Richard Farrant

Jack, They are very good, but I will advise on wearing a full face shield and safety glasses, even a leather apron. I use these wire wheels every day in my work and the wires break away at speed of light, burying themselves in your clothing and body. Recently I came home and noticed my hand was catching on any fabric, could not see any rough skin, nor feel anything, only when looking with a magnifying glass did I see a 15mm wire that had gone in under the skin on the back of my hand. Also a few years ago, I was only wearing googles and a minute flake of metal went under the edge of the goggles and on to the surface of my eye. Once you have had to undergo treatment for this, you take extra precaution, believe me. Another thing, do not put pressure on to the wheel, they work better using them lightly and brush last longer. Health and Safety lecture over, carry on. Richard

Boyer Bransden Electronics Ltd., Frindsbury House, Cox Lane, Detling 01622 730939 01622 730930 Richard

I have good results from a simple unit called Boyer Bransden inductive discharge ignition kit. Made by a company near to Maidstone (Boyer Bransden funnily enough). It is the size of a small cigarette packet, the points are still used but only in a switching mode with minimal current, so they will not burn. Because the points have an easy life they may well last 25,000 miles. This unit is easily wired in to the system between coil and distributor. Available in either 6 or 12 volt, pos or neg earth...state which. The instructions say if fitting to a vehicle with auto gearbox, the idle speed may need reducing after fitting, this shows you how it improves the spark. I have used two on WW2 vehicles and am very pleased. May be able to use on a Rolls B range engine, would need a bit of fidling with the wires though. Best part of all, they were only about £25 when I last bought one, so well worth a go. Any problems with it, the original sytem can quickly be reverted to. Richard

Paul, You have missed something The IMPS ran a few MV only London to Brighton runs down to Madeira Drive, plus there is the annual Historic commercial Vehicle run on the 1st Sunday of May, quire a few MV's on that as well. Richard

Had an update on the French MV situation yesterday, from a client who is a member of one of the major French mv clubs and keeps a number of mv's in the country. Apparantly, the latest is that jeeps, motorcycles, trucks, are safe.......providing you do not have any form of gun mount on them. This is a warning for anyone thinking of taking a MV over to France. He said that for example, a GMC with the ring gun mount is one that would fall foul of the French laws. All armour is banned and that includes vehicles like a Dingo or Ferret. Obviously more to come on this. This all comes from a law that came into being in 1939, to stop French citizens from holding military equipment and siding with the Germans. It would not have been until the more recent times when someone realised that a small number of the French public had items that contravened this outdated law, then started the ball rolling. Richard

Jack, Something that requires immediate attention by sound of it. First check for any external leaks, that includes checking for any leaks from the bottom of brake drums (indicating a leaking wheel cylinder). It does sound like the hydrovac (servo / booster) could be where it is leaking. If there is a build up in that unit, the engine can suck up the fluid and exhaust gets smoky, noticeable by an unusual smell. Thats the fun of MV's, always something to do :lol: Richard

Tim, The truck on the left is a Diamond T 4-ton cargo. Richard

Assume for your Austin? Just normal DOT4 of any reputable make. Genuine Lockheed is usually available from motor factors, if you really prefer it. Richard

Mark, According to the BBC news report on web, the Pollards will still be running the site. The new owner is a local man who also owns Lamberhurst and Tenterden vineyards, etc. Richard

Hi Tim, Ahhh, now we're getting to it Dingos are my subject, not many restored ones have them on, as they were made specifically for that vehicle. I did see a private owned one at an event at Bovington years ago and the owner had some made, probably from a photo as reference, in alloy. The steel ones would have been noticable on the steering no doubt. I would think it very unlikely to find any originals, so copies would be the only way to go. As you may know they are channels with the outside edge formed in a upturned vee so the two stack together and to give rigidity when crossing ditches, there are only two holes, those for the clamping screws. Richard

Hi Russell, I have had a close look at a couple of LRDG websites. What they were using were in fact "channels", formed to stop the wheel riding off the edge. PSP or Marston matting is relatively flat. There are three rows of equal sized holes, between each row, a pressed vee rib facing down, with outer edges turned down formed in to hooks which locate in slots along upper edge. British armoured cars and scout cars, such as Daimler and Humber carried channels and they were rigid enough to support the vehicle over ditches or soft patches without bending. Proper PSP would have deformed by doing this. So the conclusion is that their is a difference between PSP or Marston mat and sand channels. Richard

Russell, Pierced Steel Planking (correct title, not perforated) had side hooks originally during WW2 as it was intended for airfield use. It is highly likely that for vehicle use by desert patrols, they would have cut off the hooks as they are prone to hooking in clothing, cam net, etc. when regularly handled. Richard

Neil, When I was working at REME workshops, all "A" vehicles came in dekitted, in other words all radio equipment removed, unless it was a breakdown straight off the road. Now when we went on road test, we used normal bonedome helmets with the voice actuated boom mike, but attached to the helmets on a short lead was a little tranceiver about the size of a fag packet, you could slip it in your pocket. The range for these sets has at least 200 feet as I also used them on winch testing. All I can remember about these units, they were made by Midland Electronics, may have been something made up by our Tels boys. Certainly more useful as you mate can be off the vehicle guiding you in somewhere and it will still work. Richard

I use LR Bronze Green from the local New Holland tractor dealer in the village, it is NH own brand and is excellent as is their red oxide. Richard

We won :lol:

The French had Ferrets and these used normal Michelin X radial truck tyres with highway tread. Richard

Larry, The K6 is a GS body and it was rather unusual in that the body came right up to the back of the cab with a locker for the spare wheel within it. The K6 Breakdown Gantry was not produced until Feb. 1944, so unlikely that any K6 Gantry models would have been in Italy. LAD had GS vehicles to transport workshop tools, equipment, and so on. The bridge plate number is rather high at 12 tons, the heaviest K6 was the Coles crane at 9 3/4 tons all up. I have looked after a friend's K6 Gantry for a few years, so am familiar with them, he also had a K6 Coles crane, this has now gone to Duxford museum. Richard

After WW1 a lot of towns were presented with these tanks, usually MkIV I think. The scrap metal drive in WW2 caused their dissapearance, some may have gone before as people did not want to be reminded of the Great War. The only one still in existance in the same place it was driven to in 1919 is in Ashford, Kent, where I live. The reason it survived was that it was converted to a sub-station until around the 1960's when the gear was taken out. I was able to view it inside recently when inspecting it regarding preservation work required. Richard

Next weeks episode of The Real Dads Army is going to be about the Auxillary groups. These were small groups of men recruited for their intimate knowledge of the local area, gamekeepers, farm workers, etc. They had secret underground bunkers built for them and were trained in silent killing techniques, explosives etc. The idea was that if the enemy had invaded, they would come out after they had gone by and cause havoc so to speak. I used to work with a chap who was one of these in Kent. They were never recognised after the war as there were no written records of them. Richard

Shane, It is normal to just count the hubs on a lorry, although trailers are often described by the actual amount of wheels. A DT wrecker is six wheeldrive and thus described as 6x6, 6 wheels/hubs in total and 6 driven, it would be confusing to call it a 10x10 as that would sound like it had 5 axles. Heres one to think about, a two wheel drive lorry with twin wheels on the rear, six in total, normal to call it a 4x2, counting all the wheels would make it a 6x4. Not worth the confusion that is why twin wheels are counted as one. Richard

The number for British Olive Drab, which was introduced in 1944, is BS298. I use paint from Jeeparts UK. Ask for semi-matt, it wears better. Richard

John, Good, I thought that 33,000 was the right number, just shows, some of the things they teach you in your early years actually sinks in! Just to elaborate on the RAC hp, it was as you say, a formula for taxing vehicles, there being different taxation bands from memory. The formula, and I cannot type it as shown, was Bore diameter (inches) squared X number of cylinders, over 2.5. Manufacturers started to design engines around this formula, to get as a large capacity as possible but in the lowest taxation bracket. This is why so many engines of the 30's and 40's were long strokes and small bores, nothing to do with efficiency or power at all. As you mentioned the Dingo engine, here is an example, the cylinder bore is too small to draw the big end up through, it is quite a job to get the pistons out with the engine still in the chassis. One point, the Bedford RL engine is not the 28hp, the RL had the 300 ci, where as the 28hp was in fact 214 ci. A 28 hp actually developed 72 bhp. Richard

Clive, Thats an awful lot of sh*t, either that or its a load of cr*p. Flags over portaloos Red - in use Blue - Vacant Yellow - Caution, could be hazardous. Green - Previous occupant had beer and curry last night Black - Phoorrrrr - smells like something just died. White - No toilet paper. Have I missed any??

Clive, You are hereby nominated to be OiC of Latrines for Beltring week. You had better arrive early, there are a lot to do. Just make sure they are downwind :lol: :lol: :lol: Richard