Richard Farrant

Mike, There were indeed, Mk6 and 6A models of the Salamander.

Ian, I am currently rebuilding an engine from an Austin K5. Ref. the fan belt, readily found at your local bearing supplier, will get the number tomorrow as it is at work. All the ignition parts are fairly common, in fact most will be same as the QL. For wheel cylinder rubbers, or even having the cylinders resleeved if pitted, go to Past Parts Ltd. at Bury St.Edmunds.

Mike, The Salamander was designated as a Mk6 crash tender by the RAF, so fits the bill here.

Interesting that the QL / Perkins example came up. I know the following is not related to the UK but there could be similarities. A friend in Australia restored a Bedford QL, as its engine was beyond repair he decided to fit a Perkins 6.354, (introduced from 1960's on). When it came to registering, he was not able to get Historic registration due to the engine being too modern, unless there had been a legitimate and documented upgrade in the past, where these engines were fitted. The only possibility here was the fact that Perkins produced P6 engines for replacing 28hp Bedford engines back in the early 1950's but no written evidence could be found. Cannot recollect how he got on, but the only other way was to go on normal registration.

Doug, The Austin 10hp Utiltiy was purpose made in great numbers by Austin throughout the war for military use, along with similar models from Morris, Hillman and Standard. To be honest the most expensive part would be the bodywork, interior trim is minimal and would be by far the easier part. The rear body was constructed of wood frame work with metal panels attached and then built on to the car floor pan.

I understand that the Disposal Services Authority are disposing of surplus "locally" where possible, in order to get the best returns. I would think that could depend on what the surplus consists of and local regulations, but did hear of a load of Bedford MJ trucks that were used at the British Army training base in Kenya, were sold off out there.

John, I will look out the REME technical instructions. The problem with the petrol was the amount of lead added, it caused large deposits around the valve stems of exhaust valves, where they entered the guides, this caused the valves to stick and not seat properly, decokes had to be done more regularly, tappet clearances increased and on some engines, the guides had to be modified ..... so lead was actually a real problem at the time.

Hi John, It does seem odd to find what would appear to be mechanic's equipment on an Electrical Repair trailer. I think the explanation is this, small generating and charging sets were being subjected to regular valve problems around the mid point of the War onwards, due to the introduction of leaded petrol. Airborne forces, working ahead of ground troops and their support, would have to be self sufficient initially, so to keep their charging sets operational, they would need valve refacers and seat cutters. Of course, not only for generators, but jeeps, etc as well, but it was documented by REME, the particular problems of small plant engines, having valve failure due to the leaded petrol. regards, Richard

Hi R, Not a problem, I am glad you have answered my post that way. As for the possibility of the exhaust blow being mistaken for a knock, without going back to the beginning, I seem to think there could have been questions regarding ignition timing, if it had been a touch retarded, that will give you a very harsh exhaust note so could be interpreted as a knock. One thing I was not sure about was when you found the rings were worn so badly, did you use a Mercer guage to check the bore wear? Could not remember reading about it, as with very worn rings, I would expect bore had suffered as well. regards, Richard

Trevor, I read about this recently, in the FBHVC news page in the MVT magazine, see here ; http://fbhvc.co.uk/2011/08/10/newsletter-no-4-august-2011/ scroll down to "unregistered vehicle inspections".

That is true, but having followed this thread from the begining and offered my thoughts at times, I would say that, to the inexperienced, a blow from one exhaust port due to a badly fitting manifold, can sound a little like a knock, and recollection of Rcubed saying he removed HT leads one by one, and a particular cylinder was noted, this could have been the problem all along. Somehow, I think the inlet manifold could well have been sealing, although it does not look good once removed, if it had been drawing large amounts of air there would have been difficulties starting, etc.

Hi Steve, sending you a PM

Hi Steve, I will check the measurement between centres tomorrow, and let you know. It is still on an old guage unit. Richard

Tony, I think that I may have a brand new one boxed, no idea of what it fitted, something military, but too short for a Dingo petrol tank. Problem is the shaft length and amount of twist is calculated to the needle sweep on the dial, but you could probably use the original shaft. Might even be able to find a good float, check the centre to centre measurement of the two rods.

We undertook some of the initial alternator mods on Ferrets for unit's, but they were only fitted to certain ones, not got the info to hand but dependant on their particular designation I think.

You would find that British army Ferret modifications were not all done across the board. Some were routine and were only done as and when, the immediate ones were usually actioned quickly, then some were only done at discretion of local commander or were dependant of role and theatre of use. I recollect one mod involved drilling the hull and fitting a breather valve for the fuel tank, I did several, but a lot were not done and other located in a different postion to the mod instructions.

Hmmm.... it docked in Melbourne, Australia and Napier NZ in October. Wonder if there is a clue here

Tim, That is a Rotherhams guage, used on Dingo petrol tank and other vehicles. One of the vintage car parts suppliers has them listed as made to size, so perhaps they can supply a new float. Will see if i can find the details. Found it .. http://www.completeautomobilist.com/products/ca429-fuel-slide-gauge bit expensive but worth enquiring about a float.

Hi Scott, As far as I am aware, Ashford was 14 Command Workshop from wartime onward, cannot recollect when it changed to 44 Comd Wksp, but think it was in 60's. Then around 1980 (could be before), the name was changed to District instead of Command, along with all the other Comd Wksps. Had some good times there with a wealth of experience gained over the years. One of the guys I worked with was working on a history and gathering photos, sadly he died in an accident, then on the workshops closure, I think all the material went to the REME Museum, so I cannot help too much. regards, Richard

That could be one of the DROPS we had back for rebuilding, there were a fair number that we done, some worse than that, and they were all sent back out there.

Probably because it had thrown a track ...

Don't have a No.8, put have good memories of using one at the local rifle club many years back. Incidentally, the first rifle I fired was a SMLE on the zero range at Bisley, I was only about 12 years old then !

An easy one, it is a Petter PU8 Universal engine. The oval plate on the cowl probably says P, or PU, but not the makers name, this was a wartime measure to hide identity, only initials used. One of the uses this engine had was motive power of a pontoon bridge, where a flexible drive shaft off the engine coupling drove a propulsion unit, think there was one on each corner. They were still in army stocks in late 1970's.

Probably is an Airborne jeep, could well have been taken at Walcheren or thereabouts as i recollect Buffalos were used there.

and you do not often need to actually split the nut, to release it, with you on this one Matthew.