N.O.S.

I was led to believe that certain parts for this Bedford engine are getting very dificult to obtain. That said, if you need some 8.2 litre parts then these engines appear to be very good value

Quite possibly parts for DUKW if British numbers.

And the answer to the question you didn't ask, but need to know, is (): Yes it is relatively cheap to haul anything under 27 tonnes and less than 13 ft tall / 9 ft wide. This would be using a tri-axle stepframe trailer with a bed about 3 ft off the ground. Anything wider or lower or heavier will start costing telephone numbers or very large favours! Has anyone else noticed the exponential increase in stepframe population over the last 25 years? Whatever did we do before they were around in such quantity?

In the Bird Army - so long as someone's on lookout - you can usually catch a bit of sleep on one leg and with your head tucked in.

Could that have been caused by a leaking diaphragm? (the air loss :nono:)

Do you have an equivalent for the very British word 'Dapper' in your native tongue? (It's a compliment and in this case most deserved )

I think that is a very sensible summary of both situations, Andy. With regard to LED lighting - The use of a lighting board is certainly a totally sure way to be more safe than original fitment lights allow and keeping within whatever the law might be, albeit at the same time destroying the illusion of a wartime or whatever vehicle travelling around. For my purposes I would on balance prefer to adapt rear lights to keep the original appearance, yet have a safer lighting system. I really don't think anyone but a rivet counter will either notice, or be offended, if they see such a modified vehicle on the move or even on display. Havig said that I am looking at commercially available round LED rear truck/trailer light units to put on the GMC and larger trucks. The diameter is around 30% bigger - but with an O.D. lense shroud cut to similar profile and in proportion to the original lights (so visible lense area is same shape but bigger) they should not look too out of place, and acceptable to the originality police. What the real police would think of them I don't really know. I have found out that some LEDS are voltage specific - not all can be used on either 6, 12 and 24 volts - some can be used on all! With regard to discussing such topics as this - (the solutions to which to some extent revolve around the law and vehicle regulations) - it is always helpful to have input of views, references to specific legislation and also concerns that some members may have and consider should be passed on. However it should stop there. We should be able to agree or disagree and not carry on until all opposition to our own individual views is exhausted by either sound reasoning, rude attrition or disruptive behaviour. One problem is sometimes having too much information to allow you to do what you initially consider to be the safest thing, yet too little information to enable you to work out what is the best solution.

Easy does it! Don't overdo it too soon or we'll have to get the doctor out.:trustme:

Or coming at it from the other way, a couple of us bricked up a mate's doorway in our college accomodation block late one Saturday night with some very realistic brick wallpaper and flour paste :angel: We heard his door open and close shortly afterwards at around 10.30am on Sunday, it didn't open again until 6pm when he 'broke through' to a large awaiting crowd........:shocking:

I must admit I'm now thinking about this option for the Jeep. Mag-mount extra light units with plugs. It should certainly keep everyone else happy :angel: Shame about cutting into the authentic - looking wiring harnesss though....

It has to be said since Jack has been away the standards have been eroding steadily. If he ever comes back he's going to have his work cut out that's for sure. Speaking of which (work) I've had a bit of luck converting what was admittedly an extremely rare WW2 USAAF GMC lubricating oil tanker into a vacuum suction unit to make my now permanent posting on clubhouse latrine duty that much easier. OK a fair bit of the original truck and equipment had to go but I'm all for ease of use as opposed to total authenticity. If anyone would rather see a wartime stamped shovel and bucket used instead, they are welcome to take over the role - the tanker would break for parts to keep a few cargo versions on the road (I did rather hack the tanker unit about so not much is salvageable).

I was advised by DVLA that I could tax a Special Vehicles class (or Special Types) vehicle as Historic and use for its intended commercial purpose (i.e. engineering plant not carrying a load) - I didn't expect this response but didn't argue :-D Perhaps I should have? If the advice given was correct, could it be that load carrying, and hence MOT testing, is the main criteria which kicks out any entitlement to concession?

Quite true, but it might help to avoid avoid an even less authentic Scania front bumper becoming friction-welded to the rear panel of the Jeep :wow::cool2: I need some Jeep rear 6v LED light units asap - anyone fancy the job of supplying a pair? (Edit: I meant to add - with indicators incorporated)

Wow, it didn't look as if it was burning that much oil :cool2::-D

Very nice, thanks! I guess the length of the film clip, 1 minute 08, was limited only by the capacity of the green fuel can? :whistle:

Why not take a submersible pump too - you'll be able to put most of the water back in the lake without anyone knowing what you've been up to........

I use a smallish diameter UJ from a Magirus Deutz dumptruck on a most extreme duty application running between 0 - 60 rpm (I mean rotation to stall in a nanosecond and makes my teeth rattle.....) and pulling 3,700 Lbf ft, I know from other similar applications that it will take two or three timnes that with no trouble. Just imagine what the joint's capability might be at engine speed and relatively smooth power flow :shocked:

Now that is a claim I wouldn't dare to make of my own abilities - don't let it go to your head :banana::banana::banana:

I suspect testing became erroneously referred to as plating in the early days as the first trip most trucks had to an inspection was to be plated when the plating and testing regulations first came out (was that in 1969?). That was when many old trucks went to the breakers yards as they stood little or no chance of passing a test or achieving plating :cool2:

One reason for using something like Landrover UJs is that they will fit the small space available. Your average British truck propshaft UJ is too large in diameter to fit. However new UJs of greater capacity and much smaller diameter than Brit ones from breakers yards are readily available - just depends how big your budget is. Interesting calcs on the Landrover propshaft torque. Quite deceptive. But don't let your foot slip off the clutch at the wrong moment :blush: What's the big rush on huge horsepower for Scammells - are we all getting lazy about gearchanging or something?

Don't you mean 'maintenance which HAS been carried out HAS been done to a safe standard? :cool2:

Which is precisely why - under the terms of an Operating Licence (required for commercial operation of an HGV) - it is mandatory to undertake statutory condition inspections (at typically 6 - 8 weeks intervals depending on severity of operating conditions) and keep records of same. If you read the question ("If someone was to get a truck ( over 3.5 tons ) plated to confirm it being roadworthy...") the idea being promoted is a voluntary test to ascertain if indeed the vehicle is roadworthy - there is no suggesttion that the owner would then seek to hide behind this test as a get-out in the event of problems. Not everyone is an expert HGV mechanic and I can quite understand if someone might wish to seek an informed opinion by means of a voluntary test. Even done it myself (mainly for brakes) I suggest this is a good idea if you want extra reassurance of the condition of your vehicle. Alternatively, if you are not confident in your own judgement of mechanical condition, why not use the services of a commercial garage which undertakes routine HGV inspections for commercial operators? There seems to be confusion between PLATING and TESTING - (and correct me if I'm wrong here) Plating is the initial inspection to ascertain the maximum carrying capacity of a vehicle, and is done at first registration and any subsequent alterations to the vehicle which might afect its capacity (e.g. adding an extra axle). Annual MOTs are sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'Plating', but they are just MOTs.

Some years ago I met a guy who worked for a company which had developed a recognotion system such that if it was positioned one side of anything bigger than a double track railway bridge, it could tell a policeman standing at the other side if a vehicle had insurance by the time it emerged. They came up with a proposal to position these at strategic places around London, and reckoned that within something like 9 months, 80% of uninsured cars could be caught and put off the roads permanently. The scheme was rejected by the London authorities and police on the basis it would cost too much to operate (manpower). Well of course, much better to get the rest of us to cover the cost of uninsured motoring by paying through the nose for our insurance instead. Surely all it needed was for a small percentage from our premiums to fund it nationwide and we could all be paying lower insurance by now. Why are we so incapable of helping ourselves in this country?

Thanks Andy. So the new red diesel is in fact same as road diesel (comes out of same tanks) but with the dye added? In which case, is both ULSRD and normal road diesel likely to have up to 15% Bio Diesel in without us actually being aware of it? :cool2:

Go figure this: As from 1st Jan it is illegal to use conventional (sulphur rich) red diesel in mobile off road machinery. Fuel suppliers have therefore made available a new grade - Ultra Low Sulphur Red Diesel (ULSRD). OK, so what? Well it appears that one or other or both of the recognised standards for the new grade ULSRD (EN590 and BS26989:2010) allow the new fuel to contain up to 15% Bio Fuel. I discovered last year that one major maufacturer of diesel injection equipment would only warrant their equipmenmt for use with max. 10% Bio Fuel blends. Well that's just peachy isn't it? How do we ensure the fuel we buy is of a blend which will not cause warranty violation? Why oh why do we seem in this country to be totally incapable of joined up thinking before jumping in with the next planet-saving initiative? :banghead: