Bandit

Seen it here in South wales too, I didnt know it was flying but by chance as I was coming down the stairs I looked out the landing window and spotted it in the distance, legged it down stairs, grabbed me camera in the hope it would circle around which it kindly did and managed to get a couple of distance shots as it flew along the path of the runway, a few small rolls from side to side then off into the haze, awesome :-D

On our ford marine engines years ago (basically the same) the excess fuel was a mechanical push button on the side of the throttle lever or stop lever (cant recall which) and a push to stop button on the control panel to actuate the shut down solenoid.

If all else fails try a squirt of ether (easy start) to see if it at least fires, if it dont fire or cough on that then ide be looking at stuck valves or stuck rings in which case some engine oil down the bores may help, at least if it does fire it will eliminate an engine issue and you can look closer at a probable fuelling problem, im not a huge lover of ether but for the last straw it has helped diagnose several diesel engine problems over the years.

Wow thas mad innit, personally I would blank plug the port that screws into and fit a peddle switch instead, the pressure on that switch when braking hard will be huge plus the small amount of air in the switch wouldnt bleed out. Glad your parking brake stopped you and all was safe.

Alot of it is about saving money and decreasing administration costs but also alot of it is about knowing where you are, had this discussion earlier today, also included within the discussion was how they can now pretty much well now thanks to anpr in real time map where you or at least where your vehicle is going, personally I dont have a problem with it but eventually all the data will end up in the hands of insurance companies for mileage confirmations and debt collectors who want to get hold of your car or something along those lines, the gvt will eventually say its all about security which can only be a good thing but it wont just be that, its a big brother thing. I recall when cctv first came about and how alot of people were complaining about big brother watching our every moves and invading our privacy, never bothered me one bit but 25 odd years on !! a news report last week was put out about how some councils are turning off alot of cctv camera's because of the cuts and that our streets will no longer be as safe as they used to be, how perceptions have turned around over the years eh. The second part paper bit of the licence I think was always stupid thing, an electronic chip in the licence as previously mentioned is a good idea and I can see why they included the 72 hr limit, it wont be long before we get licences with chips in them, tis a good idea personally :cheesy:

Having the same issue with my vehicle with dvla, vin decodes to the year of manufacture but they wont accept that, I have a cunning plan but family stuff is in the way at the moment, you could try these people http://www.american-auto-club.co.uk/ go to club info and services and scroll to relevant link, hope this helps.

Due to circumstances beyond my control I havent had much truck time for a few months but I do now know that the brakes are dual circuit but dont know yet the config, spring pots are on the front rear and hold brilliantly.

Construction and use regulations

According to this link http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_size_calculators.html the metric equivalent is 305/100 R20 but the nearest I can find to that size is 300/70R20 which is a tractor type tyre. I have spent hours looking for tyres for my truck, then realised I was putting the wrong info in the search, eventually I did find what I need in abundance, I dont know if im aloud to post a link to the tyre website so for now I wont but nothing is coming up with 12x20, there is 12-20 (crossply) or 12.00r20, someone else much more knowledgeable than me hopefully will be along to give more info

Probably by steam, there are people out there who specialise in tank cleaning, that looks like its had water in it and corroded but im looking on my phone so its a small pic, hope that helps a bit though :-) Tim

Regarding your olive problem, I have for years always had success removing most by gently tapping the olive with a lite hammer round and round, place the olive to be removed on some thick plate and gently tap the olive all the way around its outer circumference and you will feel it gradually come loose, a bit of practice and you will get the feel for it and have most off quite quickly, hope this helps, Tim.

Im seriously impressed, what an awesome machine, and have to say I am wickedly jealous about your workshop facilities, that strip down is an enormous task and very interesting too, something that I could really get my teeth into and enjoy every minute, makes my truck look a tad tiny :laugh: excellent thread too, cant wait to see this and other trucks in real life at some point hopefully. As an aside how old are the tyres on your truck ?? Im having a debate with myself on whether to replace some of mine or not.

The cosmetic details arent really a problem,, I have downloaded the C & U regs for guidance with everything including side protection, rear underun etc, most have been attended too however I am aware that further alterations may need to be made to certain things, there are exemptions and possible work arounds within the rules and to be honest I want to truck to conform or exceed as much as possible, the front wheels maybe an issue however they cant be altered so wing extensions may need to be fabricated, however there are at least two vehicles on our roads with the same front end setup so further research will be done here. I know and have all the weights, wheel and tyre sizes, vin no etc on the manufacturers plate thats on the truck and have a weighbridge certificate for its unladen weight so it could be downplated to 7.5 ton but that will be pointless as it could only realistically carry a Fiat 500 or something of that size. Side, front, rear marker lights/reflectors headlights, indicators arent a problem, the headlights and rear lights have been changed for uk use, the markers just need to be fitted. The 25 year age exemption from type approval for hgv's is the main issue, my truck is uk registered and is indeed 30 years old, however it has never been uk plated or tested or indeed used on the road, it was an unfinished project so to speak, an exemption is an exemption so I cant see why or understand why it cant be made to be fully roadworthy and plated and tested. I have also just read that there is currently consultation in place to remove even more hgv exemptions which include Breakdown vehicles, that actually doesnt apply to me as im seeking to have my truck tested so I can use it for my intended purpose ... I believe that no matter how the consultations go that these exemptions will be removed, its simply a matter of time that soonish, every vehicle built after 1960 will need testing of some sort which may leave quite a number of ex military vehicle owners like myself unable to use their vehicles, which will be a great shame, good ole nanny state eh !!

Good ole Ebay eh !! :shocked: Ebay and Vodka isnt a very good combination, gets you errr me into all sorts of crazy situations It had been advertised earlier and was soooo tempted but my sensible side kicked in and as there had been a bid already placed I didnt bother and let it go, and spent the next few days wishing I bought it, a couple weeks on I was away with the jeep offroading and an email came through on the phone saying an item had been re-listed, looked, and there it was, again, relisted, this time ... well its mine now haha, but proving to be a real pain getting it all legal, ive found out that as its over 25yrs old it dont need a certificate of conformity and its exempt from type approval testing ... great, problems solved or so I thought, DVSA still argue and wont plate and test it because of the braking system, which by the way are probably better than most newer trucks on our roads today, the Americans like the Russians and Germans dooo like to over engineer everything, and why not eh, my arguement is if its exempt from type approval, they cant refuse to test and plate it, unless ive missed something or they arent telling me something, or telling me something just so it wont be on the road, when I joked to the fella at Dvsa about it being around 7 ton of ornamental scrap, he said that that is what the DVSA would prefer as the overall outcome, they just dont want to deal with older vehicles on the roads.

Dyu know, last night I was so kind of down, talk about being a Victor Meldrew, drove the mrs up the wall, mumbling about here n there, everything was rubbish, didnt sleep much last night at all thinking about the darn truck and thats all ive done for weeks, probably because its all moving at a very slow rate, Bought it before october and only yesterday did the v5c arrive and thats wrong so they have to send another one any how I did actually think to myself that maybe it has been done, there are indeed numurous replaced brake lines and they work brilliantly except the rear rears but that needs investigating, all the lighting has been corrected (turn signals, dipped left etc) I dont know what would be different between the uk and american specs, I do have an idea but really I need to find out exactly what I need to do from someone who knows, now that is the hard part, searched the web for hrs and hrs but cant find any difinative information. The telephone conversation yesterday has made me even more determined :-)

Its never been taxed or tested ... I found out that as its over 25 years old its exempt from approval but Ive just had another conversation with DVSA and have been told the reason is although the vehicle is over 25 years old so is exempt from approval the braking system doesnt conform to european standards so cant be tested and obviously without a test it cant be driven legally. There are at least two other GMC's like mine with registrations on the road and quite a few American built hgv's (macks etc) on our roads as well so how they are tested I have no idea. Possibilities I guess is to make the braking system conform to euro standards, then seek voluntary approval, or change the vehicle use or construction so it falls into an exemption category. Gutted :cry:

Yes I have the v5c registration document, it came through today, took weeks but it got here eventually, It must have had some kind of approval to have a registration number surely.

On a massive downer now, its all turning into a huge mess and I dont understand how its ended up this way. I have been told by DVSA that my truck basically cant/wont be tested, its revenue weight is 7020kg's, there is no type approval or plate certificate on record, type approval wont be given as its an American truck, to be legal it needs a valid test certificate, and because of its weight it has to go to an approved HGV testing station, so how would the vehicle have a registration number if it hasnt been approved ?? There are alot of picture references to american vehicles of all types on British roads and yet to be told that mine isnt, cant or wont be compliant seems quite baffling. Im beginning to wish I hadnt bothered with it, talk about being disheartened, anyone have any comments or advice on this ??

Had a good day on sunday, weather held up fo a few hrs, managed to get the inner wheel arch (ns) off plus the two section wing which means I can get to the rot in the floor easier now the lower wing section coming off the front ns exposed parts in the shed, you may notice a smooth area on the large arch in the middle nr the floor, this will be a previous duck tape repair hidden with copious amounts of the evil underseal, what an absolute bodge, why oh why dont people just fix it right first time ?? instead of doing a total hash repair, its beyond me.

Rain stopped play for today doh, however I managed to notice that the pto will work again eventually, unfortunately the air engage and hydraulic system has been removed in its entirety, would have been nice to have that all original but Ill have to make do with putting a system together, the loading ramps are seriously heavy and even with spring assist I cant raise them so Im going to fab up some bracketry to fit a couple rams to do the work, which means moving the rear lights but the clusters can be mounted to the ramps. Bonnet pto and shaft

Got out quite early today, before 9am indeed and took a visit to my local truck factors and purchased these Truck rear end fettling Introduce some air tools I can get to work drilling, grinding and fast nut n bolt removaling and descaling the bed with a nailer, the bonnet is in my shed soon to be joined by various other cab bits for refurbishment. Dont have much access to electricity but with the onboard air I can get quite alot done.

The bonnet is bad, with the amount of wastage of metal its not heavy enough to crack around the hinge mounts lol, the drivers door is heading that way but salvageable moreso than the bonnet, the passenger door isnt too bad, the cab itself isnt in the best condition and if its got at now then easily put right, if left much longer then its going to be a big problem, its base colour is usaaf green, that is what was ordered and it sprayed in, what the colour is known as I dont know, as for mpg's Im not too sure, the engine is known as a "fuel pincher" as its a 4 stroke unlike most of the Detroit offerings which were awesome 2 stroke engines, I have done some research but there isnt much info out there so I gotta get my thinking head on to try and get hold of some proper manual servicing/maintenance info etc but from what I have read so far im looking at around 13/14mpg unladen.

The thought has very closely crossed my mind lol originally I was going to source a transfer box and front diff but that would be a bit extreme for my pockets cash wise as almost certainly they would have to come from the states. I have a few idea's how it will eventually look, much the same structurally but it is quite heavy without loading jeeps on and hitching up a caravan, all that will take me over 8.25 tons so I have two choices either the ole girl needs to lose some weight or I go for a C1, whatever happens I want to retain the looks and functionality but get it back to the original colour and smarten up the deck and ramps, think it will be just the ticket all polished up. First job is getting the bonnet sorted out, its badly rusted due to being coated inside and out with the horrendous black stuff which trapped moisture, will probably get one sent over from the states if I can find one, be a whole lot easier then fixing this one.

The Chassis has been around for years spanning 1966 to around 2003, this cab design was used from the 70's up to around 1991, this truck was built 1984 and completed by Michigan Mounting Corp 1984. For me this Truck is deceivingly larger than the advert pictures showed Put the Cherokee on board as a comparison. The drive line is seriously heavy duty, Eaton through tandem axle drive with difflock driven by a V8 Detroit 8.2L Turbo Diesel Fuel Pincher and Allison 5 speed automatic transmission. And yes initial caution to the wind was thrown and when I first seen it I sort of wondered what on earth I done but you know, you only live once and this is like a thrill ride for me so im so glad I have it, cant wait to get it roadworthy

A while ago I had the idea of turning my Jeep Cherokee into a truck/trailer queen, im always breaking it at offroad events and my other half is always worried how we are going to get home with a busted Jeep and caravan, so the search began for a recovery truck capable of carrying the Jheep and towing the van. I happened upon a vehicle whilst trawling the net which I truly lusted after, but my sensible head engaged gear and the vehicle was sold, unusually I would be sort of gutted that I didnt get what I wanted but on this occasion I wasnt overly bothered and didnt think too much about it, we went away two or three weeks after to an offroad event and I did have a little think that I wish I bought the said vehicle but once again it went out of my head, whilst returning from the event an email came to my phone saying an item I was watching had been re-listed, when I got home I had a look on the pc and found the truck I nearly bought had indeed been re-listed, this time I didnt let it get away. I was so excited, mixed emotions that I got it but also wondering what on earth I done, am I absolutely barkin lol ?? Anyway after a couple weeks and with the help of a highly recommended heavy haulage company the truck arrived at my place, the previous owner needed it gone from his yard but I was unable to move it as it would have been totally impractical and imprudent and illegal to do so, a call from the Boss of the haulage firm who I really didnt know suggested for no extra cost to lift and recover my truck to his secure yard and once a suitable backload was found they would transport my truck to me, I wasnt in a major hurry for it so I thanked him for his generous offer and drove up to complete my purchase and see the truck onto the step frame. Im not one for giving my cars or vehicles a name but this truck deserved one, meet The "Recovenator" Since I bought it I have really gotten into the idea of its military history not that I know about that, it is different to how it was, I gone military mad lol and Im really looking forward to displaying it at whatever shows I can make it too and I think the truck will be awesome once I have gotten it back to its original military colour that it was sprayed in from new which is hidden under the hideous matt black paint that has been thrown at it, the chassis and running gear appear to be in tiptop condition however the cab is in a bit of a mess and needs quite a bit of work. If its ok with the forum I will post up quite a lot of pics of the work as it progresses, I host the pics offsite so wont be taking up forum space, I have some more to put up but ill do this another time. Tim.