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Starfire

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Posts posted by Starfire

  1. Is this on an older vehicle? Generally, this kind of arrangement is seen in vehicles from the 70's onwards and is an attempt to reduce emissions by recirculating the gunk and fumes that would come out of the crank case breather into the inlet stream of the vehicle for further combustion. Vehicles prior to this generally just had a small filter or a tube that would just spill any overflow onto the road. I guess an exception, and someting that is in place on my Saracen, is for vehicles with relatively sealed engines for fording; the crank case has to breathe, but the fumes have to go somewhere, the inlet being a fairly simple solution.

     

    In order to prevent this happening again, you need what is called an oil catch can, and these are commonly used in motorsports or performance cars. You can also make one yourself without much trouble (I've seen some functional but unattractive ones made from some hose and a coke bottle). There are also about a billion different Chinese made ones available on eBay.

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  2. Three quarters of a million for a wooden bus seems... excessive. The restoration does appear to be of a very high quality, but their starting point looked to be pretty good and that kind of money would pay for half a dozen full time staff for a year, all the parts you could possibly imagine and you'd still have at least a quarter of a million left. I don't get it.

     

    Asking for $25k to pay for petrol on top of that seems to be quite a reach.

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  3. Although mine were parts kits assembled into working rifles, the wooden furniture on one could be swapped with the pebblegrain plastic furniture from the other. If I recall, a slot head screw driver was needed to remove the pistol grip, butt plate & hand guard. If you don't have the recoil spring in yours then a large flat head screw driver should suffice instead of the buttstock removal tool to remove that part as well.

     

    I do miss my L1A1s.....:cry:

     

    Matt

     

    They were a first class rifle indeed.

  4. Terry,

    The British military used a lot of wet sump B range engines, ranging from Champ, generators, Leyland Martian, Thornycroft Nubians, Humber FV1600 series and so on.

    I have a B60 out of a Bedford TK fire engine to strip for diagnosis in near future and I would feel certain it has the same oil pick up.

     

    Thanks Richard,

     

    I Don't want to get into an internet fight and I know that most of these military applications that you have listed run wet sumps, but my statement was that I was not aware of a B80 in military use with a wet sump. I could be, and probably am, wrong :)

    Champ - B40

    Generators - NFI

    Martian - B81

    Nubian - B81

    Humber FV1600 - B60

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  5. How about, something like a Chore Horse or BSA charging set? All the same bits as a big engine, but you can put it on a table.

     

    Any of the suggestions are good ones, but I'll agree that a small charging set is a good starting point. You won't need any special tools, just a set of screwdrivers and AF wrenches and they are very forgiving little engines. The only thing that they lack which you will find on a more modern/powerful engine is overhead valves and a pressurised oil system, but the basics are the same.

     

    I would also suggest that you invest in a good book or two on the subject. While a little "American", there are really good ones available on blueprinting Chev and Ford V8s; many of the processes described are excessive for most engines, but it will cover things like bearing clearances, machining operatings, timing and tuning.

     

    Once you've rebuilt your charging set, you'll of course need a Saracen to put it on like mine :P

     

    [video=youtube_share;8M-3ABUc_oI]

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  6. Bleach will get rid of mould but it may also get rid of dye. I would soak it in a moderate bleach solution for a while (10% or so for an hour or two) and then throw it in the washing machine on a normal cycle.

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  7. From memory, the parts are relatively easy to remove (one screw up near the gas reg will separate the had gaurd and one screw in the bottom of the pistol grip), so you could always just give it a try (I have no idea if they will fit or not, but I assume so). Changing the carry handle is a pain though, so it'd probably be best to leave the standard one on there.

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  8. I only have some limited experience with the B80, all of which have the dry sump arrangement.

     

    As you seem technically capable, perhaps try temporarily replacing the strainer arrangement with a length of hose going straight into the oil pan and see if that gives satisfactory results? That would certainly tell you if the strainer was the issue or if you need to look elsewhere.

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  9. Such a short tow should not have hurt it. The reason that they recommend against towing at all and insist that it be done at low speed for short distances with both the gearbox and transfer case in neutral, is that the oil pumps in the gearbox and transfer cases are driven by the input shafts, so there is reduced lubrication flow and pressure. 100m or so wouldn't even register.

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  10. Was thinking about our hobby when I read this.

     

    http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/helensvale-man-found-crushed-under-his-car-in-garage-believed-to-have-been-there-for-days/story-fnj94idh-1226892894134?sv=6c66349cc13ca9e4bec33d03f3e5b6c5

     

    My mechanic mate in the UK always makes me cringe, as he never uses axles stands and relies on a trolley jack. Last time I was there he was changing an Alpha Romeo exhaust and he's under it yanking on the exhaust with one side propped up on a trolley jack.

     

    The worst bit about this one is that the third picture clearly shows a pair of axle stands sitting right there on the ground. He had the equipment but must have been too lazy to use them :(

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  11. Hi All,

     

    I have been trying to make up my mind if I should go with the period correct Larkspur or the affordable and (relatively reliable) Clansman radio setup for both the intercom and (later) radio fitout for my Saracen Mk 5. I have decided to go with Clansman, but having never worked with it before, I thought I'd post up my initial system design and musings for your consideration and comments.

     

    From what I can gather, the ANR stuff can be a pain to get everything working together, so I am thinking that the older style, non-ANR components would be easier, although they don't come with the sexy yellow faceplates :cool2:

     

    My initial design drawing:

     

    Radio.jpg

     

    Initially, I would only be installing the Intercom components, consisting of an IB2, 5 CB2 boxes, a CBF/CPU combo and a DB. The diagram has orange lines for the main bus ring (I had some trouble with routing in Visio, so the lines should basically go around the perimeter of the inside of the hull, instead of across the floor as shown). This should allow for each seat to be equipped with a headset on the intercom setup and allow for the installation of the two radios detailed.

     

    I have not quite worked out where all of the other boxes should be installed, particularly the IBHA and DCCU for the 352, probably towards the right side of the front of the hull, above the main distribution box.

     

    Will it work? What can I/should I improve?

     

    Does anyone have any general questions or comments?

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

  12. I've seen the trailers for sale occasionally, but had no idea that there was a tent set available. If I could find a set of teenage, I'd be inclined to grab one of the trailers, because that would take it from being reasonably handy and kinda cool, to bloody handy and awesome. It'd look good behind my Saracen :D

     

    Cheers,

    Terry

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