Richard Farrant

Clive, Would lime do? After all it is a product of chalk. Should get it in builders merchants by the sack, any left over is good for absorbing oil spills. Richard

I agree, Clive. It was only because I had been coming on every day that I noticed the new address come up on the old site. As the old sight is not available anymore, many will fear the forum has gone altogether. It does make sense to notify all members of the change by email, but that will not get those that have not signed. Also, as the new web address is considerably longer, thought should be given to the logo intended for caps, shirts, display cards, badges, etc. Could not the old hmvf.com address, still be used and linked to this one? Many websites work like that. Richard

Clive, I hastened to add another line on my previous message, just in case french chalk was not suitable, why not go on the Downs to a quarry, or chalk pit and get a good clean lump, then grind it down and sieve it out. You would need a lot of chalk sticks otherwise! Richard

Clive, What about French chalk as used by tyre fitters, at least they used to use it on tubes. Richard

Good work Jack and company! We were getting withdrawal symptoms. Clive has been mailing me, to see if I could get on to the forum. Just one question, the avatars and smilies are replaced by those annoying little red crosses, is that something I can correct here or a general problem? Richard

Rick, If you mean the stud in the block that the manifold mounts on, it is 7/16" BSF, according to the parts list. Richard

It has kept me on the straight and narrow for 30 years of membership, giving me something to look forward to and read, every 3 months. Also we get to be taken on tours of far off beaches in France, every 5 years. Richard

Roland, Filter elements are normally about £25, and for several years at Beltring, Mr. Glenn has been selling the complete filter bowls at £25. Richard

Andy, From my days working on Saracen, Ferret, etc., when we would often have to renew the valves, I recollect them to be marked with the pressure and I am sure it was somewhere around 8 to 10 psi. A lot of ordinary rad caps of that era were no more than 10psi. Richard

:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Robert, If you go to a tractor / farm machinery dealer, they often have stock of Castrol Water Pump grease in small 1 lb (approx) tubs, it is a toffee colour and consistancy. Richard

So that should solve the photo shoot venue then, because there is good light there in the evening. Down point is.......that the pesky chopper will be flying around all day.

Not used the gel, but am trialing the Deox-C, http://www.bilthamber.com/deoxc.html It is a powder that is mixed 1 part to 19 parts of water, in a plastic bucket, it is a rust remover, does not convert rust, that is another of their products. Deox-C is handy for small parts that are difficult to clean on wire wheel, or blast. Leave them in the solution for about 24 hours, brushing them occasionally with a stiff brush to clean reidue off surface. Once out, wash of and you will see what was very rusty metal, gleaming. Richard

L1A1 was also used as a designation for 0.5" Heavy Machine Gun

Clive, Only quoting from your Windscreen article, it was shown as Group 11, will amend my copy! Richard

4V6 : Directors Artillery L1A1, L1A2 & Associated Spares 1240 : Group 11 Nuclear Ordnance - Optical Sighting and Ranging Equipment

Colin, Sorry, I cannot find the parts book, but it is the standard tail light used on most British vehicles during the war, cylindrical body, about 1" diam. with red lens, this is fitted on the offside rear corner of the trailer. There is a Lucas changeover switch, which I think, was mounted on the rear cross member, you do see new ones on the stalls at shows, they are black plastic, round, about 2.5" diam, with a lever out of the side, they switch from tail to convoy. The convoy lamp is again the standard item, mounted under the body shining on to a white plate clamped to the axle. Richard

Yes, I was there as well, had quite a load in the QL on each trip, one of my passengers was Eddie Jordan, on unloading, I apologised if the ride was rough, but Eddie said it was OK...........did not get an invite to race for him though :-( Do you remember the champagne in tin mugs that the guests were drinking? Also the Spitfires, one was Ray Hanna, I was crossing the end of the runway when they buzzed us, talk about count the rivets.......wonderful stuff. Richard

Rick, To remove the transfer case from the gearbox, entails stripping the transfer box because g/box mainshaft runs right through it with two gears on the shaft, as well as two oil seals and speedo drive. Richard

Bearing in mind that forum members are spread around the country, it would not be viable for HMVF to get involved with blasting. You need a good sized compressor to get the volume of air, something like those used for road drills. There are many people with small businesses around the country, just ask around, they may not advertise much as work comes from word of mouth. I use one and he often does car body shells, so is well aware of being careful not to damage the metal work. Believe me it is a lot cheaper to get get the specialist to do it. Richard

You should check that the regulator is correct, because Austin trucks during WW2 were both negative and positive earth. WD models were negative earth and those for essential civilian use and Civil Defence / National Fire Service were positive earth. Richard

Colin, British wartime light trailers, such as airborne type, had one single tail lamp with a lens of approx 3/4" diameter, fitted to offside rear, also a convoy light affixed under the body shining on a white plate fixed to the axle. There will be a switch located near to the rear lamp for switching from tail to convoy and vice versa. Also there may be fitted, a socket on the rear of the trailer adjacent to the towing hook for a second trailers light connection for when towing in tandem. Richard

Clive, I was surprised you missed that point, always think of you as the vehicle electrics guru ;-) Richard

Clive, I seem to remember that if the coil is connected the wrong way round, that the spark jumps form the body of the plug to the electrode and resulting in a weaker spark. I always view the coil connections as the feed to the contacts being marked to the relevant earth polarity of the vehicle. Richard

There is an IMPS member with a Stalwart on the island. Think his name is Stuart (?) and he has done a lot of mechanical work on it, to get it in running order. Richard