julezee001

I've had many close calls in convoys over the years as tail end Charlie/ REME cover. Whilst in a Bedford it wasn't too much of a worry, but when in a Landrover or Pinz, I felt very vulnerable with trucks approaching in excess of 80mph at times.

The worst near miss, was whilst a passenger in the back of the 432 on my tracked vehicle license course. We were on a duel carriageway almost flat out at 30mph, dry, bright day, lights on, beacon flashing, large L plate, reflective rear plates, when a small van approached very quickly from the rear, closely followed by a Volvo estate. I think the van driver was probably trying to outrun the Volvo, and was watching his mirrors rather too much!

Eventually with a distance of less than 30 foot remaining he must have finally noticed us, disappeared in clouds of tyre smoke, and eventually missed us by inches, the Volvo shot up the hard shoulder somehow. At the time it seemed quite funny, made more so by the fact that neither our driver nor commander saw any of the action. Had the van driver hit us followed by the Volvo, it would have been very different!

I always run both the Scammell and the Militant with amber beacons and lights on, both day and night. On faster roads it shows other drivers there's something different/slow ahead, and similarly around lanes the beacons give oncoming drivers a lot more warning that something hazardous is coming around the corner, especially at dusk/night time.

I do run on duel carriageways, but try to avoid motorways if there is a sensible alternative. The bridge at the Dartford crossing is SLOW in the Militant! It has a 4' wide Long Vehicle reflective plate on the back too, which possibly helps a bit at night too? Whilst I'd hate to be rear ended in either of my trucks, I do feel fairly certain that I am unlikely to be seriously hurt, unlike those in smaller vehicles.

My experience with the 432 showed that whatever you do there will always be idiots out there, but if there are simple ways to get yourself noticed without distracting other drivers too much, then why not? Maybe it was the beacon on the 432 which saved the van drivers life?

Jules

another possible cause of total brake failure would be breaking up of the brake drum itself.

 

Again I cannot say whether this was a serious problem in service, but certainly the manual emphasises the need for careful inspection for signs of cracking

Quote"

5.6 BRAKE DRUM INSPECTION

When renewing brake bands, or carrying out steering unit adjustments, the steering unit brake drums

must be inspected for signs of cracking, especially around the oil feed holes. Any sign of cracking

must be reported to the repair section SNCO."

 

Again, is the amateur mechanic aware of this and actively doing this check? As the 432's become older, presumably if this is a fatigue problem, it is an event that grows ever more likely.

The Army were well aware of the problem with the brake drums. The issue was with overheating caused by excessive/incorrect use of the steering/brake tillers. The drums have a habit of cracking across the oil holes drilled in them. In service the drums had to be inspected after ever 500 miles of driving. This is neither a difficult, nor long task and is well worth carrying out if it hasn't been done recently on any out of service 432's, especially if they run on the roads.

Jules

Damn things do get you down sometimes, and you wonder why you bothered in the first place. Don't panic we've all been there, you just have to walk away and leave it for another day. It can be soul destroying, but you get there in the end and you'll laugh about it afterwards. Keep taking the photos, we are all looking forward to the next installment.

Can't agree more with that. At the last show I took my Explorer to, I put my knees through the rear floor where it's gone from new to rotten in 6 years. The friend who usually runs it to shows when I take the Militant came to borrow it today. Batteries were too flat to start her, found out it's not charging, and one of the exhaust pipe sections has almost split in two. Fired up with a short boost charge, and went the 60+ miles without a major drama, but lots to do as ever just to stand still. All worth it in the end!

Jules

My original thought was :-

 

No Road Tax could mean No MoT which could mean an unsafe vehicle.

 

I don't want to get anybody into trouble, I just don't want an unsafe vehicle on the roads. Road Tax is just money, I am more concerned about a potential accident and the aftermath for us all in the form of Government restrictions.

No M.O.T. is surely the norm for far more vehicles as a percentage at MV shows than any other place. Any HGV built before 1960 is exempt an M.o.T. test, along with recovery vehicles, many other "special" vehicles, and all tracked vehicles. A valid tax disc might show that they are insured for road use, but not for show conditions! Inspecting everyones M.o.T test certificates would only be of any help if everyone had them done within a couple of days of the show. An M.o.T. certificate only shows that at the time a qualified civil servant checked over your vehicle, it met the relatively limited criteria to be deemed roadworthy. If a bulb blows on the way home it is no longer roadworthy!

The vast majority of accidents of any kind, and including vehicles are down to human error (or stupidity?), and not mechanical failure or faults.

Jules

Possibly a driver training vehicle - the steps being a local REME "add-on" to facilitate a quick change over of students??

Certainly not one from REME Bordon! I can't imagine it was an in service mod, as such "additions" are not encouraged. Our REME Bedford MJ had a cage fitted on the cab roof for years to carry winch kit, but eventually on a winch test someone spotted it and it had to be removed along with the amber beacons. Doh!

At the end of the day if you can't climb into the 432 without extra steps fitted, are you fit enough to drive one? Only kidding, they're not really built with ergonomics in mind!

Jules

although I am running an engine driven pump for the axle i would still one day like to refit the propper pump back in the axle. So if anyone has a pump knocking around and the gears to drive it I might be interested.

I'll chase my local engineer, as he's got the remains of one of my oil pumps which had a broken shaft. I asked him to make another, but he's not great at "odd" jobs and hasn't got around to it yet (2 years on!). I have a customer, who has a lovely "hobby" workshop (a professional engineer would be jealous, I am!), who I'll pester instead assuming the parts aren't lost. I hope to get him to make some other parts for me in the future, as he has all the kit for casting, machining, welding, pressing etc, but I haven't hassled him yet!

If I succeed I'll let you know.

Jules

My brother set up the Militant with a canvas, then fitted a bed, cooker, sink, and fridge, allowing it to be tested as a Motorhome. It had the headroom for anyone up to 6' tall. When I inherited it, the canvas was tired, and security of all the kit inside was more important, so I bought a standard Bedford box body, which initially was a drone support workshop. This was cheap but only had one door, and at the first use was far too hot with little ventilation.

I then bought the current box body which was set up as an office, and has a door either side at the front, and double doors at the rear. I fitted the bed, sink etc, but only strapped it down for 3 years which meant I needed an HGV test. Last year I bolted it down to make it a motorhome, allowing a heavy class 4 test. It's not perfect, but it's good at a noisy show as I can close the doors while WW3 breaks out outside, and I hear nothing!

As with any HMVF member you're welcome to drop in at War & Peace for a beer/tea!

Jules

I think the show organisers have a responsibility to ensure that everybody showing a vehicle (of whatever type) at their show is taxed and insured, especially if they are charging the show entrants for the privilage of showing their vehicle.

 

As for bubbling someone, your're damned right I would. I pay a fortune for all my vehicles to be insured, most of the premium is paid into the fund that covers the costs of those who don't insure theirs.

 

Driving without insurance, tax etc is fraud and should be treated as such. If the local Plod can spare an officer to check these things best of luck to them, hope they get a result.

I think show organisers probably have enough to do without checking the whether a vehicle is taxed or not. What threat is an untaxed vehicle? Most classic cars, and a large but declining proportion of military vehicles are Historic Vehicles and don't pay for their tax disc. Unless the have access to the MID database, the organisers are entirely dependent on the honesty of entrants declaring and signing that they are insured. What more can they do?

Should they have VOSA inspectors checking all the vehicles for roadworthiness, and of course Customs and Excise dipping everyones fuel tanks for red diesel too? Are all those people wandering around as Majors, Colonels etc entitled to wear their rank. Swat teams running around impersonating Police officers etc, etc, etc.

I think I read somewhere that about 7% of the insurance premium goes to cover the costs of uninsured drivers. Because my livelyhood depends almost entirely on vehicles, I do my utmost to comply with the rules, but if I saw an untaxed vehicle at a show would I care? No.

Jules

I taxed my Explorer as normal this year online with no hassle. I found that I couldn't do it online with the Militant when it was tested as an HGV, 3 and 2 years ago, as the DVLA site couldn't find evidence of being tested, even a week later. Last year tested as a heavy class 4 motorhome, and was able to tax it online later the same day!

Jules

Congratulations. I hope you both have a great day!

All the best, Jules

The M.O.T. test ran out on my Militant last Wednesday. Doh! Another year has rushed by. I phoned to book it through VOSA on Friday, and after 5 minutes finally got passed through to my local test station, only to find that at 3pm the "class" tester had already gone home, and would phone me on Monday.

This he did at 10.30. He soon remebered the truck from last year, and asked if I'd removed the rear propshaft as he had suggested at the end of the test last year, essentially so that he could do a proper class brake test. I said that I hadn't and that he should test the vehicle as presented, and carry out a Tapley test. At this point he got quite heated and refused to test my vehicle, suggesting that I take it elsewhere!!!

I ended up talking to the station manager, who saw both sides of the argument, and who said he'd look into the rules, and call me back. Meanwhile a friend checked elsewhere through official channels including VOSA's testing policy unit, and all agreed that the vehicle has to be tested as presented, the tester was wrong to suggest removing the propshaft, he can't refuse to test the vehicle (assuming it's clean I'd guess?), and there's no reason he can't use a Tapley gauge.

The test centre manager eventually called back at 3.30, and agreed that they would test it, and use the Tapley gauge. The only slight issue is that the earliest date now is the 11 July, which only leave 6 days until running up to the War and Peace show.

Jules

Yet another blast round and all seems well, It's rather funny how people come out of their houses to look but then you can hear it 2 miles down the road!! The guy down the road came out so i let him have a run round with me and it seemed to make his day, he's restoring a bus so i hope it spurred him on a bit.:laugh:

Going to get my roadside cover from Auto home this week for piece of mind, Not bad at £105 for the year.

I still get worried it's going to break down or something stupid is going to happen so here is a questions......Appart from the propshaft whats the most common form of breakdown of a scammell. how many miles is a long way........ an what is a sort of average speed?:nut: I try to sit at about 25-28mph althought it sounds ok at full throttle on the flat at about 34mph. (speed record to date is 37mph down hill with trailing wind:drive:)And even then its sort of sounded ok and sat there whining away merrily. I just have visions of the rear propshaft exploding if i keep the speed on. I think what i really need is a ride in someone elses explorer at speed as i have nothing to compare it to. For all i know i might be awfull or even really smooth.

I'd agree with 25-28mph. It all gets too noisy faster than that, and I feel the wear and tear gets higher when flat out as you say at about 37mph.

The main problem I've had was with the fuel tank pick-up getting blocked a lot on the first few runs after 20 or so years off the road. Largely cured by cutting a large hole in the tank bottom, scraping out several lbs of dirt, and re-welding. Otherwise batteries dying over the winter time whilst sitting out, and an intermittant fault with the original cut out /jump lead box from the batteries, which cuts most of the dash power, requiring a short across the starter terminal to get her started occasionally.

So far I have only had to replace one u/j on a rear propshaft on the two Explorers we run around, and that has nearly 40k miles on the clock, although I've no idea what's original on it on the running gear.

Glad you and the local residents are getting so much pleasure from your Explorer.

Jules

hello to all.new to this site.....!

on the subject of wrecks there are a few still up on Sennybridge Range........two ex soviet/eastern bloc T55s(?) ...the one is in a real state and more or less completely burnt out and full of ash and spent shell cases and barbed wire..the other is out the back of the fibua village beyond the MG range and appears to 'welded up'....this one still looks quite good ( to my eyes anyways!) but whether its got an engine in or not I couldn't see..

..there is also a very rough Chieftain at the other end of the village to the rough T55 that is in a very similar state plus having some heavy damage to the suspension ...

...dotted about the village there are also lots of FV432s (?) tracked carriers in a right proper shot up state, a few Bedford lorries and a civvy pick up truck that resembles a pepperpot due to the attention of some serious GPMG action....

 

on an earlier thread ...are the Shermans at Biville still there?...anyone mounting a rescue operation yet????

excellent website by the way!

In the late 80's/ early 90's I spent 2 weeks on camp at Sennybridge. The NBC range officer asked us to get the T55 on his range going. I believe it was one of 3 delivered at about that time as Range architecture. I think they were Czech.

I seem to remember that they had been delivered (for whatever reason) to the wrong end of the training area. There were several interesting tales of getting them to their required places.

The one on the NBC range had flat batteries, which we took away and charged for several days. Having refitted them, checked the levels, filled the radiator etc, I had the job of sitting in the drivers seat, and starting it. It did run, but unfortunately one of it's head gaskets had already blown, so it didn't go as well as it should, and in the end it only steered one way as the massive radiator fans blew leaking oil all over the right hand steering bands. It was a fun time, and I often wondered what happened to the 3 tanks.

Jules

I've had to replace all 5 of my Defender tyres due to the MOT tester advising that they required changing due to age related cracks in the carcas.

 

This might prove useful.

 

http://www.etyres.co.uk/uk-tyre-law

I've been working on cars, and the occasional HGV including my Militant, and taking them for tests for 25 years. In all that time, I can't remember seeing a tyre (on a roadworty vehicle) with age related cracks in the "carcass" of a tyre. Usually by the time a tyre is that bad it's flat and won't hold air!

I've seen lots with cracks in the sidewalls, and some with cracks between the treads of the tyre. They can only be failed in a test if the tester can see the inner structure of the tyre. The tester is limited to using the testers approved tools, and can investigate cracks with them as he sees fit to assure himself of the tyres overall condition.

I can't remember when I've had a customer whose tyre structure has failed due to cracking. I've had several without any cracks which have de-laminated suddenly, leaving large patches of structure showing, but which haven't gone flat. I've had lots recently which have gone out of shape or with bulges, mostly caused by the dreadful condition of the roads. By far the most common problem with older tyres and rims, is either rusty rims puncturing the inner tube causing sudden de-flation, or the usual nails or other road debris doing the same from the outside. M.o.T testers can't check either of them!

Jules

Oh buy the way before any asks why am i talking about lubricating oils as opposed to fuels tip it in you fuel tank if it goes through the filters engine wont know any difference

Indeed I have another mate who runs his Shogun on waste engine oil mixed 50/50 with diesel. It was all fine until he overdid the waste oil, making it smoky until warm, and also hard to start in the morning. He then tried to cure this and tipped in a gallon of thinners. This improved the starting and smoke, but then he found it wouldn't turn off! The thinners dis-agreed with the rubber stop solenoid plunger, basically dissolving it! Last time I saw him he'd been through 2 more plungers that week, and was clamping the fuel feed pipe to stop the engine. It made me laugh!

Jules

Just to upset the applecart ( should that be the affle-vagen?) - I brew my own bio from waste cooking oil and have been running my TD5 Defender on it at 100% for about 16000m now. I do add about 1 gallon per tank full during temperatures below -5. It runs smoother, quieter and I have been asked at a set of lights for 'cod & chips twice' otherwise no side effects at all. Uses same amount of fuel but so much quieter. I would not run it on new cooking oil because that encourages further production of the oil.

I also have a friend who runs his 200Tdi on waste cooking oil. He takes it quite seriously, and uses additives as recommended. Last year he popped up to the War and Peace show, and on his way home phoned me complaining that his oil pressure light had come on, and that all his engine oil had "disappeared". Indeed nothing showed on his dipstick. He tipped some fresh in, which took ages to pour in, and seemed to overfill the sump, but not cure the lack of pressure!

Eventually having been towed to the workshop, further investigation revealed that his engine oil had turned to a fairly firm jelly, allowing it to hold shape when tipped out of the sump! It had "gone off" in the oilways, the pushrod tubes, the turbo oil pipe etc. It did run again for a while, but was never the same, and has since been replaced. Luckily 200Tdi engines aren't too expensive, or hard to find, but with all the hassle and time spent repairing the vehicle, along with the time spent collecting and refining the fuel, I'm not sure he's ahead of the game?

On the other side it does seem to go well on the waste oil, and I seem to sell him lots of oil filters and fuel filters this year!

Jules

The gland seals I've fitted on my Militant didn't have the mating surface supplied with them. I think the two I have changed so far had just lost some of their "spring" allowing oil to seep past. They have remained dry since fitting about 6 years ago. As long as the leak is relatively slow, the oil tends to sit in the wells on the lower brake shoe keeping the friction material dry until the next M.O.T. test in my experience.

Jules

Personally I'd just drain the tank, and run it on the filters. You'd be very unlucky to have anyone test them. Within a handful of miles you'll have put a gallon of white diesel through them anyway.

I hope your first drive on the road is more successful than mine. I travelled less than half a mile before having fuel trouble. Eventually managed about a mile before admitting defeat, and got a tow to my new workshop behind a friends Unimog. It made the mog work hard up and down the hills through the local lanes! Since then it's never needed towing, but had several more difficult trips with fuel issues, until I cut a large hole in the bottom of the tank, and scraped out an inch of sediment!

The only issue I still have is an electrical one, where the original electrical cut out intermittently cuts out leaving me with no indicators or starter. I'm used to the big spark, clunk and general noise when shorting the starter solenoid to get going again when it happens.

Enjoy!!

Jules

You won't need to take prop off to test as an HGV, as the test centre can spin the wheels on each axle in opposite directions, to prevent the drive being taken to the other rear axle. It will measure the maximum effective braking on each station, and show other faults, such as binding, or ovality of the drums.

If tested as a heavy class 4 you would need to remove the rear inter axle propshaft, as both wheels on each axle need to rotate forward at the same time to test the imbalance through the range of braking. Hopefully the law won't change and you won't need a proper test.

My test is rushing around again, and I can see an argument over whether I should have a Tapley test as a heavy class 4, or take my inter axle prop off as the examiner suggested last year, or whether he'll test as if testing as an HGV, and then spend half an hour working out the imbalance by hand after the test. I can't wait!

Jules

Great job on the brakes. It all looks very familiar. The drums are quite heavy, especially when they've gone on and off several times in a day. Hopefully you don't have to get your Militant tested? The set up on the brakes was never designed for a rolling brake test, with the rod pulling one on and the tube pushing on the other, it's almost impossible to get them matched in my experience! Obviously it would have been a far better set up with one actuator per wheel station. Hopefully once they're all back together the brakes work as well as they do on mine, as I've never had any worries about stopping, just the hassle of getting through the M.O.T. test!

Jules

I think you'll find the rear cross-member, and all the outriggers will need to be shortened a bit to fit an airportable body to standard chassis. Replacing the bulkhead outriggers, I tend to find that I need to cut about an inch off to make the standard replacement parts fit. There are other minor differences, especially on an FFR chassis, with the battery position in particular.

It's all possible, but quite a lot of work. Personally if you plan to keep the LWT, I'd recommend fitting a new galvanised chassis built for one. Whilst it obviously will cost more, it will last well, save lots of time getting it together, it means everything has a good chance of being fitted in exactly the right place, and it will hold a better residual value in the long run. Many airportables I've seen, have been patched and repaired over the last 40 years, and most have issues with door shuts, or poor panel fit, owing to poor chassis/bulkhead repairs.

Jules

I changed from Roadsure to NFU this year, for my Militant, and Scammell Explorer, and saved over £100 for what is the same cover i.e. comprhensive, with any driver over 25, and 3000 miles a year each. Roadsures charges seemed to have several large increases in the last few years, when my motor trade policy seems to have remained very stable? We even have a local NFU office to go to if there is a problem.

Jules

Take it back into the cab it will fit.

My 220 fitted without having to modify the centre panel in the cab. It's close, but it does clear everywhere. Also I found it quite easy to use the original air filters and intake pipework, and adapt the Eagle throttle linkage fit. I'll try to take some photos and post them here.

Jules

While I'm on.... Has anyone got any tips regarding dropping a Rolls Eagle diesel in my Scammell (other than don't bother)??!!

 

It looks like the front crossmember will have to come out for some serious mods, due to the length of the rolls. I'm also not sure about whether I'll be able to use the Scammell clutch housing cover, as thats for a single plate push clutch and the Rolls has a twin plate pull stet up- I may have to cobble something up from a modern g/box bell housing and input shaft?!

 

The sump needs altering too, as the well is at the wrong end!!! :cry:

 

Any thoughts?

There are at least 2 ways of fitting the Eagle Diesel in an Explorer. The first I encountered was done with a 220 over 20 years ago, and basically involved extending the chassis by 4 inches, the bonnet, and the radiator stays. It also involved a 2" spacer plate moving the front axle forward by 2 ", and moving the front axle pivot/mount rearwards by 2 inches too. This allows the use of the original couplings and joining shaft and clamps between the bell housing and the gearbox. The clutch is one for the Eagle, and has had a different release mechanism fitted, and has alway worked really well, giving a far lighter release than the Meadows. No one ever notices that the chassis has been stretched unless its pointed out!

I thougth that was a lot of work, when I finally went to fit my 220. The sumps on both are rear mounted, instead of the deep front mounted one which is too deep to clear the axle diff housing. I had seen other Explorers with Eagles fitted without extending the chassis, and decided that was what I'd do. It is tight!

I did away with the short shaft at the rear, and made a 6 bolt clamp from the original 2 clamps and bolted the metalastic couplings directly together. This allowed the engine enough space to fit, but also means it has to come out to change the clutch. The web on the engine mounting cross-member had to be cut down, although machining the damper would have the same effect. The engine mountings I made up and are bolted directly to the chassis rails either side, both front and rear. I used the Eagle flywheel, machined to take the original Meadows plate. (The only major job I couldn't tackle). Most of the pipes connect up quite easily, and the only other issue was the clutch lever needed an adaptor plate.

It took me a long time to get around to fitting mine, as I bought the whole truck and engine both in pieces,. Once I'd found a rear sump, and got the engine fired up for the first time, it was in within about a week, doing it inbetween other paying work. It's not the best engine as it uses oil, I think largely because it sat around in bits for quite a while before I put it all together, allowing the bores to get a bit furry. If I used the truck every day I'd buy a recon 290 from one of the tender sales, but for now it goes well enough for a few runs out a year. The other one has been in as said for over 20 years, amd the only issue has been a leaking water pump so far!

Hope this helps.

Jules

For my Militant when it is ready, I will drive past my nearest centre and on to the centre where I know I will get a better deal. No less of a test, mind you, just a better reception

As far as I know, there is no requirement to use your nearest test centre. When Hastings didn't have a "Class" tester, both I, and previously my brother drove all the way to Purfleet in Essex for a class 4 test on the Militant. In 2008/9 Hastings tested it as an HGV, which as described in other threads was initially easy, then more difficult and expensive. Last year it was tested as a heavy class 4 (motorhome), and that worked fine, and the VOSA tester was very considerate in most respects.

Jules