alixcompo

While it may not be such an authentic solution, why not use a modern aditive such as 'K Seal' in the cooling system once the engine is running. Whilst not specifically endorsing it, this product will seal a leaking head gasket so I'm sure it would plug pin holes and any other part of the system which might have become porous.

I was in Tesco'z and said I was 'so hungrey that I could eat a horse'. An assistant immediately booked me a stable for two

I'd buy mammoth burgers if I could find them. All I can get are low fat with reduced 'Shergar' Even then I ckecked the sell by date . And they are..........................OFF Sorry I am a bit horse with laughter about the burger issue

Thanks for allowing me into your world. A happy and successful year to you all

On t'internet http://www.radiowarandpeace.org/programme_info.html

Yeah War & Peace radio is excellent. People don't realise it is 24/7 and all year long. I listen every evening

I'm in Elm Park and it's B****y freezing

Wow, finally I have had a chance to break down the donor I have been asking myself why we do this stuff but I know it will pay dividends in the future. Like I should live long enough..... I've been having persistant back problems for the last two months I'm sure my ostyopath has bought a new car since I have been seeing him And here we are loading the bits up on my daily driver. Bought as a scrap yard dog five years ago it has worked its little socks off. Fantastic

My wife has a few ideas about this vehicle and tracks but it involves me and the bedford stranded on a level crossing.

So I've been shopping again Amazing how they keep turning up Lots of very useful spares although this is a much later vehicle than my MK1 The fact that I've brought it home to carfully dismantle has gone down very badly, so it's a mad panic to get it stripped and into the lock up where it is both out of sight and in stock. I'm hoping to use the major lumps (engine/g'box, suspensionn, axle etc) to stick on mine while I refurb the original items. My original plan for the MK1 to be a rolling restoration has been hampered by needing to make it strong enough to actually restore. But it almost has brakes now, it runs fairly well and now it has a nice new wiring loom courtesy of the new arrival. Incidentally, when I went to pick up the latest aquisition it was rotten wenough to just roll the roof and sides off the vehicle. These are still available in case anyone wants to convert their Dormobile into a rarer panel van. The guttering has had it but bits to replace your windows are perfect as is the ribbed MK2 roof.

I still have my eye to the ground for a Munga but prices seem to be a grand for anything with an engine. Too rich for me when there is a load of restoration to do as well. Yours would probably pay off your mortgage.! I'm thinking I will leave it for a while. I will get one eventually but have picked up an alternitive project for now.

I thought that I had read in the motoring press that if a vehicle was modified from original then it would only need an MoT inspection despite being old enough to be exempt. I hope that I am right

UPDATE: I managed to scrape back the chassis & underside from the handbrake back, and got a coat of brushed on 2 pack over it. The prop and fuel tank are back on and I have temporarily fitted the exhaust system. It starts readily and easily and after running it for about 20 minute burst several times, it now blow very little smoke from the exhaust. I have noticed that one of the core plugs is dripping. My solution for now is to chuck in a bottle of 'K seal' which will last until I pull the engine out for a clean up and to get the head 'unleaded'. Which is all a bit dull and why I haven't posted anything recently............... However; it did occur to me that someone might be amused at my electrical system Believe it or not this is both the ignition and charging set up. The switch is the jump lead that goes from a good earth (engine in this case) to the negative battery terminal. And the starter button is the big red lead knocking about that I hold onto the positive terminal until the engine starts. So for my next trick; I thought all those people who are terrified of vehicle electrics and think I am kidding. So I drew this circuit on the back of an envelope. Easy isn't it? The wire with the bulb in it is the exciter wire for the alternator. When the engine starts and the alt is turning fast enough to produce a charge the this is the light that goes out. It runs from the positive side of the battery, via the bulb, to the small terminal on the alternator. If that bulb blows the the alternator will not produce a charge. The next wire (a bit thicker than the last) goes from either of the two big terminals on the alternator directly to the positive post of the battery. It does not pass go, receive two hundred pounds or ever have a fuse in it. It is heavier cable because it carries a charge. Next wire is a thin wire again. This is the ignition lead which goes from the positive terminal on the battery to the coil. If you are a nefarious bastid, then this wire is called a 'HotWire' because it can by-pass the ignition switch negation the need for a key.And it is how people used to steal cars before they had proper locks and immobilisers. The wire from the other side of the coil goes to the contact breaker points on the distributor. And that is it. Simples! If you really want to be confused then the photo of the battery is blurred because the engine was running despite the fact that the earth was disconnected...! This is due to the alternator providing enough charge to self sustain the ignition circuit. As long as those 3 wire touched one another I could have taken the battery away from the vehicle and it still would have continued to run. That's why it is always best to have a switch in the ignition wire.. Now contrary to popular belief I won't be leaving the wiring loom like this. I will in fact have all kinds of sophisticated nonsense like switches, fuses, and lots of relays. I like relays; not only for the fact that they look really complicated and people think I am clever but also because they save having to run high power all over the place and allow me to use thin wire. So there you go and Bob's yer auntie ( as they say in genetic reorientation circles) You might imagine that if you added a lighting circuit onto my envelope then it would just go from the positive side of the battery. As with all half completed restorations that we don't spend enough time working on; I am spicing up the mix by collecting another project vehicle tomorrow. More of that later perhaps.

Yep that's the one. Stirring stick, 3 speeds, just waggle it about; they are all in ther somewhere

The van did make it to War & Peace this year. A pic appears in 'Military Machines' November issue (p64) have your magnifying glass to hand. Best I have it driving around next year then

I have had a bit of a bad run recently mainly regarding damaging my back quite badly. However a £100 spent at the ostyopath and I can almost tie my own laces again. I am hoping to use my incapacity to convince my better half that I really should have a two post lift in the back yard. However, until that unlikely event I have spent a couple of hours this evening laying under the van scraping the chassis. Bizzarely I really do find this theraputic; just as well really as it will take me weeks.

I thought that. I just couldn't resist a tease. There does seem to be quite a lot of MV snobbery in the hobby. I suppose you could call it Drab Green envy. I just love wacky vehicles that were designed with a single purpose without compromise.

Is that your best "I have one and you haven't voice?" I never sneered. In fact I didn't even know that Munga's existed until a few months ago.

It's mine I want it.... Missed the last one by twenty quid.

Although my chassis is on a small scale to some, I was using POR 15 which is excellent to very expensive. Added to which you have to use small tins as they start to harden as soon as you remove the lid for the first time. After a recomendation from my son who paints commercial vehicles professionally I now use two pack which is infinately cheaper, gives me plenty of time for application and...... I put it on with a brush. Put a thin coat over and let it sticky up, then apply the top coat. Mix is about 2 to 1. If you choose you can apply directly to steel without a primer. It works for me.

I live near Romford. Had to change 2 vehicles to be LEZ compliant and cant bring my motorhome to my house anymore. How we laughed Guffaw guffaw. LEZ area is virtually bounded by the M25. That's a big area

So where have I been.? Well I must confess to spending a week at the Great Dorset Steam Fair (a must visit for everyone but don’t go for just one day) You may recall that I mentioned removing the fuel tank..... I reckoned that while I could get to a couple of inaccessible areas then it would be worth scrapping off and painting just that area. While the copious application of old fashioned underseal has undoubtedly saved the vehicle for all these years, it very quickly became apparent that having moved from Malta to our English climate the afore-said coating has been having the reverse effect and actually trapping condensation. The petrol tank itself is in perfect condition and after a couple of evenings irritating the neighbours by stripping it’s coating with a rotary wire brush I managed to coerce our lad to give it a coat of 2 pack black. It is now a thing of beauty which I occasionally stroke on passing. ( And next door appreciates the fact that their dog is now a dapple colour from sniffing under the fence) It should be refitted by now of course (the tank not the dog) but for the fact that I realise that I need to strip the entire underside. It is a strangely therapeutic exercise; clad in boiler suit, gloves’ balaclava and glasses I have spent many happy hours covered in all kinds of crap including gearbox and axle grease, Maltese mud, paint chips, dust and hardened bitumen or what-ever it is that antique underseal is comprised of. I have discovered that it is vital to have a spare lead lamp bulb within easy reach as every couple of hours these tend to give up the ghost submersing me in total darkness. Covered in a variety of detritus, temporarily blind and entirely disorientated, this usually results in me striking my head against the most robust part of the chassis unless there is something sharp and spiteful in easier reach. In scraping the chassis it was very rapidly apparent that even the more recalcitrant areas of underseal concealed angry surface rust. In many areas this corrosion was very aggressive. I have to say the underside of my van is perfect and requires no welding or repair. However If I don’t deal with the underseal then I’d give it about 18 months to major repair. I quickly realised that it wasn’t just the main frame which need to be stripped and painted. While some areas have been well protected and the original paint exists; lots of areas adjacent to these have a good deal of new surface rust. Biting the bullet I set too. In one week I managed to require a visit to A&E in order to retrieve paint chips from my eyes, had to be tow started in a crematorium car park and had an emergency visit to an osteopath to be able to move at all. The funeral was my ex mother in law whom I assume used all of her last wishes to attack the bastid that divorced her daughter. Secretly I think I may have deserved it. I am pleased to report that after 8 days I have just returned to underneath the CA and I can put on my own socks and tie up my boots. It has been a trial but hopefully I have survived.. I have been able to access Ebay of course. In my continuing search for obscure Bedford items I continue to buy cheap things that may conceivably turn out to be useful. It has proved to be very tricky to obtain pedal boots through which these foot levers operate. My secret plan is to use cut down Mini steering rack gaiters which are about the right size and very cheap. This is what I needed. (I should mention at this point for the benefit of our Antipodean cousins that the grean stuff is in fact grass) However; for a fiver I spotted a genuine Bedford item that I suspected might do the job. This is what arrived. This is the two of them together...! Back to the drawing board then.......

Hi, I'm searching for a 'Munga' to restore and collecting info. Any pointers will help. Thanks

I was bidding on the one on Ebay tonight but came a close second.

Hi, I've found this a fascinating thread. Until I chatted to a guy at this years War & Peace I didn't know Munga's even existed. Now I have a peculiar passion to own one. While I can't afford a pristine example I am desperate to join the clan. If anyone has most of one, or a complete one, needing restoration (ideally in the UK) for not too much cash then I am your man. I wouldn't be scared of a complete basket case as I like a challenge. A blown/siezed or missing engine isn't a problem. I'm excited already