matchlesswdg3

Bill, the best way to experience Normandy is as part of a group which can organise travel, campsite, convoys, tours, etc.. Groups such as MVT and IMPS go every year and will likely have a branch local to you.

Yes.......you will find the DVD still listed on Amazon! Now there's something to stick on your letter to Santa!

Hummermark, I think it came from Amazon and it's a 3 disk set of "the complete series" put out by Network, although the series was a Yorkshire TV/Granada production.

Am now watching a DVD of the original series starring Roy Marsden set in the immediate post-WW2 period (demobbed Flight Sergeant with chips on both shoulders sets up a cargo airline). It's a treat for DC3 lovers and there is also a good variety of WW2 MVs.........Austin Tilly, Bedfords, Dodges, etc. Interestingly, a lot of these, while in running condition, are somewhat tatty which fits pretty well with their tired post-War demobbed condition in austerity Britain........they look more convincing than many of the immaculate glammed up show queens that you tend to see on films and TV now. Possibly indicates a combination of a fledgling historical MV movement where lots of cheap vehicles were still available and not much valued? Anyhow, it's a great show for spotting you favourite MV and not bad watching as a TV drama in its own right.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaxkLVtRY1U. Looks like it may be watchable and with what look to be highish production values, a good chance for MV spotting. Anyone here done duty as an extra?

The other thing to bear in mind is that the colour of original WW2 era paint will likely have changed quite a lot over the years due to weathering and handling, so comparison with fresh paintwork is possibly a futile exercise at least in terms of trying to get a good match. In any case, as Ron said, WD paint in WW2 was variable in shade according to pigments available. I understand that Canada could not get green pigment, hence Canadian brown. A case of near enough is good enough?

Re my mystery holes on L/R wheel arches.... "Could be for wheel skirts. My Artic FFR had canvas flaps that rolled down over each wheel and the screen." I wondered if it could be associated with camo net that was draped over operational vehicles on the move, with the holes in the wheel arch extensions being where the net was clipped in to stop it getting tangled in the wheels? The vehicle served with the Paras and it looks like it was used a lot of the time topless with the windscreen down, like a Pathfinder.

Thanks for all the comments, guys. I think these are useful for anyone just starting with their first MV, so that rather than immediately getting out the paint stripper, and filling in holes and dings, a bit of research is carried out. I am just sorting out my L/R and it's really satisfying to pore over old photos, find what you think might be the correct bit of kit and then finding the mounting bracket holes line up exactly with those mysterious holes in the floor and bulkhead that you thought were just going to let in water and needed plugging up! The paintwork is a bit scruffy in places, but it has a desert sand colour layer signifying it's time in Iraq, so that is staying. Likewise, the dashboard has been painted several times along with the metalwork and looks really scruffy, but I assume that was done because it was an air drop vehicle and likely would not have had its windscreen erected for much of the time. I am still trying to work out why each of the wheel arch eyebrows has five 8mm holes drilled along their outer edge! If anyone knows, do tell me! Camo skirts?

Or ask someone who actually used the vehicle in question in service. Usually provides fascinating insight.

The point I was making was about the danger of well-meaning over-restoration due to ignorance of what was being restored. If you intend to drive a vehicle it has to be safe of course, that is a given. Also, it is of course entirely your choice how you restore your vehicle, but hopefully it is on the basis that an informed choice is made. Back to the example I gave, I would have likely looked at the inner door panel of this Snatch and assumed that someone had either indulged in idle vandalism or a dog had been left inside to chew its way out! On that basis,I would likely have sourced a new panel and chucked away the evidence that the vehicle had been in active service and bore the marks of the way the SA80 was mounted and used.

While on the hunt for a Defender 90, I got talking to the owner of a well used Snatch Land Rover. Now I know a bit about Landies but really from the civvy aspect and it was interesting to get a guided tour of this Snatch. To the layman, it looked like everything was worn, dinged, dented and frayed but the owner was able to point out, for example, that the bad damage to the door liners was due to the way an SA 80 was stuffed into the door inner for ready use. Similarly, lots of other dings and scratches signified how the vehicle was used. It made me think, because if I had bought this vehicle, I would probably have just fixed it up with no knowledge of what the defects signified, thus losing its history. I wonder how much value in MVs has been lost by enthusiastic over-restoration? Clearly some vehicles just have to have a nuts and bolts bare metal resto' if they are too far gone, but maybe a lot of others have been made into just another shiny vehicle due to ignorance?

Having just acquired a Ricardo- modified Defender 90, I am keen to source information and good photos of these vehicles, built in 1991. It was a batch of 27, with Registration nos. 61KJ-- and are easily recognised by the demountable rear quarter panels (that allowed ramps to be fitted so that three vehicles could be stacked one on top of the other on a stressed pallet for parachuting out of a Herc for rapid deployment). I have an article by Bob Morrison on these and how they were deployed, but the photos are poor quality (in 'Land Rover -Military Portfolio'). Also looking for any equipment.....eg the ramps! According to an article in LRO International in August 2014, at least some of this batch were made into Pathfinder Landies with lots of bins and kit ...........like a green pink panther. Mine seems to have remained in GS form and seems to have been in Iraq based on a layer of desert sand paint, and its record card indicates service with 2 and 3 Paras. If anyone knows more on these beasts, please share! Thanks!

This title bugs me every time I read it! Trivial, maybe (note use of "maybe"!) but please change it to "I may [space] be stupid, but....". Please!:undecided:

I have now gone ahead and bought a 9x9 from Arthur, as advertised on Milweb. I got a "SuperGrade" one for £350 which is dated 2002 and appears unused! The poles and pegs are used, but all OK. And all provided with proper bags. This seems a very good deal compared to other suppliers and even private auction sales on eBay.

New regulations have indeed been rushed in for vintage jets. As usual, this in spite of the fact that for anyone attending or driving past an air show, the risk of dying from a car crash is hugely higher. Alas, the media's joyful feeding frenzy on a spectacular event drives politicians into being seen to do something. No money for making roads safer......:-(

Anyone bought a 9x9 tent from AAB Yorkshire who advertise in Milweb? Prices seem decent.

The display at Headcorn was a real blast........literally. I had to have the hair on the back of my neck surgically removed as I have not been able to button up my collar since then!

Adding to what Ron has said, a few years back I had a look round at buying a Norton to run with my Matchless and soon found that good Nortons are much harder to find than a good Matchless, BSA or even Ariel..........as Ron says, fewer survivors. My conclusions were as follows........The Norton name is attractive but the 16h is a very old design and inferior technically to other British WW2 motorcycles...........although they have their following. Parts are relatively hard to get and it was a very long running design pre war so you have a very high chance of spending your money on a real mongrel that would be expensive and hard to put right. I bought a very nice original Ariel instead. And that would be my recommendation .......forget the marque.......locate a good original and complete bike from someone you trust whether it's Norton, AMC, BSA, RE or Ariel. Your money would buy you any of those in an easy project state, ie something that needs a re-restore or straightforward fixes, but is worth doing.

Received my show "pack" today, although not so much a pack as a letter of welcome and a vehicle entry slip. No bumf this year it seems........no bad thing........no map for newbies, but I guess there IS the website. But there is a note that vehicle data forms will be issued on entry and a plea to fill them in...........which is not so good as I know many folk laminate theirs, not least because many vehicles do not have a cab with a windscreen! See you there.....I will be in the green truck and wearing green clothes. Ferg

Thanks.........yes I saw that one this morning after following up on the V8 suggestion. Will keep my eye on it. Are there any particular points to look out for in a V8? Cheers, Ferg

Thanks for those v useful comments. I have always fancied something with a V8 motor, although doing a re-engine job is beyond my skills and resources. I have seen a few V8 engine Lightweights, but I think those are more for off-road nuts rather than MV enthusiasts. So maybe I should cast around for an original V8 MoD L/R.

I would have thought that good ignition would be better for engine temps, but I recall hearing that modern petrol mixes burn hotter than those of yore. However, rad flushing is surely a good idea before having to resort to anything more drastic.

Interesting.......so what is a ballpark target price for a reasonable Wolf?

I had a nice but tired Lightweight several years back and I am looking for another Landie that I want to use more regularly, so reliability and a bit more speed and comfort are required. Any recommendations for a specific ex-military model? I think a 90 would suit me best and I really want something "interesting". A Wolf seems v expensive.......is circa £14k really the going price? Are V8s reliable? Am not too bothered about mpg. Any advice gratefully received. Cheers.

Dave, check out the BSA M20 website (find by googling)........there are some serious WD bike experts on there....Dutch as well, who can probably give you an answer. Ferg