radiomike7

Geoff Rhodes had one very similar, might that be it?

FV433 barrel ie Abbot??

That would make sense, many of the brand new BEF vehicles were rendered useless and abandoned on the beaches.

Most likely the 4 cylinder 7 litre petrol engine but is that not a Gardner engine in your last photo?

Not a Pioneer Niels but a prototype 4x4 petrol engined coastal artillery tractor designed to an Admirality specification and delivered 6 months prior to the outbreak of WW2. As Bernard has just written, it passed into the hands of a fairground showman.

I have it listed as 'R100 on acceptance trials'

Well summed up, until recently it was possible to take the same module 5 times over and it would still count as 35 hours training. I have wasted two Sundays and £100 to achieve two modules and have learned the sum total of nothing. There was also the question of the training counting as other work and having to take an extra rest day to compensate but as we were all self employed and not getting paid it was not classed as work. The hire/reward issue is even more complicated and involves an operators licence and having an employee who holds a full fat CPC. Now if you were to purchase a friend's vehicle and show a relevant transaction then sell it back after moving it...... You could even claim you had bought it in good faith and were returning it because it was not as described.

What on earth is that, it looks like a Sentinel steam boiler under the radiator??:shocked: Edit. Thought it was some sort of prototype but looking closer it belongs to Russell of Bathgate so I assume it is a recovery.

Hydraulic pipes are designed for much higher pressures than an air brake system and will be very heavy and difficult to manipulate. Converting to a spring brake system would be an excellent move as it prevents you from moving off until there is sufficient air pressure to work the service brakes but given the somewhat unique rear brake chambers might be a serious challenge. The current system has one line and a single fault will cause total service brake failure; as a halfway solution it may possible to at least convert to a twin line system needing a new foot valve and a second air reservoir with relevant valves. Incidentally the Martian rear brakes are very powerful, mine would easily lock the rear bogie on a dry road with a 5 ton load in the back; try that with an Explorer!

That's rather a nice VW 924 Bill, Harm Lagaay would be proud of you:-D

After leaving school in 1969 I had a summer holiday job with a large company in Cricklewood installing fruit machines and upmarket juke boxes. One job was at Windsor Castle fitting the sound system for a yearly bash that HM used to lay on for the children; while running some speaker cables I swore at a pair of Corgis that were trying to shred my shirt. I turned round and there was HM herself who found the incident quite amusing and found time for a quick chat! Joined Ford on a student course and gained an HNC in engineering then worked in Special Vehicle Ops at the Langley truck plant (an ex wartime Hurricane factory) on Transit, D and H series trucks. Left Ford in 1976 when a very generous voluntary redundancy package coincided with getting married and buying a house. Started my own company in 1979 supplying and fitting car audio and electrical accessories which gave me a good living until the internet, discounting and credit card fraud killed the game in the early 2000s. Still do the odd installation and some repairs but work most evenings as an articulate person for a green striped supermarket chain.

Was that not vandalism rather than an accident, I seem to remember some hooligans released the brakes and the locos ran down a slope?

British English colloquialism for sausages

Not yet, they are doing Sterling work and remain Defiant despite the threats of Wildcat strikes, Typhoons and King Cobras.....

Are you not a decade out with that date?:undecided:

Now there's a coincidence, you living at Woodhall Spa, wartime home to 617 Sqn RAF and serving in 617 tk tptr sqn.

M818 with just 10 hours on the clock, what would that make?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanks_in_World_War_I Scroll down the page.

So where would I stand with a WW1 Little Willie or Big Willie?

Just pulled out the EMER for the Rolls C6NFL 143 series as used in the re-engined 980/1 and the starter is about half way up the block on the right side.

Doubt he would have the Sterling MG:D

It is very similar to this one but without the glands and with a metal cap, I can get a photo tomorrow. http://eshop.lmslichfieldltd.com/FV634272-Socket-inter-vehicle

My Explorer had a smaller version bolted to the outside of the cab on the driver's side; I still have a new one here, the base plate is 123x90mm. I also have a new long inter vehicle lead set if you need one.

Not solidly bolted to the crossmember but using a spherical joint to allow movement.

Correct, otherwise there would be an open shaft and not a tube. IIRC Ford E93A Pops had a similar arrangement and in a way so did Constructor front and rear axles by using an 'A' frame in place of the torque tube.