madrat

Well I guess since I've transplanted her over here then the numbers balance out!

Welcome guys, I suspect your Explorer and my Leyland Martian may have been stable mates?

Hi Neil, I've only got the drivers manual for mine and don't think it shows the things you are after, Simon on here I believe has the workshop manual and might be better able to help. I put up some images of my one at this link: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?29523-Leyland-Martian-Return-of-the-MadRat/page12 Let me know if you need any other pictures/measurments from an actual Martian and I'll try to help, my wife hails from your corner of the world so I feel a duty of care to help you out! All the best, Duncan

Thankfully I've got a good local hydraulic specialist so I'll go in and see them, are they fitted with olive's or a flared end? I'm guessing they could let me away with some lengths of pipe for me to bend to shape, then do the ends for me? Oh, and where is the steering fluid reservoir? :blush: Actually, thinking about it is Kunifer (Cupro-Nickel) pipe not suitable? I think I remember reading it was a good replacement these steel pipes... I've used it loads of times on car brakes.

Don't worry mate, it happens to all of us! Just to cheer you up, tonight Jason told me "Dream, Rugged, Robin" just before he went down to sleep! You have inspired the boy....

Looks very nice!! I noticed one of my power steering pipes is rusted and leaking badly, I'm guessing they were steel originally. Any thoughts on replacement? Is copper suitable?

Back to happy thoughts.... Madrat's caption competition:

Oh! We don't talk about the big shed any more:angrywe got hammered at new year by big (90mph+) winds and it blew down! We'd left it as a frame whilst getting on with the house, god knows how windy it was to do the damage.... Ripped 20mm anchor studs out the concrete, pulled a tree out the ground it was strapped to and snapped 12x3" timbers like matchsticks... thankfully no-one hurt but a big expensive mess :-) Well done mate, that's been bugging me! No treasures sadly but I did find a spare generator/dynamo in another box!

Haha, that's so the cat can kill the mice that live in the cab

Back body and random pictures....

Interior pics... Any idea what the top one is?

Pictures of oily bits!

Some shiny pictures for you all....

Morning mate, I had the carb in bits and cleaned out any crap, it wasn't too bad and only had some sludge in the filters around the accelerator pump jets. The choke control cable is working fine so if that's the problem then its an internal issue with that mechanism. Forgive me for going all technical but in taking out one of the "jets" which is inside the "mouth" of the carb the thing it screwed into was rotating whilst I was trying to loosen the jet! It was too dirty to see what exactly was going on... I think I should just treat it to a new carb?!

So the update is as follows: Cleaning the plugs got her going again but she was running really rough, I left off the elbow from the carb and a mate of mine noticed that a backfire through the carb ignited vapor coming from the breather!! I reckon the carb is overfueling to the extent that some of it is getting into the sump :shocked: that would also explain the massive fuel consumption and low(ish) oil pressure.... I had the carb off on Sunday expecting to find a stuck or punctured float but none was found, I also wondered if the electric fuel pump was over-pressuring the carb but even with the electric pump switched off it was overfueling. I reckon that by the time I buy all the gaskets and diaphragms to rebuild the carb I'd be better just buying a new one? After all its the thing which administers my bank balance to the engine so it has to be right! Some questions if anyone can answer... 1) I'd like to replace the plugs, its already been converted to civvy leads so no shielded ones needed. I believe the RSN12Y (Shielded) plug is recommended for the B81, that's also fitted to the LR series 2.25 engine. I can get an N12Y plug which I think will be fine but need a resistor cap? Any advice on plugs/caps/leads really appreciated! 2) I found Marcus Glen had new carbs for sale, does anyone else know of a source of parts for the B81? Cheers!

I think my fuel consumption is bad enough without starting any other engines! Also I think the carb is missing, and I've got other carb issues to worry about! ;-) That was my first thought, but taking the carb to bits the floats were petrol-tight and dry, I'm still a bit suspicious of the inlet valve thingy... Mind you by the time I buy all the gaskets and diaphragms I wonder if I'd just be better treating her to a new carb? Calm down dad!! I had a big AFFF extinguisher in the cab and the petrol tank is now the plastic tank from the boat so no spark issues there. Actually enlisted the help of a friend to track down the source of the fire (More below). But thanks for your concern.... :angel: I actually quite like the B81 and the noise it makes, however that Detroit is a fantastic sounding thing!! I reckon given the Martian's low gearing anyway (35mph at 3750rpm) that a diesel might give it speed issues....?

Thanks for the info Peter, excellent stuff!!! I've been having a play today, cleaned up the plugs which get her going again! Still running like a bag of spanners though, whilst cranking there is petrol coming from the manifold joints, I have a feeling that might be indicating overfueling Todays fuel consumption was 4 gallons over 500 yards, I make that 14 gallons/mile :shake: Oh and also had a small fire, somewhere in the carb area but by the time I got out it had gone out! Clutch is still stuck... Anyhow, I'm still smiling, even managed a few pics of her demonstrating axle travel. As you can see the walking beams aren't stuck! And I can stand under the wheel arch in the second picture, and I'm not vertically challenged....

I bet it weighs a ton as well? I was looking at that very part on my truck yesterday, what an amazingly complicated way to bolt on the steering pump, have you figured out the reasoning behind it? Is it particularly high pressure?

Thanks very much for the replies, really appreciate the input and time spent! Its amazing that it sat for 10 years, I guess this might have been whilst they were sorting out problems with the clutch/steering? It would be interesting to get a copy of contract 6/V/6710 Clive, Those sale results must be fascinating! A shame it wasn't listed but thanks for looking for me!

Well I had a mixed first day with the Martian today, the first few hours spent with her at the workshop didn't go that well. I couldn't get her started so I decided to set the timing properly, that went fine and it wasn't that far out anyway but she still wouldn't fire up (Just the odd cough and splutter), noticing petrol dripping from an exhaust joint I was suspicious that the float mechanism might be stuck so I pulled off the carb for a look, I cleaned out some crap but it seemed to be working as it should, it'll need new gaskets but the diaphragms looked to be ok so I put it back on the truck for now. With the rain coming sideways I took apart the dizzy and cleaned and gapped the points properly but that didn't help either! I reckon maybe the plugs are now fouled, the HT leads don't look that clever either. I think I'll have another few hours on her tomorrow! On the plus side I did find some paperwork, it was owned in 2001 by a Raymond Dunkley from Croydon, I also found a B-Vehicle record card which makes interesting reading. I was quite chuffed with that :-D

Hi Folks, Just found the B-Vehicle card for my Leyland Martian I just bought. I was wondering if anyone could shed any light on the codes/info on the form? I can see it was with a few regiments of the royal artillery. Many thanks in advance, Duncan

The branches are Ripley and Nottingham. A few good bits and pieces but a lot of overpriced stuff too! The canvas was probably the only thing worth buying, if I'd known I'd have picked you up some! That's a really cool & interesting collection of vehicles you have there, do you find much time to work on them? I'm trying not to buy any more projects, just not got the time I used to! I'm off for a play with the Leyland now, I've not seen it yet and itching like a kid at xmas!!

Oh, hang on... Is that the insane drivebox for the hydraulic pump? Confused :nut:

Oh, and we took a drive yesterday in-between night-shifts to Anchor supplies! It wasn't as good as I remember from 15 years ago but still managed to pick up two massive (30x12ft?) unused canvas's for £30! I think they are tent sides but are really heavy and will do a nice job of keeping her dry!

Hi guys, thanks very much for the comments. Hugh, fascinating to get an insight into how these trucks operated in service, keep the knowledge coming! Do you have any pictures of your old truck? If you are ever up in Central Scotland get in touch for a look/drive! Would be lovely to gather some others for my "In service" gallery, if you haven't already seen the pictures have a look here: http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?29704-Gallery-Leyland-Martian-Artillery-Tractor-%28FV1103%29-in-service-with-42nd-Regiment-RA&highlight=leyland+martian Gordon; Sure did, it was a bit of an adventure though! I wonder how many are left up here? They do seem rather unloved compared t other gun tractors and I guess most have made it to the melting pot in the sky :cry: What dodges do you have? Looking forward to getting out on the road in due course, are there many good shows up here? Hi Dave, was that an artillery tractor you remember? I do wonder how many are tucked away in sheds... And a 4 mile walk in the snow shows great dedication! Cheers for the brake advice, having made the mistake of taking my Scammell to bits I'm not going to do the same to the Leyland. That said I want to make sure she's 100% mechanically before hitting the road, brakes will be high on the agenda!