LarryH57

I read this in the Express and I wonder if the fact that a vehicle has to be Historic status to use B&W plates is being confused with the need to 'get permission' to use them, as the permission comes from requesting Historic status in the first place.

I guess there are a few cars around that use B&W plates that are not Historic status, like the 1960s Landrover 110 that I saw with a J registration!!!!!

Also it seems the use of EU flag on registrations, is still permitted for a while on cars that were built / sold prior to 1st Jan 2021.

I will  look for clarification.

Folks, from the new April 2021 tax year Black and White number plates are only permitted on vehicles built before 1st Jan 1980, and if used, permission must be obtained from the DVLA first. (CORRECTION - by applying for Historic status) The fine is apparently £1,000 (or up to) for non compliance. Ouch!

Also in a crackdown on road users trying to defeat number plate recognition cameras, irregular spaced letters / numbers will be illegal and so will B&W plates if it is deemed they are of a colour shape or design that may defeat the speed cameras etc.

I hope that won't put an end to those silver and black registrations where the letters / numbers are raised slightly. I would not want members fined an EXTRA £1,000 on top of the normal penalty for speeding in their Scammell Pioneer!

(PARAGRAPH DELETED)

PS - also buy a GB sticker if you ever want to go to Normandy or Arnhem in 2024 (assuming covid has gone by then), as the GB sign within the blue EU flag on vehicle registration plates is not valid now, on any new UK registered vehicle.

I would have run the vehicle's engine if I was not prevented from getting access. Can I claim on the Government as compensation or get anything back for the upset of sending a relatively new battery for scrap. 

BTW if I charge the battery in parallel and the dead battery comes to life will it ever be back to normal? 

Also are those battery booster boxes (like the AA use) any good on a dead battery?

I'm hoping to get a vehicle started after Lockdown ends, and the battery is very likely to be flat, as the vehicle has not been driven for many months since about Nov 2020. If it is charged up will it ever be any use after that. Its a Bosch. What I don't want is for me to drive off somewhere and then have it fail to start for the journey home. I guess many of you are in a similar situation with your MVs.

Well I just had a proper look at https://www.brumbreathes.co.uk/info/5/exemptions-additional-support/21/apply-exemption/8

And it is quite clear on Historic Vehicles, but it never says if exemptions may apply at the Councils discretion. So if one day they want to have a parade of Birmingham built vehicles from around the UK then 'history will have to end after 1980-81, but on the other hand it did as BL were on strike most of the time!

It would be a bit stupid to charge the Army to drive through and ULEZ. God forbid that the bomb disposal squad would be prevented by their CO from attending, as no one at HQ has a Company Visa card to pay fees on line!

But back on topic, how much of these new ideas being all the rage in town halls, will impact on members, if their vehicle is not 'Historic' status?

For members living in Cities other than London, does the existing Historic status of MVs still allow you to drive your MV within the designated LEZ area?

Do you now have problems parking in the road outside your home?

In addition to introducing LEZs , I see that many cities are now looking to block off roads too, so even if your MV is Historic and exempt, I wonder if this is likely to kill off any parades such as for VE-Day in 2025 or indeed stop members from parking up a selection of MVs in the City Centre to support Poppy Day?

I guess the age restriction is important to many members with vehicles over 3500 kg un-laden weight and I sympathise with them if they have to buy new ones. But let's say you are questioned as to the age of your tyres; how will you prove they are under 10 years old?  Do you keep all your military vehicle related receipts? You might like to start.

Incidentally assuming your vehicle was under 3500 kg but you end up carrying or towing something that takes everything over 3500 kg I guess you could still be fined. 

Also for those of us with Historic Vehicle Status and way below the 3500 kg weight, the condition of our tyres must still be legal and if I remember from 2019 MV shows, a number I saw still had cracked side walls, so its best to start saving for replacements.

Great thanks, I have just got the  tailgate open. It looks like the catch in the lock has broken.

Does anyone have workshop manual for a 2010 zafira. The tailgate door was slammed shut and wont open. There is a round pull off plastic cover inside and i just need to know if this can release the lock.

Great Selection of RAF Jeeps; as you suggested many are in use by Tactical Air Forces

Thanks for those photos.

I should have qualified my post to say that the RAF  2TAF and Desert Air Force & Far East AF all had Jeeps as there was a proven need for their cross county 4x4 capabilities, for forward airstrips, which was not much in demand on an RAF airfield in the UK during WW2.

As a part time researcher of WW2 RAF vehicles, it has annoyed me to see RAF Jeeps driven around in TV programs and Films made in recent times of  Bomber and Fighter Command in the UK, and I don't hold out much hope for the remake of the Dambusters Film with Digger the Dog. As for RAF Blue Jeeps in WW2 don't get me started!

However, back on subject, I do know that Jeeps were used by the RAF from 1944 as Fire / Rescue vehicles and Mountain Rescue.

The Jeep's use by the RAF in a pure transport / runabout role (for which a Standard Tilly was ideal) still alludes me, so  I'd appreciate seeing photos of such RAF Jeeps in WW2.  However one that comes close is this photo from the closing weeks of WW2.

It appears to be painted yellow over its standard OD colour - with yellow on the top and sides and the front fender. Yellow was the colour applied for airfield use and it appears the vehicle is being used as a sort of follow me vehicle. I can only guess what the sign says in the rear tub. note all the tools and hood have been removed, and the tyres are not a very 'off road' pattern.

I think it was taken at RAF Manston in April 1945.

The RAF Registration on a number plate is quite roughly done.

XS650,

Thanks for posting these postwar photos.

In the first photo showing a line up of staff car, Austin K2, Fordson and Austin K6, it seems from the tone of the photos that the Fordson and Austin are fire engine red, with black mudguards and sections of the vehicle cab painted yellow, whereas the K2 is RAF Blue with black mudguards.

Kind Regards

Larry

Well I understand - it allows them to get three months of VED for the privilege!

I guess I could cancel my Direct Debit after paying in March

Dear All,

Of course I decided to search HMVF and found the older posts and like a good boy went to search www.gov etc but got nothing - so thanks.

Hopefully we will all be able to go out in April in our MVs and not just to the local Post Office!

Amazingly I could not find that page with searching !

But great I understand

There was some muttering from behind the counter that I have to come back in April?

In the past I taxed it in July. In recent years I have taxed it online via Direct Debit which I want to cancel sometime.

Does April 2021 make any sense? It was first registered as W Reg on 9th January 1991 

My Post Office that reputedly does Vehicle Excise Duty (Car Tax) for people, had not a clue about me trying to register my W Reg, 1980 built Lwt, as Tax Exempt. They just about got the idea of of a V112 for an 'Exemption to an MOT' but I have one ready. Then I was given a V62 which deals with lost V5 C docs - but that's no good as I have my V5C. Next I was given a V10 to complete but that only deals with actually taxing a vehicle and paying money, which I think I have done enough of over 40 years of driving.

So which V Form am I missing or should I ask for?

I can't believe how lucky one HMVF member above was to walk in to a PO and come out with the matter all taken care of.

I thought due to Covid the might allow me to deal online - But it seems the DVLA / VED exemptions team, wants people to only deal with Post Office!

Thanks

Likewise Baz , I'm looking at the Albion (in the middle photo) and it has a very interesting glass dome over the observation hatch. I looked up the specifications for such vehicles and Albion never built them like that, so next time anyone is in their time machine, go back 80 years and tell them its all wrong and to remove it as it never happened😁😂

And now for some serious comments -in the last photo, it looks to be a captured artillery piece under tow? Any ideas what it is?. Also both Albions appear to be in the same location. Where might that be; in Germany?

I don't think any one's MV is above criticism, not even my GS Lwt. Despite being used by the Airborne Artillery it has not been restored to being a Para Recce Lwt, or equipped with a Clansman radio antenna on each corner flying massive flags, or a gloss red towing hook on the front bumper below a massive ammo box. I have not hung every bit of '58 webbing I own on the outside! It has been left as the plain vehicle it was when in use by the Army.

Baz you are more than welcome to criticise it; hopefully we can meet at Beltring sometime in this decade and have  a great debate.

Finally I have no intension of hurting anyone's feelings, so please accept my apologies if I have. My intension , like Ted and Mike Starmer has always been towards accuracy, of a kind that in our hobby should look to do, like car clubs, than accept a tin of green paint will do.

Like Ted (and with Ted and also Mike Starmer)  my researches over many decades tend to show compliance with the orders of the day in the RAF in WW2, and even photos of the very same Fordson in WW2 towing a P-51 seem to differ from the scheme it carries now.

On a typical RAF base there was an MT Officer, with enough clout not to trouble the Base Commander, with such trivia. Once the RAF blue from pre-war faded out of use and vehicles began to arrive in G3 Green, then SSC. 2 Brown, it is true that the RAF MT Sections were left to camouflage them with the authorised disruptive colours and stick with the paint schemes shown in painting pamphlets, but the variations were still within those permitted. Where SCC.2 Brown was used and orders required 'all surfaces seen from above ' 

Another problem with our hoppy, is the hobby itself where almost without exception it somehow influences every vehicle to be green and even called 'green machines', when everyone knows that for a fair proportion of WW2 during the mid war years SCC.2 Brown was used as the base colour in the Army and RAF. Yet walking round Beltring in the good times, it was easy to find vehicles built in the mid war years, and yet extremely hard to find any in SCC.2 Brown, as most are in various shades of green. Why?  

A very rough quick measurement of the Rear U bolts was actually nearer to 7/16 inch.

Also 10FM68 the ride is much better. Before its most recent service and change of springs, the Lwt used to bounce all over the road such that if I saw any oncoming traffic I had to slow right down to ensure I never bounced in to them. Since the work has been done the ride is much firmer and much nicer to drive, and it seems that I'm not always moving the steering wheel so much (like the do in the old 1930s B&W films!)

Correction! They used the existing U bolts on the rear axle as they are in good order and returned the new ones. I measured the thickness of the bolts on the Lwt and they were about 12mm (not 18mm?) So I guess they are no better or worse than before.  As for off road I dont do any apart from round the arena at WPR or occasionally drive up an unmade up farm track. As for testing with a load, guess I will load her up with some ammo boxes full of tools and test the nuts for tightness afterwards.

The springs and shock absorbers have been changed.

Interestingly the garage used the 562635  U bolts on the rear after saying they did not fit. I never got to speak with the mechanic though, but the U bots look tight enough to me and are bolted through the square plate underneath.

I got all the stuff removed returned to me.