paulh Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Hello all, I hope you can help me !! After a considerable period of searching and pleading with powers that be ( and my other half ) I may be about to acquire a Shorland SB401 in need of ( ahem ) a little tlc. My problem is that it seems that Clive Elliots excellent Shoralnd website is no more and information just does not seem to exist. I am trying to get hold of ANY photos of SB401's either in service in Ireland or when they were demonstated in some fantastic paint jobs at the various military shows in the 80's. Does anybody have any pictures they could share to assist in the rebuild or know of any service manuals. An ex RUC officer said the manual was "get in , drive " the end. I cannot as yet show any pictures or give any further details as I am still negotiating for the vehicles release. On another note I recently took a trip to France with the intention of purchasing an armoured vehicle over there. The French authorities are quite willing to help but traders on the ground are not as there is "too much paperwork" involved. All military equipment can now be classed as "material of war" and requires state approval to export or sale. Strictly speaking this can be anything capable of transporting weaponry even if it is not mounted directly to it. Beware !!!! Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Paul. The Shorland site was pulled by the chap who set it up for me, for reasons I don't understand & I have been unable to communicate with him. There was a parallel problem with the collapse of Ferret Heaven. There are plans to set it up elsewhere with copies of all the previous photos & data which have been passed over. I have a copy of the SB401 handbook which was on site but I have the scans somewhere. What degree of rebuild is required automotive or fittings & fancy bits? I have quite a lot of Shorts & RUC pictures. Is this SB401 an ex-RUC one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 Clive, yes it is an ex RUC one and although it looks awful closer inspection shows it to be in pretty good condition. The RUC I am led to believe had very few of these and were using lots of different variants at the same time. I am not entirely sure whetehr to do it up as an RUC vehicle or as a Shorts demonstrator model. The main reason for the latter is that there were some superb paint jobs I understand which totally change the way the vehicle looked. Pimp my ride !!! I had to find a vehicle that could be used " to go to Tesco " although I see no problem with taking something with tracks and a turret to get the weekly shopping. I ignored this "suggestion" at my peril........ Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 The RUC I am led to believe had very few of these and were using lots of different variants at the same time. I am not entirely sure whetehr to do it up as an RUC vehicle or as a Shorts demonstrator model. They had three SB301 & five SB401. Have you got a chassis no, engine no, Shorts no, or RUC no? If you give me one of these I can give you the other info. The 401s went into service 1986-early1987 some were withdrawn 1995. One was originally LHD & was plucked from an order to Sri Lanka or Lebanon & converted to RHD for the RUC. On delivery the RUC demilitarised the thing & removed visors etc. So a demonstrator would not be without the visors etc. So a vehicle is what it is so do it as RUC. The original colour was a dark slate grey this often faded to a bluey colour resembling Light Admiralty Grey of very early RUC vehicles. I have some genuine paint & can put some on a card if you want to get a match. It is very dark, but I have the Land Rover badge off an early Hotspur & that is the same dark grey, although some photos & lighting conditions make it look much lighter. There were various attempts to brighten things up & I gather this was looked on by officers with suspicions as they felt ridiculous driving round in what has been called an armoured ice-cream van. Indeed it made the vehicle a much easier target for attack. BTW I still have the forum on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shorland/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 The main info I have at the moment is the registration which is JXI 1763. The firm from whom I am trying to secure its release have asked me not to disclose their business which is fair enough I suppose. Colour is extremely faded battleship grey. I have noticed that the sliding gun ports on the side seem to have been installed at a later date in place of the hatches which ties in with what you said. Glass etc seems original. I found one picture a while back which seemed to show the same vehicle or very similar in the markings of the "kreigsmarin". I understood that this was purely a concept to try to get sales directed at police etc. The colour was a dark ( but shiny ) grey. I suspect the vehicle I was after was pictured in Land Rover Monthly ( I think ) along with an article on Shorlands in general but the quality of the picture was not good enough to read the registration. Any info would be great. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 hello heres one or links i have found, hope they help ;-) http://www.lrm.co.uk/archive/military/soldieringon.htm http://www.lrforum.com/articles/00185/index.htm (non-english) http://www.military-vehicle.net/vcls/shorland.htm http://www.landrover.vlothuizen.nl/show/list/7082-1.html ill keep looking http://www.ospreypublishing.com/index.php Security Forces in Northern Ireland 1969–92 i have this book and there are some (b&w) pictures in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 The first link was tha article I was on about !!! On there is a picture of an RUC shorland and its five to one its the one I am after. If only I could read the registration !!! Quite happy to pay to cover costs of any copying of anything you have. My off forum e mail address is paul.harris@homeserve.com many thanks Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 i ll see if i can photograph them and email them to you - if not ill photocopy them and post them - not asking for any cost :-D but i'll need your address (by pm) if i cant email them. richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 well tis not not very good but hope it might be some help, if i dig out any more i'll pass them on regards richard :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 The main info I have at the moment is the registration which is JXI 1763. It would have been JXI 7163. It went into service on 29/5/87, Engine no 10G07588, Chassis No ..195189. Shorts No SB401/RH/P/132. Unlike the LHD one which was converted this was a stock vehicle & was originally painted Light Slate grey from the factory. Oh the ignition key no. is 908, I don't have the door numbers I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 Strewth you are a mine of information !!!! Did you have any luck at all tracking down any photos ? very impressed Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 Did you have any luck at all tracking down any photos ? Not looked yet, I have about 300 pictures of RUC vehicles to sort through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 Clive, do you have any idea what the weight was unladen or laden ? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 do you have any idea what the weight was unladen or laden ? The User Handbook quotes the "Operational Weight" as 7800lb (3545 kg) allowing for 8 crew @ 200lb each, 2 x 11 gal fuel tanks full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulh Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 Brilliant that means the other half can drive it on her car licence aswell !!! If you saw her parking you would see why it would be useful. My "normal" car was vandalised last night by some charming person throwing a lump of concrete on it. If only I had been in the Shorland..............who says military vehicles are not practical ? Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardrosser Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 i love people like that - lets hope it never happens to them :whistle: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billh35 Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 (edited) JXI 7163 was based at Newry and used to transport staff between bases in the local area. The Shorlands were primarily used for moving staff around although one was based at Carrickfergus to act as an explosives escort. (I am not disclosing any confidential information here - this information is in the public domain) Edited January 13, 2014 by billh35 clarify remark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.