101 Ron

A good site http://matchlessclueless.com/electrical/general/battery-selection/

I think the cover was supplied with the batteries of the day and fitted the battery purchased. The new batteries now don't fit the plastic cover as they are not designed for it. May be a repo motor bike battery supply co could supply a matching battery and cover if really wanted. The flat metal hook is the same as used to hold equiptment inside other military vehicles. If the poster has trouble I can take and post detail pictures.......I should be fitting a new battery in one of mine and getting it working this weekend.

The B40 BSAs I have had didn't use a proper battery box. The battery just sits on a small platform with a elastic type strap over the top of the battery and a metal flat hook arrangement which hooks on under the battery platform. I use a rubber inner tube cut to length from the kids push bike as the elastic. The tyre pump is the same as used for a push bike , but has a shorter barrel. I think a push bike one could be shorten to suit.

I stand corrected. I checked out a few condenser application and specs books etc and found. Mr Lucas tended to use the same size condenser in 4cyl to 8 cyl motors where possible. The Americans tended to use different condensors for the number of cylinders, but not always. The Japanese use different size condensors for the number of cylinders most of the time. I also found a Japanese industrial motor of the same make and distributor etc can have a different condenser capacity of say 2.2 MFD to 2.5 MFD the only real difference being the motor fitting of one motor having a ballast resistor and the other not. I also found a range of 4 cyl industrial motors of different brands having condensors anything from 2.0 to 2.8 MFD. I guess if the points wear even and don't ark is what counts at the end of the day. May explain why same vehicles tend to wear points unevenly though transfer of material and some times need the condenser value changed. Condensors I know from practical experience don't like the earths being swapped from pos to Neg.

Ignition system condensors...or the modern correct term capacitor is electrolytic and sensitive to polarity. The capacity of the capacitor/condenser is decided by the number of cylinders 2.2 microfarad is common for a small 4 cylinder motor, I cannot remember the normal size of a 6 cylinder motor. The size of the ignition coil ,dwell angle and vehicle design and low tension supply voltage affect the size of condenser needed. The early posts state the points are burning/pitting out on one side which indicates the condensor size needs to be changed. At the end of the day if the points are wearing evenly the condenser is the correct size for the job and design of that ignition system as it stands. The low tension voltage does climb to 500volts on a 6 volt or 12 volt base voltage, but it is the size of the condenser to suit the ignition set up at hand is everything.

I would try a condenser of the correct type.( not the standard one for 6 volt pos earth) When changing from pos earth to neg earth will kill the condenser. You may need a condenser of a different value too. I would try a condenser from a 12 volt neg earth 6 cylinder vehicle and not a standard one for 6 volt and pos earth. A faulty condenser will do the following. Run OK for a short while after a new set of points have been fitted. Will after a while start to run rough and miss fire and then be hard to start and then not start all . Fit new points and it will run OK again for a short while. With a sparkplug earthed on the motor and the ignition on with a HT lead running from the coil HT to the sparkplug which has a wider than normal gap....say 35 thou flick the points open and close with a small screw driver and carefully look at the spark being thrown. A incorrect or faulty condenser will throw a red spark on the plug and sometimes weak spark too. A correct spark will be big fat and very blue in colour. Take note points are very much a thing of the past and not made and supplied by the big names in Auto electrical. Most condensors are now made in Chinese sweat shops and sold under big name brands. I still work on a lot old points ignition industrial vehicles and is finding new condensers out of the packet are not what they used to be and I now find it is best to fit a good second hand item or a new genuine from the original vehicle dealer. If pos/neg earth has been changed.........a different type of condenser must be fitted......changing poles on a electrolytic condenser/capacitor affects its operation.

A cabinet blaster should be filtered and the exhaust routed out side the building. Sand can be and is used with wet blasting with a water pressure cleaner and sand blasting attachment. I use a chinese potable vacuum machine and a cabinet blaster as well as a cheap total loss gun using garnet as the blasters work better with garnet and it comes packed very dry. If using sand from the beach ect........is a waste of time as it is still damp even though it looks totally dry and will not work in a blaster which recycles the sand/grit. Wet blasting is a option I am switching over to because of costs and no need for a large compressor working hard.

A cabinet sandblaster doesn't expose the operator to the sand or removed particles as it is done in a cabinet fully sealed.

The Australian army did do tests with a product called Molybond which is similar to the Oil Dag as is advailable as a grease, spray on , and oil. They were looking for increased life from the drive trains of the Saracen. Live of the hubs(tracta joints not mentioned) was more than doubled. In the mid 1980s when I was in RAEME the Australian army extensively used Molybond in engine assembly and extreme service drive trains...........I asked why and got the Saracen story repeated to me by many different people. http://www.itwpf.com.au/molybond_lubricants/ http://www.itwpf.com.au/molybond_lubricants/product.aspx?productid=69

My Stalwart has Two marks on the dip stick. If the round cross member tank has more than half full of oil it must be feeding oil to the hubs. I doubled checked OX320 has a common name of oil dag and is still advailable , but at a cost. It is a graphite compound to help with lube of the tracta joint forks. I found on my stalwart with oil dag just added only to the round cross member tank, the black oil dag found its way though to all the hubs after a few runs. Even though there is only one hose going to each hub in the system must breath all the time though the hoses with temperature changes etc.

Thanks Richard as always. Were the early MK 2 Stalwarts up graded to central lube, the driver servicing books indicate the early mark 2 Stalwarts were not fitted only ones with the crane. I find it interesting MK1 Stalwarts appear to have some MK2 features like removable front body corners to fit inside aircraft and later model swim boards..........I am guessing some sort of up date/ rebuild program ? Ron

I think only the Limbers and REME stalwarts had the central lube and information on the central lube is found on attachments to the various drivers/service books for those models. What do you want to know?........it is a simple set up.

If some one really really wants to have ago on one of these machines the NSW one is the way to go as it must be moved from its current location and the price would be very, very reasonable as the owner knows transport and restoration costs of these things are though the roof. Both machines the Mornington and NSW ones together would make a complete machine with spares. The tracks and track wheels are in very good condition on the NSW machine. The tracks are not very solid things like a full on tank and I bet the tracks buried under the ground on the Mornington machine are stuffed.

More pics of the NSW Buffalo.

If you do your home work unrestored they are worth only metal scrap value. At over 3 mtrs wide the transport costs go though the roof and then add your time and effort to restore a very large vehicle and you will see why. The NSW one is a good start for some one and can be picked up at a good price. It is mostly complete...............but the effort to restore one of these machines is just so great and then what do you do with it. The tracks are not robust enough to take a pounding all the time on hard dry land and it is a problem to transport. They are very much a purpose built vehicle. I hope some one saves the NSW buffalo and the one in North Qld would be great for spares and any missing parts.

The stop light switch on mine I found the plastic piston had grown a little bit and the switch had been hot due to age and dirty contact points which heated up by the extra resistance of the dirty points and slightly melded the plastic the points bar sits in. The answer was with a points file clean the contact points and file down the plastic piston and housing where needed and get everything back loose and working and straight. I suspect the points get a high resistance though lack of use. using the LED globes stops any heat up of the point bar in the stop light switch housing due to the very low current draw and the stop light lens cracking with swimming problem due to the reduced heat a LED globe gives off in side the light.

Use LED replacement globes. They are advailable in 24volt and use much less current and give the contacts on the stop light switch a easier time. They also stop the glass light lens cracking with temperature stress when swimming. The hot glass hits the cold water with a normal globe and cracks the glass. LED stops all the problems.