Richard Farrant

The way I see it, the problem has to be a simple one. What is different to standard? Alternator fitted ........ can you be sure that it is not starting to overcharge after a few miles and thus higher voltage to coil creating heat? I still would be suspicious of the coil though. Many years back I had a call to a Dennis fire tender with Jag 4.2 engine. On several occasions the AA had been called out because of failing ignition and points were found to be closing. On investigation I saw it had Lucas Quickfit points (the ones with red plastic heel) and the heel was distorted, obviously getting hot. I removed the coil and checked the part number, although it appeared to be for a 12v vehicle, it was in fact for one with a ballast. The owner said the coil had been one as long as he had known but the points had been renewed prior to the fault occurring, previous points had hard fibre heel which heat did not effect. My point is you cannot discount the coil unless you can be 100% sure it is for a true 12v ignition set up. I would cross check the Intermotor part number to see what vehicles it fits.

I thought that was the case, but Mike saying he changed the polarity made me wonder. Just added to my last post too, because if you go and ask for a GMC coil they would be 6v, and thereby may be the problem.

Probably quicker and more efficient to lay a carpet of stone on the road with a walking floor than tipping a pile out and hand shovelling.

Mike, I have been looking again at what you have done and come across this sentence above, where you say you have changed polarity from Positive Earth to Negative Earth. Am I correct so far? You say you have been getting your components from Rex, so the coil would assumedly be for an original +ve earth GMC? Coils are made to be on or the other. They do not perform correctly if reversed. You may be connecting it with switch wire to + and - to distributor, but if it a +ve earth coil then there could be the problem. You need to try a known Neg Earth 12 coil. Maybe you have done this already and I missed it Just occurred to me that the GMC was originally 6volt ........... you would not be using 6v coil instead of 12v? This will cause the points to get hot.

Try your nearest BOC Store (British Oxygen). They do a nice line in paint now.

The first show held at the Hop Farm had around 200 vehicles and everything was on the field where stalls were at last show. Arena was against main road and all stalls, vehicles and camping went back about halfway down that field. The show evolved slowly over the years. The last couple of years the field called Medway had to be opened up. This was quite a hike to get to as well as other outlying fields. The Racecourse is a far better layout with the grandstand area being the focal point with great facilities. Having been going there right from the start, the move was like a breath of fresh air, the old site was getting stale and tired. Not only that with it low lying fields, any wet weather seriously affected it. The racecourse is well drained, there was mud, but nothing like it might have been at the old site. It may now be a bit closer for me, but that is of little consequence, it is a vast improvement. I fully support it as do many other people. Don't forget with several other major MV happenings in Europe this year there will be some who have not enough holiday to do all.

Because of the size and scope of the event, it attracts people from all over the world. I have met old and new friends there this year from afar a field as NZ and Canada, this would not happen at any other event in this country. There were a number of different vehicles on show this year that have not been at W&P before.

It looks like the back end of another DROPS parked in front of it.

Ford Transits rattled all the time, but people kept buying them! :-D

The seller at W&PR is the one with the website address in post #2 of this thread

LV6/MT4/CB/G7A24/7X fitted to Commer lorry 3 ton 4x4, fixed container body (W/T), Saracen FV603A and Centurion tanks Mk III and VII taken from 1956 Vocab

your clue of the name being used on a Canadian and a US vehicle ......... a Ram or a Lynx? Still no idea of the items purpose though.

Mike, I believe the GMC originally had an ignition filter in the line from the ignition switch to the coil. If it is still in circuit, I would bypass it as I have known these filters on other vehicles to break down and leak to earth. Worth checking. regards, Richard

Hi Ken, Treat the outer tracta and the epicylic hub as two different levels, although they can flow through. Fill outer tracta until it comes out of level plug half way up. For the hub, have the filler plug either 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock and fill to level of hole. You do not want to over fill either one because it will leave no room for expansion and hub seal may leak. regards, Richard

Eager Beaver ???

Fox ?? as in fox hole ....... back to shuttering or trench support, so guess I am wrong.

Hi Ron, Afraid I do not agree on the above. The condenser used on a Rolls B range engine is 0.2mfd. That is for 4, 6 or 8 cylinders. It matters not whether it is 6 volt or 12 and to how many cylinders the engine has. Just a quick look at a Lucas catalogue will show you one particular condenser that was used on anything from a Mini right through to an Aston Martin DBS V8. cheers Richard

David, If you mean with Simex, the problem was that they were taken over by Continental Tyres and it could be that they are controlling what is brought in to Europe. I had a set of 5 from their European HQ about 10 years ago and fitted to a MW. Had an order for 25 which was the last time we could get them. There was no guarantee of getting them as they were only arriving in dribs and drabs. Only sizes in their catalogue as I recall was 9.00-16 and 11.00-20

Shuttering for trenches?

When in service this problem often came up and it was usually a build up of debris and dust drawn into the engine compartment, mixed with a little oil and coating the engine side of radiator core.

Guy, The Trackgrip tyres on your Ferret are Runflat type, hence the thicker walls and extra weight. Any tyres you intend to fit need to be of a suitable weight rating and run at a recommended pressure for that tyre , which may not be the same pressure as used with Runflats. As Diana has posted, check ply and load ratings for replacement tyres.

Richard, I see your theory but in reality, the Lucas specified coil for a 4.2 straight six Jag is the same one as fitted to a Reliant Robin, Land Rover 2a or 3, and a good number of other British and European vehicles, largest engine listed with same coil being a Rolls B81 straight 8 in a Dennis. There is no matter whether it is a 4 or 8 cyl and how large the engine is. cheers Richard

Hi Sean, From the picture of it in the box, it looks like a FV type fuel gauge sender, other side is puzzling though.

I have seen problems with ignition switches that intermittently halt the flow of current. . Might be worth checking. The coil getting hot by someone's reckoning, yet John said it failed and was not hot, maybe the coil issue is a red herring. I could not see any mention of the distributor cap, are the contacts inside the cap clean? I came across a problem recently where a coil had been connected in reverse (for years) and caused a build up on the contacts, scraped off and been fine since, (after changing the coil and connecting correctly). Watch any coils that are only marked CB and SW as you cannot be sure if they are for Neg or Pos Earth systems. regards, Richard

Going back to my apprentice days ... in late 60's. Champions had a percentage of duff plugs. When we were going out on a job with new Champion plugs the mechanics would test them on one of the servicing machines where you could fire the plug under simulated cylinder pressure. One in six might fail and the storemen would tear their hair out when you tried to change them. Champions improved greatly in later years with their "copper core" range which came out to challenge the likewise NGK plugs.