Richard Farrant

John, Busbar heights for Fox Dimension X 1st 6.9" 2nd 7.05" 3rd 7.15" 4th 7.2" 5th 7.45" Adjuster screw Dimension Y 1st 0.725" 2nd 0.830" 3rd 0.850" 4th 0.940" 5th 0.475" I have not got the Ferret EMER to hand, but I think the bus bar heights are the same, from memory......having set so many of the damn things :sweat: Richard

:-D:-D:-D You really needed the full harness seat belt to hold you in, I once tried top gear in High ratio and hit a bump, scared the pants of me. Have you noticed how when pulling away in 2WD, the nearside front wheel spins, with no weight on that side? I suppose it served its purpose as being a lightweight airportable pallet handler when first introduced, but doubtful whether it could pass safety standards nowadays.

I think they were classed as MHE, Mechanical Handling Equipment. Plant was known as "C" vehicles. The trailers that were used were airportable and broke down in to pieces, think they only had a handbrake on them, it has been a while since I last saw one. Neat little trick that would fool anyone who had not driven on before, was to set the rear steering on a bit of lock, then set the hydraulic cocks back to front steer only. Get the novice to move it, he cannot understand why the vehicle is crabbing :-D. To be honest the machine was an abortion, it needed a bit more attention to it before it was taken into service. The wings would break off with vibration, hence why a lot are missing them. The pedal box could be destructed by folding the mast back without sideshifting to the left........at least they gave us plenty of work repairing them.

Sorry, but I havn't a clue either, if there was a bit more bonnet showing it might help. Richard

A guy called Sid from Basingstoke, restored it for the museum at Manston. I loaded it on the lowloader when it went to him. Richard

Thanks As I am currently restoring a 1945 Snipe, I thought the side windows and doors looked Humber, but the rear window did not look like postwar model. After seeing your photo, I realise now that they changed from two windows to one large one. Bring on the next one :-D

All being well, yes, with QL. My friend is bringing along a rare British truck as well. I guess you will be at Bodiam?

Neil, Did you see the Salamander at Beltring a couple of years ago? It had just been restored for the Manston Fire Museum.

Really??? on 4th May, it was about £1.55 a litre at Lydd Airport.......Biggin Hill was a little more

I know many people who do not record what they spend on restoring or maintaining their vehicles........if they did, it could worry them more than a fuel price rise.

I cannot believe you have not thought of this, Jack......................the petrol tanks will need filling :-D

Not landing though..............have to keep it authentic

:argh::argh: Oy..........Captain Birdseye, :nono:

Hey there............a Bedford 28hp....a side valve ????. It was a superior version of the Chev engine used in the CMP trucks, 216 if I recall. at least it had pressure fed big ends, not hit and miss squirters like the Chev. Jack, that engine noise you heard was the superior sound of British engineering at its best :nono:

Hi Tim, Thought it would be unlikely that the broken bits were still around. I know that if it was me, I would look at fabricating a replacement out shell for water jacket, cleaning up the edges of the broken cylinder so that it fitted snugly, the stitching in. I recollect an AEC 760 block having thrown a rod, we had it sent to a specialist cast iron block repairer called Barrimore (spelling?), after they had welded in a section of cast iron, the outside of the block was leaded and with a coat of paint you would not know it had been repaired. It is worth talking around to some of the old established companies who specialise in this work to see what methods are prefered. Richard

Hi Tim, It would hlep if you had the broken pieces or most of them. I has reminded me of a training course I was on once, when with MoD. It was run by Belzona, which is a manufacturer of chemical repair solutions and used extensively in industry. Do not compare this with metal putty or plastic metal. The chap showed photos of some examples of repair and related how an owner of a vintage tractor, contacted the company to see if their product would work on a frost damaged engine ( from the photos, it looked to be a Fordson Standard block). He was told to clean it up and an engineer would come out.......when he arrived, the guy had cleaned it up..by breaking out all the cracked parts and cleaning them, leaving a gaping hole similar to your photo. The job was a lot more complex now, but it was all pieced together using Belzona and never leaked. So in answer to your question, it could be possible........at least it is not a pressurized cooling system so that helps. Richard

I think it could be a Humber Hawk mk1 or 2, dated around 1946-49. :confused:

I think you will find that the records from Beverley museum are now at Deepcut, it was the vehicle exhibits that were moved to Donnington.

Mike, It could be the tank transporter version, or based on it, judging by the long wheelbase. I was given to understand that the rear axle ratio was lower on them with a top speed of around 15 mph. That ties in with the top speed you quote. When the REME restored the longest serving Pioneer in the army, which was a recovery that was last used in Belize, it was found to have one of these low geared axles. I remember the chap who collected it from the workshops at Aldershot, saying how a bee was flying along in front of the windscreen and getting away from him! Richard

Never had a GPO van myself, but did have a BT van.........does that count? Not a problem, quite enjoy trying to identify photos.

That looks like the wooden lever carried on recovery vehicles. The chap with his hand on the fan looks to be in agony, has the other one stood on his foot?

So what did you do? Put the hammer through the radio and say "what music?".

Catweazle, 1974............same year that I started working on them, could not count how many 2.25 engines I have built, plus gearboxes. Much prefered the S2a than the S3 with the awful padded dashboard. That photo I have seen before recently, the L/R is being used by the US Corp of Engineers if I remember. Their insignia is on the front wing. Think it might be in Korea and vehicle is on loan from either Brit or Aussie army. Richard

hi Catweazle, All photos present now :tup::

Oh cheating, eh? :nono: I did not look.