Starfire

Hi, I'm getting my Saracen repainted, but I haven't been able to find specifications for the rear convoy light markings on the back of the hull (and I've read through Clive's excellent articles about painting 3 times!). Does anyone know what the dimensions are? Offset from the light Width of stripes Other comments Like these: Cheers, Terry

An impressive collection and well displayed too, but it sounds like they've not put up much of a fight to keep the doors open Cheers, Terry

Nice Photos. I'm going to have to get over there some time. Cheers, Terry

The clansman ANR stuff is pretty good. I use it in my Saracen. I don't have an intercom installed in the Ferret yet, but I use one of the ANR headsets as ear defenders and they work ok. For solo on-road use, I've found a couple of 2" stick-on dome mirrors from the local auto parts store, stuck on the corners of the side mirrors are invaluable. Cheers, Terry

Apparently the centre wheels are hydraulically driven (you can see the hydraulic lines coming down from the top of the fake turret) and there is a 500hp LS V8 in it. Toyo has said that a behind the scenes vid will be out soon. I've been wondering what to do with my spare Ferret, too... Cheers, Terry

Fit a Jolley electronic kit. You won't regret it. Cheers, Terry

It looks like a small axle or torsion bar of some sort.

If you want something a little easier to live with, perhaps consider a Ferret?

Why no winch?

My Saracen was disposed of by the MOD in Hong Kong in 1993, and it was still fitted with BCF extinguishers, so probably some time after that. Cheers, Terry

Wow, that's awful. I hope insurance doesn't give you any trouble. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help (from the other side of the world). Cheers, Terry

I don't know that you could ever call a Hornet a good looking vehicle, but it's certainly interesting and looks to be a pretty good model. Cheers, Terry

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about a diesel for running cost considerations on an armoured vehicle; for the amount of actual miles that you will do, it really won't come anywhere near being your biggest expense. They all have terrible fuel efficiency and they all cost a lot to run and maintain, no matter what their running gear is, unless you find one that is basically a commercial truck with an armoured body, like a Unimog or large Ford chassis, but they're more usually police spec vehicles, than military. The OT-64 is cool and is kind of based on a Tatra 813, so they're mechanically not too bad, but I also hear that they're awful to maintain, especially if you want to swim it and have awful ergonomics. I'd still like one though Cheers, Terry

Two vehicles on my wish list. Cheers, Terry

Maybe the hull shocker was incorrectly wired up?

Yep, they're a license built copy of a British post-war mount and were trialled on early Mk 1 ACCOs. To the best of our knowledge, they weren't very successful and most (if not all) were never issued and have shown up in relatively large numbers here as NOS, although they never seem to have the mounting kit, consisting of a number of socketed rods. If yours has those, I'd be interested in buying them for our Mk 1 ACCO, but the mount itself has little value and they usually change hands for around $100. A word of warning - it has some serious springs in there, if you release the locking pins on the sides, the mount will shoot up with a lot of force (one of our members ended up with a pretty decent blood nose out of it). Cheers, Terry

Welcome in! I saw the recovery pictures on Facebook and it looks like quite a decent vehicle, considering the many years sitting. Please keep us posted on your progress. Cheers, Terry

I've never seen a Ferret fitted with that cage on the nut (the Australian ones are all early-ish Mk 1 and Mk 2 vehicles), but my Mk 5 Saracen has one. In any case, the holes are blind and no oil should be coming out of them. If there is oil around them, it is more likely to be coming from the main bolt not being tight enough, or an oil spill or leak from somewhere else is being flicked there by the fan or fan belts (the filter is directly in line with anything being flicked around, so they can often look like they're leaking, when in fact they aren't). Cheers, Terry

Air leaks and cam timing will both cause the issue that you're describing, but the poor operation of the timing light is quite an alarm bell for me. Try another light, but if it works fine on other engines, I would suggest that you have a significant problem with your ignition system (I believe that the coil is about the only thing that you haven't changed). Also check the shaft of your distributor for excessive play; worn bearings can do some weird stuff. Cheers, Terry

Welcome in, Eric. Do yourself a favour and get a 1:1 scale model. Start off with something simple, like a Land Rover, and build up your collection from there Cheers, Terry

From the diagram, it looks like the magnesium housing ignites the thermite, and not the other way around; the thermite being the main weapon payload.

The lines won't show wind up, but they will highlight if something breaks. In the drivetrain, you'll find about 5 degrees of lash between the front and the back wheels before they move in unison; wind-up will put tension between them but won't noticeably vary their relative positions and will be relieved by one of the wheels skipping in relation to the other. If that wasn't the case, even with the allowed ~2" of variation between the tyres, you'd be breaking stuff in no time flat, under normal usage. For the most part, wind up in Ferrets/Saracens/etc. is overrated and is rarely a problem, unless the tyres are way out of spec, or if you're doing lots of tight turns on a hard surface (such as donuts). In general, the running gear on these vehicles are pretty robust and are most likely to fail from a lack of adequate lubrication, rather than mechanical influences. That being said, they are old and things do just break on occasion. I'm hoping that yours is a Mk 1; 4 people in a Mk 2 would be way too cozy for my liking They do get lots of attention though, for sure. I can never go to the supermarket in mine without gathering a crowd around it. Cheers, Terry

It does sound like windup, and you do need to make sure that the tyres are the same circumference in order to minimise it. Are all of the tires of the same type and from the same batch? Also make sure that the air pressures in them are maintained, as a relatively small variation can have a fair impact on tyre size. If you can't get them all to the same size, pair them on the same side of the vehicle, as the differential will take care of side to side variation. Badly out of balance tyres will have similar issues, so make sure you've checked that. Cheers, Terry

Magnesium is difficult to light, but not _that_ difficult. Thermite is a bit of overkill (you usually use a magnesium strip to light the thermite). A bunch of sparklers shoved in the end, with one sticking out as a fuse should do the trick and be reasonably safe to light. If you stand it up when you light it (bury the tail pretty well to hold it stable), it will produce a fair jet of flame shooting out the top. I wouldn't worry about putting it out with sand; as long as you have a reasonably large, clear area, I'd just let it burn out, which should be done within a few minutes. Cheers, Terry

Yep, Ferret Mk 2 left side internal ammunition bin. I need one of these, but would need it posted to Adelaide, South Australia. If you're happy to work with me on that, I'd be interested in buying it. Cheers, Terry