Richard Farrant

To add to Sean's reply, an inspection of the shoes might be wise because if there is any contamination on them, this would have to be addressed first.

Hi James, I think the only way to check if hull numbers run concurrent with army reg numbers is to gather as much numbers from other owners and see how they compare. Turrets could easily have been misplaced on base overhauls too. Re. band replacement, as you noted the procedure in factory and base overhauled units was for them to have been run in and readjusted until they stabilised. When we fitted replacement pre-selector gearboxes to vehicles in workshop, they were generally OK and not needing any adjustment. What you will have to be prepared for is doing short runs and readjusting those gears with new bands, as they have to bed into the grooves on the drum. It would be easy to do this before refitting the turret, as it is a chore to access the gearbox once the turret is on. best of luck and Happy New Year to you regards, Richard

That's my theory blown out the window, because hull 248 being a BB registration has a later serial number than 245 with a CC ! Look on the numbers as one 4 digit set, so BB is 0681 and CC is 0148. All I can think here is that on base overhauls the hulls were switched, in other words so long as a vehicle came off the line with a number that came in, then that number would go back into service. I do know that some WW2 armoured cars with separate hulls did get switched between chassis' on base overhaul. Richard

Hi Bob, Good to hear from you. The number on the hull pate that you found would appear to be the Alvis build number, same with Saracen and Stalwart. These numbers do not appear to be recorded on the army vehicle record card, it is always the army registration that is used. The best I can suggest is that if you are in contact with other owners who do have the interior data plate still on their vehicles is to get them to give you the army registration number and the hull number (forget the turret number). Once you have several of these it might be possible that hull numbers and reg numbers run in order. If they do it might be possible to deduce your reg number. I have done this before on WW2 Daimlers and luckily they all ran in order. Hope this helps. regards Richard

Hi James, Enjoyed your little videos, nice to see the old girls appreciated. All the best for 2017. cheers Richard

07BA21 ........ that looks to early for a Saladin and is likely to be the ARN for a Centurion ........ but 07BB21 was a Saladin and apparently it served at one point with the 17/21 Lancers in Cyprus. regards, Richard

Hi, If you are referring to the photo of a Saracen with the Champ in front, then it appears to be a Mk2 as the commander is sitting out of the turret on the flap, otherwise if it was a Mk1 you would see the LH door folded back. cheers Richard

The word 'hydrovac' is the trade name of a vacuum boosted hydraulic brake unit made by Bendix. The wiper motors were pure and simple vacuum motors. It is normally the US made trucks that were fitted with Hydrovac, (GMC and the like). British lorries were normally fitted with Clayton Dewandre vacuum units as Paul has mentioned. There are two issues on the Clayton units, one is the leather piston seal either dries out and / or wears out and the other is the rubber seals in the vacuum valve. Adjustment has to be précise if dismantling this part. regards, Richard

Hi Colin, That is not a military RL body, I reckon it is off an Auxiliary Fire Service RL regards, Richard

Clive, My recollection of engine finish from new on military S2a and S3 engines were that the heads, timing covers and cylinder blocks appeared to have been painted a very pale blueish grey prior to machining as the finished engine had black sump and I think other bolt on steel parts were black, the alloy rocker cover and flywheel housing being in bare metal. This means the engine on fitting at the factory was not painted overall. When engines were painted after rebuild by REME or contractors, practically every part of the engine was painted Sky Blue 101, except carb and distributor. Richard

I think the 184/61 is an item number of the makers, E.R. Watts, as their company name changed in 1948 so likely this item is earlier than 1961. http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/E._R._Watts_and_Son

Bryan, Diesel engines do not produce a vacuum in the inlet manifold like petrol engines do. Hence why you have to have a vacuum pump fitted to a diesel to operate a servo.

Hi Andy, That is very useful, many thanks, will get on to them after Christmas :thumbsup:

Hi Andrew, I have a similar task to do, turret flaps on an armoured car, but this one has a square section length of torsion bar, only 1/4" square. The originals have split. They are designed to close the hatch over from the secured open position probably about 170 degrees of arc, allowing the crew to grab a strap and pull it fully shut, all without coming out of the turret. Finding it hard to locate 1/4" torsion bar. Enjoying your rebuild thread, excellent work. regards, Richard

I agree entirely Sean. Many of these FB groups are not even viewable or existence known.

Oh, that is a medium I avoid like the plague I'm afraid.

Ah yes the ambulance one in the recently posted photo belonged to Oily. Not seen him on here for a good while.

Hi Lewis, I think you will find the pin has a hole in it and it should have been secured with a grooved pin (Mills pin). Just noticed that you can see the hole for the grooved pin in the bracket. Don't worry about all the crap in there, when I worked on these when they were in-service, they were worse than that! Only bonus was finding coins under it all, downside, they were usually German! regards, Richard

Steve, OK, so if you have not had the engine apart, I would say you need to remove the head and valves for a start. Side valves are known to stick on standing and at the least you will need to decoke and check the valves and seats, re-cutting seats and re-facing valves then lapping in. Also check the bores for wear. Before refitting the head, ensure it is true across the face and not warped. I did rebuild one of these engines a few years ago. regards, Richard

You don't say if you have worked on the engine. If it has been standing for years then the bores could be dry, try putting a drop of oil in each plug hole. Also ensure throttle is wide open when doing compression check.

Clive, Wasn't there an owner of a VPK Land Rover who burnt the front of his to represent an attack from a petrol bomber? Bad enough throwing emulsion at it, let alone burning it!

That is odd because firing order for a GMC and a Bedford is the same !

It depends on what information you want from the Contract records, but the BSA Owners Club have access to the BSA factory records for their motorcycles.

Clive, I am wondering if the engine type number, 223 on the report you have seen was incorrect as the diesel version seemed to have been shelved and tests continued on a petrol engine, the Jumo 222, your post with a scan in it gave the single cylinder engine a low compression rating so it was not the diesel test engine, see this excerpt from the link I posted; Tests continued into 1942, but the engine’s reliability was a concern. The vibration issues seemed to be a result of the two-piece crankshafts and crankcase and the high rpm needed to produce the desired power. Along with the Jumo 223, Junkers was developing the Jumo 222—a 24-cylinder, spark ignition engine close to the same power and physical size as the Jumo 223, but lighter and of greater displacement. The Jumo 222 engine had more than its share of problems, and it made little sense to develop two engines in the same power class at the same time. In addition, developmental engines capable of more power than the Jumo 223 were needed. Vibration and cracks on the 223 diesel engine seemed to be serious problems and I don't think the engine got any further than a test bed.

Hi Clive, This is what I was reading, how does it match with the info you have? https://oldmachinepress.com/2015/09/26/junkers-jumo-223-aircraft-engine/