Tom M

I have heard that you can et the examiner to come out to you to do the exam, in the vehicle you will be driving, as long as it's roadworthy. You'd just need someone to take you through the test scenarios and somewhere to practice.

Hi, I did my H licence through Tanks A Lot, maybe 18 or so months ago, on one of their Argocats (small 6 wheel tracked thingy a bit like a quad bike), which cost about £500 if my memory serves me correctly. Unfortunately it looks like they have stopped running this course now and do it in a 432 instead, which is more expensive. If you're not familiar with tracked vehicles and you intend to drive one on the road, I'd advise attending a decent course that covers all the maintenance aspects as well, as if it goes wrong on the road it will do a lot of damage. The Argo cat was fine if that's what you're going to drive, or you have experience with larger tracked vehicles, but it's nothing like a military tracked vehicle in terms of size, visibility or damage potential! What are you intending to drive?

A quick scan over facebook last night looking for 15cwt forums came up with 2 WOTs which were sold on ebay in the last three to four months. I didn't even know they were up for sale. Damn, missed them both. One of which was a very original looking early aero screen vehicle, which would have been lovely. Someone got themselves a very nice vehicle. Where do people find is the best place to look for vehicles? Obviously, just watching MilWeb is not enough!

Hello Robert, Thanks for the advice, I'll keep that in the memory banks until I can find one. I have a Canadian Carrier with the same V8 engine and cooling system. Just had to have the radiator re-cored as it was like a colander! I filled the cooling system with expensive de-rust treatment and promptly spayed it all over the inside of the hull (and the people who were sat in the back (engine decks weren't on)). The radiator place said I shouldn't have any issues with over heating now as the modern cores are so much more efficient. Sounds like is might be worth doing to the WOT when I find one. I've always wanted to own something with a V8 engine in it as I love the sound. I thought the Carrier would tick that box, but because you sit right in front of the radiator and fan you are deafened by the fan noise and can't really hear the engine. Plus it's not a very practical road vehicle... From what I've heard from youtube videos of WOT2 Cabs you get just the right amount of noise (not that I've driven one in the flesh yet). Regards, Tom

Thanks for the info Gents. I hadn’t considered door width, doh! Was focussing too much on the height. I haven’t identified a WOT2 yet, just really like the character of the truck and and the size, and as it’s likely to be the largest thing that I’ll get in a garage, so it’s on my wants list and something I will look out for. Haven’t seen one for sale though in a long time. I do have a tool kit spanner though, so it’s a start 😁.

Thank you David, much appreciated. I'd better add a fair margin on the doorway height then. It would be sod's law if I find myself a WOT2 and then can't fit it in the garage!

Hello to all, particularly any WOT2 owners. I am about to put an order in for a timber garage/workshop. But before I do I wanted to check the height of the Fordson WOT2. The quoted height of the garage doors is only 1.9m and I have read that the Fordson WOT2 is 2.2m high. Can anyone confirm this? I don’t actually own a WOT2 unfortunately, but it is on my list of vehicles that I would like to own, so I don’t want to make the garage too small to fit one in. Confirmed height or experiences fitting one in a garage would be much appreciated. Regards, Tom

Hi Richard, No, I sprayed the Carrier with a gun, in Primer and then top coat with the R&R paint. No problems with that at all. But I sprayed one of my fuel tanks in UPOL grey primer can, then top coat with the HMG coach enamel in a can and it looked great, until the morning when it had all blistered off. It must be the thinners that are used in the HMG enamel rattle can that caused the problem. I'll spray it direct onto the bare metal for the fuel and oil cans to avoid any issues.

As an ex REME, I’d love one of those, but I think my wife would go nuts if I tried to keep it on the front drive!

I thought he might as well see a picture of the one he’ll hopefully be verifying.

Hi Richard, I used ready made spray cans from both suppliers, so the thinner was already mixed in. I’ll bear your advice in mind though when I spray the rest of my parts. I think I’ll use the HMG cans for the oil and fuel cans where a different shade would be beneficial.

Hello John, that’ll be my Carrier then. It has a lower hull number, an upper hull number and a serial number. Luckily as Mr Farrant says Ford helpfully stamped the serial number and date of manufacture on the front plate of the armour (see attached). Looking forward to meeting you. Regards, Tom.

Here's am idea of what the R&R services KG No3 looks like, but as people have said it changes a great deal according to the light. I can say that it's a pretty close match to the original 1942 colour. I also used the HMG coach enamel on my petrol tanks, it's also a reasonable colour match. But be careful what primer you use as it reacted with mine and bubbled up, and then you have to strip everything and start again (not bitter about that at all!!!).

I've been following your post whilst I finish off my own ML. I admire your attention to detail. I must say I'm a bit envious of how many NOS parts you've managed to find. I must have been looking in all the wrong places! I see that you're wheels are done, did you manage to find serviceable WM0 rims? P.S. I find Tracey Tools good for taps and dies.

Hello Gary, You have a very nice and original looking WD/CO, is it an early one? (Early type frame and rectangular toolbox). Regards the numbered flash, the green over blue is a Reconnaissance unit, but the 76 is normally allocated to Royal Artillery units.. I’m no expert but the Combination looks like it could be fictitious. I’ve attached an armoured division series of unit flashes, in case you want to correct yours. Regards, Tom

An extract from the paradata website: (does anyone know an equivalent to SCC No1A Dark Brown?). In imagery of airborne forces vehicles in the Second World War it is apparent a similar camouflage pattern is employed on each. The basis for the camouflage pattern painting of military equipment is contained within Military Training Pamphlet (MTP) No 46, Part 4A: Painting of Mechanical Transport. This pamphlet, issued on 27 November 1941 contained guidance notes on the problems and basic principles of camouflage pattern painting of vehicles and was issued army wide. It focussed on the observation of equipment from the air and how to counter act the upper surfaces reflecting light and the shadows contained or cast by a vehicle. To this end, the vehicle was to be painted a basic camouflage colour, either Khaki Green G3 or Standard Camouflage Colour (SCC) No 2 Brown. G3, however, was rapidly replaced by SCC No 2 as stocks of Chromium Oxide required to make the Khaki Green paint became scarce. The upper surfaces were then to be painted SCC No 1A Dark Brown to mitigate light reflection from above. A series of ragged edges were then applied to break up the demarcation between the dark topsides and basic coloured sides. The shadows on the lower half of the vehicle were then extended and absorbed by the addition of SCC No 1A, again with a ragged edge. This produced vehicles with a distinctive camouflage pattern, based on 3 authorised variations: 1. Foliage Pattern: A series of vegetation shaped lobes forming the ragged edge. 2. Dappled Pattern: A series of blobs forming the ragged edges. 3. Dry Brush Pattern: A series of dry brushed marks to form the ragged edge.

Hi Pete, thanks for the complement. The inside nearly looks as good as the outside, just the driver's compartment to strip and paint. Yes, it's War Paints KG No3, in 15% satin. It was a bit glossy at first but has dulled down nicely now. I wanted to get another supplier to mix it up in a high quality matt, which wasn't water permeable, but they couldn't match my sample in time. The War Paints version was given the thumbs up from Mr Farrant apparently so I went for it. It's a pretty close match to what's on the vehicle and some NOS parts I have. It looks more original when it's dirty! I'll bear your comments re the colour tones in mind when sourcing the second colour, just got to work out whether brown or black?

Thanks Pete, I'll go and look for them. As you say, it's difficult to definitively say what colour is correct. And once the vehicle made it to a theatre of war rules may have been much less stringently adhered to. Once it was in use you probably would be able to see the base colour for dust anyway! I managed to find a series of colour pictures taken at the Guards Armoured Training Wing in Pirbright. Being Guards they would have adhered stringently to official instructions no doubt (interestingly I was posted to Pirbright for a year as an instructor, no Churchill's to be found though). The pictures look original to me rather than colourised. The Green looks like KG No3 and matches the shade of my Carrier. I'm assuming the dark colour is dark tarmac, which looks like a dark grey/black. It looks sprayed on as well, rather than brush painted by the crew. My Carrier in KG No3 for comparison.

Thanks for the link, that's a very interesting pattern Bruce has, it must have taken him ages. The Carrier next to Bruce's in the film, is the one I'm now working on. I bought it from NZ a few years ago.

Any advice on colour schemes? I’m looking to apply a camouflage scheme to my 1942 Mk1* Carrier, using as a point of reference the official training video on Carrier weapon handling on YouTube (still shot attached). I’m assuming the base vehicle colour is khaki green no3 (which is the original colour of my Carrier), what would the second colour tone be? I’ve seen reference to dark green no4 and dark tarmac? Would the second colour have been applied by brush in units, or sprayed by a base workshop? Many thanks, Tom

PM sent.

My Canadian Universal Carrier is fitted with a gearbox from a WOT6 (Part No on the casing is:WOT6 7006 17H), so the WOT6 gearbox is definitely compatible with Carriers (that or my gear ratios will be completely wrong!). LWD Parts has some gearbox spares, under the Carrier and Ford CMP sections, which may be suitable for you.

Hi, I’m not sure on the exact rules for the 430 series, but with most AFVs with auto gearboxes you normally have to remove the shaft between the final drive and gearbox if you’re going to tow it any great distance or speed as you can otherwise overheat the gearbox. But as long as you’re in neutral and only drive slowly and short distances you will be fine towing it as you describe. There will be plenty of 430 experts and ex REME mechanics though who can confirm.

Hello Tom, I have a Canadian Mk1, and can get access to some of the boxes, but I don’t know if the Mk2 is different. Also have a mk2 BREN box on mine which I can measure up. Regards, Tom M

I am very near completion of my wartime James ML, which I have owned for over 10 years. It was sat in boxes for many years, awaiting a set of wheels, then when the wheels were sourced it awaited free time. With a recent injection of effort recently, I’ve just finished building the wheels up and was determined to get the bike on the road in the next few weeks. However, I’ve just trial fitted the carburettor and found that when the engine came back from the machine shop 10 years ago, it came back with the wrong inlet manifold, so I’m stumped. Does anyone have a spare inlet manifold that they would be willing to sell or swap, to help me get this bike finished and back on the road? The part I’m looking for is circled below. Unfortunately the one on my engine doesn’t have the 45 degree angle, so the carburettor sits at a 45 degree angle, which won’t work. Any leads would be greatly appreciated. I’ve scoured eBay, and asked Villiers services, but no luck so far. Many thanks, Tom Millward