Stormin

Jim did the crews pull these off as soon as they landed?? And a stupid question but I am taking it that one was for the exhaust and the other for air intake to the engine??

You're forgetting cooling air for the engine as well Jack. Forward one for cool intake air, rear for hot air and exhaust gases.

If it was simply for engine running air and exhaust small pipes would've done. Given the size of the "ducts" I would imagine they were designed so they could run for long periods on land without overheating, so no immediate need to remove them until safe and convenient.

May not be a sticking piston at all but wear in the drum or linings causing the shoes to move to far. The leading shoe effect cannot then be overcome by the return springs. Check these haven't become weak also. You'll need a large caliper to check the drum isn't over worn though.

Well I've two vehicles not insured for on the road use as they're in pieces.

I'l bet there's a significant number of others nearly complete, not used, or simply transported to shows and not used on the road therefore never insured either, particularly motorbikes.

If you do simply want the total number insured, I would bet asking two or three insurance companies would net you 90% of U.K. vehicles.

One thought is that I wouldn't be surprised if there's an awful lot of Land Rover insured as just Land Rovers no mention of Military Vehicle, as the current owners aren't interested in the movement, just want an everyday vehicle or solid commercial. Probably applies to a few other vehicles too, like recently demobbed Bedford MJs used for commercial purposes not by military enthusiasts.

What do you define as a military vehicle? One that was originally owned by the military or one that is now presented in it's original form?

Some ex military vehicle lose all such identity when passing into civilian hands. I'm sure that my Ward La France now regarded as historic and revered by some for it's WWII history was once a mundane recovery truck at garage somewhere.

The only legal way of moving it would be with a low-loader, which granted aren't massively expensive to hire normally if booked in advance, but as an emergency on a Fri/Sat night?

If you're thinking of running a 432 for commercial use then owning your own low loader probably isn't a bad idea. Probably pay for itself in short order and you wouldn't have to worry about emergency recovery. You could minimize road use of the 432, with associated track wear and high fuel consumption. You may also be able to hire out the low loader or tractor unit at other times to help cover costs.

I own a 432 and looked at doing something similar, but off-road, in an abandoned 40acre quarry I have access to. It wasn't long before I gave up the idea. The trouble with the UK everything is such a minefield: insurance, road traffic laws, Construction & Use Regs, health and safety etc.. the government seem to want to tie everything up in red tape and whether you agree with or not, if something goes wrong and someone gets hurt/killed, ignorance is not an excuse and at the extreme end you could well be looking at a prison sentence.

 

A few days of looking into doing it off-road was enough to put me off, let alone taking paying passengers out on a public road. Thats not to say it can't be done, but I think unless your doing it on a big scale its not worth the hassle. As was said in your other thread, what happens when it breaks down in the centre of London, not only have you got the vehicle to get recovered ($$$) but also the 8-10 (drunk) people in the back to their destination...

 

Theres the potential for a lot of headaches and trouble. That was my opinion anyway...

 

James

8-10 drunk people could easily be re-located to two taxis and compensated accordingly. How much harder to recover is a 432 than some of the monstrosities of stretched limos that are about? Sure Ive seen a few that have no chance of going on a recovery truck. A 432 should be a doddle for most plant and machinery movers.

The insurance is indeed likely to be the killer. I know a local 4x4 garage that used to run corporate driving days one Sunday a month using a variety of old ex-military equipment, Stalwart, Abbot, Ferret, Snowcat etc. It wasn't the huge cost of maintaining this ageing fleet but the rising insurance that eventually brought an end to the venture.

Unless you've an absolute mountain of money and can insure yourself I don't think it's a goer.

FV432 are too wide to comply with Construction and use regs, and as such it is illegal to drive them on public roads. Similarly they do not comply with Construction and Use regs regarding secondary braking requirements.

 

Dept of Transport has confirmed that any that have been road registered have been registered in error, and that any that have been road registered are being driven breaking Construction and Use regulations and such use is illegal. Since Fv432 does not comply with aspects of Construction and use regs, it has no place being used on the public road by anybody but the Government's Armed Forces, who have permission from Secretary of State to use them in this way. A Civilian operator cannot get that permission.

 

I can PM you the Dept Of Transports reply to my query if you want to see the full text of their official response.

I've not seen any mention that the DVLA are revoking registrations of already registered vehicles or VOSA going out to remove them from the roads. Are we to assume that the problems are only for those trying to register "new" vehicles, either those recently released or not previously road registered?

It could leave someone in an interesting position re an insurance claim if DoT are declaring them illegal on the road.

Is anyone on here still regularly driving a 432 on the road since this information came to light?

I would have thought the possibly dodgy position regarding insurance would be enough to put someone off using one as a limo / public service vehicle with the increased risks it presents.

If your going to the trouble of cutting in the middle and stretching a 432 how much more work is involved in narrowing it to come in under width limit? Narrower track, different wheel offset and remove track guards spring to mind.

Would've thought the brake issue shouldn't be too hard to comply with though I'm no expert on 432s.

Dear Lord in the heavens above, please no don't let someone desecrate another MV and bastardise it

 

R

I think the conversion to lpg is a lot more sympathetic than going diesel for sake of running costs. The original engine and consequently the sound is preserved. The only real modification to engine is the insertion of a sandwich plate between carb and manifold. All the parts tanks etc are easily removed to restore a vehicle to fully original. With a bit of clever work the gas tanks and other items can be disguised as air tanks, cargo or inside existing fuel tanks and not spoil the look of the vehicle.

If it makes the difference between a vehicle being out and about, used and seen rather than sat rotting away in a field them I'm all for it.

Now sold! Massive comission fees from eBay I expect:wow:

The item has ended but not classed as sold via Ebay. The two offers either declined or expired. If the item sold it must have been through a deal outside Ebay. The only Ebay cost would've been the listing fee, which I think is £25 for a fixed price classified.

Agreed if it had been an auction sale and had sold it would've been a big lump in Ebay's already very fat wallet.

If the starter was wired as you say and the earth strap was wired to the same terminal as the main positive feed it's no wonder the batteries voltage dropped as soon as you switched on. The earth strap should be to the body of the starter not the live input terminal.

Sounds like your truck has been messed about with a bit and a visit to a proper Auto electrician may be in order. I know of an Autospark near Rochdale that should be able to re-connect or replace that multi-plug.

What's the reg of your MJ? Used to have one myself a few years ago but it's been sold on a few times since. Was a very tidy truck when I had it.

Seem to remember mention of it on the Stalwart yahoo group. One of the problems was the containment of excess or escaped gas in the sealed hull causing an explosions. Could be a similar problem for several other B engined vehicles, saracen, saladin etc, with enclosed engine bays.

There's also a Militant with 5th wheel on Milweb at the moment too. Not sure how much the gross weight would be though and requires a bit of work.

...One of the lorries in there when we get to that stage will have to be found another home!

 

Tony

Now I see the reason for the question and thread regarding selling / loaning a vehicle to a museum.

Much as I'm looking forward to another restoration thread on the Thorny, much like this one please don't rush into parting with one of your trucks. Whilst a museum may the best way in some ways of preserving your restored vehicle no-one is likely to appreciate and take care of the vehicle in quite the same way as the person who has spent many hundreds of hours restoring it.

Although you can have too many vehicles to make adequate use of them, I hope you find some way to accommodate all the old and past projects. Have you considered extending the existing store? How about finding other secure storage nearby? Any other friends or family have room to provide storage?

been chatting to some churchill guys on another forum and they said they had only ever seen white interiors on mk4's.

the best interior scheme i ever saw was the duke of boots saxons in bosnia, every inch of space was plastered with porn.

I suppose as long as it's soft it should be safe

...thinking of doing the same with the churchill.

Surely you'll need to get a good source for suitable WWII images.

Where you will probably find the wood sandwiched in the Fibreglass is rotten........

Rotten but not rusty :laugh:

And just about anything from the 60's 70's that hasn't already had major work, except of course Fodens with fibreglass cabs.

Anything AEC. AEC were the Rolls Royce of Commercial vehicles.

 

Forget Scammell... twenty years behind the times, Blacksmith engineering and Schoolboy designs.....

Weren't they both Leyland owned at the time period he's specified (60's 70's) so much of a muchness in terms of design and build quality, despite what may have gone before?

the original film was on one of the BBC channels a while ago and the dogs name had been overdubbed as "Blackie" !!!

 

then it was on channel 5 unchanged.

 

which reminds me, i have not seen blazing saddles on recently! :nut:

I was only watching blazing saddles on one of the freeview channels last week, (can't remember which) no censoring on there, though it was on after 9 o'clock.

Welcome Matt.

I suspect I may already know you from off-road racing days.

Now you've entered the world of military vehicles, even by association there's no escape. It's no good pretending it's not your vehicle it belongs to your Dad etc, it won't be long before you sell the racer and buy your own project. I just happen to have something big and suitably daft for sale at the moment.

Sorry can't be of help with the Fordson, but please post some pictures in whatever state it's in, that always generates more interest.

I would place the test panel of painted Matt finish outside to weather for a while as well to see what it is like for durablility. Whilst I guess that Talcum powder is probably correct for the period I also suspect matting with Talcum powder could soon lead to a chalky finish appearing. There must be other more durable compounds available for modern paints.

Congratulation on completing the London Brighton run without incident. It would've been a great injustice given the work and dedication that has gone into the vehicle if it didn't perform impeccably.

I too am surprise that the engine doesn't have a decompression mechanism to aid starting. Is it possible that in the application as a pump engine there was a different starting arrangement fitted, one that was maybe geared or arranged to enable several sets of hands to easily rotate the engine?

Another thought arises that your re-working of the engine, tighter tolerances etc, may have increased the compression ratio beyond the original specification and making starting more difficult.

I know there's still a few jobs to finish on the Dennis but I'm sure I'm not alone in looking forward to a similarly detailed and high standard restoration and documentation on the next project. Keep up the great work.

Did you make me one whilst you were at it? :whistle:

Looks the biz. See you managed to get hold of the original cast fairlead mount. Presume it wasn't as much as generally advertised (~£100)

Is it four-wheel-steer as well?

Or is it just my eyes/optical illusion with the picture!! :-D

 

Alec.

Good spot I hadn't noticed that at all.

Can someone please explain the contraption on the bulkhead / firewall / scuttle? Looks like the end of a boiler with hole for stoking the firebox.

Given that the engine's radiator is immediately in front I can only guess it's a rudimentary cabin heater, open the door for warm air.

Watched the Tony Robinson documentary "Blitz street" earlier this year where they filmed a succession of explosions on a row of terraced houses. The shock waves were often quite visible on there, explained as the air being torn apart by the force of the blast.

I thought they were reputedly quite easy on petrol when not full of water. Low teens mpg, not much worse than a Land Rover.

Thought all the last ones were released a few years back, the Northern Ireland yellow ones being some of the last, so a bit of a surprise to see a tidy low mileage example being found.

Sodium filled exhaust valves too -it is alot more of a design than many writers have given it- the story of the Churchill motor was 2 x 6cylinder Bedford motors cobbled together may never go away. It's a pity they couldn't get 450 -500 BHP out of it and that would have given the Churchill a chance.

Maybe adding a supercharger would have overcome the limitations imposed by the valve arrangement and given the extra power. Supercharging was in reasonably common use, mainly on aircraft engines of the time. Squeezing extra power out of the unit would also have but extra strain on the cooling system though and if the intended use included desert areas it may have been too much.

As a matter of interest Eddy what engine transmission arrangement do you have in mind for this Churchill?