Purple Tom

Hi, Thought I'd best put a reply to this thread as I have a bit more information to add in relation to Q702 OVL, which was put on an age related plate of DAS 623 in about 2000. My name is Tom Overton and I am Barry Overton's son. My Dad rescued Q702 OVL from Skegness in 1990 after spying it when he was up there working. At the time he was into off-roading in a big way and was running an ex-AFS Bedford RL hose carrier in the AWDC's heavy trials at various sites around the country. Unfortunately it wasn't as competitive as some of the other surplus stuff coming up for sale (Stalwarts, 432's, Explorers etc) so when he saw Q702 OVL parked up looking very sorry for itself he thought it could have potential. Obviously in the process of its conversion to a beach bus pretty much all of the original bodywork was removed by the previous owner (who to the best of my memory was called Neil, but bear in mind I was 5 at the time!) and only the front panel remained. All of the fire fighting and foam generating gear was gone. All 6 wheel stations were seized due to salt water exposure, several tracta joints were broken so it was only 6x2, first gear was burnt out and it had no brakes. It did however start and drive, but only just, and I recall a very very interesting journey up our street in the dark with it misfiring and coughing flames before cutting out completely and only being stopped from a roll back to the bottom by a forward thinking friend throwing a railway sleeper under the wheels! Anyway, 4 years of restoration went by which involved my Dad fully restoring each wheel station in turn as well as building a completely bespoke, unique upper body, primarily with off-roading in mind, designed to take and survive a full roll if necessary. The servo and reservoir were relocated, along with power steering fluid reservoir and master switches etc, and primary entry was via a gull wing door on the nearside, above the centre wheel station. Due to the design of the body, access to the driveshafts was pretty straightforward so we used to drive the vehicle to events in 6x2, with only the centre wheel stations driven. Upon arrival, it was my job to jack up each of the front and rear wheel stations in turn, line up the oil filler caps on the hubs (so it would be easy to see if there was a breakage, no white stripes on our hubs!) then wiggle the wheel until the splines lined up and the muff couplings could be fitted. I was the only 10 year old in my school who could explain what transmission wind up meant! I grew up with the vehicle slowly taking shape on the drive. I was there when it was started for the first time, and I was sitting in the O/S passenger seat when it made it first journey. I drove it off road more times than I can remember, waaaay before I passed my actual driving test. It used to scare the sh*t out of me as the brakes were what I can only describe as 'interesting' with a very firm pedal and the throttle pedal had a very on/off nature, at least to my 10 year old inexperienced legs! Dad could make it dance though and upon completion it proved to be massively effective as an off road toy, with only the lack of a first gear and the bargrip tyres holding it back in terms of off road ability. The pre-selector gearbox meant that climbs could be approached at speed in third with a quick change to second taken if necessary without losing any momentum. This got us round most places without difficulty. Later on, around 2003/4 a new gearbox and 1600 x 20 Michelin XCL's were fitted although the tyres proved to be a bit big and heavy and actually resulted in the first bit of damage in the form of a bent steering arm and trackrod (I believe), so they came off again in favour of the lighter bargrips. In around 2005 a change in circumstances meant that Dad needed a tractor and in an effort to keep the vehicle useful he fitted a Renault Midliner 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine and gearbox. Much engineering ensued and the gearbox was successfully mated to the Alvis transfer box via a small Scammell-style propshaft. The conversion went well and the vehicle was able to be started and driven however a further change in circumstances meant that it had to go fairly quickly and that is where 'djwalker' took over I think, in around 2009. I would be very very interested to know of its whereabouts, condition and proposed future. The vehicle holds massive sentimental value for me, as you can probably imagine. If the current owner could get in touch I would be grateful. I have a few photographs of the vehicles restoration and early life, then quite a few of it playing, I'll attach them shortly. Apologies to the purists among you, particularly FV600 (MK6) fans who might baulk at the sight of the vehicle, but please bear in mind that it was 95% dead upon purchase and my Dad rescued it. It might not look much like a Mk6 (Salamander), but it bears a passing resemblance to the Runway Friction Tester and certainly got used as Alvis intended, in good old off-road conditions. Here's some pics: Mid-build, probably around 1992: First drive, spring 1994 (I am in the O/S passenger seat, aged 9): All polished up for a show at Donington Park, probably around 2001: On the XCL's and next to my own toy at the time. October 2005: Playtime: It also starred in a Sky TV program called 'Off The Road' in about 2000 or 2001. Tony Mason presented the show and came to Avon Dassett quarry to film. Dad got interviewed and the crew took a few decent external and interior shots. There are two YouTube clips, the vehicle is on the second one (but you may as well watch them all to see some heavy stuff playing!): Thanks for reading, hope it's of some interest. Tom

Hi, My name is Tom, I'm 30 and I'm from Derby. I've been a long time lurker on this forum and my interest in historic military vehicles started when I was around 3 or 4 years old due to my Dad taking part in many heavy trials (off road) back in the 1980's, firstly with a 1957 ex-AFS Bedford RL and latterly with an Alvis Salamander. Later on he owned a 1955 Scammell Constructor (20-ton ballast tractor version) complete with Meadows petrol engine. I guess I've a little bit got it in the blood too, my Dad had a few Austin Champs before I was even born! I don't own any of my own at the moment, I'm still cutting my teeth on modern cars etc but I can see a day coming where I may own something. For now I'm enjoying marvelling at some of the armour builds on this forum as well as all the other interesting vehicles on here. Thanks for reading. Tom