Starfire

Ok, as far as we can tell, it should be the Bradford. Here is the only picture we've been able to find of one:

We moved the Bedford away from the wall over the weekend, to get some photos of the rear compartment:

So, can anyone identify what engine should be in there, and does anyone know where we can get one? We also need the funnels and the hose nozzles.

Cheers,

Terry

I'm thinking of getting a CMP myself (F15A, Cab 13), but really don't like the pedal arrangement.

Cheers,

Terry

I went to Tesco. :cry:

I spent most of the day in there fixing it (dropped the bloody filler plug for the gearbox into the "void" and had to spend about 3 hours removing and fitting the floor plates in 30 degree heat). The most fun bit of the day was the 15 minute trip to the petrol station to fill it up, which left me walking with a limp, if you know what I mean

Cheers,

Terry

Thanks Richard,

The proper coil would still be best, if they can be found.

Grin factor was high, but we didn't get to thrash it around the paddock and I'd been in a Saracen for most of the day, so maybe 7/10

Cheers,

Terry

We finally got it started today, but the flywheel is leaking quite badly and it has been fitted with a non-standard coil.

I have to say that I was very impressed with how easily it started after not having been run for 6 or 7 years; less than 30 seconds of cranking and she was running very nicely.

[video=youtube_share;yAnj1DBCxSg]

we did have a problem with the coil, as the standard one has been replaced with a cheap automotive item and the screened cable did not fit in it properly and the electrical tape was doing a crappy job of keeping it there.

Richard, are you able to supply the correct coil?

I did enjoy driving it. I'm quite a big guy (fat), but after wriggling in, I fit quite well. the driving position is strange and will take some getting used to, but the gearbox is lovely and the steering surprisingly light.

Cheers,

Terry

I would love to get this. If it were in Australia, I think that I'd grab it.

Cheers,

Terry

A very interesting read. One thought did spring to mind was that the current Israeli process requires remanufacturing of an existing set of tracks. Did Tal indicate that a reasonable supply of old tracks were available to meet demand for the near-term or would there be a requirement to start shipping worn tracks to Israel for remanufacture?

Cheers,

Terry

Congratulations and commiserations! You'll have a lot of fun with it, but it will also keep you very busy and very poor

Please post some pics as well as it's ID plate and rego number.

Cheers,

Terry

I would be interested in a set of front and rear Saracen numberplate stencils and a bridge classification. Can you help me out?

Cheers,

Terry

Thanks Richard,

I'll lift some of the flooring when I have a bit of time and see what I can find.

Cheers,

Terry

Hi All,

The main gearbox in my Saracen is leaking. The symptoms that I am seeing are:

• Dropping oil level (~1L/100km)
  
• Oil being flicked up around the edges of the front floor inspection panels
  
  • Mostly on the left side
    
  • Pools around the Gear Change Pedal, making it a bit slippery
    

   

   

  [*]Oil dripping out from under the hull

   

  • The cover under the oil tank drain plug is missing and this is where it leaks from
    

   

   

I'm not overly concerned about it as, for the time being, I can just frequently top up the gearbox and place a couple of rags on the floor to soak up some of the mess, but I guess that in the longer term, I'll have to fix the leak.

Do you think that it will be leaking from the front or rear main seal (I'm leaning more towards the front), or from another location? It'd probably make the most sense to replace both seals, but I assume that the gearbox will have to come out for that, probably by removing the engine first.

Can anyone offer any comments or suggestions?

Cheers,

Terry

Welcome in Tommy,

A word of caution when it comes to WW2 Jeeps, they didn't build them with bigger people in mind (there isn't much room between the back of the seat and the steering wheel). If you're anything like me and "well fed" it would pay to make sure that you fit before seriously shopping for one

Cheers,

Terry

Any Trak Grip tyres are hard to find, but they do pop up from time to time.

Cheers,

Terry

I went from a Toyota MR2 to an Alvis Saracen Mk 5. Sometimes you just have to jump in the deep end

Cheers,

Terry

Actually, an observation is that in my engine bay, everything is silver, including the air filters, vacuum tank, oil cooler, etc. The only things that are blue are the engine from the air-horn down (carburettor is black) and the radiator cap. My engine also has the engine number stencilled on top of it in red. I don't know which is more correct.

Cheers,

Terry

Engine bay done, deck lids going on now

 

That's really weird. It almost looks like a Saracen engine bay, but without any of the protective layer of grime that keeps it all in good condition

I love your work and it's really tempting me to attempt a similar rebuild on the museum's Mk 2 that is in a somewhat sorry state.

Cheers,

Terry

Hi. Although I'm still relatively new to all of this and as some of the others have said, Welcome Aboard. I acquired a

MK 2/3 Ferret last fall and shortly thereafter...

Best Regards, Terry.

Oh no! Another Terry, with a similar Avatar. How will they ever tell us apart?

Cheers,

Terry

Ray,

I'm interested in trying to get my hands on a roll of Trakmark to redo the interior of my Saracen; would you be interested in sorting something out to split shipping costs from the UK?

As for paint, you have a lot of options. The FV432, like most British vehicles, did not have its own paint scheme (with the exception of the Berlin Brigade schemes, which were very particular to each variant of the vehicle that they were applied to) and instead adhered to the current British paint schemes for the time period and area of operation that you would like to represent.

If you're interested in painting the very striking Berlin Brigade scheme, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Tankograd's "Armoured Vehicles of the British Infantry Brigade Berlin" (publication 9001). Their website indicates that it is out of stock, but I recently contacted them and they informed me that they had some copies. It is an excellent read and I'm debating painting my Saracen in it, even though it is a known anachronism.

Basically you can pick and time and location and then use Clive's excellent documentation on British vehicle painting to work out an appropriate scheme:

http://hmvf.co.uk/pdf/PAINTINGpart1.pdf

http://hmvf.co.uk/pdf/PAINTINGpart2.pdf

http://hmvf.co.uk/pdf/PAINTINGpart3.pdf

FYI, yours looks like it was painted in IRR NATO green and black (the most common scheme for British vehicles from the early 80s onwards) and has since faded/colour shifted, which is a very common problem with that paint, as it is quite unstable and has a very short service life (around 2 years between coats, as far as I remember).

Cheers,

Terry

Was the Ferret used in the Falklands? I didn't think that they were.

In any case, by 1982, a Ferret would have been all over IRR NATO green, or NATO green with about 1/3 painted black.

Cheers,

Terry

From what I understand (the member that owns this vehicle doesn't frequent forums much, so I'm asking on his behalf), there are 4 pump variants, the two earlier ones being petrol driven and prone to catching fire and the two later being driven via the PTO. I know for sure that ours is not fitted with a PTO pump and should have a petrol engine back there. There are also 2 round hose spools fitted in the back.

As for the funnels, apparently he had 2 of them and planned to manufacture 2 copies, but they were either thrown away by accident, or stolen from the workshop area many years ago.

I'll get some photos over the weekend of what we have and hopefully someone can identify what we need.

Cheers,

Terry

Thanks Richard,

Maybe it should be the horizontal single then. Do you happen to have any documentation or pictures?

Cheers,

Terry

Thanks Richard,

From what I understand, the Austin is a good truck and has been on quite a few adventures. Unlike most museums, about 90% of the vehicles at ours are operational (although you wouldn't know it from the number of breakdowns we had during the Bay to Birdwood Run this year )

I'll be at the museum on the weekend fixing a cock-up on my Saracen, and my uncle wants to come along too and play with his new DSLR camera, so I'll get some photos then.

Cheers,

Terry

Hi All,

Our museum has a Bedford QL tanker, which has been restored from a wreck, but it is missing the pump motor, which we believe should be a 2 cylinder horizontally opposed petrol engine, and the 4 large square funnels that should be mounted under the tank.

Does anyone have any details of what these parts should look like and any possible leads as to where we may be able to source them from?

Thanks,

Terry

I won the "Andy" oil/grease pump and it arrived yesterday. I'll be cleaning it up and assembling it over the weekend. Would photos be of interest to anyone?

Cheers,

Terry

If you've never rebuilt an engine before, I'd recommend getting someone who has to either do it for you or to teach you as you go. While it's not exactly a difficult process, it is quite involved and you really need to have a bit of experience and a few uncommon tools to get the most out of it.

Cheers,

Terry