timbo

Surely you mean "falling from 26 feet".

I dont see any evidence of it being fake but could, of course, be wrong. My sense is still to go with Adrian on an explosion from under the vehicle, possibly with a secondary internal explosion. Surely if it were purely an internal detonation it would have blown the turret off? Either way it is a salutary reminder of the perils of tank warfare.

Looking fwd to it already... Will the wall of death be coming back? It was a truly amazing spectacle... If I remember rightly Mr Penton had threatened to build a rubber tracked, outboard powered mini tank which he reckoned could get up on the vertical - but it was quite late on in the beer tent that this plan was hatched! Cheers Timbo

Welcome Matt I have a ZXR750 and ZX7RR track bike, but also run a small collection of post war armoured vehicles. Hope you enjoy the Triumph, just dont forget the spill kit for your driveway! Cheers Timbo

Tail wheel? Reminds me of Fw190 but im sure its not!

Mike It is definitely a J60 drain plug. As you dont have a J60 shouldnt be a problem but im pretty sure the same plug is used in the final drives which could be a problem. From recollection there are at least 3 of these in each fd, one at the bottom for draining and 2 filler plugs one at the front and one at the back so worth checking those. If you dont need it I will give you a couple of quid plus post for it as it looks in good nick ! Cheers Tim

That is one big helicopter....

Just North of Peterborough on the East Coast Main Line. On the right hand side heading North, a nice looking DBG green goddess parked outsidea barn...

So you've finally come out of the closet on this one eh Chris?! Looking forward to seeing the progress. Yours will be the first genuine diesel Scimitar in private hands I think? AB's was converted from a Sabre if I remember rightly, and the AFVS owned one was a pre-production testbed I think... Good luck with it, it will be great when it is done.. Tim

Ah, tea and biscuits the MV enthusiasts poison!

James I have no doubt you will soon be a fully paid up member of the drillers and tappers club to which all cvrt owners belong...get the best quality drill bits and taps you can afford, and some big buckets of imp nuts & bolts - our motto Hail to the Helicoil Tim

Brilliant progress Paul, just seen your Rarden has gone on, well done! Dont forget for that added authenticity to paint the first half of the barrel silver I hope this weekend to finish taking the last of the bits off my Sabre (handbrake and master cylinders), before I start stripping, cleaning, painting and in a few weeks hopefully putting it all back together. And yes I know i still need to post the pics! Cheers Tim

Did it used to move freely? The mantlet on my Sabre was quite stiff but seems to have freed off having been worked a few times. It also got progressively harder as it approached the full range of travel but is now much better..

Its because they were designed to be driven by 19 year olds, who are a)more flexible b)not going to complain... Also remember this is essentially a 1960's design so compare it to most cars of the time and you would probably find a similar lack of ergonomic thinking. It is the indicators which are the really scary bit. I think on Stormer the indicators are on the tillers, much more sensible. Alternatively there should be a second indicator set up for the commander (but he could always give hand signals I suppose)... Cheers

Bob According to the East of England Museum list, that Chieftain was 'smelted'. I dont know exactly what that means but it doesnt sound good. By a quirk of fate though the MVT do have the service and maintenance records for that vehicle which they will sell you for a fiver! See their website for details.. Cheers Tim

You should also have a look at this thread. http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?34764-re-painting-military-vehicles-(steel-and-aluminium) It has a very extensive discussion on the relative merits of different types of blasting.

I find that tweaking one of the sticks sometimes helps too. Dont go too mad though or you'll end up spinning on the spot if the drive goes in unexpectedly..!

Ah but Ray this is one of the advantages of the noble CVRT, it's made of ally y'see..! Wont stop all the brackets etc going rusty though...!

Get a cheap bottle jack and put it on some wooden blocks or sleepers. Then off with the tracks, sprockets and roadwheels, block up as many holes as possible to the interior, then GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT. Trust me it is money well spent, you should get them to prime it while youre at it, then you can just paint in the colour of your choice once youve got all the bits on so it all matches. It also means you will make rapid progress which will give your project a good kickstart.

Oh I can sympathise with that one mate...when I got my Sabre the pads were seriously delaminating and use of brake fluid had destroyed the seals. This had caused the piston to be stuck solid in the caliper. PO had clearly used something very large to try and force it back resulting in the pad being bent and jammed in place. Had to get the calipers out with gearbox in place - they do come but only if you guide them out on a fiendishly difficult path, all while youre lying upside down in a position which can only be tolerated for 30 seconds at a time. Happy memories!

Also known as the 'Pfeil' which is German for arrow. The Germans came up with some really remarkable (and some downright wacky) designs towards the end of the war, He162, Me163 and 262, and probably most scary of all the vertically launched rocket powered 'natter'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachem_Ba_349

I have seen nato slave leads advertised for even more than that (but they didnt sell!) but £120 seems excessive. I paid £45 for a long one and felt i did well. I think £50-£70 is probably the going rate. BV's until recently were a bit of a rarity, but seem to be more common now. I did hear that Withams used to squash them as they werent allowed to sell them for H&S reasons, but if thats true it must have changed as a lot seem to have come out recently. Really nice ones are still rare though. I would guess £50ish for a reasonable one with a lead. They are used in just about every british AFV... Just my thoughts.. Timbo

I recently took the plunge and bought a Saladin without really planning to, so didnt really know much about them other than having the perception that they are a pain in the ar*e to keep running. Whilst Ive only done a few bits and pieces on it so far (its already pretty well sorted thankfully), I have been pleasantly surprised when Ive actually read up on what is involved. There is tons of info out there, spares not too bad, and in the case of the saracen they seem to be cheap as chips to buy. Ultimately if it is what you really want youll make it work! I may of course have a very different view in 12 months! Good luck Timbo

Nice one James a very good choice..! Pm sent..!

Oh i know that feeling mate. I have a garage full of cr*p acquired in exactly these circumstances..!