Simon Daymond

hopefully you've got them done now? But for future reference, put them in hot water, the paint softens and can be peeled off, no need to rub and scratch etc.

moved house recently, and had to dig the log book out for the militant to change the address, didn't realise, that I've had it for over 15 years now. (BTW, hoping to get some colour on it this weekend)

what's going on? First it was pink cushions, now it's planks? - am I missing something?

BTW, hi Rippo, nice Bedford.

yep, nearly.

ok, just to bring this thread up to date, got a new valve in the post yesterday (from that scrapped militant on ebay) stripped it down last night, and after a bit of sweat, missing my tea etc, I left here at midnight but all is now working fine, builds up pressure and holds, so sorted, finally.

would camoflage ever include a dark brown? Reason I ask is that there is a patch of darkbrown gloss on one of the rear wheelarches, possibly discoloured green but worth asking the question.

so, if the matt green might fade to grey, then if the militant is green albeit flat, does that mean that it was gloss that then faded?

Think I might go gloss if that's the case. Wasn't there a point after which nothing was painted gloss? - or am I simply mistaken? Reason I ask, is that I think the militant was in use until the early 1980's, at that time what was the painting requirement? gloss or matt?

To be clear, what is the gloss referred to as? Bronze green, or deep bronze green ( or have I just opened another can of worms?) Also, what is the matt referred to as?

Thanks for the comments guys! Andy, I saw that militant on the AEC forum yesterday, so I was considering giving him a ring, problem is I'm cautious of anything ebay, can't hurt to ask, it's only money ! Failing that, I will give the reconditioning company a shout, I'm sure they'll be able to help.

6x6, yes there is a guard dog, but too soft to mention, and the chain reaches nowhere near the militant.

The semaphore indicators had been removed, but replacements came courtesy of Wally Dugan, who was at the Museum of Army Transport, Beverley, at the time. Originally I was going to rely on them only, but realised that in today's traffice I'm asking for trouble. The front rollers etc are present, in the garage ( I hope) are the removable guide pins, visible in the early picture, but not in the later.

I think I've worked out a way of bypassing the unloader valve for now, by closing off the feed for the bellows, but then adjusting the seperate safety valve so that the tanks don't explode.

I went to Catterick Barracks today, took a coach load of school kids, had a snoop around, couldn't find any militants in the undergrowth though, tidy lot these army types you know.

Did see what looked like an Antar in their compound though along with an old tank, sorry haven't a clue what, and I didn't have a camera.

On a seperate note, believe it or not, I'm getting the paint out shortly. Question is shiny or drab? Originally the scheme was going to be shiny green, but as the militant is going to be nowhere near original, at this point in time, I thought that I might represent the militant at a later date in her life.

So, my question is, is it likely that the miltant would have always been shiny green? When I got the militant, it was flat, but I don't know whether this was as a result of time, or whether laterly the miltant was painted drab? I can remember that she did end up laterly as a driver trainer, and she seemed to have an active life, I don't remember hearing that she had been in storage.

Any ideas? I know the subject of paint is mentioned eleswhere, but here seems appropriate as it is in direct discussion of a militant mentioned in this post.

Hi Jon, Aircraft toilet truck, there's a thought!

Hi Andy, cheers for that, the guy is called Charlie, also happens to have a militant gun tractor as well! - it's a small world. I rang him last year but he didn't have an unloader valve, but he was very helpful, and I'm determined to go over and see him soon. Also gave me a good lead for a local firm to make a canvas for the back, he had one made for his from the original he had, and it's spot on (both in build and price)

I reckon that valve was used on more than just the militant, I'm sure I've seen it on old buses etc, from my time when I used to work at the museum.

I wouldn't be surprised if something like a routemaster bus had something similar. I'm due a trip to the bus scrap yards at Barnsley shortly, I'll have a look then.

since the last picture;

I've hung the nearside door properly, when I got it, the N/S door had cobbled hinges on it, and never shut properly.

Also both the N/S & O/S rain guttering were refitted too low, and fouled the top of both doors, these were removed and straightened (which took ages, as the aluminium had been squashed, battered, twisted and looked like a right mess, but careful twisting and clamping in the vice, they still look a bit of a mess, but are straighter than they were. They are now refitted propery, so now instead of bowing in the middle, they slope correctly so the rain water runs away, not overflows and into the cab as before. Also the cab roof had to have 1/2 inch welded to it, as I didn't realise the edge could be seen, it had been cut off roughly, as it was thought that the guttering was meant to hide it, how wrong I was. But if you saw the before pictures, I might be forgiven, there was little roof edge left, so it was hard to guess how it should be. (my excuse and I'm sticking to it)

The doors now both shut properly, and I have repaired the channel in the N/S door which held the glass, and now both go up and down with ease, instead of requiring a helping hand as before.

I removed the cowl from around the radiator, to get access to all the water hoses, these were all removed, the water system flushed, and new hoses fitted and new antifreeze added.

I 've put the windscreen wiper motors back on, recoupled the air piping. The screens when refitted had the wrong mechanism attached. The O/S screen had the N/S mechanism and vice versa, this meant you couldn't open the bonnet without fouling the screen mechanism as the correct one has a flat on it, but was fitted to the wrong screen.

Next job is to swap the front air scoops, the N/S is on the O/S and vice versa, so they open the wrong way.

(sounds like I put this thing together in the dark don't it, perhaps I should get some Jimmy Cricket wellies, the ones with L & R painted on them!)

Last bit (for now) does anyone have one of these, it's a bellows from a Clayton Dewandre unloader valve, this one is badly split and lets all the air escape, most likely I could do with the complete unloader valve, but in the meantime, this seems to be the culprit?

Looks a bit better now (ok, still rusty, but more solid)

Here's another, I guess that was the auction number painted on the front, I don't know what the number on the N/S screen is?

mine must be early, 1953 6x4 Gun Tractor. Moved to my former workplace in Leeds in the summer of last year in a blaze of optimism! Got quite a bit done but came unstuck ( and still am with the unloader valve)

I used to work for a firm that rented space in the yard, then left, and after six months returned to work for the company that actually owns the yard (hope you're keeping up?), so thought I would get my finger out and do a bit.

I posted last year on the subject of the militant's failure to make and maintain air.

I received loads of useful advice, but came to a halt as it was apparent that the unloader valve is U/S, or rather the bellows inside are, as they are badly split, and I believe are leaking all the air into the atmosphere.

If I can get the air sorted, next job is to continue with the cab. I started it years ago, with a cab rebuild, then the job stopped and it stood a local farm, going green and slimey.

Rather than go for the nut & bolt job intended all those years ago, I'm instead just trying to put everything back together and just run the damn thing!

That way in time I can do a bit at time, keep interested, and surrender all the cupboard, garage, shed space currently occupied by bits of flaky green militant parts.

This was the militant shortly after I got it in 1994, just look at that black insulation (did it ,make any difference?)

looks like the door on ebay is right for a Mk1, but not the same as mine, strange? Mine definately have different hinges and handles, and don't have all the extra trim at the bottom and at the handle end of the door. (which is why it gets wet inside no doubt!) Were there different cabs on the militants, or did they all get different treatment when in for repair etc? - resulting in different bits on the cab. I notice mine doesn't have the moulded brackets on the front of the wings, to take the indicator etc that some have, also it came with single mirror arms, and not the larger ones so many seem to have.

Sorry Andy, but under existing Euroweasel legislation any used vehicle component is deemed to be be trade waste and you would need a licenced premises at which to store your door and a separate licence, costing £12,000 per year, per vehicle, that would entitle you transport trade waste between licenced sites. What about doing HMV jig saw puzzles as a hobby ? That's still fairly legal.

lovely ! pmsl. I've seen that door on ebay, looks different to the ones on my Mk1, as they don't have the extra 2inch strips on the outer edges, the exterior handle seems different, and the hinge is not the same either (is it from a Mk1, or were they all different?)

shame, can't see that one hitting the road anytime soon

Hi Sarge,

welcome to the forums, it was nice that you took the time to write such an interesting intro, well worth the read. I'm sure you'll be an asset ;-)

Hello Jonathon,

welcome to the forums.

Hi Ossie,

welcome to the forums, they're a friendly bunch on here. ;-)

you could always take the paint to your nearest car paint stockist, if they are decent folk, ask them to put your paint tins in the 'agitator' which will mix them up (safer than the washing machine' ! :-)

If they seem reluctant, tell them that you are considering having some more paint mixed to the shade in the tin, so in order to mix the new stuff to the original, they will need a decent 'wet' sample, i.e. your paint, which they would need to mix first in order to check the exact shade. Once they've mixed it, they can compare it to their colour charts, but you aren't obligated to buy any, just dutifully jot down what it is, and offer to come back later :-)

If after this the stuff still won't dry, and, if you think that it is synthetic paint, i.e. not 2 pack, then you can buy liquid driers, and add about 5ml to a litre, I'm sure a good decorators merchant should still sell it. Last bottle of driers that I had was purple in colour. Try a little bit first, but don't add it to the whole tin, better to waste a small amount of sample paint than the whole tin full. Hope it helps :-)

glad to hear you got there and back safely. What sort of condition is the other militant in?

I was reading through the posts and was going to make the same suggestion as Jack, just do a bit, make a start.

Even if you only do 30mins, hopefully you'll be 30 mins nearer :-)

many years ago, my mate decided he wanted a mini. We found a really cheap one, and drove to collect it with the aid of his dad's landrover which he had borrowed.

The mini was a non-runner, had no seats, and all the front panels were absent. All it was missing were chickens.

We found the drivers seat and bolted it in, but realised we had forgotten the tow rope for the journey home. We did however have a chain, which we thought would be better anyway. My mate fastened the chain to the mini, and we set off.

Afterwards, it transpired that the chain had a lifting hook on the end, and my mate had secured the chain by simply wrapping in once around the front subframe, then hooked it to itself. This was great until the first time he braked, the chain slackened, then when he set off it simply unwound from the subframe and the mini was cast adrift, I can see him now accelerating into the distance with the chain bouncing along behind him.

That was just the start, we were travelling at about 30mph, the speedo worked ! I had no brakes, little experience and we were approaching a downward slope. I can remember clearly the amazed expression of the woman motorist who was passing in the opposite direction as I hurtled past in the half mini.

Seeing the approaching slope I thought I would just ride it out, hoping that the mini would find an uphill or level piece of road eventually, however, my dosey mate, finally realised I was missing, and had decided to stop. I saw him as I rounded the bend, and with little chance of escaping the solid back of the landrover, I steered up onto the grass banking, the mini was wrecked, as I impacted the grass, my tool box, which was at my side open from fastening the seat into the mini, emptied its' contents through the windscreen, the n/s front wheel bent back into the passenger door, and a rock smashed the front of the engine.

Luckily, the mini's seatbelts were still fitted, and I had had the good sense to wear it. We left it at the side of the road, well embedded in the banking actually :whistle: , we went back later that night and took it home on a trailer, it later went for scrap.

I could fill a book with all the scrapes cock ups etc I 've had over the years, like the time my brother and I nearly demolished the traffic lights in a local town to us :whistle: , towing a bus, and he got too close, or the time when we put a hole in the militant radiator with the tow bar shunting the same bus later that night. My favourite though, was when another friend, pushed his mini for nearly two miles trying to bump start it after a home DIY service, only to discover that he'd left the rotor arm off :-)

looks like someone just tapped into a goldmine, I'd buy a copy, absolute no use to me whatsoever, but interesting none the less :-)

I wonder if it's like the normal Haynes manual, where you have to strip your car down to change a simple bulb :whistle:

One for my Christmas list I think, (oops sorry mentioned the C word)