Richard Farrant

Thanks John, for posting Allan's message. I did not receive it by email so glad you posted it. I will definitely be at Headcorn for both days, with my friends. See you there. regards, Richard

Check brakes are not binding, wheel cylinders on Ferrets are renowned for seizure. Also don't let the engine labour, change down rather than let it slog in a high gear.

Jon, The latest MVT magazine arrived in the post today, so you may not have long to wait.

Hi Jules, Why not contact Martin Hull, he provides a spares service for Autovac units, http://www.autovac.co.uk/ regards, Richard

By coincidence, I have just been reading an article on these gun mounts in an Australian MV club newsletter. There have been a number of NOS mounts for sale at the Corowa event in last few years, in fact a couple of weeks ago I helped load one on to a trailer while at the event. Here is a link to the newsletter with article: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtaWxpdGFyeXNlY3Rpb258Z3g6M2FmYjA2NzM0MmE1ZWIzNQ

Hi Malcolm, Do you have the air cleaner connected to the carb? If not this will have an effect on the mixture and could give symptoms of it being lean. regards, Richard

Hi, It looks to be a French Renault UE tankette with a form of turret or superstructure added, possibly by the Germans having captured it.

Hi Phil, I take it your question is not just aimed at UK club newsletters? I am editor of the monthly newsletter for the Australian ex-Military Vehicle Collectors Society, the club based in Sydney, NSW. Given my location, this may seem odd, but I took it on as a stop gap when the previous editor resigned and have now been doing it for over 2 years. It is on average about 18 pages, sometimes larger if a lot of coming event news is received. Mostly emailed out, but about 30% of members still request a printed copy, otherwise there would be no restraint on page numbers. This goes out monthly, except Jan and March when there are no meetings. regards, Richard

Your starter should have a manual lever, operated by a control cable. The lever may be jammed and contacts touching partially. I would check this out, and disconnect the feed cable from starter live terminal so you can test the starter circuit only first. Once you know that is working, then connect the feed to rest of vehicle.

Did this fizz come as you connected the battery, or when you attempted to use the starter? If it was as you connected, then it sounds like a dead short somewhere. Is the wiring harness connected to the starter live terminal yet?

Hi David, Here is a Lumenition rev limiter ; http://www.lumenition.com/images/pdfs/ERL-V-instructions.pdf This is not visually like the one fitted on CVR(T) engines, but worth enquiring with Autocar (who supply Lumenition) to see if it is compatible with the ones the MoD were supplied. Richard

Hi Rick, Well done to you and the Albion. It was great to ride in her back in 2011 when you took her to Corowa. regards, Richard

If you have a multimeter, the first thing to do is check that all the earth connections are clean and making good contact, especially if you have painted the chassis, etc.

I believe the ones used by the British Army are under a leasing scheme.

Hi David, I am no electronics expert, but worked a lot with J60 engined vehicles at REME workshops for many years. The CVR(T) and Fox were both introduced with conventional points set up, but due to the distributor rotating opposite to the B Range engines, there was a problem with wear of points cam heel, and the regular resetting of points, which entails a lot of work on both vehicles. A modification was introduced to convert the distributors to the new Lumenition system. The Fox had no speed limiter in the circuit, only CVR(T) had it. To be honest if driven with respect, a limiter is not necessary. I understand the speed limiter rotor arm was not satisfactory on the J60 and thus not used. I was told why many years ago, and think it could have been something to do with causing engine damage.

When doing a suspended tow on a Ferret, the procedure was to remove the sun gears from the hubs of wheels on the road, ie, a front suspended tow means removing rear sun wheels. So if you had to do a flat tow, then remove all 4 sun gears.

Hi Andrew, The fuse box with Bakelite lid and secured by a central screw is, (off the top of my head) a CAV type 5ML and was used on commercial type military vehicles, for instance the Austin lorries in WW2. It was still supplied by Lucas CAV up in to the 1970's. The No.5 dated back pre-war.

Hi Andrew, I have searched for lids for the CAV No.5 fuse boxes in the past with no luck, and have made them out of thin copper sheet and soldering together, looks the part once finished with dull black paint.

Martin, I think it was the Cole sun compass on a Dingo, from memory.

Crikey Sam, throwing BSF bolts away, wish you were near to me I come round to your scrap bin! I use BSF all the time. When we get out of the EU they can take all their damned metric threads back as well

I think this may have come up before, is it Buckinghamshire ........... Rotinoff's maybe?

After a second look, I can see the 'L' plate on the Abbot so confirming my theory.

Hi Bob, Looking at the markings on the turret of the Abbot, I would say it was from the RAC Centre (diagonal sign, red/yellow), and War Office Controlled Unit (I think that was the term used for training centres). Seem to think RA tracked drivers were trained by RAC, so out from Bovington. regards, Richard

Terry, You could try giving them a good coat of talcum powder or French chalk, what ever you have to hand. regards, Richard

Hi 10 68, Probably did not get the reconditioned gearbox at Stirling. 26 Dist Wksp had a long term programme of Land Rover gearbox rebuilds, while we at 44 Dist Wksp rebuilt the engines. The gearboxes (or engines) were sent back to Central Ordnance Depot and then sent out when a demand came in for one. The old assembly would return to COD and when the stock levels demanded they sent back out to who ever was rebuilding, and so the circle went on.