting...

No vehicles but Culloden has to rate among the best war movies...

If you've not seen it look at http://www.youtube.com/user/oarfrost/videos?query=culloden

JC

Great for those overnight MV rallies - http://laughingsquid.com/the-beer-moth-a-guest-room-built-on-an-antique-fire-truck-flatbed/

Just got this from Karl-Gunnar, a Swedish guy who was on the trip. Commentary is in Swedish but you'll get the gist!

http://youtu.be/cDzWqvzskzo

Then and Now. Now and Then. Or, 'Now then, now then...'

Very intresting did you do any filming of the trip ?

 

Al

We emailed a few people from TV companies before we went, someone at the BBC was interested briefly but it never came to anything sadly. We have thousands of still photos - I took more than 2000 for example - and it should appear in print somewhere. JC

Backfiring and missing - I'd check the head gasket by testing compression on all four cylinders. I'd also check the valve clearances as if they're not right the valves won't close properly so reducing compression. 16/18 thou hot/cold etc.

JC

Has anyone mentioned The Dogs of War?

If the the actor playing the lead character looks anything like a Royal Marine turned mercenary then I'm the Man in the Moon. Shame 'cos the book is a good read...

Well done John, did the jeeps need any repairs en route?

More maintenance than repairs; we reset the valves, changed in-line fuel filters, checked oil and water, changed the oil in the air filters, had to clean a carb on one, adjust the timing to cope with poor fuel and so on but the only real failure was a snapped clutch linkage so e had to make a new one out of a screwdriver by cutting the handle off and bending the ends. We had a puncture in one tyre and developed a slow leak in another. We suffered with water in the petrol a couple of times - notably after we filled up in Siwa (seen here) - which meant we had to strip the carb to get it out and make the Jeep run again.

Three more;

Burned to a crisp.

Desert Driving.

Tea-drinking Brits.

more info and pix if possible please!

I'm flattered that people are interested and, yep, burned to a crisp!

Here's two more pics - an abandoned LRDG V8 Ford and a driving shot

We're back from our vintage Jeep tour of LRDG-related sites in Egypt in two old Jeeps - a Willys MB and a Ford GPW. We drove them 3700km in total of which 1500km was off-road. The latter included traversing the Gilf El Kebir and the Great Sand Sea.

Here's a couple of pics.

JC

Kelly's Heroes - nothing else comes close!

I went to that sale of Austin Gipsys - did a story for OR&4WD magazine. Many of the Brockhouse trailers lso sold that day were in demand by members of the Land Rover Series one Club. I like the Gipsy - apart from the rust problem - they seem to have been well regarded and, it is said, were only discontinued because of the mergers within the car industry that led to Austin and Rover being part of the same conglomerate.

A couple of asides; an MP (David Steel?) used one of the Home Office Gipsys for one of those competitive historic rallies soon after its release.

Author Anthony Smith used a Gipsy during a ballooning exped to Africa which was the subject of a book entitled Throw Out Two Hands. Smith had also written Blind White Fist in Persia which may be more familiar to those on here as it used an ex-mil Bedford truck.

Finally, years and years ago Classic Bike featured an AFS-liveried bike (I want to say Matchless but can't be sure...)

Cheers,

JC

No worries Mal. I appreciate you taking the time and trouble to check for me, thank you. JC

The reason I was asking Goran, is because years ago times were different and a French company offered conversions to put diesels in Jeeps in place of worn out flatheads and I was after the name of the company that used to offer the conversion.

Your question about 'why fit a diesel in an MB or GPW' makes a few assumptions; that it's to replace a petrol engine rather than fill an empty hole; that it's only driven a few miles; that it's an MB/GPW; that the engine has to be bought; that there's a cost in fitting it...

Yes please Mal - I'd be interested to hear. JC

Nice!

Does anyone know the name of the French company that offered conversion 'kits' or bell-housings for MB Jeep gearboxes that facilitated the fitment of Peugeot diesel engines? I believe they were commonplace conversions and readily available for a while. Thanks. JC

Writing in Half Safe, Ben Carlin, who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a GPA, summed up the amphibious Jeep thus, ‘The [amphibious] Jeep was useless in ship to shore lighterage, the forte of its big brother DUKW which could carry two and a half tons anywhere. Nor could it compete with collapsible boats at ferrying troops across rivers. Its military uses were pretty well confined to light amphibious reconnaissance, ferrying high-powered generals, and serving as bait for nurses and Red Cross girls. All in all amphibious jeeping was an extremely sporting pastime pursued with rather more elan than success by run of the mill service drivers from Wichita and Hogsnorton-on-the-hill’.

And post-war drivers too?