Tiffy_massive

Unfortunately vehicles are not well looked after when awaiting disposal. I have noticed over the last few years that Vehicle Specialists (i don't think they are very specialist at all) who are responsible for looking after and moving vehicles in depots have a tendancy to leave hatches and louvre covers open when leaving vehicles parked up. CVR(T) are really prone to this is left outside with the louvre covers not closed over with the canvas covers fitted to decks. Having belly plates fitted then compounds the problem as the water just builds up. Some years ago while trying to unload the vehicle train in BATUS Canada we had to light fires under the majority of CVR(T) platforms as the VS had not closed hatches or covered louvres. The rain had built up in the hulls to about a foot in depth which had then iced over in the -40 Canadian winter meaning we could not start the vehicles as flywheels etc were frozen in the water. Ended up getting some started and having to split tracks on others and drag them off on their wheels.

Sounds about right. If the seals are shot the clutch pads will be contaminated and would normally be replaced while you have the clutch apart for the seals. If the pads are not too bad you may be able to get away without changing them. Another tip on clutch wear. When a new clutch is fitted new a C clip was also fitted. This C clip joined both ends of the gater spring to allow for some adjustment once the clutch started slipping i.e. if the C clip is fitted it could be removed once you notice clutch slip which will then give you additional life on the same clutch.

Don't forget that the electrics on Armd Vehs were mainly shielded to prevent interference with comms eqpt. No reason why you cannot replace the lot with a good set of un-shielded leads as you would find fitted to any Jag car running the same engine.

Agree with retriever, they were issued to the majority of AFV's. Always one of those things that were taken off the trucks and left in camp as we never used them. Can't ever remember using one in all my years and cannot remember MBTs having them. The idea was to empty 2 jerry cans at a time hence the wide base when open.

I seem to remember that the 430 series had a water trap in the fuel tank which should have been drained once a year but never was unless there was a problem. I can remember draining the water trap on Chieftains and being amazed at the amount of water and gunk trapped in the tank. May be worth draining the tank of water every now and again, as water is heavier than fuel it sinks to the bottom of the tank waiting rust filters and cause problems etc,. A sticking rack in the FIP is a common problem if not regularly run as is the FIPS not moving all the way. A gentle bit of encouragement usually does the trick.

Cracking looking wagon. It brings back fond memories of way back driving them all over N Germany. Something that i will always remember is driving to the old Inner German Border in the Hartze mountains while duty fitter at Hildershiem and back again in one of those to fix a broken vehicle. Got there and the fault was not what we were told so had to go back to camp pick up spares and go back to fit the parts. Wobbled all over the road took hours to do the trip but good fun. I'm jealous now, i want one.

Not Army issue boots, may have been given to crab air. Issue boots at the time were a taller version of DMS with bits of canvas around the ankles. They were good boots and mine lasted for years.

Another one of my Barra while serving with C Sqn RHG/D in Germany in the 80's. This time with winter paint job as done by my fair hand. Taken in a village just West of Hameln on FTX.

A picture of a 434 lifting an L60 engine while we changed the starter motor on Ex in Germany. Shows how good a vehicle they were if the lockouts worked as they should.

unless the gearbox is new just put the same shims back in place and all should be good. Not lifted a CVR(T) gearbox in a good few years but i sem to remember that the rear mounting bolt shims are usually wedge shaped to allow adjustment. If the gearbox is new then making sure the box is correctly aligned is vital. If it is out the flexi coupling will destroy itself and you will not be able to get the quill shafts in.

Yes, those are the ones. Square and like louvrers. We fitted them ourselves once they turned up at units. Some units only got them the evening we went through the gap others would have received them in the days before. Can't see the bracket from the photo so can't really comment on that for now.

I bet when you get it off you find that the washer is missing, thats what used to make them harder to remove. I am sure 02ED31 used to be my Barra many moons ago.

Never heard of or seen a crane attachment for a CET. Are you mistaking it for the a-frame for the winch which could be fitted to the hull? The main problem with CETs was the number of micro-switches that could fail at any time or the radiators being mounted on the side. When digging the operators would have to stop at regular intervals and clear out the radiator grill to ensure the vehicle did not over heat. At one time i looked after 3 of the things and have to say that with good operators they were not that bad. I also had a very good Ece who was well in to his vehicle electrics and really enjoyed playing with CETs. We never swam them as we never had faith in hull integrity.

From the picture I would date it during the build up for Gulf War 2. I say that as all British Armd vehicles taking part in Gulf war 2 had recognition panels fitted to the tops and sides to prevent Blue on Blue with the USAF and these are missing. It may be Gulf war 1, but I am sure the extra stowage modifications did not get fitted until the late 90's. The bloke at the rear of the vehicle is wearing a black watch TOS as seen by his red hackle. The call sign is 33A which was that of the CSM, assuming it is his vehicle. The Black Watch deployed on Gulf War 2 in Warrior AFV's and the CSM would have had been in a 432. As for the mirriors we used to take them off for Ops so not unusual to see them missing. The stowage mod consisted of the roof basket, side stowage boxes and rear boxes mounted each side of the door, these rear boxes contained other modifications that required extra stowage space. I think the last FV432's came into servie in the late 70's so the vehicle is old but would have been throught the normal base repair scheme every 7 years. Updated and updated to the condition you see it in the photo.

I'm sure the vehicle ID plate is mounted on the hull inside the turret ring. Can't remember which side, but it should be in view with the gun in the crutch. The Veh ID plate is approx 6 inch wide and 4 high normally silver in colour and may have some black sections on it. Good luck.

Never ran one outside the vehicle as with the fire walls removed you could see everything and get to just about any part requiring work. You would need some sort of oil feed and return system the basic electrical connections and depending on how long you want to run it for a decent coolany system bypass pipe.

I remember Lionheart well. Bad few weeks prancing around Northern Germany hiding in woods during the day and fixing vehicles at night so that they were ready for action again in the morning. I was with an Artillery Regt at the time working on M107 SP guns but ended up helping out Cheiftain units a couple of times as we had worked on them before. Happy days.

As a VM working on Cheiftain tanks in Germany we always used to carry good old 10 Pfenning coins in our toolboxes as they were great for hyd pipe repairs. I got home after many an exercise by gas welding/soldering 10 Pfg coins onto hyd pipe unions. Simple took the union off, remove the broken pipe (usually had a hole worn in it after rubbing itself to destruction) solder a coin inside the union and refit once it had cooled down. The system was then closed again even if we had a lack hydraulics, it was after all all about getting home in time for the weekend. Brakes pipes were a real issue, but then again trying to stop a tank with the sh11ty brakes they were fitted with was not easy anyway, so taking part of the system away by blocking the lines made little difference, you could always crank the handbrake on in an emergency!

As everyone has said, vehicles were painted by the blokes so no great science was ever put into the patterns. I did once get a boll**ing for painting the wheels of my tracked Veh in both black and green as i thought it looked good. Wheels should be one colour or the other. We were always told to make sure the corners were black but he majority of the vehicle was to be green.

Greetings all, I would like to introduce myself if I may. As you can see from my avatar my user name is Tiffy_Massive which is a nick name I was give many years ago when serving with the Queens Royal Lancers LAD REME. I am or rather was a Vehicle Mechanic "A" in the REME for 22 years which for those of you that do not know means I had the pleasure of maintaining the British Army's Armoured vehilces all around the world. I have worked on the following vehicles over the years since joining in 1980: M107 & M578, Stalwart, Leyland Recy Veh, L/Rover series 3, B/Ford RL & MK Chieftian MBT & ARRV Chieftain AVLB & AVRE, CET, L/Rover Defender, B/Ford MK & TM, Foden Recy Veh Centurion MBT & AVRE FV 432 Mk 1 & Mk 2 Challenger 1 Challenger 2 CRARRV Warrior CVR(T) I have probably missed a few, but age has dimmed my senses. I have had the fortune of working with some fantastically talented tradesmen over the years and like to think I learnt lots from these guys to the point where I became the bloke to ask. I am still very much interested in older vehicles and do take great delight on seeing some of our older vehicles still being used today in whatever form.