Dave

I love these comparison shots.

A Diamond T looks a big truck when you see it on its own, Not so when you park next to your great grandson is it?

This is my Diamond T at the colchester garrison show a few years ago.

These two are from the Suez campaign.

A Diamond T was called to recover another one + trailer but on arriving they found that neither had a tow bar.

They decided to let out a short length of winch rope and tow the dead one with that, this worked well until the air pressure ran out in the dead truck.

One little descent resulted in this.

Ted, the guy who gave me the pictures was a REME electrician but he often went out as crewman on the T.

A few years ago organised through Pat Ware, John Blackman and CMV magazine, I had the honour and privilage of taking part (with 193 YHT) in an exercise to re-unite Mr Danny Newell, a veteran of both the North African and European campains of WW2 with a Diamond "T". A type that he drove until the wars end in 1945. For me, this day was one of the proudest day's of my life, to be able to bring a tear to the eyes and a smile to the face of such a remarkable man who played his part in a war against tyrany and opression. To be able to do this, is for me, what owning a piece of history is all about, to show my gratitude and to help educate and remind people of the sacrifices that his generation made for us to be able to live as we do. If I can make one persons day it makes the expense and skinned knuckles associated with operating and maintaining these vehicles worth while.

 

 

Steve.....

Totally with you on this one Steve.

At Beltring a few years ago i had an old guy looking round my truck, i opened the door and he got in.

He sat there a couple of minutes with his thoughts and burst into tears.

When i asked if he was ok he just said "memories boy, memories."

When people ask why did i buy a Diamond T i think about him and it seems to justify it completely.

My rough guess-timate is 170 miles from Essex to Dorset (and back of course), it`s going to be a lot further for some T owners.

Anyone got any ideas for an alternative location maybe a bit more central.

No dis-respect to GDSF, just fishing for ideas.

DAMN,

Thats 12 months less to save up.

 

An event such as this surely deserves lottery funding doesn`t it?

Next year is the 70th anniversary of the launch of the Diamond T 980-981 tank transporter,how about a "T" party to celebrate?Maybe as an added attraction at one of the bigger rallies.

It`s a fantastic idea, the question is where would you hold it?

I`m sure any T owner wouldn`t really want to miss the event but how many could afford it?

In a previous thread i said that i know of 7 T`s in Essex, even getting those 7 together would take some doing.

I`m up for it.

To say land rovers can`t hold their own against a toyota may be missing another point;

modern Land Rovers are crap compared to older land rovers (the series 1,2,3 and the original Range rover.)

An older vehicle could be modified by the owner for what ever he or she wanted now you can`t touch them without a laptop.

back on track though You don`t here many complaints about the Thornycroft Antar or the Scammell Commander

Oshkosh sounds like someone just sneezed.

How does my Diamond T fit in? it`s a british design but american built.

For sure not going to break any equipment with that one.

I`d like to watch it with a KERR in between them

If it`s an ex British army T there is also a plate behind the first rear axle n/s wheel.

Mine shows chassis no and base overhaul dates.

Handy if you can`t find the chassis number behind the front wheel like i can`t

If the Antar has sold, should |I change my user name and if so, what do you reckon it should be?

 

EagerBeaverMike sounds a bit perverted, and ExplorerMike is only any good until I sell the bl00dy thing.....

How about Ex-Antar mike, one time Antar mike, or usedtobeantarnowknownassomethingelsemike.

Gritineye`s point about cable length is something i thought about early on, however one thing we`re not really short of is space to put the batteries, either on the trailer or on the truck.

I`ve just had a look at some charge splitters but what sort of amp rating do i need? overkill is probably the order of the day but as these things seem to go from £200 up what should i really be looking for?

As i said in my opening msg i won`t be using loads of high-demand gadgets.

There are split chargers available from In Car enternatment places they ar not cheap. But cheraper than blowing something up or setting fire to things. I have one that wil take anythnig from 6 to 50 volts and tap off at difrent voltages. Maplin's do some very useful kit, including a 24 volt inverter now.

The gadget is made by Sure Power Industries, Tualtin, Oregon Multi battery isolator Mod. 2402. give you a place to start at least.

http://www.surepower.com/

Thanks Tony, i`ll have a look

Hi Dave

There are droppers up to at least 10amps output. They are voltage regulated so will charge a battery ok over time. The thing to watch for is that they will not switch to "trickle" or switch off when the battery is charged so you would need to make sure it is not charging too long. Also a large capacity battery may cause the dropper to operate at "max" for a time and get warm! Not sure if it would need any extra regulating when used as a charger, but in theory should be ok.

As a bonus you can use your Sat-nav etc.

Iain

SAT NAV - Don`t let the "originality or nothing" boys hear those words, you`ll be banished for life

I drove past Scampton last week, on passing the main gate i said "this is where Nigger got killed by a car"

My missus who would normally have given me one of her looks on hearing this. just said yes and he was buried on the airfield whilst his owner was over Germany. Not being renowned for her miitary history memory i was well chuffed.

If the new film lets the yanks take the credit the dogs owner would be compassionate leave and counselling not winning a VC by leading what is generally regarded as the most accurate bombing raid of the whole war.

Hi Dave

Try a voltage dropper (or a 24v to 12v split charger), available up to 10amp output. These are commonly used on trucks to power accessories etc. Try your local factor / HGV specialist or "CDC Truck" and "HGV Direct" both online.

The split charger is expensive but maybe suits your use, a voltage dropper is cheaper and will do the job but beware of overcharging!

Cheers

Iain

Plenty of food for thought here, i have already plannned on a solar charger Howard, the fridge (yes it is a fridge and not a cool box) will take 12 or 24v , 240 through an adaptor but no gas option.

My plan was to have a 12v battery in the back of the T so that when we go off to the arena and the T is running we can have a quick re-charge at the same time. park up, plug in the trailer, job done.

Would a voltage dropper give enough oomph to charge a battery rather than powering the accessories through it?

The idea of a second alternator seems to be popular with boats i just wondered if anyone had tried it on a truck.

I`m soon going to be kitting out a "small" living van to go behind the T,

I`m planning on having a single 12V, 100 AH leisure battery to feed the trailer as we only need power for the fridge, lights and a couple of low-demand bits.

The question is what is the easiest way to charge a 12v battery from a 24v system?

Reading on the web if you just take a feed from one battery you get unbalnced charging,

the other option is a second alternator giving you a 12v supply when the engine is running.

Has anyone tried this? has anyone got a better idea?

any info gratefully recieved.

To modify or not, doesn`t really bother me, my rule is try and keep it looking sort of original but what goes on underneath the skin is my business!

One thing that really does hack me off though is the bloke who buys a tax exempt and probably near standard land rover, then puts coil springs, a 3.9 V8 and all the other modern bits on board but still keeps the old tax exempt plate.

If they didn`t buy all this crap they would still be able to afford the proper tax!

Rant done- thank you.

I was once told by a blues and royals major that nobody gets in or out or on or off a tank,

One mounts or dismounts.

I would like to have seen him dismount correctly the next time i saw him when his sultan was on it`s side on soltau

VOSA test stations have a load simulator which presses down on the bed above the axle being tested. This can be set to give the required load. If you present a vehicle that this cannot be used on, you have to load the vehicle to a prescribed weight.

It` s a mad world out there!

When my low-loader was up for test the trailer wasn`t required to be laden for the brake test

but the tractor unit was as the load simulator couldn`t press down hard enough on the back of the solo unit.

other questions i have wondered about are

Will a saracen have to comply with seat belt regulations for all seats as a mini-bus?

Will my Diamond T 981 have to have rear mud flaps fitted?

The standard mirors on our vehicles are bound to raise questions (size/field of view)

How long before they are on about tachograph law? licensng groups etc?

I once had to remove a dashboard mounted fan because it supposedly obscured my vision whilst driving how many ex-mil vehicles have a completely clear field of view throught their windows?

I think eventually this will fall flat on it`s butt, until then it`s going to be a stressful time for all of us.

Clearly affected are Diamond T 980/981. Although pre 1960, there exeption is not based on being a pre 1960 vehicle, used unladen. These are not goods vehicles, they are locomotives, not being designed, themselves, to carry a load. At the moment exempy due to being a Loco. that is prposed to change.

 

Diamond T 969, currently exempt, (recovery vehicle) but due to become mandatory tested.

 

And I just want to say there are some out there who seem a bit complacent, saying it doesn't affect me. No-one knows how their life will pan out and many aspire to own a larger vehicle. This needs fighting, not just because of wehat you own, but also what you might end up owning one day in the future!

You make a point i`d previously overlooked Mike.

I was happily reading all these posts thinking that i was ok because my Diamond T 981 was ok because of its age, but then as you correctly point out they will still collar me for the fact that it`s a locomotive, (irrespective of it`s age)

Once again they get you one way or another.

One question which throws even more confusion my way is my living van based on a later arrows 1 3/4Ton trailer. if i`ve got it right it won`t need testing if i tow it behind my 101 ( max towing weight 2 tons according to the vehicle data plate) but it will if i tow it behind the T.

I have one simple question;

The original film was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,

How can it possibly be better than the original?

Work like you don`t need the money,

love like you`ve never been hurt,

dance like no-ones watching,

sh*g like you`re being filmed.

happy new year to all

Dave

Diamond T981

Land Rover 110 gs

Land Rover 101 ( 300 tdi auto conversion under way as we spaeak)

Make it snappy Ian, I`ll only be fractions of a second behind you.

dave

I did an lpg conversion on a Range rover a few years back, you `d be surprised how quickly you get your money back if you work out the respective cost of 50ltrs gas against 50 ltrs petrol. The only thing i found was if you have any ignition problems on petrol, gas will make them seem much worse.

Failing that i know someone who runs on the throw-away mix of petrol which has been pumped out of diesel engined cars. Definitely worth asking around as the garages have to pay to get rid of it anyway.

Dave

Diamond T 981

Land Rover 110gs

Land rover 101 gs

Hi Adrian

Sorry it`s not another toy, it is ex-italian though. I bought this one as a spares pack for the 981. I`ve sold the cab, winch, engine and some other bits, got most of my money back and still kept the bits i wanted, ie the running gear.

I sold the trailer too. i can just about reverse a turntable trailer but my T has the narrow cut out over the front towing eye, unlike later models. As a result you couldn`t put the trailer on the nose and push it. The shows i go to don`t give you a lot of room for access so i decided to sell it. I would still like a "proper" Rogers though.

Dave

Diamond T981

Land Rover 110gs

Land Rover 101gs