Tom M

Hi, The first line is the Aschurch Vehicle depot where all incoming vehicles are receipted and inspected by the MOD when they are delivered. Not sure what the second line is, The third line looks like the struck off records line when the vehicle was disposed of. Hope this helps.

Thanks Mike, I will google it and see what comes up.

Hello, I am seeking advice about insuring a vehicle during transit; I am about to ship a Universal Carrier to the UK from New Zealand. I think I read on the forum somewhere that one should insure the vehicle during shipping in case it is lost at sea (We lost a prototype MBT in work recently when the cargo bay it was on was flooded by ship's Captain to prevent the ship capsizing!). Does anyone have any experience or advice. Is this insurance necessary, or is it provided by the shipping agent? If it is required can anyone advise where to get it. My normal insurance broker didn't have a clue. Many thanks.

I would be interested to know where the gliders were pushed off, as I live near the end of the Lyneham airfield and rent a few acres on the outskirts of the airfield. By coincidence I have an original airborne Jeep in my garage as well.

Hi, A friend of mine has one and half trailers in pieces in his shed. The half trailer has all the pieces, he was very festidious about preserving all the fittings, but body rotted away. We originally planned to rebuild them both using the first as a pattern, but I haven't the time and luckily came across a restored and original one. I will ask him if he is interested in passing it on.

Hello, I don't know whether the collective would consider me 'young' anymore as I’m now in my mid thirties, but I don’t believe there are as many people of my age or younger that are currently active in the military vehicle hobby, compared to the number of those of older generations. I have been looking to invest some money in WW2 vehicles rather than put it all in a pension pot. The thinking being that based on past trends the value of WW2 MVs was likely to steadily increase and I get the added bonus of actually enjoying the vehicle at the same time., selling it when I could no longer drive it or needed to release the capital. I have been looking for a Universal Carrier for just over a year now. Thankfully there are no shortages of vehicles available, but prices are silly for what they are. I put a post on this forum in November last year and subsequently was offered 3 carriers all for roughly the same price, circa £35k -£40k. I declined to purchase any of the carriers as I agree with those that say the market has probably peaked. My thoughts were exactly those have been expressed here - Who are the next generation of MV enthusiasts and will they be able to afford to spend in excess of £40k on a luxury toy? Hence, I questioned the validity of WW2 vehicles as financial investments. A vehicle is only worth as much as people are prepared to pay for it. The generation of MV owner's who I am familiar with from the show scene, probably all grew up with parents or grandparents who served in WW2, or Korea, or did National Service, or maybe even did National Service themselves. They may have got into the MV hobby as a way of connecting with their families past, vehicles were plentiful and relatively financially accessible. However, it is a different world now. I think the next generation is more distanced from family members who served in past conflicts, and so I don't believe there is the connection to the vehicles they drove that there once was. We/they haven't grown up learning to drive a Jeep around a farm yard, or discovered time capsule MVs at the backs of barns. The younger generations see vehicles at shows, but they are behind ropes and no access signs. If the a flame of interest is ignited, it will be quickly extinguished when they learn how much it costs to acquire one. My concern is, bearing in mind the average age of first time home ownership is 39, where does the next generation of MV owner get the the expendable cash to buy a luxury toy? If interest in military vehicles decreases, it is going to be a case of supply outstripping demand and the value of vehicles are likely to decrease accordingly, with exception to the rare stuff. I consider myself to be fairly well off financially, I have the space for vehicles, but no time to restore them. I should be the target market for the WW2 vehicle owner looking to sell his restored vehicle. But I feel they are just too expensive at the current prices. That said, I believe the hobby itself is far from dead. There are many younger people involved in the re-enactment and living history scene and many successful events catered for them. Television series and films such as the Band of Brother’s, or latest Dunkirk movie will continue to spark interest. I am personally involved with the Garrison Living History Group based in Larkhill, which has members from a wide range of ages; from late teens through to veterans. Will the upcoming members be able to afford to take the step into vehicle ownership? At today’s prices, I don’t personally think so. So something has to give.

Hi, What part of the country are you based in? Can the bike be viewed? Do you have any more pictures; off side, rear and of the instruments? Do you know what work has been done to the engine and gearbox, and how much of the tin ware is original?

Hello again Gents, I have finally got into the workshop to dig out my ML? hubs. Here are some pictures of what I have. The first three pictures are what I am hoping are the correct (or near enough) hubs for the James ML (36 hole, the rear was on a WM0 rim, but it was shot to pieces), the 4th and 5th pictures are a 40 hole hub I am have spare, the 6th and 7th are another 40 hole spare hub, the 8th and 9th pictures are another 36 hole hub of unknown identity. If anyone could identify any of the hubs I would be grateful. Hopefully there two of them ML hubs. What I don't use on the ML are all surplus to requirements. I also have a 40 hole rear hub and rim (both that and the pictured rim in red oxide are on WM1-19 rims). Many thanks, Tom

P.S. What is so unique about the ML hubs? I've heard they were rubbish, but apart from that...

Thanks gents, I will get some pictures of the front and rear hubs with sizes. I have a couple of other front hubs amongst the gathered wheels. I will take some pictures of those as well. If they are of use to anyone to help finish another ML then let me know. I have a 40 hole front hub if it's any use to anyone with a flea.

Hello, I have a 1943 James ML project which has halted for a number of years awaiting wheel rims. Which has been frustrating as the frame and engine are good to go! After finding a single WM0 rim I had spokes made up but when I attempted to build the front wheel the spokes were too long. Which either means I've specified the wrong spoke length or the hubs are wrong. Can anyone tell me how to identify if I have the correct hubs. I also spoke to Hitchcock's Motorcycles today who have Flying Flea wheel rims (WM0) in stock and they informed me that the rim holes are drilled at angle to suit the wheel hub. Does anyone know if the Flea rim and ML rim are the same? I'm eager to get this project finished now as its been stagnating in the garage for more years than I can remember! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

I fitted LED bulbs to my Jeep; tail, brake, indicator and headlights. They come in standard bulb fitting configurations and 12V or 6V. They are the same brightness as the standard bulbs but use much less power. The headlight bulbs are brighter than the standard bulbs though. I've not driven at night yet to truly know how good they are.

Hi, If you're still looking for one I have a spare that was copied from my original that I'd happily sell. PM me if you're interested. Tom

Does Nigel Watson's book on Carriers (Vol 3) have an engineers drawing of the track? That should state the steel used in the casting. If no drawings exist a piece of NOS track could easily be laser scanned to create a CAD file, this could be used to create wax moulds for a lost wax casting process. I am not sure if there is a process to 3D print in wax. I know we 3D print Titanium alloys, but that is a bit over kill and a tad too expensive.

Thanks for the advice guys, I look forward to getting involved with the group, you sound like a helpful bunch. Sounds like somebody needs to remanufacture a new batch of track. If people have approached this before is there a reason why the project has never been taken to completion? I work in the AFV business, so know a few track suppliers, but I imagine Carrier track would be something any foundry could produce. Are there original manufacturing drawings of the track available, or any NOS track which could be reverse engineered?

That makes sense. I thought I had tried something similar before, but my sidelights kept coming on every time I braked, but I wired through the switch rather than coming straight off one of the circuit breakers. I will try that tomorrow. Thanks,

I suppose I could use the redundant black out driving light switch, but I was hoping to use that as a hazard switch when I fit the indicators. Does anyone know where to get the negative feed from? One of the light switch terminals or somewhere else?

Hello all, I am at my wits end with my Jeep wiring, but I am hoping that someone must have come across and solved this problem before. I am trying to wire a rotary light switch on my '44 Willys (I think it should be a pull switch, but it was fitted when I bought the Jeep), but I cannot get the lights to work as a modern car does, i.e: Brake lights working, no side or headlights. Side lights on, with working brake lights. Headlights and side lights, with working brake lights. If I wire as per the wiring diagram, with a few alterations to get the front BO marker lights and tail lights working together, all I can get is brake lights on their own or head lights, side lights and working brake lights. I cannot get side lights to work independently and have working brake lights. Every way I have tried ends up with no brake lights or sidelights which come on when I push the brake pedal. My description may be as jumbled as my wiring loom currently looks, but if anyone can make sense of it, how did you wire your switch so that you can drive with your side lights on and have brake lights that work? Many thanks, Tom

Thank you all for your replies, I will PM you when I get an opportunity. The Carrier community certainly seems like a welcoming and helpful group, I look forward to being part of it. There is a Carrier on Milweb currently (the complete one not the two hulls), but the price seems a bit high. I am justifying the cost of a Carrier based on it being a long term investment that will, when I can no longer get in or out of it, become part of my pension fund. Better to able to drive your investment than just look at it in a bank! Hence the price needs to be right. I have seen a couple of T16 Carriers for sale, but have read that they didn't see much service during the war. Perhaps that is why they generally seem to be less money. I don't want to take on a complete project as I know that with work and family commitments it won't get finished for years! I have no problem tackling mechanical rebuilds, and the REME museum is soon to be 5 minutes drive from my house so I may always have the option of help if I need a heavy lift. Does anyone know of a useful reference source to look at photographs of the various carrier marks. The rear of the Carriers seem to vary quite considerably in terms of stowage, towing pintle etc. Hope to speak to some of you soon. Tom M

Hello, I have admired the Universal Carrier ever since I built my first Tamiya model of one as a boy. Later in life, as an Officer Cadet at RMA Sandhurst, I read 18 Platoon by Sydney Jary; An account of the experiences of a platoon commander in the 4th Battalion The Somerset Light Infantry during the campaign in North West Europe in 1944-45. In his accounts the author recalls many stories of the Platoon's Carrier and writes very fondly of it. These accounts cemented by interest in the Universal Carrier and I decided that one day I would own one. I am now in the position that Carrier ownership is more of a reality, but there are very few around and those that are coming up are either seemingly very expensive or wrecks that appear to be nothing more that half a hull and a few bogies. To the lucky few who own Carriers; what are the pitfalls of Carrier Ownership? Are there any issues or hidden expenses that I should be aware of before plunging into light armour ownership, what is the spares availability like? How difficult are they to transport? I have a background knowledge of armour having spent 8 years in the REME working in Armoured units, and more recently designing AFVs, but I have never owned a tracked vehicle and this time won't have the benefit of calling up the Recovery Platoon when it inevitably breaks down! In the last 9 months I unfortunately missed out on the opportunity to acquire a Mk1 Carrier from New Zealand, at what seemed a reasonable price. What is available recently, and closer to home, seems to be in the £40-£50k bracket. Is this the going rate for a carrier now? Is there any information out there that I can swot up on, so when I do look at something I can recognise whether it is complete or not? I would welcome any advice from those of you who own, or have owned, a Carrier. Many thanks in advance, Tom M

Thank you gents. I will get in touch with John.

Hi, Does anyone out know how to contact Brian Laker? Last year he bought a vehicle from me and I have recently found a dating certificate and other paperwork relating to it that I need to pass on to him. I had a mobile number for him last year but it doesn't seem to be connected anymore. Does anyone out there know him, or the guys that restore Ferrets with him, and could pass my message on to him? Many thanks,

Thanks for the pictures of the exhaust. I can't quite read the diameter of the pipe, can you let me know the size? Does the flexible end screw onto the cylinder or the cigar case silencer with the butterfly clamp? Many thanks,

Welcome to civi street! What part of the country are you in?

Hi, Does anybody know how the 80 watt charging set was secured in the back of Airborne radio Jeeps? The designated area of the back floor isn't very flat, so trying to work out if it was just secured with footman loops, or if a purpose built frame was made as per the WS22 remote control unit etc. Also, does anybody have he dimensions of the charging set exhaust muffler? Any help greatly appreciated.