Richard Farrant

Jack, This is something that the mv magazines are lacking, in comparison to other fields, (ie tractor, car, motorcycle mags), practical restoration articles. Best of luck and well done for putting yourself forward on this. If you need any advice from someone in the restoration business, please PM me. Richard

About 20 years ago I bought a Bosch electric spray gun to paint a MV, purely for practical reasons. There was no mains electric available and to use a compressor, a large generator would have been needed. So we used the electric gun with a small gen set. You will not get as good a finish as an air gun as there is not so much control on it, although saying this, there may be more sophisticated guns available nowadays. But for a military vehicle with semi matt paint it was fine. I have to say, if you have a compressor, some of the really cheap spray guns that come in the kits (paraffin gun, blow gun, tyre inflator, etc.) for around £25 are not too bad at all. It is a question of practice and getting the mix of paint and thinners right. Richard

Thanks Clive, I'm up now hi Ratchet, I see Clive has given you some paint references for early wartime. The often refered to, style of camouflage pattern called Mickey Mouse was not normally used on armoured vehicles although there is bound to be an exception. It all depends on the particular period of wartime that you wish to depict. A lot of the armoured vehicles that I restore are in 1944 onward paint schemes, there is British Standard colour references for these, but paint suppliers in the US will not recognise them. As for the inside, do you have any traces of original paint, ie. under brackets, etc.? The normal inside colour would be silver, not like aluminium paint, more like a semi matt, so that it did not shine. In some cases, a shade of white was used, there is comment on this, that is was changed to white due to a shortage of pigment for the silver. If you can come back on the actual period, and theatre of operation, I can narrow it down to a particular colour and if it is one I am using, even send you a colour card that your local paint supplier could match. Richard

Dougy, Most that we were doing were worse than those! Richard

Ian, The tigers head was not Aldershot Garrison, it was South East District, which covered right down to Kent and Sussex. I think HQ was at Aldershot. There was an Aldershot Garrison sign, which was a shield with I think a torch and crossed searchlight beams. I have a presentation shield here with the SE Dist transfer on it, could scan it to you on an email. I best try it first to see if it will come out, or failing that, take a picture of it. Richard

Mick, Another good source of oils for historic vehicles is Morris Lubricants. They even make oil for steam engines. Richard

Ian, Similar size, but on those you could twist the body to restrict the light output and they did not have the red lens. Richard

thanks Clive, The Dingo had one without window as were the m/cycle versions. Thinking about it, the RAF put their census numbers, front and back and the rear ones were often like number plates so presumably that is why there are different versions. Although they are listed as stop and tail, they would have to be separate as the bulb holder will not accept twin filament bulbs. Richard

Ashley, Those rear lamps are like the wartime rear lamps used on all British vehicles (the bracket is different on m/cycle ones). The no. plate window was not on the wartime ones, I do not think, just the red lens. They are not legal as rear lights now because the area of lens is not big enough but are OK for using additionally for no. plate illumination. I have used these in the past on restorations. Richard

Yes, the black square sign was London District, it was a yellow castle type tower with a sword standing vertically through it. The RASC or RCT sign was blue and yellow diagonally with blue to the upper left. Richard

Dougy, That pic of the Foden EKA brings back memories of when I was rebuilding them. We had one back from Bosnia after an accident, not quite as bad as that one, and had another scrap one to use for parts, which had rolled in Norway. Used parts from the recovery gear on it and then cut it up, all major components were salvaged for reuse. The Leyland DROPS used to come in from Bosnia with the cabs flat to the bottom of the windscreen, where they had rolled over. They were rebuilt and sent straight back out there. Richard

John, Yes, we all get those people at some point. We were at Beltring a few years ago and a friend of mine had his International Halftrack there. A young chap was walking all around it and looking, eventually he came over to where we were all sitting (watching him!) and made several comments and remarks about "that is not right" and "they were never like that",etc. My friend asked if he had a Halftrack, as he knew so much about them, he replied, "oh yes, its at home in the cabinet". He was told to go forth and multiply :lol: Richard

Martin, Just found a website that will be of interest to you regarding your Reynolds Boughton RB44. Take a look at http://www.dodge50.co.uk The RB44 was based on the Dodge 50 series, basically, RB fitted a transfer box and driven front axle. The website has downloads of workshop manuals, Perkins engine info and there is a page with pics of a customised ex-army one. Richard

Hi Ratchet, We are in the same business, don,t worry, I am in England The Morris LRC does have the same engine as the C8 or C4, the 4 cyl around 3.5 litres. Used in civilian Morris Commercial trucks of the period and also the first Nuffield Universal tractors in late '40's, although that will not be much help. I have to say, that Morris parts are not prolific. It is a case of searching out classic vehicle parts specialists in UK. When I did one of these engines in a C4 truck some 25 years ago, parts were found, but not easily. Try this one, not dealt with them for a few years, but he does stock old commercial parts; Classic & Collectors Car Spares, 2 Cocker Lane, Leyland, Lancs. PR5 3SU Tel 01772 424032 Fax 01772 457542 Richard

Regarding judging, you have to be very experienced and knowledgable to do it fairly. The MVPA shows are nearly 90% if not more, of US vehicles, nothing like the cosmopolitan arrays we get at places like Beltring. I judged British Post War Armour at Beltring for several years.....and took it very seriously, taking up several days of going around making sure no vehicle was missed. What really miffed me was the following year when someone else judged, the vehicle that won that class was a Hellcat !!!! The only thing British about it, was the owner. Many years ago I attended a rally at SEME Bordon, the REME Training School. The judges were Instructors there and they did virtually an MoT test trying the lights, feeling the brakes, etc. Mind you I did win a 1st prize for my M20, so was quite chuffed. Richard

Martin, I think it was Reynolds Boughton who should have had egg on there face. It was a classic mistake that was similar to the jeep problem of WW2. On braking the front springs deflect, moving the axle back slightly and pulling on the steering linkage, hence "the diving across the road" problem. I was witness to all this at that time, the vehicles were off the road for over a year, if not more, before a mod kit came out. Now, I cannot remember what the kit consisted of, as I did not fit them myself, but seem to think it was a spring shackle change. Nothing to do with the actual brakes. It may of course be that like the jeep, the problem was not fully solved even then, after modifying. You could of course, contact Reynolds Boughton to see if they can supply a book, because the AESP is often only a commercial publication, unlike the old EMER's. Richard

Al, Tracked vehicles of any kind are exempt from MoT testing. As with all vehicles that are exempt, it is of course, no excuse not to have them in safe and fully roadworthy condition. If you feel you need a second opinion on any aspects of this, there are experienced people around who could do that for you. Richard

Any answers/feedback on these points at all ? You have to remove the engine, no other way. Also required is a special clutch plate aligning tool with two splines, or an old gearbox input shaft. If the two clutch plates are not lined up spot on, it is easy to damage a plate, then it gets distorted and your new clutch will drag. You will need some form of crane or lifting gear to remove the engine. Richard

Paul, I would like a fiver for every one I've changed. What do you want to know? The gearbox has to come out, at least pulled forward enough for access. Assume you have the relevant EMER's? The correct seal is difficult to get hold of now, due to shape to accomodate the special washer that stops the lip from deforming. May be able to find one for you. You are certain it is the seal leaking and not one of the plugs or around the flange joint? Seal should be pressed in and not hammered in as this is sure to mishap the seal and then leak. Oil is a very thin hydraulic fluid, Army designation is OM13, this means nothing in civvy street, so you need to ask for ISO10 grade. Morris Lubricants at Shrewsbury make it. I always pressure test after overhaul and filling to check for leaks. On rare occasions, cracks have been found in the outer cover. Just noticed yours is a Mk1/2, if you wanted the gearbox right out for any reason, like cleaning, repainting, etc.. The "turret" would have to be unbolted from the hull. Richard

My favourite out of all of them was the BSA B40, actually had two of my own, one ex-army and the other was a blue one, ex Royal Navy. The Armstrong was a bugger of a bike to my mind, with a awful positioned kickstart. Richard

Mark, I take it by post-war you mean after 1945. The BSA M20 and Matchless G3L continued in use well into the 1960's. Triumph TRW was made in 50's and 60's, then in 1967 the BSA B40WD was introduced as the main motorcycle and the old M20 was demobbed. TRW continued on for a while. CanAm Bombadier 250 replaced the B40 around late 70's I think. This was in turn replaced by Armstrong MT500 about '86, superceded by the Harley Davidson (who bought out Armstrong and took their design) MT350. There were a number of motocros type of machine used in the first Gulf war, seem to think KTM, Honda, etc. Richard

I do remember one coming in to REME workshops once, a good few years ago now though. Probably late 70's. The guy from the Army Rally Team, brought it over from Germany, we were nearby to Piper Cams and they did some work on the engine, from vague memory they fuel injected it. The engine was then run up in our test house on a brake. My memory seems to say, that the guy was not satisfied with the performance and they reverted back to a normal set up with carb. Do not think it had a turbo at that time. This was in the days of the 3 bearing crank too. Richard

Mark, The drum has the splined hub attached, this has the seal path for the seal. As the transfer box oil level is above the seal, it will run out. Best read the manual, it will no doubt say, "drain oil before removing brake drum" Richard

John, I am along the same lines as you. My trade has always been in vehicle engineering, with 32 out 39 years working on military vehicles. The hobby came along around 1978 when a friend was looking for a jeep to restore and asked me to look one over. He eventually bought a Morris Commercial and I helped him restore it. I am interested to see how some of these vehicles were designed, sometimes in only a matter of months and how advanced the thinking was. You mentioned the Dingo, a particular favourite of mine and a vehicle which I have restored a good few of. Now the design of that was superb and the forerunner in basic transmission design to practically all British wheeled armour up to the Fox in the 1970's. I could go on, but its getting late, will have to continue this another day! Richard

Richard, Judging by the fitting on top, it could be a Hella or Britax lamp, both were issued parts for military. There was no hard and fast fitting for the beacon, they were not fitted on every one, so it would have been what was called a "local mod". As Chris pointed out, re. Ferret Heaven forum, the allies over the pond predominate and all I can say, can be amusing at times. Best way is to visit the site and go through the messages. If you get them into your mailbox, you will be fed up in a few days. By going through the Message list you can pick out the thrads of interest. Richard