N.O.S.

This (copied from an NGK web page) may help throw some light on the technicals of hot / cold plugs :coffee: Heat Range Explanation Typically the heat range for NGK Spark Plugs varies from 2-11. This number indicates the thermal characteristics of a spark plug, or how ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ a spark plug is. The term hot/cold is commonly used to describe whether a spark plug heats up easily (hot) or whether it provides resistance to heating up (cold). Generally, low power engines such as lawn mowers don’t produce a large amount of heat, hence use a low heat range (or hot) spark plug such as a 4 heat range. This means the spark plug will heat up easily and reach its optimal operating temperature. High performance engines on the other hand produce a large amount of heat, hence a high heat range (or cold) spark plug such as a 10 heat range needs to be used to resist the heat developed by the engine. Several factors influence the heat range of a spark plug, although typically the insulator nose design provides an indication of the heat range of a spark plug. When a spark plug absorbs heat produced from combustion, the heat is transferred through the centre electrode and insulator nose to the metal shell, which then transfers the heat into the engine casing and circulating coolant. A low heat range (or hot) spark plug typically has a long thin insulator nose which will heat up easily however will not dissipate readily to the metal shell (above left). Conversely, a high heat range (or cold) spark plug has a short thick insulator nose which will dissipate heat much easier (above right). When the heat rating is too high: The spark plug temperature remains too low and causes deposits to build up on the firing end; the deposits offer an electrical leakage path that gives rise to loss of sparks. When the heat rating is too low: The spark plug temperature rises too high and induces abnormal combustion (pre-ignition): this leads to melting of the spark plug electrodes as well as piston seizure and erosion. NGK Spark Plugs pioneered the use of a copper cored electrode in 1958, which enables a spark plug to heat up quickly and also dissipate heat quickly giving an ultra wide heat range. It is essential to use a spark plug that fits a specific engine and its conditions of use. As spark plugs are positioned in the head of an engine, their analysis can give a good indication of how your engine is operating.

It was a cunning car trap set by the wrecker boys to privide foodstock for their car stretching demos :cool2:

Just to put this thread into perspective - at W&P yesterday I found on a dealer's stand - 'NEW HALFTRACK TRACKS - LAST SET Euro 6,500' (or was it £….). :wow:

What rotten luck - to drop into a wet patch when all the towing/winching vehicles have cleared off south!

ISTR that ENV axles were offered as an option at one time on civilian Landrovers - they were a heavier duty axle than LR's standard offering, hence their use on forward controls and some (most?) military LRs.

Interesting - can't find much about them, other than this found on the U.S. EATON corporation website:

Any old iron(ic) Taxi!

Oh at last - the CLETRAC KID turns up. Where have you been? I've been trying to hold the fort but I know nothing about Cletracs.

August 2009:

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?13242-Cletrac-in-Normandy

Chris - any chance of discussing with them the possibility of making Cletrac tracks? Someone with a Cletrac needs to get into gear here, or a great opportunity will be missed! If someone can to advise the length compared to Halftrack tracks, they should be able to quote for these too.

I thought I read in the U.S. thread somewhere that someone had bought the Israeli track production tooling and had spent a lot of money reconditioning it - maybe the tooling being used in Argentina is be the Israeli gear, which may indeed be some of the original wartime equipment?

Or maybe I am wrong - maybe the different length is not an issue, looky here: http://www.google.com/patents/US5536464 That looks remarkably like your wartime press, Scotty!

I can't see form your photo of the mould how that process works, Scotty. That looks like a vulcanising press only - which does 2 straight sections (top and bottom) of a pair of tracks - once that length of track is done presumably you move the tracks around to do another straight section (the loop hanging out the front), then the final section (the bit looping out the back). Somewhere there must be a mould in which the entire rubber track is cast. If this assumption is correct you can use the vulcanising unit to do any length of track but I guess the mould has to be specific to the track length. I thought tyres are cast in a mould which is then used to vulcanise too? Possibly cheaper to make 2 separate units like the photo? Cletrac demand will surely never be enough to justify a dedicated mould so I reckon sharing a mould would be the only option :-(

That's it - he is the first customer for the British Army's experimental walk march-through laundry!

Is he a LAUNDRY, MOBILE test driver? Looks like he's about to take one out for a spin.

I can't think of many starter motors that would stick that extended cranking, let alone engines firing up!

Scotty, in all probability it is too late for the Cletrac tracks - depends how the manufacturer proposes to make the mould for the halftrack units? My understanding is that the halftrack units are normally made in a complete mould. Basically metal cross bars are clamped to endless steel cables and a rubber track profile formed around this assembly within the surrounding mould and then vulcanised. Being a longer version of the halftrack units, the Cletrac assemblies would normally require a dedicated mould Were their manufacture to be considered at the same time, it should be quite possible to produce a mould which could easily be reconfigured into two different lengths. The only additional cost would be the extra length of mould and some work to create split joints to allow for adding the extension when required. It would probably be prohibitively expensive to adapt an existing one-piece mould unless it has been designed with this option from the outset. Not wishing to complicate the halftrack project, but is there still time to consider this option? Short of cutting and splicing halftrack units (not ideal), this might be the last opportunity to keep Cletracs mobile……... Tony (who does not own a Cletrac).

So that's what Rugged was all about…….. I saw you just posted here - I expected to see a request for Rugged tracks

They need to make some extra long ones for the (tens of?) Cletracs out there too!!

Sad news - what a great guy, always made me smile!

Mike - I think I've found your loco! Supplied 5th Jan 1965 to ICI Malaya, 34 Tons, Metre gauge, Works No. D1336, Diesel Hydraulic. The engine details are 250NHRS-6-IPTC/7W10701. This I take to be a Cummins NH250 and the whole thing could be the engine serial no. Once I had found my HC Works List it was quite easy as this was the only metre gauge diesel they made. It has to be metre gauge if its task was to move mainline wagons in Malaya. The only other similar sized locos - all exported - appear to have been a 38T loco to 3'6" gauge supplied 1963 to Malawi - again with NH250xxx engine, two to BP Nigeria - 34T and 3'6" gauge in 1965 - NH242xxx engines(?), and one 34T loco 3'6" gauge to Zambian cement works 1967 So D1336 it is then?

Richard is not wrong Anorak on / Out of interest and with a military connection Hudswell Clarke pioneered the use of large diesel engines for installation on locomotives - a massive loco called Junin built in 1930 fitted with McLaren-Benz engine , a variant of those originally fitted to U-boats, for a narrow gauge nitrate railway in Chile and which is now preserved at Armley Mills museum, Leeds. They also built a petrol railcar in 1933 for the Royal Engineers who operated the Spurn Point military line (Spurn and Kilnsea Rly), as well as Austerity tank locos - and of course narrow gauge steam locos for use in WW1. / Anorak off.

So it is possession of a trailer, not the use of it……. Now bear with me here - How about I paint my Ifor Williams trailer purple and join a Red Ball re-enactor group - would I get away with it then? :whistle:

Here's one on steelworks slag duty: