julezee001

I re-used all the old connectors. Just desoldered them, cleaned them up a bit and fitted them on the new wire. I only had a bit of a random selection of colours, but I have made a note of them, in case the dash end cable markers fade too much to read in the future. For some reason most of the markers behind the seat are already unreadable, which made it all a bit more of a challenge. About ten years ago when I was sorting out my Explorer, I ordered 100 of the military style bullet connectors through my account with LSUK. One of their staff phoned my when they arrived, to check whether I wanted them. Why? Because they were over £3.00 + VAT each!!! I didn't have them in the end, and have recycled all the connectors that have passed my way since, and haven't had any issues with them. Jules

Sorry to hear about your engine. I have a spare 220 which is a non runner if it's any good for spares, e.g. block and conrods; or one which I believe should be a runner if you'd put up with less hp. Otherwise Withams sales by Tender quite often have recon ones for sale, although I've not tracked how much they go for recently, and they often are front sumped units, which isn't a drama if you already have a usable rear sump. Jules

The last time I took my Militant out was to lift a large stone gatepost back into place for someone a couple of months ago. This it did with few problems, until I stopped in the local garage to put £100 of fuel in. For the first time ever (except flat batteries) it wouldn't start! No dash lights, although all the exterior ones worked fine. I looked for loose wires, played with switch, hit dash etc, called friends with Unimogs all with no luck. Eventually hotwired starter solenoid behind drivers seat to inspection light socket and started with not further problem. Phew! I was beginning to sweat a bit, blocking 3 pumps for half an hour! Last week was quiet at work, so I thought I'd investigate. I stripped the ignition switch out (really awkward with the drivers seat fitted), and cleaned it thoroughly inside. Put it back in (also really uncomfortable with seat fitted!), and it made no difference. Doh! Wiggled the dash wiring with enthusism, and had a brief flash of dash lights. Aha! Took seat out, and in the end replaced the 4 wires from the Generator panel to the connector block behind the seat of which 1 was rotten, and the 7 wires from behind the seat to the dash with the especially rotten wire being the IGN+. In the end it was about a days work, but should now be reliable again until the next problem arises. Jules

Glad to find yet more Explorer enthusiasts in Sussex. I hope the restoration goes well! Jules

He didn't mention another or offer me one. I can't decide if the one in the background is another Militant. If he gets what he's asking it can only be good for the rest of us owners, but with fuel prices going up weekly again, I think he'll be lucky to achieve that price. Jules

I spoke to the seller today, who seems a genuine type. It's not registered yet, but is almost certainly 1955 as he claims. I would buy it as it's M.O.T. exempt, but the price is OTT. The seller said he'd paid £7500 for it, hence the starting bid, and someone has already offered £7000. I wished him good luck! Jules

Had no problem with my Scammell Explorer 6 years ago. The Meadows petrol was already out, and I put together and fitted the Eagle diesel that came with it. I obtained the build sheets from the Scammell records, and I think got a covering letter from a club official at IMPS. No inspection, and had the log book in days! I also have a 1951 Explorer run on trade plates in the past which has a Leyland 680 power plus fitted, which I hope to get together soon. Hopefully I can go the same route with that too, unless the people in power prefer fossil fuels burned 3 times as fast and want a petrol re-fitted? Jules

Sent to me yesterday by a fellow REME soldier, which in my experience has a certain amount of truth to it!

What an amazing waste of money, at a time when there's not enough to go around! If someone wants to forge a Log book, it's surely just as easy to make a red one, as use a stolen blue one especially when most people have no idea what a real one should look like! So far I've had 2 of the 20+ log books I should have. I'll probably have sold all the vehicles before I get the proper paperwork! Jules

Point also given to anybody who can spot the inside of their Scammell back axle in the picture.. That's Simons rear axle, posted what seems like, and was years ago! Lots of backlash on worm gear, partially caused by the slightly worn main bearing (the really expensive one!), but mostly by the worn aluminium casing that should clamp the bearing and shims. The pump shaft was broken, so no oil flow at all. I fitted a spare pump, which eventually span up and pumped using an electric drill, and a spare housing. I've not looked in there since, and I've not looked in mine yet. I suspect my pump works as it seems to seep oil from the unions on the heat exchanger. Another couple of items on the "Things I Ought to Do List". I'm fairly convinced the only need for the pump is to circulate the oil through the heat exchanger. I would think it's only important when towing large loads making the axle oil work hard. The holes are so small from the pump into the casing, that they can't be important for lubrication compared to the oil shifted by the crown wheel spinning. More likely they spray a certain amount of cooled oil onto the worm gear to help keep it cool, and to tranfer heat away from it? Jules

I'm not sure exactly what loopholes/excuses are being suggested? The fact that; all vehicles over 3.5 tons built before 1960 and not used commercially, along with many other M.O.T. exempt vehicles, can be used on the road is just that. It's not a loophole or an excuse! The fact is it's entirely down to the driver (not necessarily the owner) to be sure it's roadworthy, exactly the same as for a vehicle with a valid test certificate. If someone decides to drive a vehicle on the road which is unsafe, or unroadworthy (which I think are different definitions), then that reflects on them, and not the wider community. As with all the people who wish to over state the problem, the statistics clearly don't back them up. If there were a problem, the insurance costs would be horrendous, and you'd find you couldn't drive down the road without getting pulled over by police boosting their stats? My trucks in many ways are far better checked than any commercial operator could possibly afford to do. For instance my Militants brakes, and all the other roadworthy requirements are checked by VOSA every 500 miles or less. It's lights, tyres, wipers, washers, horn etc are checked every time it goes out. It's almost certainly over serviced too! Jules

My Mk1 Militant cargo, with the Atlas crane fitted, weighed in at around 16.5 tons this year for the test. Without the box body with essential spares, cooker, sink, bed and camping kit it's about 12 tons. This year there was a reading of 51% on the tapley meter for the footbrake test, despite not reaching the required 20mph. The handbrake was also tested as the secondary brake also passing at about 30%, although it wasn't a very accurate reading for various reasons! The VOSA tester hates the idea of testing with a Tapley, but owing to the intervention of more savvy people he had to relent and use one. He reckons that if a house brick on its side falls over when the brakes are applied, that's about 50%, and if it fall's over when stood on end it's about 25% efficient. In almost 20 years of driving my Militant, I've never been worried about the vehicles brake efficiency. It's always stopped really well. I'm far more concerned about the failure of a main hose, or some other failure, and having to then stop in a hurry. I have had major hassle over the years getting through brake tests, mainly through imbalance, but have so far always succeeded eventually. It's probably helped that the GVW of my truck was 22.5tons , thus the brakes should pass with that weight, then they should manage at 16.5 tons. Jules

Both our Explorers are Exempt and go staight through online, without any hassle, but strangely our 1964 Militant won't go through when it has an HGV M.O.T., but is fine as a Heavy Class 4 motorhome?? Jules

Ditto! Jules

The input shaft is steel, and the differential gear is phosphor bronze. Your welcome to take it all to bits for a couple of hundred pounds at best, but personally I can think of better uses for such parts, and better uses for my time too! Jules

£2000 seems expensive given the state of it. Scrap price would drop lots if you left the 6 tyres on it. I hope someone can do a deal on it, either to restore, or even just for parts. It would be a real shame to melt it down. Sadly it's too far for me to collect, unless someone might know of anyone needing a return load to East Sussex! Jules

The previous owner of my Explorer stripped the winch completely as it was seized solid on the vertical shaft. It took him nearly 2 bottles of acetylene to free it off! Now it just sticks on the brake band which has swelled with rust, again needing a Landrover, or tree attached to pull out. Jules

He's clearly interested in the subject, as I believe he'll probably be at War and Peace show sometime this week to get a closer look at some of the vehicles! Jules

Hi Rob, Mine is on the outside rear of the passenger side of the cab, but I've no idea if they were all fitted there? I'd post a photo, but we successfully ran the trucks to W & P today. Jules

It's still quite a useful tool with the Atlas crane in front of the camper body, although the steering is a bit heavy! Jules

Stick with it! I bought mine in bits, part done with one for spares, and thought it would be quite quick, easy, and relatively cheap to get together. I've had it over ten years, it's been on the road 6 years, it's still not finished, the floor of the rear body needs replacing as it's rotten again, the alternator has packed up, and I stopped counting the cost 3 years ago! There isn't a better buzz than getting out and driving one and seeing other peoples reactions, and hearing all the stories from people who have driven/owned them. As you've already found the grin factor is great! Personally I'd not worry too much about the lack of oil pump. I think it's essential if like the Army you are towing heavy lorries daily it's there to feed the oil heat exchanger to cool the oil, but solo running I don't think there is the same requirement. Obviously there is an issue with your differential, presumeably through previous abuse? Run it as it is. Keep track of mileage, and change the oil when you see fit. How many miles do you intend driving a year? What's the worst scenario? A blown diff. Prepare for that and track down a spare in the meantime. There are spare ones around so change/fix it when required, and when your bucket full of enthusiasm topped up. Jules

Phew! I got the Militant through it's M.O.T. test today. Result! No major dramas, although the brake test was interesting with the Tapley meter. The test centre boundary and fence seemed to be getting too close for comfort, so I anchored up at about 17mph rather than 20mph. This gave a reading of 51% which was good enough, and would have probably been better had there been enough space to get the last 3mph. The £100 of diesel is only about 1/3 of a tank now, compared to 1/2 a tank last year. Ouch! Now I just need to get rub her down and paint in time for W & P! Re-skin the inner roof of the cab, service the Atlas crane, change the engine oil, have a major re-org of the box body, etc........ Jules

They seem to take some priming! I'm not sure if they just wear and fail owing to lack of lubrication, or on one of ours the pump shaft with the gear on had sheared. When I fitted a spare I made a simple adaptor to fit the holes in the pump gear, and wound it over with an electric drill. It certainly wasn't instant, and in the end I think I tipped oil down the outlet pipe to get it going. I should have a look one day soon to check whether it's still actually working! Glad your getting out and about, and the locals are enjoying it too! Jules

I don't think most people driving normal cars have any idea what movement any other vehicle makes when turning. Low loaders will often move out to take a left hand turn, often this leaves enough space for the idiots to try and pass on the inside, and have their front end crushed as the truck turns. Drawbar trailers with twin centre axles swing out at least as much as a tracked vehicle. The advantage of a 432 is that you don't just have a set of mirrors, but also have a commander, who should be watching both your rear and sides, watching for the unpredictables! A commander can not only tell the 432 driver what's going on around the vehicle through the intercom, but can also help indicate to other road users the intentions of the 432. Far better than any artic/low loader driver stuck 40' ahead in his cab! Bearing in mind all track laying vehicles not in military service are limited to 20mph, that must slightly limit the potential disaster, although I'd suspect a Cent ARV running into anything at 20mph would not be pretty! As mentioned in an earlier post, 432's in service have regular brake checks. There are also mandatory daily checks, such as track tension, overall track condition, condition of the drive sprockets, governor oil level, engine cut off pedal, tiller adjustment, in addition to all the normal levels, lights etc. Jules

The Scammell Explorer has the same pressed treadplate require, on both front wings, the front light guards, and in the cab. This is thin pressed steel, which bends to the curve of the wings easily. The strip pictured is on 4mm thick steel, with an overall thickness of 6.5mm. I tried some on my truck, but it really didn't look right. I haven't found a company who still supply the pressed version so far. Jules