Richard Farrant

It probably was the best way. You should never put the recovery vehicle in a situation that it requires recovering itself. The bank where the dozer went over looked like it could have been a ditch or dyke the other side. He would have better traction to extract himself. If the AEC had gone over the bank, once the earth anchor was deployed, he would have to move forward to lift it and without doubt have to rely on winching himself over the bank.

Never came across any B Series engines in British service, overhauled by Aviation Jersey, they were all done "in house" at Base or Command Workshops REME. They might have done them in early years......

The earth anchor is deployed in that recovery

Duncan, Eau-de-nil is a pale green colour, not unlike the background to this message, as Chris says, your engine is Sky Blue, which was introduced around c1950 for rebuilt engines. That engine number is for a factory rebuild engine, hence the suffix R, and I would say with a low 4 figure number, it was probably built with a new block, so re-numbered. I should point out, that the oil filter fitted in the photo is a postwar type for the 28 hp, military ones had the throwaway canister with pipe fittings on top. Also the carb is not the original military type Solex.

Lee, All engines were bench tested for a given period, all temperatures and oil pressures recorded, on B vehicles engines, a percentage were load tested on a water brake dyno, might have been 1 in 10. I think A veh engines were all supposed to be load tested and power ratings recorded. Now that term "economised" might have been a time when petrol shortages were on, I recollect certain cut backs involving economical use of fuel, having to be made for a period, but cannot be sure. It is entirely possible that some of these engines were "sidelined" in favour of those that were fully tested, hence why it came up as surplus. It certainly sounds a bad engine. What a lot of people do not realise is that the old units had also to be preserved, with cosmoline over the leads, distributor, carb, etc. Preservative sprayed into the engine and all orifices sealed. I think there have been times when people have bought engines in crates, only to find it is a returned unit for overhaul. Sometimes engines were taken out, on exercises or schemes and changed for some minor faults, as a way of getting the vehicle operational as quick as possible, so some old engines might just be serviceable after short and minor repair, ie head gasket or overhaul cyl head.

As your engine number in the log book does not coincide with the fitted engine, a Vauxhall rebuild, it might be that this present engine was infact, a factory exchange unit that was fitted while in civvy use. Unless of course, it is painted in Eau-de-nil or Sky Blue colour. Vauxhall exchange engine colour was black. It was quite common for engines and other assemblies to go back to the manufacturers on contractors, under Ministry of Supply or War Office contracts. Bedford, Humber, Daimler, Austin, etc can often be seen with makers rebuild plates, sometimes the plate is Min. of Supply with a number stamped in often beginning with "B", this would be a contractors ID number or Army Auxillary Workshop (also contractors). It still happens today. Having been involved with vehicle engineering for the Forces, including rebuilding engines in their own workshops, I know the standards of rebuild and they are very high. Contractors have to adhere to the same standards, if they fail to meet them, then they are likely to lose out. In later years, even railway companies have been involved, rebuilding Land Rover 2.25 petrol engines. I personally have built many types of Bedford engines on a line, as well as Land Rover 2.25 and 6 cyl petrols, Commer 6 cyl, etc. by the hundreds.

Thanks Mark, I could not find a photo of it to check :tup::

Still up then CW? That is the one I was thinking of. :tup:: Sorry Clive, CW has neatly hijacked your thread again

It is amazing how it recovers itself after slipping on ice. Another thing is that it still employs basic animal / human joint form, obviously there is nothing to beat that.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been good to meet up with some of you this year and hopefully might get to meet a few more in 2009. Best Regards, Richard,

CW, I think that pic is of a later model, earlier ones had a squarer grille :confused:

A Jeep Wagoneer ?

Nearly right.........apparantely two Meadows 6PJ630 6-cyl. petrol engines of 180 bhp each.

Hi Piet, I feel sure that the number, FV666350, is the part number for the plate, definitley not the designation for the trailer as a whole.

Tony, The one you have was designed and built by All Wheel Drive Ltd between 1958-63, using a BLSP cab as used on Commer ( Superpoise ? ) and Dodge over the time, to carry the Rolba equipment. The forward control snow blower that Mike posted up, was a Douglas, fitted with Bros equipment, truck engine was a Rolls B80.

The TACR1 RAF fire truck had ENV axles, it was built on the 1 ton chassis starting near the end of 2a production, I think.

This one is RAF Bomb Disposal, note BD on wing and red paint on wing sides.

Is that a Tempo, licence built in Germany? Think they may have been for the border guards, could have the name wrong :confused:

Is it a prototype of the ones that were supplied to the US Special Forces?

I think the point that is being made, Lee, is that some of these blatantly incorrect vehicles should not be portrayed in periodicals. The fact that they are, brings in to question whether those compiling magazines, writing articles, etc, actually know what is right or wrong. There is a tendency for people to think that if something is seen in a book or magazine, then it has to be correct, that is sometimes far from the truth.

Phil, I bet you had those Sound Stories records of the TT, etc? Wore mine out listening to Gileras, Mondials, Benelli and the good old 7R, G50 and Manx....nearly forgot the MV . :-D

Ivor, I vaguely remember seeing that type, the round lid is similar to a paint can, am I right? Also, looking at a website with historical information on Huntley & Palmers, they state that the army biscuit tins in WW2 were green, no picture though.

and me.........got to be better than the TV. Go for it CW !

Were you wearing a long mac when you took them ? :-D

Mike, The postcode of the original terminal building is CRO OXZ, put that in to the search on Google map and that will pinpoint the aerodrome.