N.O.S.

Here is a pic Catweazle posted up a while back (Ace Cafe) of a Scammell Constructor. It must be finished by now, as I've just seen this truck advertised as restoration completed, except for a few cab details - the last of the PUC registered Pickfords fleet, at £28,500. Now if a Ward laFrance is a lot of truck for your money, this has got to be a lot of your money for a truck!!!

Don't forget to check the size of your anodes while you're down there!

It has to come back to Supply and Demand, Mark - look how few Antars exist compared to WLFs, were you aware that a year ago there were still 18 or so in a yard Holland many in great order looking for buyers (although sadly that might have changed as the yard has now gone). But having said that, there will only ever be one "Rugged Boy" so you should be happy :-D Life's too short to drive an ugly truck

If you replaced all the new passenger planes with a giant fleet of old Dakotas, you'd soon see how many really need to fly Hughie! Ralph!

Sorry Rob, I thought that was the bore of the release bearing housing, but I can now see it is the tube, and that the housing is a nice fit on it. I checked the clutch drawing and the seal / lubrication arrangement is as I thought.

That's had a lot of grease!!!!! The housing has a seal at the clutch plate end and none at the rear - so that excess grease from the release bearing can escape at the rear onto the shaft to keep it lubricated. (I think - perhaps I'd better go and check again...might be talking scribble again)

You've got about 2 feet by 2 feet available CW - just enough to stand on. What are you going to do with it? You'll only need 8 feet of 6ft high steel galvanised pallisade fencing to make it secure - about £66 worth :-D You could argue the exponential rise in air travel in recent years has been due to cheap fuel and cheap tickets with the rise of budget airlines. Does anyone really believe this increase in demand will continue unabated? Are we really just going to get more and more wealthy, and have increasingly more leisure time? If you have the time to fly somewhere you generally don't have the money. If you have the money you generally don't have the time....but I've been wrong before :confused:

There is nothing in the repair manuals about checking clearance in the shaft/housing, and there is no replaceable bush. On this basis I don't suppose they were ever any problem (I believe the Matador clutch has a non-metallic bush but again no reference to wear checks in the manual). The Scammell has a greaser to prevent this housing from seizing on the shaft. The whole assembly is held in place by retainers on the end of the clutch operating levers. It is designed to be a nice running fit to hold everything in place and in alignment - should a lever retainer come adfrift then with all that play it might run out of true and cause vibration?? If it works fine, I don't see it as a problem.

My first flight was from Shipdham airfield in a Gypsy "Kangaroo" - a Tiger Moth split down the centre and widened to take 4 seats. Pity they didn't put a bigger engine in, as it lived up to its name on take-off...... at the end of the runway the pilot 'hopped' it over the hedge into the next field until it was eventually able to lift off :shake: I was only 7 but it didn't put me off

After your recent reference to this I ummm'd and arrr'd and got hold of one (via Amazon, a lot cheaper than the ebay offerings!). It came today and all I can say is "you're not wrong!" :tup::

Accepted absolutely, Lee - the idea of a forum discussion on these topics should be to try to guide ourselves to where we can get a definitive answer from the relevant authority. It is very useful to hear how others get on before considering whether one has been given the right advice by those in authority who should know :-D

Special Vehicles - (it is a winch truck) - would cover it well don't you think?

Cheers Grumpy. So if you have a post 1960 vehicle (which therefore be subject to MOT) you can tow, but not if it is pre 1960 and thus not MOT'd......... I tried to tax a pre 1960 truck as special types for work purposes, but was told by local DVLA office that it could be historic class. I wasn't convinced I had been given the right advice but didn't argue with them at the time!!

Thanks for taking us off topic, CW. While we're there, Tony - I'm trying to get hold of 2 x CO2 extinguishers like the one on your GTB for the tanker. The older British ones I've looked at are not a very good size match. Any ideas most welcome!

So the bombs effectively form part of the trailer. Thanks Tony, that's useful info. :tup::

Rob, you get shot at from three directions: 1) Appropriate driving licence category 2) Appropriate Road Fund Licence 3) Appropriate Insurance cover Even with the correct insurance cover, if you don't get 1 and 2 right, the insurance may be invalidated. I was under the impression that historic road tax does not allow you to carry a load, be it your own or for hire and reward. If you tax a hgv as private, you can carry a load subject to full HGV mot compliance. I guess the same would apply to a historic vehicle too, but you might need a different road fund licence? I'm not aware that your question of whether you can tow or recover a historic vehicle with another has ever been satisfactorily answered on the forum. It would be very useful to know.

Looks like the demolition team have just arrived to flatten that old cement works :-D

A very neat solution - and in any case FWD is not really of much benefit on hard surfaces unless trying to change direction. I wonder if any other vehicles used/use this feature? My work vehicle (Bedford MJR) is the same, simply by virtue of the rear tyres being so much "flatter" due to axle loading :-D

Can I borrow your Weejee board for a moment please, Tom?

Yes, had forgotten the old timers! I guess Antar and DT 980s were heavier at the back end than Militant, thet would simply push the front axle through soft stuff - whereas Militant would be inclined to loose traction (if the front dug in) more readily than the bigger ones (maybe).

They're a good bunch at Marton Dump Trucks, especially for people who still run ancient dumpers.....

Why do you need front wheel drive on an Antar? If it gets bogged at the back end ain't no front axle gonna drag that thing out!! It must be heavy enough not to need front wheel drive just to get about on a greasy surface. And cost. And complexity. Commander didn't need front wheel drive either.

And it wouldn't surprise me if it was more successful than the 6x4 Militant gun tractor due to less weight on the front axle and a shorter wheelbase and more appropriate gearing (maybe).

Howard - do you know if there will be any large scale B17s flying there this year?

So what is he doing? Most likely greasing the prop from the transfer box - important to do this very frequently, every 1,000miles or so :whistle: