MilitantGraham

On my way to Evesham steam rally a few years ago in my Matador. It was about 11pm and I was travelling as close to my maximum speed of 33mph as possible. A police car pulled me in to a layby and the two policemen asked why I had got my orange rotating beacons on. I explained that I believed the law was that any vehicle travelling at less than 25mph on a road with a 50mph or greater speed limit had to display an orange beacon and although I was travelling at slightly over 30mph, it was dark and cars were coming up behind me at 60mph, so even if it wasn't compulsory, I thought it was a good idea. I was told that I shouldn't be using the beacon and if they saw me with it on again they would book me. I switched it for the rest of the journey, but have always used a beacon since when driving a slow vehicle on fast roads.

I've got this one you can use if you want. http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/xl.gif[/img]

Graham Phillips and I am best known at shows for driving a Militant, hence MilitantGraham.

Here I am with my activity toy.

Is there anything listed here that would do the job ? http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/batteries1.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/batteries2.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/batteries3.jpg[/img]

Does it look like this at all ? http://www.paddockspares.com/pp/SERIES/Fuel/Sender_unit_-_SWB/images/555845.jpg[/img] This is a Series Land Rover sender unit. Available in 12 or 24v, with or without the extra wire for a low fuel light. Whether the holes line up or the resistance range from full to empty matches your Ford guage, I don't know, but if you can find a Land Rover owner with a spare one to lend, it would be worth a try.

SafariSwing; Well, I've read through that and I'm going to have to admit it's beyond me. :? The writer makes it sound like a straightforward enough job for someone who is used to repairing radios. What I need is for someone to put all that in a box with a Clansman plug on one side and a PMR plug on the other, then sell it at a reasonable price. Do you think any radio enthusiast would be interested in doing that, and if so, what would the cost be roughly ? Mick; I've used Clansman intercom in a Ferret, Samson & Militant. Yes, it can be heard clearly regardless of how much other noise is going on. I have had normal clear conversations with the driver while standing through the commanders hatch of the Samson at 50mph with the tracks howling, the exhaust roaring, the wind whistling and the overall din of an armoured vehicle.

You've confused me by merging the topics, but I'm easily confused anyway so don't worry about it. First of all, my Clansman installation in the Militant. http://aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/clansman1.jpg[/img] Left hand side of the cab. IB3 box with power supply coming in at bottom from above door. Harness from right of IB3 box to left of Crew box above. Harness from right of Crew box going round back of cab to other Crew box. Headset plugged in to bottom of Crew box. http://aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/clansman2.jpg[/img] Right hand side of cab. Harness from back of cab in to left of Crew box. Headset plugged in to bottom of Crew box. Although some Mk3 Militant Recoverys were fitted for Clansman, this is not an original fitment. I looked at a few proper Clansman fitments in armoured vehicles, worked out what I needed and bought the bits at Beltring. I then bolted it all in where it fitted best. I think I paid £120 for an IB3 box, two crew boxes, four headsets and four Pressel switches from Johnsons. Add another £20 or so for the power and harness cables. Going back to my question, presumably the Clansman headset has got a +ve & -ve supply for mike, left earpone and right earphone. The PMR headset will have the same, but probably with the same feed for both earphones. Are they compatible ? Is it simply a matter of connecting the PMR directly to one side of the Clansman headset leaving the other side for intercom ? Or can I connect the PMR to the IB3 box as if it was a Clansman radio. I would p[refer to use PMR because I have already got it and I like the VOX option, but if CB would be easier I can go with that.

I've put a Clansman intercom in the Militant to make it possible to talk to my passengers while driving. I should be travelling in convoy to most shows this year with a friend in his Mk1 Militant. He will be fitting a Clansman intercom too for the same reason. Is there an easy way of us being able to talk to eachother while driving ? The options I have come up with so far are; Clansman radio. Neither of us holds a licence and I'm not sure if Clansman works at legal frequencies anyway. Clansman radios are bulky and around £100 - £150 each PMR radio. Already got them and tried it, but the headset is uncomfortable inside the Clansman headset and the microphone picks up too much background noise. Would it be possible to connect the PMR to the radio input on the Clansman IB3 box so that we could use it directly through the Clansman headset.? Mobile phone. With voice dialling and a bluetooth single ear headset this may work, but background noise on the mike and cost of calls puts me off. I know almost nothing about radios, but if a PMR radio has got an output for headphones and an IB3 box has got an input for radio, there must be a potential to connect them somehow. I would like to hear from someone who knows their stuff before I try it and find that one works on 10 times the voltage of the other and end up with a fried radio.

Could be worse. Could be a fairground organ.

I don't own a tank myself, but I tow a friend's CVRT Samson to shows behind my Militant. This is a good arrangement because; I haven't got parking space, he has. So the Militant, trailer and Samson all live in his yard. We share costs. I use more fuel with an extra 8 tons on the back, but I only pay for half of it. The Militant has got a crane. No problem lifting the engine out. If he drives it to a local show, I am available for recovery if needed. We park together on the show field, not in the low loader park. Transport is probably the biggest problem with a tracked vehicle. Even with a CVRT, which is one of the lightest tanks available, you are going to need a 10 ton recovery trailer and something that can tow it or an 18t beaver tail recovery truck. Teaming up with someone who has already got one or the other will make a tank a lot more affordable.

I've made a start on a couple of vehicle entries in the WIKI section. Just the basics for now, I'll pad it out a bit later. I liked the layout of the Stalwart entry, so I copy and pasted it across, changing the details to suit. Doing it this way is a bit of a cheat, but it's easier than learning all the WIKI language right from the start, so if anyone else wants to add their vehicle I recommend this method.

Yes, it's true, Living History groups get in for free including their vehicles. Graham. Founding member of the REME Recovery Re-enactment Group. :tup:

I can't see what the problem is. I've just had a quick scan through http://www.mvt.org.uk/events.htm and although there are a couple of '40s events listed, none of them say on that list that they are restricted to '40s vehicles. Maybe as the list fills up a bit, it might change. I can see why some people might object to the MVT spending their subs on an event which they are not entitled to attend, but how about a bit of give and take. The MVT spends money on a website when not all members have got internet access. The MVT gives money to establish local branches when some of us are unable to attend the meetings. The MVT spends money on the national show at Kemble when it is too far to travel for many members. From what I've seen, most of these '40s events are linked to another attraction, typically a steam railway or similar. If they want to depict their railway as it appeared at a certain time in its history and invite other people to attend with appropriate vehicles or costumes, what's wrong with that ? If another event wants a display of artillery, signals equipment or recovery vehicles for example, then surely they are entitled to turn away innappropriate vehicles. Maybe I'm missing the point. If I see an advert for a '40s weekend on the Severn Valley Railway it's the same as if I see an advert for a Victorian weekend at the Black Country Museum. I haven't got a suitable vehicle to take, but I might go and have a look at what's there. I go to far more steam rallies than specifically military events and I have never encountered any bias towards any age of vehicles at any of them.

Some friends of mine took their traction engine to a Victorian Weekend. Should I have complained that I wasn't invited to take my Land Rover and park it in a special "Post Victorian" area next to the main show ?

I have been asked by a friend if I could help load a dead FV432 on to a low loader near Reading next Sunday. He's still exploring all possibilities at the moment and this was just one option. He was just checking that I would be available if needed. He's got a low loader with no winch so the plan he came up with was to meet me part way, he's from Birmingham, I'm from near Worcester, put my Militant on the trailer, take me to Reading, winch the 432 on with my winch, then both drive home. I would do it for no more than the cost of the diesel, but even that would be over £150. Is there anyone a bit nearer or with a more economical vehicle who would be capable of winching a FV432 on to a low loader ?

Does look very similar, doesn't it.

If you've got an old MOT failure sheet, that will have a list of items with a tick or cross against each one. Scan that, blank out the ticks and crosses, then use it as a check list for your own inspection.

Hey, that's my lorry. :-) 86 ET 79 is now registered as DNP 168H and is alive and well in Worcestershire and a regular attendee at W&P, GDSF and a dozen or more other shows, usually towing something, lately an Alvis Samson. There's a rear view at the same location, the AEC factory in Southall, on this page I got the pictures from Classic Military Vehicle magazine. This is one I got from the REME Museum. 86 ET 79 again, this time with a Leyland Martian on tow. http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/militant3rec/mk3photo73.jpg[/img]

Thanks Richard. I'd never really thought much about ROF before and assumed there was only one, probably at Chertsey or Chobham. I just looked it up on Wikipedia and there were dozens of them. I've learned something new today. The figures you quote are for the Semi-Trailer Antar. I thought the Dummy Axle trailer was for towing the Ballast Tractor Antar, looking at these pages taken from www.aecmilitant.co.uk/downloads/recoverymanual.pdf it looks like it was capable of doing so, but only from the front. http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/temp/recoverymanual297.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/temp/recoverymanual298.jpg[/img] I assume the second "a. Front" under 3 should read "b. Rear" and the asterisk means that the Antar chassis would not stand having most of its 36 tons suspended from the extreme rear end.

All Militant Mk3 Recoverys were built in one batch of about 200 around 1969/1970. The FJ registration on the towing dolly was issued in 1969/1970 as well. The chassis number is "ROFN No4". I'm guessing it was built by either the Royal Ordnance Factory or Rubery Owen. I think I'm going to have to make another photcopying trip to the REME Museum over the winter to get some more information.

I've just bought one. I only know of five, including the one at the REMEmuseum . Mine is the only one I have seen at a rally after I collected it on the way to Hanbury this weekend. It all seems to work OK. There's a few odds and ends missing and it's covered in moss, but I should have it ready for work and show by next year. http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/dolly1.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/dolly2.jpg[/img] Has anyone got any pictures of one in use or any information on them. I believe they were intended to tow a fully ballasted Antar at 32 tons. Would they tow the trailer and Centurion at the same time, the full 102 tons ? What about the half shafts ? The outer rear wheels on an Antar are mounted on the half shaft flanges. This give three options; 1 Remove the outer wheels and half shafts, overloading the inner wheels. 2 Remove the outer wheels and halfshafts, fit four dummy half shaft flanges, refit the wheels. 3 Tow it with the half shafts in, back driving the worm diffs and epicyclic gears. The front wheels of the Antar would need to be removed to clear the trailer wings as the trailer relies on bringing the weight up over its own axle, not hanging it out the back like a recovery vehicle. That's why it can lift twice as much as the Militant.

Thanks to Scott Smith for these pictures. I don't know him and wasn't aware he was taking them at the time, but he emailed them to me anyway. The Amazon failed to climb the hill alone, the ground is a lot wetter than it looks, so we put an ex-Swiss Army Rotinoff on the front. The Rotinoff was notinuff so we used a single line pull with the AEC's 15 ton winch. http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/gdsf3.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/gdsf2.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/gdsf4.jpg[/img] http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/pictures/gdsf1.jpg[/img]

To take the re-enactors debate off on a slightly different tack, why is it such an important subject for military vehicle owners ? I go to far more steam rallies than dedicated military vehicle shows. In most sections at a steam rally there will be a few individuals who dress appropriately for their vehicle, a victorian gentleman on his "ordinary" bicycle, a teddy boy in his Vauxhall cresta for example, but they are by far the minority. All my vehicles are post war British and I wear the same clothes at a show as I do for work or play, boots, shorts and tee shirt with overalls on top as required. If anyone asks, I'm re-enacting a civilian ABRO mecahnic. :-P

Thanks Clive. I take it there should be a switch in the feed to the relay winding. One of the pins on one of the plugs looks a bit burnt, probably caused by being plugged or unplugged with the full 55 amps flowing through it.