Davie

Hahaha cheers Catweasle!

Here is my 109" after a couple of weeks in the workshop getting sanded and a coat of fresh paint. She looks much happier. Yesterday she pulled a float in the local annual parade. My kids do a papier mache workshop and this years theme was the circus. And, they got first prize for the float! A good day out with stunningly good weather!

Sorry for the confusion, the 109 is my other one. You can never have enough vehicles!

No it's a 11A 88". At least the body and gearbox are. The rest is a mix of range rover and discovery.

I usually look like a swamp rat!!!

Sorry to hear you're not well Will. Hope you feel better soon. The winch will be removed and taken into the shed for a strip down. I'm looking forward to some more mechnical stuff for a change, though I'm glad I'm tackling the cab and other tinwork first.

But.... the lure of mud is hard to resist.

Lamancha, which sounds like it's in Spain but, is in the Scottish borders.

Went off roading today and this happened. Fergus, my son and I were not hurt and neither was my trusty land rover. Fergus can't wait to tell his mates at school tomorrow.

some more.

Saturday started early with the arrival of a Hiab equipped lorry to lift the rear load bed off. I'd already removed all the bolts but two, so it wasn't long before the bed was off and seated on oildrums. This will allow access to the winch, and chassis etc. The rest of the day was spent repairing the cab roof, my brother came and lent a hand sanding the bonnet. I'd hoped to find some numbers or insignia under the paint, but nothing was to be found unfortunately. Thanks to David Dobbie and Beatsons Building Supplies for the Hiab.

Signed. I thought last year a high court judge had ruled that the governments policy on excluding them was unlawful? What's happened now? I spent several months in Nepal a few years ago, and found the Nepalese to be wonderful people, loyal and hard working. The way our government treat these people after serving our country is despicable. Namaste.

Today several members of the Scottish military vehicle group drove to a venue near Lauder for a blether, lots of food and several gallons of tea. Attending were two champs, four 101's including a vampire, and my battered and badly in need of a lick of paint 109 11A. A good time was had by all. On the way back, three of us stopped to look at a medieval hospital on Soutra Hill, just off the A68. A few years ago archaeologists were digging here, and there were "Keep out, Danger of Plague" signs!

Saturday was spent doing my favourite pastime, needle gunning and wire brushing. Some people think I'm mad spending leisure time like this. I find it quite theraputic in a weird sort of way. Anyway, the main thing is progress is being made.

Well, Dave the joiner came over on friday to have a look and remember where we'd got to with the cab eighteen months ago. we took the bottom skin of the roof off for repair and to give better access. Dave did a couple of small jobs and made a list of stuff required and will come back soon for a proper days work. Not much woodwork to go on the cab.

A question for Davie......... Is the pointed housing above the bottom radiator hose; a drive unit for a rev counter as it has a cable coming out of it? You are correct Will. That is exactly what it is. Also mine has the same rear engine mounts. Weird and wonderful devices. Got a bit more done in the last couple of days. I'll post some pics over the weekend.

Hi Will, there is a strainer in the sump. there should be a plate to remove on the sump bottom and inside will be the strainer which you should remove and clean. I'm going to take the whole sump off for a good clean as I'm sure there will be a lot of sludge in there.

I imagine it's been there since 1944. A top piece of engineering.

More pics. I especially liked the front engine mounting, which rather than a squishy bit of rubber, is a lovely spring type thing.

I've taken a few days off work to crack on with the Albion. The very rough wings have been removed, they are full of very thickly applied body filler and patches on top of older patches. There will be many hours of work sorting them out. Also removed are lots of brackets, the extremely heavy radiator, front tow hook on its spring, front wheels and steering arm. I made a start cleaning the chassis and front axle with a wire cup brush on angle grinder. After ten minutes the grinder gave up the ghost in a shower of sparks. Bugger. Off to machine mart for a new Dewalt grinder. I also got a needle gun which is the business for getting into awkward corners. Wish I'd got one years ago.

A nice David Brown Taskmaster aircraft tug, seen at Dumfries vintage show about seven years ago

Here is a useful looking Militant sitting in a field at Abington, near Biggar. It was for sale for £2000, which seems like a good price. Anyone know where it went to?

some more.

I managed to get a bit of time over the weekend to blast and primer some more bits that have been waiting for the treatment. I started with the roof panel. The Albion's cab roof is a bit like a safari land rover roof with two panels spaced apart. The outer panel was well past it's sell by date, but luckily there was a spare in the back that only needed minor work. I dragged it out of the truck and found a big jackdaws nest hidden behind it. they'll need to find a new home now. I cut a couple of rotten pieces out and, using some steel from the original roof, butt welded patches into place. Then blasted the complete thing and followed with two coats of red oxide. Various other parts got the same treatment, some air pipes, more tank straps and the cab roof hatch. Not very exciting, but at least it's another step in the right direction.