6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) Getting in position outside the Den, this was about 5 am. Edited June 18, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) Looking good. Edited June 18, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) After a few hair raising moments on a slightly hair raising journey the dead Militant was finally....em..partly into the Den. The main advantage of the Den, which came with a 1/2 acre yard next door, was that, in return for keeping an eye on a large adjoining listed building awaiting development, it was completely rent free including free electricity and other services. The small disadvantage was that to actually get a Militant into the main warehouse I had to remove the top half of the cab, headboard and let all the air out of the tires before it would pass under a steel girder just inside the entrance. Edited June 18, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) Finally in and a start made with putting it back together. I managed to buy a new, still in wooden crate, gearbox in London. Bernie Smith and Jeff Rhodes, when he still had a yard, supplied most of the other missing bits. Edited June 19, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) It's hard to shown from these pictures just how large the Den was but I had three Militants in there together plus my own living accommodation, which had been the offices, above. I lived there for about three years before the site was sold for £1.5m eight years ago. Edited June 18, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) I couldn't have restored these AEC's without Sheba, Rudy and Django, three badarse German Shepherds, who maintained security on the site and who no one, not once, ever tried to take on. Their main reward, apart from lots of fresh meat, was going on what we called "Cat Patrol" in the nearby streets when I got home from work at 3 am. I bet the cats around that neighbourhood aren't as fit as they used to be. Edited June 18, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I remember doing that a goodly few times too - although usually it was hooking the Militant up to pull the REME's Scammell back to base..... :rofl: Smashing pics 6X6 and Neil i think we need photographic evidence to back up your scandalous comments on lovely Scammell's :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) The two Militants in the towing pictures a few years later. Edited June 18, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 I remember doing that a goodly few times too - although usually it was hooking the Militant up to pull the REME's Scammell back to base..... :rofl: Don't start me on Scammell gearboxes again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chambers101 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I remember going to the Wroughton AEC gathering in 2002 in one of those beasts. A fun adventue driving round the country lanes around swindon in the middle of the night. And the Millitant & Matador convoy off the showground was awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Smashing pics 6X6 and Neil i think we need photographic evidence to back up your scandalous comments on lovely Scammell's :-D Heh - you'll be lucky - this was over 30 years ago!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Nooo..... They don't appear on the firms web site at all so I thought if I could get the price and condition and post it here some might get saved. Right now the new kitchen I had to agree to get her for letting me have the OT is starting to follow the path of the 2012 Olympics as regards the cost!!! Started out at £8K, we just passed the £11K mark.... :cry: :cry: :cry: OK Folks - if anyone wants a Mk 1 this is the reply I received today: Dear Neil, For the AEC Trucks best is to come over for inspection because they are not in very good condition. The price is € 3.000,-- excl. VAT. We have to check with our yard Herkenbosch whether they are LHD. Kind Regards, Marianne Geutjes D. van Dam B.V Be nice if a couple could be saved for future generations!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 20, 2008 Author Share Posted June 20, 2008 OK Folks - if anyone wants a Mk 1 this is the reply I received today: Be nice if a couple could be saved for future generations!!!! I had been wondering if the original post was referring to van Dam's yard. These Militants have been standing in the open for over 10 years and are likely to be in very poor condition indeed. I can remember being told of van Dam having row after row of low mileage MK 1's available in good condition but that was many years ago. If anyone wants a MK 1 they might wish to consider Richard's gun tractor which I believe is being offered for sale on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted June 29, 2008 Share Posted June 29, 2008 Probably the best vehicle to "live" in I have seen at a show ! Wonderfull ! Kemble 2008 ! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 30, 2008 Author Share Posted June 30, 2008 Probably the best vehicle to "live" in I have seen at a show ! Wonderfull ! Kemble 2008 ! Wonderful 'photos thank you, once again, Andy. Is this the early Militant, originally with a fixed side cargo body, that was in Wiltshire Land Rover's yard for many years ? What would this house type body originally have been fitted on ? it looks too nice to be British. I hope the present owner never regrets not carrying a spare wheel or is there one hidden under the kitchen sink ? Nice vehicle all round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Not sure if the spare tyre is under the sink 6X6 but after some photo jiggery pokery you can see it now ! Great show Kemble ! Can thoroughly recommend it !!!! :bow::bow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 What a great looking, (and usefull) bit 'o kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julezee001 Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 Nice camper, but not especially practical? As promised to 6 x 6, I've posted a few photos of my Militant as bought, by my brother James, from Withams in about 1991, along with other pictures of its slow transformation into a good size camper with a canvas roof. I think the first camping photo, with hoops but no canvas was its first trip to War and Peace in 1997. The Atlas crane was a major reason for picking it at the time, essentially to erect a new barn, a job it was never used for in the end. It has however been used for countless other uses over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted July 2, 2008 Author Share Posted July 2, 2008 Thank you julezee001 for one of the most interesting posts on this thread. What a lovely set of photographs ! I can never understand these people who seem to have a different HMV very time I speak to them. Sticking with a vehicle and getting it just how you want it, as you have done, is, to me, a much more satisfying approach. That's a really nice Militant you have there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Probably the best vehicle to "live" in I have seen at a show ! Wonderfull ! Kemble 2008 ! Wonderful 'photos thank you, once again, Andy. Is this the early Militant, originally with a fixed side cargo body, that was in Wiltshire Land Rover's yard for many years ? What would this house type body originally have been fitted on ? it looks too nice to be British. I hope the present owner never regrets not carrying a spare wheel or is there one hidden under the kitchen sink ? Nice vehicle all round. The owner told us the body was fitted in Germany,pics are great, but we need to talk to owners to get the griff,so lets have some info as well as pics.:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.O.S. Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Probably the best vehicle to "live" in I have seen at a show ! Wonderfull ! Kemble 2008 ! :-D Be very careful, Andy - Snapper has an "issue" with CARAVANS on the forum........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 The owner told us the body was fitted in Germany,pics are great, but we need to talk to owners to get the griff,so lets have some info as well as pics.:-D I would talk to owners but I'm shy and I'd hate to be listed in the "What is the daftest thing anyone has asked you " thread Catweazle ! :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 The owner told us the body was fitted in Germany,pics are great, but we need to talk to owners to get the griff,so lets have some info as well as pics.:-D Hi CW, That body reminds me of the map printing trailers that were operated by the Royal Engineers, they had expandable sides like this and were towed by Militant Mk1 5th wheel tractors. The printing machine was about the width of the trailer, with the sides pushed out it gave a walkway around the machine. The shape of this particular body is not like the trailers though, so not sure what it might have originally been fitted on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest catweazle (Banned Member) Posted July 2, 2008 Share Posted July 2, 2008 Hi richard ,the owner didnt know much about it either,rather than slide, it folded out. The beam over the top lifting and supporting the top,i wanted to see it in action but couldnt wait for him to pack up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.JPG.fbe532a8a386c5010fe8daa1ff85aa23.JPG)
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.