OZITIM

This is a side by side seat trainer. Behind it was a standard fighter.

Back in 1993 we hauled about half a dozen of these planes off the run way at Biadoa in Somalia, to make room for the Australian armed forces. A huge warehouse also stored a collection of rollsroyce jet engines. I remember pushing a complete jet engine on a purpose built trolley across the warehouse and flipped it out the back of the warhouse into the mud. it was later dragged into a pile. The jets were pushed into the bush and left there. They would still be there today. Maybe one day someone might go there and collect them.

Karlsen is a man/woman of few words. Karlsen is clearly more of an actions person. I have high hopes that Karlsen will post some amazing posts in the future. Welcome Karlsen. Regards, Tim

It sounds like you need to push something with a few wheels, old and green into your garage. Regards, Tim

I have a couple of Ferrets and working on securing a Universal Carrier at the moment. Search DUKW on this website and you will see some posts that I have put on there of a DUKW for sale in Far North Queensland. Also take a look at this little business that runs, just up the road from where I live. Also check out OZITIM on youtube, and have a look at the Saracen project I ran a few years ago. http://www.rainforest.com.au/ Regards, Tim

I am option 'C. When reality TV shows come on, I log in.

welcome to the site. Buy a ferret first, a lot easier to work on. I ended up getting a Saracen first and then a Ferret. The Ferret is significantly less complicated. Also, the Saracen can be difficult to road register, given its width. I had lots of trouble in Australia, as the Saracen is 5cm too wide. Regards, Tim

The fifth bayonet down is definitely a Swedish 6.5x55 Mauser.

Me again! were those photos taken at the Ravenshoe military muster? I put a Saracen on display there years ago. They wanted me to take my Ferret up there last year or the year before. Its one thing to drive up the range in a Rover, and entirely different thing in a Ferret. Im in Cairns!

Now Im probably being a little pedantic, but the hardtop painted in Auscam in this picture. Where did that come from. When I was a captain at 51, I had the unenviable role of being the Cadet Unit Liason officer. We got sick of signing out our army rovers to them, so I raised some money, purchased a civilian hard top rover and painted in Auscam. I wonder if that is the same vehicle.

The landy in the last photo was used by our Regimental Police. It was the only vehicle taken to Somalia that was configured in that style. The reason why the RP's drove that particular rover was because the RP's had the role of caring for the Battalion mascot (Shetland Pony, the mighty Septimus). The vehicle had to tow Seppy's horse float around and for some reason they used that Rover, instead of a stock standard one. Your vehicle is from 51FNQR. That's interesting. I am aware that one of the 51 vehicles was written off due to an accident about 15 or more years ago. That was the only vehicle released at auction in that configuration. That vehicle went to auction and was deemed a write off. A gent by the name of Steve Kersly (nickname 'Surat') purchased the damaged vehicle and subsequently stripped it down bolt by bolt and then did a full rebuild to original specs. He had the vehicle for about five years and on sold it. Steve is a Queensland Police officer and I think is currently the officer in charge of the Kowanyama police station. It might be worth given them a ring to find out if its the same vehicle. Either way, he would have to be Australia's expert when it comes to these Landrovers. He is a great bloke too. Tell him that Tim White passed your name on. Regards, Tim

Hi Tim, Good to see another Tim in the world with this unhealthy obsession. From OZI Tim.

The somali gent with the glasses came to an untimely end, not the Aussie chap sitting on the Rover, He is very much still alive.

Ok, sorry to bore you with the photos, but here is another photo of Landrover. The Somali gent in the glasses was ranked the number two in the Somali terrorist organisation at the time. Second only too General Adid. Here we are posing as a senior military attache meeting and greeting with the local war lords. The gent with the glasses came to an untimely end two weeks after this photo was taken. We were all posing as senior ranking officers, when in actual fact, the guys he is talking too are all intel officers. I was merely the hired gun for the day, but managed to get a photo of the proceedings. Another successful mission for the Landrovers. Regards, OZITIM

The Stock Isuzu rover in central Somalia. Never missed a beat. Looking down the barrel of a capture T34.

I remember when these vehicles first came out. They were exclusive to the 51st Battalion the Far North Queensland Regiment, who I served with for three years, the Pilbara Regiment (Western Australia) and Norforce (Northern Territory). These three units were dedicated Army Reserve Units with small full time staff detachments. Employing mainly indigenous soldiers, these were pure long range recon vehicles designed to endure the rigors of remote Australian terrain. When they first came out, I was posted to the 1st Battalion Recon Platoon (fulltime) and we were issued with the stock standard vehicles. We hated and envied the Reserve soldiers with these show pony trucks. The Isuzu motored landrovers were great. We took them to Somalia and never had an issue with them. Great vehicles.

Use sand blasting Garnet.

And this is what happens to cletraks when the tracks deteriorate. They end up in a paddock and left to rot. One of these is complete and sitting under a tree minus the tracks. You can see some spare track pads have been unbolted and stacked on the track guards. The other one, laying out in the paddock, is minus the engine, but still has good running gear. A new set of tracks and these might be worth something again.

Whoops, sorry, forgot to add. Here are some photos of how the original cletrack tracks look.

there is a little cletrac community in Australia. Their are three that I know of within an hour of where I live. They are completely useless however, given that the tracks are completely deteriorated. If tracks were remanufactured though!!!!!!!!

Yes, I did that with some Ferrets I recovered from a paddock several years ago. The military agreed to transport them as a PR exercise. Easy when you have a bunch of MACK trucks and soldiers to drive them.

These photos are great! It really assists to get a bit of an idea of the work that would be required with the Mornington Amtrak. Interestingly though, the radial on the Mornington one, is surprisingly complete.

So very true. I guess thats why I put it up here, as a challenge to anyone out there that desperately wanted to recover and restore such a machine. But the temptation to put a project together to recover it is simmering away in my head.

Bingo Sam, thats exactly the one. Im in Cairns and its sitting on Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria as you stated. With regards to the Radial, I know where I can get my hands on an operational radial at Mareeba, so that wouldnt be a problem. Trucking it from Karumba, the closest port from Mornington to Cairns is pretty much a straight road with very little traffic, although its roughly 1000 klm distance. The thought of recovering it really appeals to me, and I have a very good mate in the ship building industry that would be able to assist with the rebuild. I just gotta think more about this.

A friend of mine has just sent me these pictures of a nice AMTRAK deteriorating on an isolated island in remote Far North Queensland. It is my understanding that these AMTRAKs were purchased by the then 'FNQEB', the Far North Queensland Electricity Board. I think this was back in the 60s or early 70s. As remote North Queensland is covered in jungle, swamp and a maze of rivers, the FNQEB purchased these AMTRAKs to help lay the electrical lines and carry poles through this inhospitable terrain. One of these AMTRAKs ended up at the Beck Museum at Mareeba and is in excellent condition. I am guessing that this vehicle is most probably another one of those FNQEB vehicles. My question to the group, What would one pay for a restored AMTRAK? I am running a range of logistical plans through my head and need some measure of the cost analysis of such an undertaking. As a minimum, I'm thinking a barge and at least a reasonable size bulldozer to tug it out of its hole and drag it to the barge. Then it would need to be hauled off the barge to the mainland and then to find a crane and truck that could move it on a public road and the associated cost of heavy vehicle escort costs ect. What are your thoughts.