attleej

Simon, My counsel is that you are approaching the task in a very methodical manner. You are using special tools when necessary. You are consulting others including the Explosion Museum and, whilst rare, it is not the Lost Ark. You are not going to negligently muller anything or apply disproportionate force. If you did accidentally damage anything, there is very little that cannot be remanufactured, repaired, drilled and tapped oversize etc. My understanding is that, whilst a fully armed torpedo obviously makes only one run, the practice torpedoes would be used several times and therefore would be overhaulable. As for running it, for the reasons that Richard described, there might be problems using it with a vehicle or without a constant load. Since it has very limited rotating mass and is very powerful, it would over-rev and blow up due to centrifugal force (I know, there is no such thing!). However, given your maritime experience, you could mount it underwater (either at sea or some other suitable place) with a suitably sized propeller to absorb the power. You might need to have a slightly different fuel and / control system but that need only be temporary. In concept, I wonder if it is more a motor driven by compressed air and by letting some fuel into it then gets even more power as a two stroke diesel. I would carry on giving it a 'base overhaul' with a view to running once or twice and then putting it into deep preservation along with records of all that you have learnt. John

Simon, The special tool for the cam plug is in the post to you. We all cannot wait to see what is revealed next! John

Dear All, That last post from Mk3iain is invaluable and I was not aware of the exemption 2, "2. Vehicle is over 25 years old and is not used commercially for carriage of goods." I thought that recent changes in Tachograph rules meant that my 1981 Contractor Tk Tptr had to have a working and calibrated tacho. I was wrong! I use a tacho for two reasons; The first is to be able to prove that appropriate breaks were taken. The other is for fuel consumption and performance records. It is very useful to know the average speed of the transporter and journey time for a particular leg. With the Contractor these are very consistent down to the nearest minute. John

Andy is right. Any armoured fighting vehicle will give lots of engineering challenges and fun. Hot starting problems with a the FV430 range is not something to be worried about. If it does present with that sort of fault there is something slightly wrong and it should be attended to. Out of interest, I am working on John D's FV424 and we had a partially blocked filter on the pick up tube . The tank has already been reduced in size to give better access to electric fuel pump. I am now in process of mounting the pump NEXT to the tank and fitting a shut off valve so that the pump can be attended to without having to partially drain the fuel tank. John

John, As others have said, check for glaze on linings. As for air brake system pressure, this is crucial. Make sure that the unloader valve is cutting out at, at least, the maximum pressure stated in the manual. I have an EMER and can look it up if you need.the correct figure. I think that it should be at least 100 psi. The next point is to fit an air pressure gauge to read the pressure at the front air actuator cylinder. It is possible that a relay valve is not applying absolutely full pressure to the front cylinders. With the brake pedal fully depressed, you should get full reservoir pressure at the cylinders. John

Simon, I have made the tool and posted it to you. It should arrive tomorrow (hopefully). Pics of tool are below. The reduced size on the end of the lever handle is to accommodate a 3/4 drive extension. John

Simon, I have made the blank for the special tool. Unfortunately, my smallest dia end mill is 3/16 and it takes out too much material, ie the other teeth. I have got a smaller end mill on order. It will not take long to make the tool when I get it. It would be possible to make a tool to clean up the threads. I should be able to do it but neither of my two lathes has a working thread cutting facility and so I cannot offer to make such a tool. John

John is right about liner corrosion on Rolls Royce engines. With an Eagle, which is very similar to C range, it MUST be run with 50% antifreeze. Obviously good quality A/F. I am sure test running it without would not be a problem. Rolls also supplied a corrosion inhibitor for use in sunnier climes. John

Simon, If you could draw or sketch what you need, I am sure that I could make one from what tools I have got.in stock. I love making special tools! John

Mark, It looks to me to be more of an unloader valve than a governor valve. The latter stops the compressor from compressing and is often found with a Cummins engine. Given that you have plenty of space I would think that any suitable unloader valve could be adapted to fit. The only thing that matters is cut out pressure and that is normally adjustable. If you need me to machine an adaptor I can do so and post it to you. John

Yes the axles of the jeep dolly are closer to the Contractor but it is still a dumb set up. Firstly because it looks as if the trailer is mounted onto the jeep dolly by means of a double oscillating fifth wheel but the jeep dolly is also mounted the same way. That is why the unit is still on its feet but the trailer is over. Secondly because of the axle spacing arrangement is so daft. It is a good thing that our UK Department for Transport is far more sensible and our heavy haulage regulations work well. John

Dear All, As far as I can see this is a really dumb design of tank transporter developed to meet equally foolish civilian heavy haulage regulations.. No doubt the prevailing regulations provide for low axle weights and a wide spread. It would be fine for wide open roads of Australia or North America but absolutely hopeless in many parts of the world. What happens if in a tactical situation you need to reverse and turn around? John

Bob, Thank you for the photo. I take it that is the rear view of the limber. Is the ammunition stowage on or in the quad for individual rounds as with the limber or is it specially designed to take ammunition boxes? John

Bob, Just what I wanted. Make sure that you have the right export licence as the OGEL might not cover this vehicle. I am sure that you know what you are doing! John

Dear All, A Morris Quad is designed to tow a limber which in turn tows the 25 pounder. Does the limber have special holders for each round of ammunition or does it just conveniently hold ammo boxes containing rounds? More important is the same question in respect of the Quad itself. Does the quad have a winch? Any pics of ammunition holders in the Quad would be very helpful. The information is important and I need it in my professional capacity. John

Dear All, I have acquired an old Hyster S40C forklift fitted with a Continental LPG engine and Monotrol gear-box.. I have now got it running. I need a repair and operating manual. (I have the engine manual available). I know that they can be downloaded of the internet but many of the sites appear to be dodgy, ie they are "free" which is always a bit worrying.. Which is a reliable site for downloading manuals even if they have to be paid for? Alternatively, does anyone have a manual for sale or copying (even if it is a similar machine)? Finally, does anyone know if the transmission oil level should be checked with engine running? John

Dear All, Does anyone have a wiring diagram for a Scammell EKA recovery vehicle? I am particularly interested in the front and rear lights. John

The EMER for the Gun tank say 810 BHP at 2800 RPM and 1580 FtLbs torque at 2000 RPM. It is interesting that a Meteor has quite a lot of grunt at idling. The Conqueror ARV will neutral steer with the engine idling. The REME museum's Cent ARV has rubber pads on track and so will generally require a touch of throttle to neutral on tarmac. The cylinder heads on the M120 and the Meteorite are very different from a IVB with its more direct Merlin ancestry. As for he exhaust ports, they are different but I have no idea if they are better or not. John

Dear All, Here are some photos of the Conqueror ARV: These were running around Slab Common a few years ago This was doing work on the rear spade at Bordon in the museum. The frame in front is the Antar's winch / fifth wheel sub-frame, This was testing the winch. I have never seen a photo of a Conqueror's spade embedded into the ground. This arrangement will resist a pull of 135 tons. This is the engine when I thought that all I had to do was replace some inlet valve oil seals. This shows rust damage due to not running the engine. This is a look into the ECU box that controls the electronic fuel injection. It controls 24 Rover V8 injectors. There have been several iterations of this ECU. This is the rig for lifting the cylinder block off the pistons and crank case. The long studs attached to the cylinder head ensure that the block is lifted up square. The engine is rotated and fixed 30 degrees from horizontal to allow for a vertical lift. When I found that the crank had to come out I then had to make a rig to rotate the engine 360 degrees. LOL. Nearly off! Two of the end, or corner, studs were broken off. The plan is to drill and tap the remains of the stud. The drill jig is ensuring that the stud is drilled absolutely central and vertical. I now have to strip down a scrap IVB to get a better bottom end. Unfortunately I will not be able to start this work until December.

Bill, If you did not want to use screened AFV / aircraft sparking plugs you could use a military distributor and take the ordinary leads out of the distributor cap. It may be that you want the engine to look completely like a civvy B81 which we would all understand. The Dennis F8 fire appliance had a B80 or B81 engine. (I don't know which) But it might have had a civvy type distributor, so the fire engine community may be able to help. If you wanted best performance, reliability and efficiency, go electronic! However, you might have originality and appearance issues. There are several specialists in this area. Jolly Engineering is often mentioned on this forum. If you wanted to chat about the problem my mobile is 07528 263 926 John

Dear All, You cannot make a better claim than "I designed it"! However, I don't think that memory is serving David very well. IMHO the last British heavy military vehicle not to fitted with Defence Eyes were the Leyland Martian and the AEC Militant Mk 1 and II. In the case of the latter it had lifting eyes only. If you tried to tow or winch on them they simply tore away because the fasteners taking the load were simply too few and to small. In the case of the Foden 16 tonne 8 X 4 and 6 X 6 range, they would simply not pass the recovery assessment tests at FVRDE Chertsey if they were not fitted with Defence Eyes. How would you recover a loaded 8 wheel tanker if you could not use holleybones connected to the Defence Eyes. The design and tolerances of the range of Defence Eyes is carefully arranged so that it is easy to connect up a tow, esp with the Holleybone system. An oddity is the Bedford TM 8 tonne. The largest shackle that will fit in its eyes is a 6 ton bow shackle. Thus the largest winch pull that can be applied is 12 tons. However, it is easy get an estimated pull (EP) of much more than that. The eyes should have been the next size up to take the 20 ton bow as in the case of the 14 tonne 6 X 6 Bedford TM. I hope that someone can come up with the STANAG of Def Stan. I do have a catalogue of recovery equipment for ref. John

Dave, Had a Diamond T model 981 with a Leyland Albion 900 diesel engine. I think that there are three options. 1. Overhaul the king pins and make sure that everything is perfect especially any thrust bearings that take the weight. Make sure that any weight or ballast in the ballast box is positioned so that it is al least neutral and not imposing any more weight on front axle. In 240 Sqn when I was a a young soldier if we on ly had two pallets of simulated ammo to carry we put them against the REAR tailgate. Who needs power steering! 2. All the advice above about power steer rams is good. However, the unit must come from a heavy vehicle and not an S type Bedford. One off a MkIII Militant or the same unit would be good. Contemporary sales literature can be helpful. You will obviously have to be careful about steering travel. This would be a good option as it would all look the same but be a bit easier to drive. 3. Fit a modern integral power steering from a modern vehicle.. There is a snag and that is that you will not be able to steer it at all if the engine stops turning. You would be able to 'dead steer' and the steering would be much more precise. John

Tamber, You have tried as hard as you can to recover the one that you have. I have got on that works if you would like to have it. John.

Dear All, I have been diverted onto other tasks but hope to get back onto the Conq engine next week. I will see if I can get the crankshaft and bearings out of the scrap and very seized IVB engine. Rick, All I wanted to do was the inlet valve oil seals! However, it is very interesting work, especially making the necessary special tools. It can take 3 hours to make a tool and then 3 minutes to use it. The engine has got to be put back together with all faults rectified. I could not live with myself if I did not get the job done. My hope is to have it ground running by Christmas. On the other hand if the economics staked up it might enable me to get the Conq running again sooner which would enable me, when at Lyneham, to address matters such as the track slack adjusters. (Why a proper tankie has never taken the mick out of me on that account I know not!). Could you PM me further details! Chris, The original fuel injection pump was mechanical and it would indeed have been the seals that let the fuel into the engine oil sump. With hindsight, it might have been easier to develop the necessary special tools and test equipment to overhaul the pump. However, the modern electronic fuel injection system has such huge advantages that I have persisted with it. Particular advantages are starting, cold running and fuel efficiency. Unfortunately, I cannot download the pics from my camera because I have lost the USB lead and my new laptop won't take the SD card. John

Max, I have the SEME (REME) precis on the ZF box fitted to the DROPS. H L Smith Transmissions know all about them. We do need to know the nature of the problem!. In service, the have done pretty well.. John