Richard Farrant

Hi Ron, The number B199 relates to an Army Auxiliary Workshop. These were contractors to the Ministry of Supply and quite often garages, engineering shops or manufacturers service depots. Many years ago I had asked Brian Baxter at REME Museum, Arborfield, if there was a list. He did not know of one at the time. A few have been identified, one being Henlys garage at Weston Super Mare, which overhauled Austin Champs. My M20 has B180, 3-3-1944 on it. Army Command and Base Workshops used a different code as far as I am aware. For instance, the one I worked in was originally 14 Comd Wksp ( changing in early Sixties to 44 Comd Wksp), there code was ECO2, which related to Eastern Command as it was in their area during WW2. regards, Richard

Hi Ron, If you are trying to identify any, let me know. I worked for many years at a Command Workshop, that dated back to wartime and still keep coming across the code for it on engines particularly. We still used the same ID as was used during the war, right through to the mid-90's . I have a list somewhere, but can remember a few.

Thanks Clive. I had a feeling it was something to do with India.

Camel or Elephant ?

Crikey Big Brother is watching us :shake: When I came out, someone else was waiting for me. :-)

Richard, You need to elaborate a bit more on your towing vehicle, as you don't appear to wish to do so, let us take a GMC CCKW for an example. If it were to be dieselised, heaven forbid , you will have the facility of an air compressor, but still retain hydraulic brakes. There is a master cylinder which then goes to the vacuum booster / servo. The easy way to do this is remove the booster and fit a unit such as the Airpak, (used in Stalwarts, but also in commercial vehicles in the past). This does the same as the booster, receiving pressure from the master cyl. when brake pedal is actuated. Only this time it opens air from a resevoir (which will have to be fitted), to boost the hydraulic line pressure. It can also be adapted to apply air pressure to trailer brakes. My suggestion is to check out the braking system of a Stalwart, preferably a Mk1 as that only had one master cylinder and airpak, the Mk2 had a dual system that could confuse, but should offer the same information and give you an idea of what components you will require. They had a full air trailer braking facility. Hope this is of some help. :-) regards, Richard

All useful information here, hope Rcubed is taking notes

Richard, I am with Tony (NOS) on this, we need to know what vehicle you are intending to convert before any real advice can be given. I would think if it were a GMC for instance, an air over hydraulic unit to assist the hydraulics, and one spring brake chamber for the handbrake. A friend of mine fitted a diesel in a Bedford QL and did it this way and it has been quite succesfull. The advice from Gritineye about spring brake chambers is very important. I have rebuilt a good number and you need the correct compression tool and even then it is not foolproof. I once saw a guy doing on of these at work and minutes later I heard a spring flying across the floor hitting everything in its path. Expecting the worst I went to see if he was alright and he was sat on the floor with a look of bewilderment, luckily for him it went away from him, else it would have knocked his head off. regards, Richard

Commer Q yes, but not a wartime model as it has an ohv engine, probably late 1940's.

As an apprentice starting in 1967, I recall my first pay packet was about £3 and 15 shillings.

The number group 00ZR01 to 03ZR76 was allocated to Centurions, and the following number, 00ZR95 was a Cent MkV.

Hi Nick, I think this is the location; Ordnance Storage and Disposal Depot, Branston, Staffs.

That has just reminded me, a Becket Loop. The Bedford TM 14 tonne 6x6 winch had a rope secured this way, from thinking back.

Quite often the thrust washers are steel with a bronze face, so without fully stripping you never know, .

I thought KYW numbers were familiar, just looked on the Austin K2 ambulance register and there are two with numbers either side of the Scammell, KYW896 and KYW939.

Peter, You are digging deep into the archives, that was several years ago when I posted that.

Those Ministry of Supply plates were fitted after the war, so I would be pretty sure that your Pioneer was transfered from the Army to a government establishment in the late 40's/early 50's as the two prototype Ferrets were registered KYW49 and KYW50, so it was registered after them.

David, I nearly choked on my cup of tea when reading your last sentence

David, A Guernsey address on the website, think it is something to do with Gerald ....

Sorry Joe, I missed your reply. It can happen due to several reasons, but usually if a band is out of adjustment. It is assumed by a lot of people who know little about how the boxes work, that they self adjust when you pedal up before use. This is not always the case as the adjusting ring trigger lever may not be in range to operate, then you can pedal until the cows come home. Over the last 35+ years I have reset boxes to overcome these faults. It is when a band is worn right out that the trouble starts, and the box has to be overhaulled. Hope this explains things a bit. regards, Richard

More like a couple of thousand psi, nothing to worry about :-)

Looks like the Chev or GMC in the last pic had been based at Upper Heyford airbase.

True, a Dingo bus bar pedal is quite soft, but a Ferret is a heavier spring and when you get a gear go overcentre, you will know about it. Not an uncommon occurence and needs a bloody good boot to recover. Even worse with a Saracen or Saladin as they are heavier still.

Temp. in Kent today has risen dramatically, very pleasant with a nice bit of warmth from the Sun.

Hi Nige, It is nice to see a WW2 British lorry for a change. Knowing how modellers are very fussy on details, and having been a long time owner of a 1:1 "model" QL, there are a few errors in my opinion. Firstly the tyres, if you wanted an authentic depiction of how a QL appeared in wartime, it would have been shod with Dunlop Trackgrip or similar, but not the US style bargrip. I see "Avon" is molded on to the spare tyre. The other niggle is the canopy and frame. The frame has the long rails running over the centre hoop and under the ends, also the two rails, one either side of the centre one, are not straight but angled out from the centre. The canopy was a one piece rectangular sheet which was folded in at the front and rear in parcel fashion, not as this one which has end sheets and sewn in rope to pull sheet in tight (like GMC, etc). These errors probably came from measuring a restored QL and not checking against original photos. Last thing, drivers door, the quarter light is missing, but as the model appears to have no glass in the windscreens, then the finished model may well be correct once the door glasses are fitted. Other than a good model by what we can see. This reminds me to start building the Airfix QL,s. My own QL cab and chassis was measured and photographed by Airfix for their recent model. regards, Richard