matchlesswdg3

Lovely stuff, Ron! Interesting story of perseverance. Only question is.......what (non motorcycle) challenge next?!

Yes, thats correct, Richard. When you use the online booking form, you will see that site availability starts from the 17th and you choose your arrival date. I am pretty sure that like last year, actual arrival and departure will work the way it always did and the organisers are just trying to encourage folk to stay for the duration with their usual level of diplomacy! "Flogging will be continued until morale improves"

The piggyback modified vehicles have cutaway rear body sections so that ramps can be fitted and the mating ritual involves one Landie being driven on top of the lower one on the pallet. On the ground, the upper vehicle is then just driven off the lower. There is an article on this, with photos, in 'Land Rover Military Portfolio' by none other than Bob Morrisoon. Found a photo that shows the arrangement.......

Caption compo' to the above pic? "Its not how big it is; its what you do with it!" Presumably the War and Peace website will be fully revised in line with the new venue.......I hope so, because currently the featured road convoys would be about 120 miles of driving to get down to Hythe and back! Mind you......

Hope someone gets out the Strimmer before July as those Hop Farm thistles will have been multiplying!

There was (still is???) a Series 1 Land Rover on the Falklands with a very distinguished history, being, I believe, the only Land Rover (as at 1975) to have been used in Antarctica. It was purchased very secondhand from a Porsche race team in UK in 1972 and landed on Stonington Island on the Antarctic Peninsula in 1973. It was not really very practical with crevasses confining it to use on the rocky island itself and it was shipped out and left in the Falklands in 1975. Must see if I can find a photo of it. Wonder if it lives, still, though life on the Falklands is very hard on Landies.

The MW I sold on last year was wired up to a conventional trailer socket hidden under the back board and with a clever demountable hitch that fitted on to the original towing bracketry. Alas, I have no photos, but it can be done anyhow. Safety cable? Well you need a secondary method of attachment should the ball hitch fail, usually accomplished by a simple cable between the trailer and an eye on the chassis or towing bar inboard of the ball. Unless you are towing a trailer that has brakes?? I was just towing a motorcycle trailer although I understand the PO trailed a caravan, which must have made for slow progress on an MW!

Wonderful video! Thanks for posting.

And if you look closely at the sequence where the "special" bombs arrive on their bomb trolleys, what looks much like a white Austin Mini passes by at the end of the road! Good fun.

Been a while since I watched this film and had forgotten just how good it is, at least if you like Mosquitoes and sundry British WW2 vehicles! Excluding the pre-CGI models used in the bombing close-ups, the flying sequences are wonderful and you get to see four Mozzies flying together. In one scene where the home airfield is strafed by a pair of Messerchmitts (not 109s though), a Mosquito and a Bedford tanker go up in flames......then another Mozz cras lands.......presumably they were at least non-runners, but I doubt that would happen now! Only problem I noted was that the base runaround Jeep they had sounded like its engine was about to expire! Motley lot of German M/v's as usual, including a Saladin (?). But overall, a real treat. When are we going to see a Mozzie flying in UK again?

I gave up on my CMV sub' some 12 months ago. The content balance is never going to wholly please everyone all the time bearing in mind the diverse readership, but I found it increasingly inaccurate, superficial, and badly written......real potboiler stuff, IMHO. So I am really hoping next year brings a welcome new lease of life. There will always be a place for "Buyers Guides"......,even on Landies! Surely this brings in the new blood, so a bit of patience from the old lags is maybe warranted......as long as these articles are well researched and properly informative. Me......I really like restoration tales. My fingers are crossed that CMV will be back on my doormat soon!

Ron can give you chapter and verse on the 3HW. Anything you should be wary of? Yes......someone stealing your very nice bike! Looks lovely.

Stef, you should have a look at the BSA M20 site which caters for all British WW2 WD bike makes and is frequented by a couple of people who may have the parts you need, although they will not be cheap! There is a forum you can post your query on....or use the For Sale part. They will also be keen to get your bike's details for the WDG3L register. http://www.wdbsa.nl

I should add regards those rubber motorcycle cable ties, the quality of "rubber" seems to vary (as it does with most repro rubber bits, in my experience) and I have had batches that are like soft cheese! Also, where their application is important, I use a modern nylon ziplock tie underneath the rubber one!

These are what we use as cable ties on WW2 WD motorcycles........ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quantity-10-X-John-Bull-Type-SILICON-RUBBER-Cable-Ties-Vintage-Classic-Bike-BSA-/322025691585?hash=item4afa3a19c1:g:9J8AAOSwAYtWKQOn

But bear in mind that if someone shunts you up the rear at say a road junction or roundabout when you are stopping or slowing, you are at risk of insurance hassles..........if you survive the encounter, of course! Decent lighting for riding on public roads needs consideration.....daytime or nighttime.

Yes, agree with Richard on the paint. Truly matt paint is not weatherproof and the shine on the eggshell finish you have now will dull down over months and with use. Also, BigDuke, buying lots of bits that are wrong is what you have to do! How do you think we all amass our stock of "spares"! Another point that has caught me out more than once is that for the WD Matchless, there were many small changes made to the parts and ancilaries fitted, so comparing your bike with another pukka WD bike can be misleading......both bikes may be correct for the period assembled (or wartime repaired, for that matter).

http://www.rlcarchive.org/VehicleSrch

Point is, its worth knowing that you ARE breaking the rules and on that basis can decide yourself what you are prepared to risk. Especially re invalidating insurance claims..........eg if (gawd forbid) you get rear ended by someone on their mobile. I am not sure my Matchless is road legal, as it has a blackout fitted on the headlamp, but then I do not ride it at night and I do have a decent tail light that at least indicates when 1.5 inches of drum brake are being applied via the might and power of a length of stretchy wire! Some would say that the brake light is the only indication that a WD Matchless has its brakes on!

It is worth noting that a genuine WD tail light is NOT legal in UK as it does not light the number plate or have a stop light. Yes, your bike does not have to pass an MoT, but be aware that riding a motorcycle on the road in an illegal condition could render any insurance claim invalid. You could also collect a fat fine and more unfortunately, a faster vehicle up your rear end!! So, fine for display purposes, otherwise beware!

The prices are truly bonkers! There appears to be a netherworld populated by people with a great deal more money than knowledge who see these things as investments........which I guess they are, in that netherworld. Unfortunately some of this nonsense trickles down to the real world where real owners not only have to be able to afford to buy vehicles, but to fix and actually run them.

impressive.....and truly heroic given the conditions you are working in!

Never bought direct from Withams, but unless you have inspected the vehicle or had someone check it over, buying direct from them suggests that a large dose of luck will be useful!

There are a few suppliers of ex military land rovers who buy from the MoD's agents and renovate them to sell on to the public, so possibly a ready (if expensive way) to buy a reasonable vehicle. Some suppliers just sell them as cast by the Army. Have a browse through Milweb. In my opinion, you get the best vehicles at reasonable cost by buying from a private enthusiast. Making contact with the ExMilitary Land Rover Association is a good way to tap into private owners. They have a website with vehicles for sale. Milweb also will have a selection of privately owned vehicles for sale. Price? How long is a piece of string? But you should be able to get a good basic vehicle for around the £5000 mark these days.........less money for vehicles needing work........much, much more for more exotic beasts!

Yes, its the same people......and order spares.......makes application less stressful! I use Halfords ethanol proof laquer to cover them, applied with a soft brush.