6 X 6 Posted May 28, 2008 Author Share Posted May 28, 2008 Same one - look at the white tape at the bottom of the driver's door. Not to mention identical broken N/S windscreen (!) How will I ever live this down ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooTallMike Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Not to mention identical broken N/S windscreen (!) How will I ever live this down ? No comment...! btw. photos were taken 1 year apart (distant one was Oct. '95, closeup Aug. '96) The background is completely different (trees etc) so it was clearly still in use at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140237029837&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Daymond Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 shame, can't see that one hitting the road anytime soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 shame, can't see that one hitting the road anytime soon This one has suffered physical, emotional, spiritual abuse and finding a loving home that will give it the support and stability it needs will not be easy. Let's all include it in our prayers over the coming days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morris c8 fat Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Did you look at his other items theree is a matador in the back ground of the daimler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 See: http://62.128.210.96/transport-mike/mike/militant_series/militant-series.html for a list of the projected Militant family. The slide bed may have been FV11014 and there is a good picture of the Coles crane variant. Looking at this brings back memories!! We had issued to us in 215: FV11005 - Truck, 10 ton, 6x4, tipper (3 way). FV11018 - Truck, 10 ton, 6x6, cargo, dropside, 18ft, with winch, Mk 1. Together with RL and RL-W's, BSA B40 and 88" Series 2/2A Landies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 This one has suffered physical, emotional, spiritual abuse and finding a loving home that will give it the support and stability it needs will not be easy. Let's all include it in our prayers over the coming days. As an ex recovery it will have had a very hard life and may well have a twisted chassis, so probably not the best one for a resto project. Factor in the damaged engine and the scrap value and it is a no brainer when you consider what a tidy complete one could be bought for. 18 years ago you could pick up an 'as new' Millie with nominal mileage from BCA for around £1k. Many had a set of 7 brand new tyres but there were few takers and a number were broken up for the engines which were exported to places like Singapore for use in boats. The AEC engine is largely cast iron and would withstand being cooled by salt water for long periods which made an expensive heat exchanger unnecessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 2, 2008 Author Share Posted June 2, 2008 As an ex recovery it will have had a very hard life and may well have a twisted chassis, so probably not the best one for a resto project. Factor in the damaged engine and the scrap value and it is a no brainer when you consider what a tidy complete one could be bought for. 18 years ago you could pick up an 'as new' Millie with nominal mileage from BCA for around £1k. Many had a set of 7 brand new tyres but there were few takers and a number were broken up for the engines which were exported to places like Singapore for use in boats. The AEC engine is largely cast iron and would withstand being cooled by salt water for long periods which made an expensive heat exchanger unnecessary. I can remember Jeff Way telling me he once bought 60 Militants at auction in one day. Most would have ended up as 5th.wheel tractors, in distant lands*, working in timber extraction. The most likely outcome for the eBay Milly is that it gets scrapped but you never know, buying MV's is not a rational decision and this one might just appeal to the "restoration as a personal challenge" breed of enthusiast. The more problems to sort out the more the restoration appeals to them. There are plenty of examples of this approach on this forum. More power to them I say ! * If you not PC for 'distant lands' please read Bongo Bongo Land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 The AEC Militant MK 1 on eBay that we have been discussing in the last few posts has just been sold for £1750 to someone who, on 31th May, also bought this bus. What can it all mean ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170223040721 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 The AEC Militant MK 1 on eBay that we have been discussing in the last few posts has just been sold for £1750 to someone who, on 31th May, also bought this bus. What can it all mean ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170223040721 Looks like he might be in the scrap trade, although there is no way that chassis/cab is going to liberate 16 tons of clean ferrous scrap as claimed. A very nice Millie 1 GS cargo was sold on ebay about 10 weeks ago for about £2550 if I remember correctly. It was only down the road at Aylesbury but I didn't get a chance to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooTallMike Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 The AEC Militant MK 1 on eBay that we have been discussing in the last few posts has just been sold for £1750 to someone who, on 31th May, also bought this bus. What can it all mean ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170223040721 I was also going to suggest that he's a scrappie; that or he likes a challenge... It's a shame to see so much going under the torch because of the price of scrap but on the bright side it increases the value of what remains. - Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 (edited) We may soon see the 6LXB, from the bus, powering the Milly but frankly, although that's possible, it's unlikely. I agree with radiomike7, after you've costed for collection, gas and time you'd be hard pushed to make a profit by weighing in this cab and chassis unless it was on very good tires that you could sell on. Even at the current prices, scrap dealers would expect to pay a lot less than £1750 for a proposition like this to make it pay. TooTallMike makes a good point, while there are high scrap values and more historic vehicles in need of restoration around than people who want, or are able, to own them then some people will be tempted to scrap them rather than just leave them rotting in the nettles. Less vehicles around MAY result in higher prices, at some time in the future, for the historic vehicles that have survived but who knows what the future may bring. It's a market just like everything else. Edited June 4, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcashj94 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Going back a couple of pages to the posts about the crane versions of the Militant, I own a Mark 5 Bridging Crane which is an updated version of that pictured. The Mark 5 has a larger AEC 760 engine, newer style of cab and a much heavier chassis built by Coles specifically for the crane version. The comments about the crane opperation are correct - Perkins P4 driving a generator with electric motors for lift, luff, slew as well as remote drive and steering of the main chassis. Air brake pedal and handbrake also duplicated in the crane cab. Good party piece is to sit in the crane opperators cab, raise the jib, slew 90 degrees to one side and then move forward at about 5mph whilst turning an 'S' bend, really gets the audience excited to see 26 tons moving about with no apparent driver! Unfortunately some marshalls dont like it and get excited too for different reasons! Here are a couple of pics, shows the jib folded for travel and extended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 alcashj94, thank you for such an interesting post of this awesome piece of kit. That's a very interesting and useful vehicle to own. Until reading your post I had no idea one could "drive" from the crane cab. What driving controls do you have apart from steering and brakes.... are you limited to first gear only for example ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 .... are you limited to first gear only for example ? The remote driving was done by powering a large electric motor that drove into the transfer box. On of these Mk5 Coles came into Workshops once, where the motor drive had not disconnected, when the crane was driven away, the speed of the motor being driven on the road at 20 to 30 mph, was far, far greater than it was designed for and it blew apart locking everything up and breaking the transfer box. I seem to recollect the crane was cast as that type of crane was being superceded by the Coles Hydra Husky at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 (edited) Richard, Thanks, I understand how things were arranged now. Until you explained about the electric motor I couldn't make sense of it. Your story about the motor being still engaged while the vehicle was driven down the road is a very good example of "if it can go wrong it will". Edited June 4, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcashj94 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 Richard has it summed up, you can only engage the remote drive if you have selected low range on the trasfer box - mechanical lock knocks out the remote if you move to high range. Engage the steering motor to the steering column and release the chassis handbrake (having first put on the handbrake in the crane cab!) and then climb into the crane opperators position. You have a foot pedal on the left side which engages the relay for either forward or reverse direction and then control the speed by the accelerator for the donkey engine. Steering is a left / right joystick in the centre of the panel along with the other joysticks for the crane movements. There is a large assembly in the centre of the crane pivot which takes the handbrake down the centre with a vertical pull rod, this is surrounded by slip rings for the electical feed to travel and steering motors as well as another radial joint for the two air lines - complicated but it works. I have not seen another of these cranes on the rally circuit or in photos anywhere - could mine be the only survivor? Anyone know how many were made? Allan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Although, the ability to maneuver the chassis from the crane cab has such obvious advantages, providing a means for doing so must have poised the designers with a few headaches. Thank you both for explaining what engineering solutions were used. I really wish I'd had the time to have had a better look at the one in Hunt's which is the only one I've ever seen. I doubt if there are many others in preservation, most would have been worked to death, or exported. I'd be interested to see what answers you have regarding other survivors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooTallMike Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 There's a tatty one at the RE collection, Chatham: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcashj94 Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Thanks for that pic Mike, I live in Devon and have never been to Chatham - looks like I need to get out more! Thats not tatty, looks about the same as mine did before it was painted! I must admit that the bodywork on my cab needs some serious work, it's been patched up a few times since I bought it in 1992 but now is going to need the lower few inches replaced all along the bottom seam. There is a double skin that comes together just above the joint and water gets trapped in between, not helped by the roof seams leaking into the space between them. My serial number is 00 EY 18, built 1966, struck off 1986, so it could be in the same batch as this one at Chatham. What livery is that grey scheme? Mine was in that when I bought it but I thought it was something the previous owner (engineering contractor) had put on quickly as it was all peeling to reveal green underneath. Allan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 This beauty sold on Ebay recently ! Can't remember the price ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6 X 6 Posted June 5, 2008 Author Share Posted June 5, 2008 (edited) Talking of Devon, and mobile cranes, does any one know if the WW11 lorry mounted crane standing in a crane hire yard on Cooklands Industrial Estate at Bodmin is still there ? This Ind. Estate is very close to the A30 and the yard is next door to a W.H.Smith warehouse. If anyone is passing by with a camera it would be nice to see a few pix posted somewhere on the forum. I've ringed the crane on this google earth view but g.e. pictures are not always up to date. Edited June 5, 2008 by 6 X 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooTallMike Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 I think the grey might just be faded OD as it's been sitting outside for some time, judging by the green slime on the windows. - Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyFowler Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Heres another ! http://ccmv.fotopic.net/p39274238.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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