Richard Farrant

Hello Pete, Hope you are enjoying life up there.............finished the Retriever yet ? :-) Yes, I got the details off the DVLA vehicle enquiry. regards, Richard

Hi Montie, That is a fair comment for a private owner, without the special tools, but when army recovery had to move a broken down one from the highway, it was the procedure. Refitting it would have been a mechanics job. I do recollect you had to slide back one of your coupling sleeves. You were lucky, I have seen them rusted solid.

Due to contraction of metals in lower temperatures

Hi Pete, It looks like it has not been on the road (in UK) since April 2002, when last tax disc expired. First registered 11/9/1957. Might have been exported perhaps......... regards, Richard

That is the vehicle, and its owner at the time, in maroon sweatshirt, to the left.

Err, no. You remove the sun wheels from those wheels on the road, so on a front lift, you remove them from rear wheels. This stops the transission driving back through to the transferbox. Transfer box has an oil pump which will not function while being towed. Oh, and Forward/reverse lever to be in neutral as well.

That is probably why it was sold as surplus, the stores could not identify the NSN........not only that but he who stamped it could not spell "recovery" !

Graham, The sand coloured K5 was once owned by an IMPS member in Surrey. I feel sure this was a normal cab version and at sometime had been altered, perhaps the roof was damaged and it was converted to a soft top.

Alvis no longer exists in name, but I think you will find that there is a responsable company to cover there products still in service worldwide, and my guess is it would be BAE Systems.

Hi Ross, I think that I may have worked on this Ferret, there were two stored together that got burnt out if I recall. If you have any details that might confirm this, send me a PM and I will see if I can help you.

Also on the bridge was a German SPG..............built up on a Hotchkiss tracked load carrier, I know its present whereabouts. I say SPG, but it might be termed something else, German armour is something I have never taken a great interest in added info ; the vehicle I describe was built on a Hotchkiss-Brandt CC-2-55

Adrian, There are no groups of numbers specific for N. Africa or any other theatre, but going through the contracts, I do not see any starting 49. Here are those for the 40 ton tractor ( does not state whether 980 or 981 ) H777453 to 777461 Contract no SM2059 H4765269 to 4765354 " " H777475 to 777764 " " I think all the other contracts on the list are later ones.

The old Montego would have gone just as long, if you had put the Brocquet in the glove box instead of the tank. :-D

Yes and I removed a reluctant Dingo tyre with it, but at the expense of bending the centre. If you read the instuction book with it you will see what I mean. Works well on Bedford RL wheels though, what it was designed for.

I have had one of those German kits for years, but they are not designed for divided rims, as on Ferret, they are for those wheels with a spring ring, the 3-piece type.

No, definitely a F12 and B80, with a Solex carb as the Saracen, but with an automatic choke. I did some work on another Dennis, a much later build, about 1961 and that had a B61 with twin SU carbs. We used to rebuild all manner of engine at the Workshops, and one batch were Bedford 300 petrol engines ( as in the RL) but with twin carbs. Not sure whether they were Strombergs or Webers.

These publications were constantly amended whilst in use. The Unit's technical library would recieve pages of amendments regularly, so you might have come across an unissued one, or one not amended. The best ones were from large workshops who used them constantly and added in helpful additions as well.

They probably don't have the technique or correct tools for the job

Paul, The Saracen tyre is a runflat, hence the rubber band is a bead spacer to keep the beads on the rim in the case of a deflation, allowing you to get to a place of safety before changing the wheel. You will not need it on the Stalwart, for one reason, it may not pinch between the tyre beads on your new tyres, owing to the fact they will be thinner beads. another point, which I have doubts on is that the alloy wheels from the Saracen (which are probably Saladin 10 inch rims), may not be as wide as the Stalwart ones, which are wider tyres from Saracen/Saladin. As AM says, you will need a gaitor for your new tyres.

Hi Clive, I have always understood that UE part numbers were for items specifically intended for civilian / commercial versions of the B Range. That is, any engine with a "0" after the Mk. number, ie. Mk.50.

Hi Brian, Welcome to the forum. I visited your museum about 12 years ago and it is a superb collection. When I talked to one of your staff and said how I had been involved in restoring some fire engines for a collection in England, he showed me other unrestored vehicles in a storage building. regards, Richard

Paul, Not an auto box in that F12, it was a manual crash gearbox. I have had experience of a Thornycroft Nubian Mk.7 fire truck with B81 and Allison auto box. Would imagine Dennis fire engines from 1960's onward would have had auto boxes as an option.

Mark, The F12 is a real classic. I was involved in the restoration of an ex-Royal Navy F12 about 15 years ago, and got to take it out on occasions. A real flyer with the Rolls B80 engine. :-)

Thanks Mike ! I was waiting for you to respond ........saw it when renewing Eddie's Stalwart clutch, a few years ago now. It did look in fair condition considering its age, from what I could see.

Thanks Clive, I was discussing with Clive, about his Pig problem and suddenly remembered that about four years ago, I was working on a GMC at a customers. He had the local tyre company out at the same time, to apply one of these balancing bead mediums, into the front tyres. His friend had also had it done sometime before and was impressed with the results. Other than that, I have not had any other experience of it, but am sure it is a practical way of balancing large wheels and tyres. As an aside, many years ago, Bedford MK trucks in service were suffering steering shake at a particular speed. In Workshops, we had a rig to balance the front wheels on the vehicle. What always worried me was the amount of weight that had to be applied to balance, and if it were to fly off. By blowing the beads into the tube, it is a much better idea.