Scammell Explorer Gallery

[radiomike7]

Hi Jules, what engine is that in your Explorer?

[Guest catweazle (Banned Member)]

to ....France...I still haven't forgiven the French for their behavior during the 100 years war

I didnt realise it was over.:-D

[Degsy]

to ....France...I still haven't forgiven the French for their behavior during the 100 years war

I didnt realise it was over.:-D

 

 

It isn't:nono:

[julezee001]

Hi Jules, what engine is that in your Explorer?

 

 

The engine is a Roll Royce Eagle diesel 220, which to my knowledge has been in there well over 20 years. I believe it was fitted by a firm dealing in recovery trucks on the East coast.

 

To make the space for the engine it has an extra 4" welded on the front of the chassis rails, 4" in the bonnet, and radiator stabilising bars. The front axle has been moved forward 2", with the front mount on the crossmember moved back 2". All very well done, so only people who really know Explorers would notice.

 

It all seemed a lot of work, so in fitting the same engine in my Explorer, I decided I could squeeze it in without the extensions (I have seen it in others too). It is tight, but a lot less work.

[antarmike]

The Matador looks out of scale, almost like a toy, behind the Scammell.

 

But a Matador towing an Explorer looks really good!

[antarmike]

 

The Matador had an interesting shake on the steering early on which caught me by surprise and almost threw me across the cab!

 

Join the club, a lot of them get wheel shimmy, often quite bad and often uncurable.

[abn deuce]

is this shimmy different from that that the Jeep's and GMC's suffer from ? due to a different cause ?

[gritineye]

It's always better to be the one doing the towing than the one being towed. I've had some very scary moments behind tow trucks who seem to have forgotten I was there. There's a lot to be said for A Bars.

 

Agree the A-bar, being towed on a straight bar by someone who has forgotten you're there and so doesn't use indicators ain't good, as behind an Explorer all you see is "the fat backside", even worse when he has forgotten to turn on the air valves, hence VERY heavy steering!:argh: :argh:I Know, I should have checked!

 

Can't see the number on Explorer in your pix Jules but I think it was the previous owner of that one doing the towing!

 

Funny how small an Explorer looks when being towed behind another Explorer! :-D

 

[julezee001]

Indeed the same truck, previously owned and restored by John Bird, still with its "Q" plate, before being changed to PSY 974. John bought it from a member of the NLBA, whose name I can't remember, who in turn had it from the dealer on the east coast. He also had some good tales of the jobs both he and the dealer had used it for, including securing a 3000 ton ship with a holed hull, which I believe was in the local paper.

[6 X 6]

Agree the A-bar, being towed on a straight bar by someone who has forgotten you're there /QUOTE]

 

It seems that the moment the driver who will be towing you slams their cab door shut, is also the moment they entirely forget any prearranged agreement you've made with them, regarding signals you're to give them meaning slow down, or stop. I did read on this forum recently that the use of A-bars is to be outlawed. If that's true, I wonder why.

[gritineye]

I did read on this forum recently that the use of A-bars is to be outlawed. If that's true, I wonder why.

 

Perhaps because some of them aren't too well engineered :nono:

 

And Europe don't like them :confused:

 

[julezee001]

The first run out for my Scammell (other than a couple of runs on a straight bar as a shell), along with the stand in spare wheel carrier (the Landrover on the a frame). Not ideal as I had to unbolt the rear of the roof to get the wheel in!

 

As to A frames, the ones the AA etc. use are presumably EU approved, and they seem to be suprisingly flimsy compared to older models. The one in the photo was used for over ten years by my regiment to recover dead Landrovers from all over the UK, with not problems. It was retired when the Defenders came in as there is no clearance behind the bumper to fit it. As with all such items it is good to check them over on occasion for faults, just to be as safe as possible.

 

I can only think that the reasoning behind banning them is that there is generally no provision for braking the towed vehicle when the vehicle is non HGV. Hence it is deemed unsafe as the brakes on a similar sized lead vehicle are efficient enough for the combined weight of both machines?

[croc]

On my way north I went to see Ted Riley in Staffordshire. He has a very tidy Explorer with a nice running Meadows petrol engine.

 

 

On the top of each wing there is a flat top for some reason, they are very neatly done but what are they?

 

Ted has found a great way to store his spare radiator.

[younggun]

this is my work m8t jame's explorer today was her first glimpse of daylight in 4 years . sadly her time under cover was a bit damp she was caught in floods of last year and sat in water up to the cab floor :cry:

so i recived a phonecall :cellphone:i was invited to watch as she was dragged into the outside world and after about 30seconds of being near her i found the illness had took over and was soon lay underneath draining dif gearbox and beam oils most containing more water than oil

 

 

 

james rubing her tummy and asking her nicly to start

starter motor is out of action so had to resort to plan b (tow with tractor)

she did start but shes shy and doesent want to build up any air and clutch does not feel like disengageing but were working on it

 

and yes shes meadows powerd

but shock:shocking: horror its aDIESEL

Edited January 7, 2009 by younggun

[gritineye]

and yes shes medows powerd

but shock:shocking: horror its a DESIEL

 

Is it known if the diesel is original? there were a few, that would make it very rare!

[gritineye]

On my way north I went to see Ted Riley in Staffordshire. He has a very tidy Explorer with a nice running Meadows petrol engine.

 

 

On the top of each wing there is a flat top for some reason, they are very neatly done but what are they?

 

That looks a treat, so straight and shiney!

 

Maybe some one wanted to be more comfortable tweaking the carbs and cleaning the plugs, checker plate marks on the bum though? :-D

[younggun]

Is it known if the diesel is original? there were a few, that would make it very rare!

 

my sources tell me that it is orginal ,but i cant understand y the airboxes are still there ? there not in use i cant read the ID plate at tho moment because its been painted over but i will find out more as our relationshiop grows

i think ive been made the designated driver aswell come showtime :sweat:

Edited January 7, 2009 by younggun

[chambers101]

The Stolly you were towing was my Dads. Thanks for puttin that pic up.

[6 X 6]

metalastic drive coupling on ebay if enyone is in need

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Scammell-Explorer_W0QQitemZ280242542434QQcmd

 

Winning bid £216.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280242542434&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

[N.O.S.]

Winning bid £216.

 

Gulp gasp now where are those old service boots:

 

"FOR SALE - Pair of old army boots, uppers shot but rest would make decent Scamell Coupling Joint.

Best offer over £150 secures" :rofl:

Edited July 11, 2008 by N.O.S.

[6 X 6]

I think I would have needed to closely examine this coupling, to be sure it was serviceable, before parting with 200 quid. This component is common to the Explorer and Constructor (and Pioneer ?) but what precisely does it do ? Also, does anyone know of an engineering plastic/nylon, or other material, from which a drive coupling could be machined if a Scammell metalastic one needed to be replaced ?

[N.O.S.]

It allows a small amount of misalignment between of axis engine and gearbox to accommodate flexing of engine mounts and gearbox mounts (like when the gear lever jumps up and down an inch or two!).

 

C6 powered Diesel Constructors (RAF and 30T tractor and M.O.S.[?]) used a totally different coupling design - more torque capacity.

 

There is very little room (diameter) to install any commercially available couplings - someone posted a pic of a nice and simple U/J conversion - the purpose of the rubber is to absorb some of the dynamic vibration (and it is a cheap engineering solution to solve minor misalignment issues), but that is not essential, surely.

 

There was a rumour that someone within the Scammell movement had a mould made to allow these to be remanufactured from vulcanised rubber - all you need is a jig / mould unit to hold the coupling pieces in alignment whilst rubber is poured and vulcanised. Don't know any more about this - worth a post on another forum??

 

The metal components should be ok to use again, even if a little worn so long as bolt holes are not slack - if not new ali (or steel?) wedges could easily be machined up.

 

Once toolng was paid for, they would not be expensive to mould (reckon £45 - £60?). You'd need to make a few to get tooling costs back, but it might yet come to that! I could get an estimate from a very good Norwich-based company if enough folk are serious and the rumour turns out to be false.

[6 X 6]

N.O.S. Thank you for such a well informed, and comprehensive, reply. Yes, I would be interested to know if there are proven alternative couplings already available out there.

 

One effect of a high selling price on eBay is to draw similar items out of the woodwork in the hope of attracting the same high bids. We'll have to wait and see if anymore of these Scammell couplings turn up on eBay in the next few weeks.

 

On the subject of remanufactured Scammell bits, does anyone know if the gaiter that protects the power-steering ram is available at present ? It would not be difficult to make one from leather, it would be better than nothing, but might look a bit too "vintage Bentley" for us lot. Occasionally, I see quite large gear stick gaiters in vans I wonder if one of these could be made to fit.

[radiomike7]

Winning bid £216.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280242542434&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

 

 

One sold on ebay for a similar if not greater amount a month or two ago so I suspect it is the going price. Some years ago I had 8 of these brand spanking new and struggled to get a tenner each for them :-(

[N.O.S.]

Power Steering Gaiter -

 

I found two in a stillage at MVS (that was a year or 2 ago!) and got them for £2 a pop. Never seen the light of day. The first one lasted about 3 months before it started splitting, they seem far too thin. Kept the other safe for PGK888. They were nice and flexible, and didn't appear to have suffered in storage. Another £4 wasted!!

 

I think I will get a leather one made up and hang the expense - seen an old leather one on a vehicle, so may have been used in service??