Richard Farrant

My first port of call would be to contact the Library at The Tank Museum, Bovington

Hi James OK, sometimes owners remove the cowling and then at road speed the hot air cannot get out, as yours is fitted another suggestion then. When you get the engine running, check that you have good airflow through the radiator. It is possible the the fins are blocked as oily residue and dust can be picked up from engine compartment, Ferret and Saladin suffered this as well. regards Richard

Hi James I note your Saracen is an RF version. Does it have it have the sheet metal and rubber cowling over the radiator louvres on the front? Another question, do the fans blow air out the front? I ask these questions as have come across cooling issues before with RF Saracens. regards Richard

Meadows powered Pioneers? They were Gardner powered. The Meadows petrol engine in the Explorer was actually a converted diesel engine.

Not quite the same, but will give you an idea of what to look for: https://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/products/197-door-buffer-wedge Have you tried Norman Aish yet?

David, The Neptune was I think built by Nuffield Mechanizations, so it is possible that the previous poster had seen crated engines for these, Nuffield might have taken on the reconditioning of them.

Hi Justin The aligning tool we had in Workshops way back then, was a normal turned up shaft to slide through plates into spigot bearing but it had two splines attached at 180 degs and secured by small countersunk screws. regards, Richard

I remember many years back at the late Chris Wilkinson's yard, which was the old St. Albans railway goods station, there were Churchill engines in crates laying around, as well as other tank engines, but I had not seen a Meadows there. The only Nuffield tank engines that I recall were the V12 Liberty, but never come across any in crates.

Hi Justin, If you can get them, I would advise to use the later ceramic lined clutch plates. These were an army supersession. They do not absorb moisture and tend not to stick like the normal plates and much long lasting. Richard Banister will know about these as I once overhauled the clutch in their Stalwart. The hook washers should be refitted and left in until the clutch beds in. Don't forget to check and adjust the clearance on the intermediate plate. Re. the clutch aligning tool, use an old shaft, one from a Martian will be the same. regards, Richard

Damn it, that was my first thought, but could not work out what the single line was so kept quiet.

This Danish made jack has similarities, they have made jacks since 1946 so it could be a 1950's / 60's one; http://www.compac.dk/en/products/jacks-4-20-ton/high-lift-jacks-5-10-tons/8t-hc-detail

Clive, are these plan views of something on the ground? As two have letters against them, have you removed letters from the others?

Hi Diana, It was many years ago, and it was not an uncommon job with outside studs on Ferrets, Saracens, with seized nuts. The new studs were special for the job and I recollect they had something like a porcelain ring around them, which was broken away on welding. Don't think we had TIG in those days. Richard

In REME workshops broken studs were renewed with stud welding guns, without an issues.

Hi, What tyres are you using? Are they the runflat tyres which were tubed (ie those used during the war before the RFEI was introduced)? If so then a 7.00-18 car or truck tube will be no good as it will be too big, the cavity in the tyre being smaller plus the beadlock ring. Using too large a tube will mean it will crease and liable to fail. There were special tubes made for the runflat tyres. If you are using truck tyres of conventional cross ply type as I did, then I got tubes from North Hants Tyres, they are up in the Aldershot area. regards, Richard

Hi Matt, Good photos, must be a busy life up there, wonder you ever find the time to fit it all in. I notice Neil was missing when the photos were taken ! regards, Richard

This link is regarding the same period of time, they are describing isinglass and mica; http://theoldmotor.com/?p=134906

Richard, As the prefix on the NSN is 9CET, I would say it was a specific part for the Combat Engineer Tractor. I would hazard a guess that these are demountable side markers for the bucket when on the road. Look at this link here and you will see the complete assy. with a rubber strap and hook on: https://www.thexmod.com/item_detail.asp?id=28131

That event is the weekend before W&PR

Thanks for the video Dave, brings back good memories!

At Lydd they also had WW2 Ford V8 balloon winches for pulling target trolleys across some ranges, they were still used through the 80's as I recall.

When I used to go down to Lydd to work on the army dozers and loading shovels, there was an active narrow gauge railway in operation, I can recollect the little diesel engines and side tilt hopper wagons. We used to work on the Wickhams target trolleys as well, these were powered by ancient JAP side valve v-twin engines of about 1300cc with a fluid flywheel.

OK Andy, If you find the RE or UE number on the carb, I will send you the spec for that particular one. regards, Richard

Hi, I see you are using a B80 which was set up to power the winch on a Centurion ARV. No problem there. Regards to the backfires, I am wondering if you warmed the engine up enough or that the automatic choke was working for the correct duration. It could be adjusted incorrectly. Depending on the variant of carbs for the B80, it could be an incorrect jet for the carb you are using. There is a RE or UE number on the side of the carb and this will denote jetting and spec. Let me know what it is and I will tell you the correct ones. You should not mix a B80 and a B81 carb as they are wide differences in jetting. The military engine could well be set up for low grade fuel, whereas a civilian version for a fire engine would have run on a higher octane petrol. Richard

Don't think so, it has a solid axle, no springs and drawbar is different. The channels on the army trailers are further apart.