LarryH57

I bought a vehicle battery and the negative terminal was smaller than the positive. That meant that the connector on the negative was still loose even with the securing ring tightened to its maximum point. I could just pull it up and off. After a test drive it was nearly off the terminal. If i use copper, lead or steel to wrap around the battery to allow the negative lead to fix tightly, are there conductive metals to avoid? And BTW why are negative terminals on new batteries smaller than the positive ones?

Regarding burning verses abandoning, I too was thinking that there must have been so much smoke, that it would have not attracted any attention or that it was so thick as to obscure what was below. Would a Stuka pilot just bomb blind; I doubt he would want to return to base to report that he had bombed in a vague area where the enemy was likely to be? Obviously British & French soldiers just did what was best and even if the British Army lost circa 93,000 vehicles, did it give the Germans a really great advantage if they did not capture the men that drove them if they were eventually evacuated?

To reiterate what others have said - a really great selection of photos. I have read of the various methods of disabling vehicles but it surprizes me (in the comfort and safety of my living room chair) why so many vehicles were abandoned in a usable condition. Surely setting them on fire would have made many useless to the Germans. Did the occupants have no time to do this? Did they surrender immediately they got out?

Fv1609, Clive you may wish to re post your EMER link here, as all those busy members wont have to read the 2009 post on the go. Thanks for your collection of manuals and orders and the support you give. I hope you have made plans for it when you 'pop your clogs'. The thought of some house clearance person burning it ....!

Am I correct in thinking that some WW2 vehicles did not have the wood flooring painted? I have been told that the flatbed of say an RAF AEC Matador was 'treated' with preservative but not painted, as it came in or a lot of abuse anyway. So could it be that the sides of vehicles were or could be preserved using different a type of wood?

Keruing Hardwood Sapwood is a commercially available greyish-brown, heartwood timber that varies from light red to reddish brown or brown, darkening on exposure. Grain is usually straight but may be interlocked. Keruing is available in sawn sizes or machined to standard half lap profiles for truck flooring.

This a very comprehensive answer! Out of interest did the BS381c 499 brown get carried over to modern times, as the colour of brown ammo boxes?

Haha - he will have to lug it over on the train

I will check with my mate but it is a 12 volt standard battery that has been used until now on a non -military Land Rover 90 but once Covid ends, he is to be working abroad for a few months, and vehicle put in a lock up that has no power for a trickle charge etc. So will the battery be dead or alive after such a period and is on or off the vehicle going to change things?

Simple question if a vehicle is to be kept off the road for 3 months, will the battery last longer if it is removed from the vehicle?

The TFL in London said my Lwt will never be exempt from the Congestion Charge, as Historic makes no difference. It only gives an exemption to the ULEZ - but I'm not sure if that applied or not as my Lwt is PLG, not a bus or minibus or van etc. However if the new (same) Mayor of London extends the Congestion Zone area, then driving to a friends house to pick him up for WPR shows may involve a longer journey, and more pollution! I won't be attending shows that involve driving through Bath, Birmingham and any other big city that wishes to squeeze more money from me either.

I have just realised that if I dont drive in Central London to avoid the congestion charge then there is no need for the Police to stop me as my Lwt is insured, has an MOT till November and will show as taxed to April 2022.

I have just checked and it is still the same, but I will check on 1st May so that I can check what I have in my online Chat print out matches what he said - £0 paid for VED until April 2022.

Historic Status for a 1980 Land Rover Lwt GS - The story so far! I sent my request off via the Post Office at the beginning of April and have not heard any thing since. I then discover that the DVLA have been on strike and will be again on 4th May, all this is due to Covid and need for separation etc that was not carried out fast enough for their staff union. Anyway I phoned DVLA but was told not to phone and instead use the online Chat. So I signed up for a Chat with the promise of a handler, but was then told by the 'AI computer bot', this system was too busy, so go away and try later. But I persevered and after 45 mins of trying, I was told by an actual human being, that they had my Post Office request but the V5 will take 8 weeks until the end of May to be despatched by DVLA. I said I did not care, as long as they marked their system so that any automatic number plate checks by camera or police car would know I'm now Historic. Sadly, they said the change to Historic status cannot be done without a new V5 being issued and these are delayed (as above). However they did promise to put any ULEZ / Council in the picture if I get fined, so a full refund would be made if I had to pay first and fight later. I was also told to advise the TFL, in case I strayed in to their other Congestion Zone. I also said that as at 1st May I need to pay my VED (Car Tax) on the vehicle and that I need a reminder in order to do this, as it still needs to be taxed at Nil cost each year. Amazingly they said they have already done this for me and that I need do nothing more till end of April 2022, so that's some comfort, as quasi proof. I was advised to keep a printed copy of my on-line chat and discussion with a human at the DVLA, plus my Post Office receipt, and have it with me whenever I drive the Lwt in May until my new V5 arrives.

I's like to pass this photo on to the RAF Museum too, but I forget the contact for Bryan, who posts on here?

I'm still on the look out for RAF Jeeps used as runabouts on UK airfields in the UK (rather than the 2 TAF etc)

I sent this photo to the Tank Museum Curator, David Willey as I know they maintain an archive of all Armour Vehicles, even RAF ones, and in turn he sent it to David Fletcher for comment as follows; Thanks also for the Crossley photo which I have saved. It was one of two with domed turrets, the third being on an even bigger Crossley chassis with a conventional turret. All three served with the Royal Air Force but they seem to have developed faults in the driven bogie. Most unusual for Crossley who invariably turned out a good product, I suspect they weren’t so good in sand. Anyway they were done away with after a while. If you find any others – always happy to take a peek. David

Well Ruxy thanks for your posts - I guess my 'black' is your charcoal grey but in my collection of bits I have one seat that is grey and any more of these I want to avoid. As for the info off the website that will send me back to the Lwt with a camera and tape measure to actually determine what my HG Lwt has. However I guess most LR parts suppliers don't give a dam and will supply their version of standard! The Exmoor trim link and photo that MatchFuzee posted looks the part, thanks

Sadly, it appears that these are standard seats for LRs and this is where I have gone wrong it the past. The Lwt seat back is relatively thin it seems and has fixing flap that is quite visible when seen 'just out of the box'. Also the seat base is a wedge shape when viewed from the side. But thanks anyway

Does anyone know what the part number is for a set of front seats for a Land Rover Lwt. I need them to be black not the light grey as used on some civi LRs. The seat backs are the same and the three seat bases appear to be the same too for a 12v GS.

Reading 'Mike Starmer's' work on camo colours it seems this a/c is in khaki, rather than sand. The inside the opened radiator doors, it seems the colour is white.

A friend's late father in law (ex-RAF) left a pile of photos in a suit case and these were found during the clear out, when his wife died, years after him I think it is a Crossley IGA3, though this is the only photo I could find of one! It served in Aden, pre-war

Are there any members who have a vehicle made before 1st Jan 1973, using B&W plates who cannot get historic status?

Horary! I finally managed to get my Lwt registered as Historic ( hopefully) at the Post Office, not that the guy behind the counter had much idea what to do at first. Strangely he said he did not need Form V10 but did take my V5 and the V112. As for the Vehicle Tax am I correct in thinking I still need to tax it at zero cost each year? Can I not pay £0 by Direct Debit?

Permission for the use of a Black and White registration plate comes from two things; the vehicle being built before 1st January 1980 AND the vehicle being registered as Historic status. Thats all! However, that could be annoying for someone who can't get historic status on a technicality and still pays car tax but wants to use their age related B&W registration.