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My Saracen transfer box has a filler plug but no dipstick associated with it. On the left hand side of the box there is a largish brass nut that could be a level plug, is it? Anyone any suggestions? Nic

Ah ha, thanks both, very helpful

I bought this to grease up the Saracen, have filled it with grease but..... I would have thought that the downward stroke of the handle would pump (out) the grease and the upward stroke would charge the pump. In fact the opposite happens which does not seem to make sense as the downward motion of the handle is clearly meant to be opposed by a heavy boot on the foot plate to steady the whole thing. Any pearls of wisdom?

I though the OMD 80X might have more additives and so less desirable for older engines

Does anyone know where I might get hold of these storage boxes?

I probably need to give my Saracen an (engine) oil change. When I bought it, it came with a large drum of OMD 80X which I understand to be 10W/30 to API spec. Should I not use this, instead using a straight SAE 30? Would it be possible to mix the OMD 80X with SAE30?

Thanks Clive, mine is clearly gummed up, de-gumming tomorrow then. Nic

Hi Richard, yes that was my thought regarding the running problems. Assuming the fuel cap is 'sealed' when screwed on and the vent is blocked, then it could well be that the tank pulls a bit of a vacuum resulting in fuelling problems. I will pull the valve apart tomorrow, but was curious as to why it was all wired up, seems an odd thing to do on this type of part. Nic

I stripped out the final internal fittings for painting and this included the fuel tank vent thingy (located on the right at the rear). I assumed it was some sort of non return valve, tried blowing through it from both sides and it seems blocked. Have not taken it apart yet, noticed that all nuts are wired in place - what should it do? The manual says ......

New BIG 6 inch vice plus old 4 inch vice + heat + 36" stillson = success! Threads all nice and clean, so not really clear why it was so tight. There seems no engineering reason for it being that tight, the threaded ring/end cap simply holds a machined plug plus seal in place. The seal does the sealing, not the torque of the end cap.

Yes, I tried that but actually did not get it very hot, I have now bought a big 6" vice which needs to be bolted to the bench but I will have another go at the weekend. I will also try to get a bit more heat into it.

Hi Richard, yes that's a very good point. So I just need to get the end caps of the accumulator now, there's a big vice on eBay that I have my eye so hopefully that will resolve that problem.

Thanks both, so from your answers I'm assuming that a 100% seal is not required (assuming vehicle not in use) my concern was that air would get drawn into the system.

I have a replacement set of seals for my accumulators, I read somewhere that one needed a heavy vice and a large pair of stillsons to remove the end caps. Armed with my recently acquired set of 36" stillsons, I tried to unscrew the end caps from my spare accumulator tonight. The stillsons gripped well but my medium sized vice was not man enough for the job and the accumulator just turned. Assuming I can find someone with a heavy duty vice, do people think this is the best way to remove the end caps, I presume there is no way I'm going to distort the body of the accumulator by heaving it up REALLY tightly in a vice? Another related question - if I wanted to remove (for some time) the accumulators I would want to blank off the hydraulic lines. Does anyone know what size and thread I would need to screw into the union I have circled in the photo?

Many thanks Clive

Did such a thing exist? I have seen the odd reference to them but never seen a photo of one. Nic

Well I got it up to 30 kph last time I drove it Richard, so you never know!

Well a few months back I tried fitting an auxiliary fuel pump (but it was a rather cheap and nasty one) I also opened the floor vents. The theory being that the hot air that is trapped at the back of the engine bay can escape through these and indeed when the engine is running there is a flow of hot air venting from them. The additional fuel pump is to overcome what I'm pretty sure are vapour locks. I tried this set up and there was an improvement although at the end of the test run the engine did stall and when re-started was not running smoothly. However, I did see that the choke was partly engaged so this may have accounted for the poor running. I recently bought a NOS double ended 24 volt SU pump and have today completed a some what neater installation than the Facet pump fitted in the summer. The final 'mod' I will make is to blank the front facing slats in the beehives, the thinking here is that this should avoid any ram air from the forward motion of the Saracen opposing the air venting from them. Subject to some nice dry weather over Christmas I will give the Saracen a test run, although with the low ambient temperatures it may not be a true challenge.

Hi Clive, yes I was wondering if it might be something like that. Do you know if the distribution panel lends itself to being stripped, or will a load of springs and contacts fly out?

I've connected my radios to the appropriate socket on the Distribution panel. This feed comes through one of the circuit breakers. In an off load condition I am only seeing about 18 volts. Does anyone have any ideas how/why the circuit breakers could be limiting the voltage.

The view of the Heritage clubs/ranges I am aware of or have shot with is that it is not possible to have a guest shoot a 7(3) gun. There are two questions one needs to consider if you had 7.3 guns and were to consider inviting a guest to shoot 1. Do I really want to be the subject of a test case 2. Do we as a heritage club really want to jeopardise the very existence of heritage gun ownership by letting a guest shoot. We don't have a labour government now but we know that party is very anti gun and were such a party to be in power they and the rest of the country would lose very little sleep in banning heritage guns, so it is really a matter of common sense. The final point I would make is that the national shooting centre (Bisley) most definitely do not allow guests to shoot 7.3 guns, you may draw whatever conclusion you will from that.

Tony, my apologies My comments regarding the shooting of guns last Saturday was directed to Chris not you

Hi Tony, let me clarify the situation and respond to your specific comments. - All handguns (excluding muzzle loaders) ARE classified as section 5 but may under certain conditions be owned under section 7(1) or 7(3) exemption and shot under 7(3). - You can own the .455 Colt as a section 7(1) as that calibre of ammunition has been determined as not readily available in the UK. If the actual gun was manufactured before Jan 1st 1919 then it may be kept at home but must not be fired. If it was manufactured after that date it could be held under 7(3) but must be stored at a site designated by the Secretary of State. Guns held under 7(3) may be fired by the owner. - .41 falls into a different category and benefits from exemption under 58(2) of the 1968 Firearms Act, such guns may be owned without any form of firearms certificate if owned as a curio or ornament, they should be pre 1939. They must not be fired, but could be owned as a 7(3) gun when they could be fired but could not then be stored at home. I repeat what I said earlier, in England, Wales and Scotland it is not possible for anyone (apart from Police/armed forces) to shoot handguns unless they are owned under the 7(3) exemptions. To do otherwise would be illegal and would expose yourself to prosecution. If you really shot a range of handguns last Saturday as you say and they are not owned by you as 7(3) then you did it, seemingly, illegally and frankly are very unwise to mention this on a public forum. To those who are following this discussion, please don't take my word for what I have said, read this where what is/is not possible is clearly spelt out. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/363016/Guidance_on_Firearms_Licensing_Law_v10_-_Oct_2014.pdf

To be clear what you are saying - you claim as a non certificate holder (7.3) and a non club member to have shot handguns in England last Saturday, is that what you are claiming?

You will not be able to shoot a handgun as a 'guest' in the UK. All handguns are now classified as Section 5, prohibited weapons. Certain handguns may be owned/shot under heritage status, but this is highly controlled and only the gun owner may shoot the gun, ranges are locked down whilst shooting takes place and only the gun owners may be present. I think you will even find it difficult to be able to shoot a full bore rifle as a guest, the law makes this very difficult now days. If you are interested in owning/shooting handguns it is possible. If you can show you are a genuine collector of for example militaria, perhaps you have a vehicle, related deactivated guns etc, you should be able to make a case to collect related (heritage) guns. I now have a collection of ten handguns, the first two, 9mm Browning High Power and an Enfield .38/200 were justified as being part of a collection which comprised my Ferret armoured car. There are limited ranges where you can shoot these guns but if you are genuinely interested it is possible.