robin craig Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 I had the misfortune to be the operator (not owner) of a Spartan one late evening in the dark. We were returning home from an event that been fraught with problems. We had a BV206 become a no start at the beginning of the parade and had to be dragged by a civvy tow truck past our Prime Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff as that was the only way to get the vehicle to the load up area reasonably as the roads were to be opened for regular traffic afterwards. Then there was a Universal Carrier that slide sideways in a steel track on steel deck accident that nearly caused a loss of life. Not ours but I did try to warn the driver of his planned actions. So being a kilometer from home, we unloaded from transport and prepared to drive the distance to home base. I had a sensible teenager as a crew. I went through the usual "in case of emergency" drills and told him his role and the expectations. I was told I was being overly dramatic by others present as nothing could happen being that close to home. We set off down the straight road and were tooling along at a reasonable pace when the engine started to cough and stumble and power was decreasing but more alarmingly a massive amount of thick smoke started to come of the engine deck grills beside me. It was night time on a country road but I could see smoke but what type of smoke etc who knew. I was on the intercom quick sharp to the kid up top and told him I believed we had an engine malfunction or fire and he was to get clear of the vehicle only when it had stopped and not to jump for it while under way. I again told him not to come back for me but to get clear. As we came to a stop I was on the handbrake and battery master and urged the lad to move but he was already stomping past my head and getting off the wagon and away. Myself I was out like a scalded cat and we withdrew to evaluate. The dark smoke lessened and not seeing flames but smelling oil we both concluded a thrown rod. Opening the engine deck with flashlight (torch) in one hand and a big civvy ABC extinguisher in another proved us right. Copious amounts of oil on the engine bay floor. Anyway, we made a quick few calls to the others in our group who were still at the unload point and the chase vehicle came down and scooped me as I left the kid to stand guard over the vehicle. A short while later I returned with A bars and a tractor and was told by the kid how a nearby homeowner had called the local cops for fear that the vehicle had been stolen from a local Army base. Once settled the cops had left. Never in my life have I been so happy to hold the standard of doing crew briefings and discussing drills in the event of failure and so glad we have A bars for the CVRTs. Smoke from an engine bay of a petrol powered vehicle gets your mind racing, quickly. I once lived near East Grinstead and so I know only to well what badly burnt people look like. My tuppence worth on the subject. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teletech Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 On 9/1/2020 at 12:51 AM, philm1 said: A clansman intercom system has been installed and working. Makes communication between the driver and turret so much easier. It's interesting that the Belgian units seem to have been fitted with US spec. intercoms, or at least the ones I'm aware of that came from Terry were fitted with some bits reflecting that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 On 2/28/2023 at 7:00 AM, teletech said: It's interesting that the Belgian units seem to have been fitted with US spec. intercoms, or at least the ones I'm aware of that came from Terry were fitted with some bits reflecting that. Yes, ours had bits of US spec intercoms in it on arrival. I had access to working clansman set ups so went that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teletech Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 30 minutes ago, philm1 said: Yes, ours had bits of US spec intercoms in it on arrival. I had access to working clansman set ups so went that way. Being in the US and with a Canadian Ferret in the motorpool as well, it was tempting to go with the US kit, but the Clansman system just seems to make more sense and have fewer different cables and connectors to sort out. Have you considered fitting radios as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philm1 Posted March 10, 2023 Author Share Posted March 10, 2023 On 3/1/2023 at 10:37 AM, teletech said: Being in the US and with a Canadian Ferret in the motorpool as well, it was tempting to go with the US kit, but the Clansman system just seems to make more sense and have fewer different cables and connectors to sort out. Have you considered fitting radios as well? Not as yet as they are not readily available in NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teletech Posted March 11, 2023 Share Posted March 11, 2023 1 hour ago, philm1 said: Not as yet as they are not readily available in NZ. Heh, there is that. I'm waiting with more than a little trepidation on a shipping quote for a pair of 353s to USA. >8-O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDA Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Fantastic effort, congratulations. We're now proud owners of a Scimitar, trying to find some bits for it. Do you have photos of interior? We are looking for radios, intercom etc. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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