Richard Farrant

1 minute ago, Canadian Dave said:

Lucky you Richard.

interesting to hear you prefer the B40 to the later models.

the only "drawback" is having a gearbox with three 1st gears and an overdrive 🙂

a B44 or B50 is next on my list. 

Though a WW2 British bike would be nice too.

Dave,

The army B40 gear ratios were just right for trials riding and the gear clusters were sought after for that purpose. I used the bike for road and green-lane riding in those days and the gearing was ideal.

Hi Dave,

I owned two B40WD bikes in the early 1970's, loved them, one was ex-army the other ex-navy. I also owned a B25SS and a B50SS in same period, so was an avid BSA unit single enthusiast. I have ridden the army Can-Am and Armstrong bikes and they were not as pleasant to ride as a BSA B40.

Here is a photo of one of the RL gun tractors at Woolwich Academy, it has the London District sign on the cab.

1 hour ago, andym said:

I'm confused - do you really mean RB44? They're based on the Renault Dodge 50.

Andy

Reynolds Boughton were making their 4x4 truck with a Ford A-series cab up until about 1984, when Ford discontinued the A-series. It was then that Renault and RB got together, so the poster must be referring to a pre-1984 RB 4x4. I think the Army Fire Service may have had some RB fire trucks with the Ford cab, I recollect seeing one.

11 hours ago, commander said:

Hi guys does anyone know how you get the speedo cable out at the gearbox end of a Hillman / Humber 1940's staffcar

my cable is broken and I cannot get it out to replace it thanks

Chris

I think there is possibly a difference between a Hillman gear box and a Humber one. My experience is of the Humber Snipe staff car and the speedo drive has a flange retained by two screws, withdraw this and the drive pinion and you might, hopefully have enough of the cable poking out of the pinion to withdraw it.

Depending on which London TA units your Land Rover was with, it is highly likely we had the vehicle in workshops at Ashford at some point.

3 minutes ago, fv1609 said:

EMER WORKSHOPS N 111 Preservation, identification & packaging of assemblies (including engines) Chapter 2 Sections 13 & 14 cover painting of gasoline engines in some depth, oddly makes no reference to stencilling.

Chapter 9 Preservation, identification & packaging of assemblies (including engines) gives great detail about the crates & their markings. Section 9 requires that the Workshop Code number is used when crated.

Identification markings are to be stamped on a plate fixed to the assembly and the crate stencilled.

Serial No. 16 is ECO 2 as Richard has identified.

There are listed some 22 Workshop Codes as at 1985. At some stage I should upload it but no chance at the moment as upload is worse than 10kps so even a short email take 20-30 seconds to go. In the meantime let me know of any Codes needing translating.

Hi Clive,

Thanks, I knew you would have the relevant EMER !  I recollect 36 Command Workshop at Colchester was also an ECO number.

35 minutes ago, 79x100 said:

I have an Excel file (I'm not sure of the origins) and it includes some info up to 6288025 (A Wyles Mobile Steam Cooler' ?) Also some Volkswagens and Land-Rovers mentioned so clearly post-war. I have an idea that it was once on-line somewhere.

 

That would be a Wiles mobile steam cooker I would think. An Australian built mobile field kitchen, maybe one was obtained for trials or brought on to strength by the British army in the Far East.

I too would like to see that list.

Richard

4 hours ago, 10FM68 said:

Richard, if you would be so kind as to indulge me a bit further.  When the engine was reconditioned, it was then preserved and traces of the stencilling on the rocker cover remain, though not enough to read it all.  I should like to reproduce it on my finished engine so would it have said something like this, "PRESERVED EC02 08/85"?  And was there any significance in the colour of the stencilling?  Mine is red, but I think I have seen more in black.

Thanks again

10 68

I think it was a stencil with letters about 1 inch high and would be 'PRESERVED ECO2 8/85'. I recollect that red was used and I think later on it was black, whether the colour of stencilling  was laid down in EMER procedures, I do not know.

I have the engine block of a WW2 Austin Tilly under my bench that has ECO2 painted on it, think that date was around 1952 .Think that is black lettering.

By the way, the ECO relates to Eastern Command. Although that command area disappeared many years ago, the codes stuck.

I recently had a kit for this carb from Burlen Services (who are the SU carb people), they also do the diaphragms for the accelerator pump.

I could never get the full kit from Carburettor Exchange.

Richard

1 hour ago, wally dugan said:

There is a list of amendment  to the chilwell B vehicle list of 1944 numbered pages 1-5

which brought the list up to date for the period up to 1944 filling in the numbers listed

as not taken up.

Also another chilwell B vehicle list for the period 1945-1949 for vehicle bought after

ww2 ended these still carried the old type census  numbers until 1949

there was a copy in the old MOD library 

Hi Wally,

It would be good if these two documents could be made available, especially the amendments for up to 1944.

regards, Richard

42 minutes ago, Pete Ashby said:

I think  you will need  edition No4  Hanno if it exists,  my copy is edition No3 and has the same upper range limit ie L6277385

Pete

The Edition number only relates to Rob van Meel's copy. I bought Edition No.1 when it first came out and it still ends at L6277385. The different edition is where he has updated errors or added more information on the entries. I also have the list in groups of manufacturers. There would have been a document with a continuing list right up to around 1949 when the census number system changed. Maybe Wally can help here?

Richard

There are some numbers coming up for that NSN, it is a Prestolite alternator with two number coming up as well as NSN and FV number, they are VN62-5187 and V6500-84  Don't know if this will help. The fact it has an FV number would indicate it is a special military build.

1 hour ago, 10FM68 said:

My goodness, that was quick - many thanks for that, Richard.  I remember the barracks there in the 80s - Rowcroft, I think it was.

Much appreciated

 

10 68

Spot on !

3 minutes ago, 10FM68 said:

One, perhaps, for Richard Farrant or John Wardle.

My Series 3 Lightweight Land Rover has a REME-reconditioned engine.  It was overhauled in 1985 by Workshop No EC02.  Can anyone tell me which workshop that was?

Thanks

1068

Hi 1068,

You came to the right person, it was rebuilt at 44 District Workshops REME, Ashford, Kent.  Land Rover and Bedford engines of all variations were built on the engine line for very many years, as well as other makes and types of engines. I was on the line around 1974 to 75, when I first started work there..

regards, Richard

Hi Bryan,

The engine looks like a Petter, used to have these on a lot of army equipment, think its the AA1 model.

On the head you should find a plug attached to a chain, for a cold start, pull  it out and squirt a bit of engine oil down the hole then replace the plug.. You will find it starts a bit easier, also there should be a de-compressor lever on the top of the head.

Richard

No that small bore pipe is to provide vacuum for the distributor advance unit

Jim,

if it is the carb I described then it does not have a mechanical accelerator pump, it is done by vacuum. The reason that you should not use the throttle is because you will not get the full benefit of the Zero Starter (choke or cold starter).

Jim,

There is nothing special about the Bedford engine. If it has the military type Solex carb the choke (called a Zero Starter) has two positions, half out or full out. If really cold, set it at full out and when it fires move control to half out until it runs evenly, then push it off.. When hot you should not need the choke, one other thing, do not touch the throttle pedal while starting.

Richard

8 minutes ago, 11th Armoured said:

I'm not at all familiar with the real thing, so please excuse me if I have the wrong end of the stick, but if your carriage bolt is correct then I would have thought that the only way it would work as intended is if there's a counterbored hole to drop the bolt head below the surface of the wood.

Kevin

I agree with Kevin. If you used a brace and bit, before drilling the hole, you could have rebated the head of the bolt so it was flush with the wood surface. That is how I have done this sort of thing in the past.

Jim,

This is what you are looking for;

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Bedford-MW-OX-OY-Maintenance-and-Instruction-manual-/252371973258?hash=item3ac28ab48a

4 hours ago, LarryH57 said:

Ted, I should haven't said camo when what I meant was a matt base colour of G3. I appreciate that they are just shaddows on the engine cover - so the options for the colour of the Crossley FE1 Crash Tender above are; Gloss Red, Gloss RAF Blue Grey or Matt base colour of G3 or similar. We may never know.

And now for something different; a photo of Middleton St George I guess in 1945, which I think you may have seen. Can you or other members ID the truck at the tip of the second Lanc's wingtip?  I believe the vehicle pulling the control hut is a Commer Q2  heater van, and what looks like an AEC Matador 6x6 refueler covered in people is on the left with a Bedford MW nearby.

Looks like it could be a Dodge D60, there is another top left with no canopy.

25 minutes ago, lowfat said:

thats a reme white Half track

 

It is actually an International, not a White, and I have a feeling this is a Royal Signals vehicle, seen photos on here before of similar ones.

34 minutes ago, jim fl4 said:

Richard, Just looked at the pic and does the pedestrian door on the side tie up with the separate forward compartment for the genny?  Could that door have been to separately access the genny, separate from the main area to the rear? 

 

 

Jim, looking at the nearside door it is quite close to the front so entirely possible it is to enter the generator compartment as there could have been switchgear in inside. I know very little about these bodies.

Jim,

The platform that folds out is for the generator that powered the X-ray equipment. It was in a separate forward compartment but interior photos I have seen seem to indicate that it has all been made into one.

Richard