Caddy

It was my dad's Honda they hit, and it was cheaper in the end just to get it fixed - no claims bonus and all that.

It will be an interesting project. Going to do it properly - want as much for it as possible.

Tony,

I have thought about it, and if. I was keeping it then I would.

This one will be restored to spec (with maybe the seats replaced for leather ones), and then I'll sell it.

When we are in a position to do the engine swap in the B then I might do an engine swap in a donor Rangie ax well - original idea was to stick a 300TDI in this Rangie with an R380 box, but that didn't go down so well.

Thought I might share this with you all, this is my first 4 wheel restoration. Previously I've restored motorbikes and I mainly seem to work on the big stuff at Duxford (only one long enough to reach all the bolt I guess).

So I wanted to buy a Range Rover with the idea to strip out the engine and its wiring loom and put it in my dad's MGB GT - seemed like a good idea at the time.

This is what I got:

A 1993 Range Rover Vogue 3.9 EFI.

The engine started on the button, and ran very well. Auto box seemed quite good. Lots and lots of holes in all the usual places, but I wasn't worried about that as I was going to strip her and sell all the bits that I didn't need (and be left with the engine and ancillaries).

So this is what I was facing:

On top of that both the front inner wings were rotten and the foot wells needed work. Oh and the rear doors were shot. On the up side all the electrics apart from the blower worked.

Problem is that there's always something going to happen that will scupper your plans; this came in the form of someone reversing their car into my dads and driving off leaving him with a very expensive repair bill - well that's the MGB pot gone.

So what to do with the Rangie? Nuts to it, might as well restore it. Actually these classics are really starting to rise in cost, so I think I'll at the least break even, might even turn a little profit.

Having a real good look over it looks as though the boot area of the cab has got damp and rusted from the inside out as the structural stuff is in great shape.

removing the boot floor showed very little rust and quite a lot of the original paint on the chassis. Got to replace the fuel lines though as these are leaking.

Going to have a lot of time welding methinks.

I have also started the removal of the engine for a strip down as it's a tad leaky, I'll also do an oil and filter change on the auto box. Later on I'll be doing the brakes and oil in diffs.

Hope you enjoy

Just driving, we don't really have the room to power up the turret, and we haven't checked any of the electrical systems to do with power traverse. Would love to see a Chieftain in full swing so to speak.

Yes, so that the gun dunt drop on yer head if you go over a bump or the turret keeps turning when the rest of the tank has stopped.

Spoke to someone who said that there is a way of adjusting both clutches to take the play out of them...

Hi Mark,

Not too sure if this is of help, but I do have th handbook for MKs V - XII on PDF, and it's amendments.

I've removed the RBJ out of our MBT with the turret on - lots of swearing and WD-40. Worst bit was undoing all the connections that were saturated in mud!

Would love to watch you remove the turret. Also if you come across how to adjust the traverse and elevation clutches please let me know.

So are you saying that our praise is not good enough?

As there is not going to be a main show (for this year at the very least), what would you like to see instead?

us hairy handed sons of toil down at the Military Vehicle Wing would like to find ways of still getting people down to see us and what we have. We also need to keep our funding coming in so any thoughts on that would be great.

cheers

paul

3 running comets; the comet in Duxford is a runner, just hasn't run in a long long time. But as they say down there 'It used to run'

Ho ho ho

This news is most unwelcome, it was one of my favourite shows. Are there any alternatives?

 

My belief is that the money generated by this show provided the funds to keep the runners at IWM, well, running.

If that's accurate, what happens now?

 

:-(

I am not too sure that that is accurate, I think that the cancellation of the show is due to the major changes in funding and the changes in the management structure of the IWM. I hope that it is purely to help the IWM stabilise themselves in 2015.

Any queries please contact

Esther Blaine (eblaine@iwm.org.uk).

Quote from the IWM

“Following a review of how budgets are allocated at the IWM, there will not be Military Vehicle Show or a Spitfires, Merlins and Motors event held in 2015.”

I use Jizzer Bio, seems to work very well.

Could be a early type of anti back firing device.....

3 of them, and I don't own them. I help to look after them for a charitable group in east anglia.

There is:

mk 10 Mbt

Marksman turret on a Mk11 hull

ARRV

There are also 3 cents none of which are working at the moment.

Mk12 MBT

Mk3 MBT

Mk5-2 AVRE

If that how he's looked after the outside, wonder what the rest if the bike is like.

still if it's a bandit they're fairly indestructible.

Damn, if only I knew that it was up for sale.....

Well work was meant to start today on the steering issues, but we had to finish off getting the main brakes working on our Marksman (Mk XI Chieftain hull).

This took some time as the main brakes had been left in a really naff state for several year, and the brake pump had buggered itself up as it had been run all that time dry.

1 replacement pump later, a rebuilt power valve, and a hell of a lot of bleeding and we have brakes.

that's now all 3 of our Chieftains with main brakes, 2 with steering, and an ARRV steering brakes to sort out.

start that on Tuesday - should be fun!

Lovely job, I have to say.

What sort of bike re you after just out of curiosity?

Thanks to you both.

Andy, thought I'd need to contact Bovvy.

Mr Hunt, there is a spare NATO plug coming out the back of the master box. This could be where to wire it up.

once I get any info more than happy to share (unless copyright issues prevent)

Good evening all,

Does anyone know where the drivers heater control box gets its power from?

We've got the 2 heaters (one behind the drivers seat and one up the footwell), and they are plugged into the controller above the masted switch, but the 2 cables that provide it with power are missing.

I'm guessing that they either get their power from the master switch box or the Hull JB, but. I have been known to be wrong.

Also it'd be good to get hold of any wiring diagrams for marks 10-13, would bovvy be the best place for this?

Yeah,

That's the problem innit, still nice to find spares

When we had a problem with the MBT's GUE (generating unit Rngine), not powering the coolant fan we traced it back to a very worn hydraulic pump attached to the GUE.

Apart from the fact that no one had any NOS it would have cost a bomb to buy. But being the type of muppet who won't stop thinking about things I wondered where the pump came from - a David Brown tractor!

So thinking along these lines again I have found that the master cylinders for the steering brakes are made by Dunlop, are 7/8" diameter and were used on a number of cars such as Jaguars and Alfas, think there may be a MG connection as well.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Lovely!

#end of thread derailment#

Completely off topic, but have you got any photos of the fighting compartment? Just wondered how that mark's interior is laid out.